I was very saddened today to receive the following email today in Kovels Komments. Ralph and Terry Kovel have truly been the pioneers in the world of Collecting and Antique books and newsletters. He will be missed by many of us across the country and I'm sure many of you will join me in sending condolences to Terry and the rest of the family.

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From Kovel Komments: Ralph Kovel, Terry's husband and business partner, died last Thursday after a short illness. He will be deeply missed by our readers and fans, by everyone in the world of antiques, and by all of us at Kovels. If you would like to send condolences, you are welcome to use our blog. We very much appreciate all of the kind notes already sent by so many of you.

Our website, all of our publications, and our love of antiques will carry on--with the help of Terry Kovel, Kim Kovel, Lee Kovel and the rest of the Kovel staff. - - - - - - - - -

Hamburger Helper Cookie Jar
What's your guess on the values? $75, $150 or $1000?

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Although many of the early Mickey Mouse items have a more pronounced nose, you can see by the 1929 United States Patent that Mickey looks exactly the same as he does today. Mickey hasn't aged a bit.

Disney's Mickey Mouse is the most reproduced image in the world, ahead of both Jesus (#2) and Elvis (#3).

What was the first item? A 1929 children's school tablet.

• Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse
• Collecting Disney
• Mickey Mouse Pictures and Prices

^USPTO

Like many other precious items we collect and wish to keep in pristine condition, fabrics need "consistent low temperature, low or no light, little moisture, and dust, rust, and bug-free environments." They should not be stored in air-tight containers and, obviously should be clean!

Whew. But you probably already knew most of that, the problem is to figure out just how to store and clean those antique and vintage fabrics. An excellent article The Fabric of History: Caring for Vintage Textiles and Ornamentationis in the newest edition of Chubb Collectors, a free online newsletter.