2023 Holiday Gift Guides: Gifts for the Person who has Everything

November 17, 2023

We pride ourselves in having a spectacular collection, sourcing high and low to bring our collectors a wide array of rare books, original signatures and flags, and historical Americana. We love uncovering the unique stories behind each item.  With that said, some of our items truly are the cream of the crop. For the person who has everything, we suggest the gifts options below.

"Land of the Free" American Folk Eagle, Hand-Carved and Hand-Painted, 20th Century

This is a hand-carved and painted American folk eagle, presented in the style of renown carver John Bellamy.  The wood eagle is period painted with gilt, and red, white, and blue shield accents and dates to the early-mid 20th century. This particular example includes a waving banner on a staff, which reads "Land of the Free" in dramatic, hand-painted and bolded script. With detailed carved feathers and a painted eye, this stylized eagle is an interesting work of folk art and an unique gift.

31-Star Printed American Flag, Celebrating California Statehood, Circa 1850

This is a rare 31-star medallion printed American flag, celebrating the addition of California to the Union. The flag is printed on silk and has a spectacular “Great Star” canton pattern. The dark blue canton has 26 white stars, arranged into the pattern of one big star, tilted slightly on its axis. In between the arms of the “Great Star” are five additional outlier stars. A covetable and highly collectible early American flag!

Honeycombed Lincoln Penny Cigar Holder

The Honeycombed Lincoln Penny Cigar Holder is a one of a kind design and fabrication created by Stacey Lee Webber. This artwork is composed using soldered vintage US copper pennies.  The cigar tube features a hexagon pattern, with all pennies showing Lincoln's face. It also has brass accents. This is an entirely handmade container fabricated in Webber’s Philadelphia studio. The container hinges open to hold most sizes of cigars.  A beautiful meld of design, art, and function. 

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Signed by Truman Capote, First Edition, in First Issue Dust Jacket, 1958

This collection of the Breakfast at Tiffany’s novella and three short stories by Capote was first published by Random House in 1958. The novella received glowing reviews. "If you want to capture a period in New York, no other book has done it so well. He could capture a period and place like few others" (Norman Mailer). The novella was quickly adapted for the 1961 hit film starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard. A true collectible, perfect for any fan of 20th century literature, Audrey Hepburn, or both!

George Washington Signature Collage

The father of our country, George Washington was the commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) and served two terms as the first United States president, from 1789 to 1797. An iconic figure in American history, his signature is not only an investment, it's an amazing gift. This George Washington Signature Collage features a neat and legible "G. Washington" cut signature, one of several prominent American statesman autographs collected together and bound in a 1809 volume of the Baltimore Evening Post. 

The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments, Illustrated, 1882

New to our Colorado shop, and just in time for the holidays, we are thrilled to present this sumptuously bound Holy Bible from 1882. A true work of art, this Bible boasts full chestnut brown leather boards carved and stamped with intricate gilt floral and leaf details. This bible was produced as a family bible, to be handed down through a family with each successive generation. Family bibles were used as a marker of each married couple’s journey through life and the family’s history was commonly recorded in the bible. This bible features pages for presentation, births, deaths, and marriages, as well as a page for swearing temperance. Truly a unique piece of bookbinding artistry that will be cherished for generations to come!

Vortic Watch: The Springfield 523

Vortic Watch Company's mission is to salvage, restore, and preserve an important part of United States history- antique pocket watches. Vortic fully restores these mechanisms and builds them into wristwatches to make them functional again and to preserve them for another 100+ years.  This watch was initially manufactured in 1906 by Illinois Watch Company. It features blue spade hands, strikingly contrasting the timepiece’s crisp white face and bold, black numerals. This case has been CNC milled from a solid block of aerospace grade titanium. And the manually wound, antique, pocket watch movement inside this watch has been meticulously restored to as close to original condition as possible. For the ultimate watch collector, there is no cooler watch than this! 

A super cool gift idea is the first edition of Ian Fleming's fifth James Bond novel, From Russia, With Love. The book was published in London by Jonathan Cape, in 1957. It is presented rebound in spectacular full black calf leather, with a custom gilt and red gun and rose embossed stamp to the front board, and gilt tooling, titles, and raised bands to the book’s spine. Fleming considered this in many ways his best work. In 1961, President Kennedy named it among his ten favorite books. Gift it this holiday season!

Centennial Celebration "1776-1876" American Flag Banner

We specialize in rare and covetable flags, but even this one stands out in our collection as one of the most spectacular flags we have ever had.  The flag’s rich blue canton is beautiful, with 81 five-pointed, rayed stars printed in white and arranged to read “1776” and “1876.” Many fantastic star patterns were made in the spirit patriotism that accompanied the celebration of the Nation’s Centennial in 1876, and this is among the best of all examples. Furthermore, flags with stars that spell out numeric or alphabetical characters are among the rarest of all designs. For the serious collector, a gift of this antique flag would set their collection apart from all others.

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