Antiques Freaks

Wherein Chillingworth is a miserable pile of secrets. Varney the Vampire is a genuine penny dreadful, read aloud one chapter per week just like the original Victorian audience would do for the authentic 1840s coffeehouse experience. To instantly unlock over a hundred more chapters (literally), check out our Patreon.

The Antiques Freaks take a vintage quiz to determine our Personality Quotient, or PQ. Plus! Unsolicited opinions on Cats the Musical.

It’s like we always say: get hot and get glued.

Can you feel at ease when there is a slight pause in the conversation? Can you get in a “party mood” with last year’s best dress for this year’s big date? And what are your feelings on Hedy Lamarr? The Antiques Freaks dive into mid-century ephemera and take a vintage quiz to determine our Personality Quotient, or PQ.

And I said, "What about... breakfast at Varney's?" Varney the Vampire is a genuine penny dreadful, read aloud one chapter per week just like the original Victorian audience would do for the authentic 1840s coffeehouse experience. To instantly unlock over a hundred more chapters (literally), check out our Patreon.

This week, Dee tells all about the Arts and Crafts ceramics artist that revived ancient glazing practices to create the longest-continually-operating pottery in America—plus, unsolicited financial advice.

From phone books to Civil War letters to ancient Kraft macaroni, Elizabeth McLeod of the Auction Waves podcast takes the Antiques Freaks on a journey through ephemera. Watch out for alligators. Elizabeth McLeod brings to Auction Waves over forty years of experience as an author, editor, journalist, broadcaster, audio producer, researcher, and collector, with a specialty in American culture of the first half of the 20th Century. She has appeared as a guest expert on television programs ranging from PBS's "History Detectives" to "The American Experience," as well as on NPR and the BBC. Over the past thirty years she has written over five thousand scripts for the daily CBS Radio Network feature "Sound*Bytes." When not engaged in deep dives of research, she has been known to take on acting roles, both in radio and on the stage, and is also accomplished in the preservation and use of antique electronics and audio equipment—including the gear she uses to record each episode of Auction Waves.

Wherein Jack Pringle's true strength is revealed! Varney the Vampire is a genuine penny dreadful, read aloud one chapter per week just like the original Victorian audience would do for the authentic 1840s coffeehouse experience. To instantly unlock over a hundred more chapters (literally), check out our Patreon.

What are the most obnoxious reseller habits? How do we feel about “mantiques”? And is anyone ever truly Kenough? This week the Antiques Freaks answer burning questions from listeners just like you!

Discover astonishing truths about yourself through The Devil Wears Prada fanfiction and more in this tome of Edwardian university advice!

Our friends Daniel and Jon join us for a chapter wherein Jack Pringle arrives drunk. Varney the Vampire is a genuine penny dreadful, read aloud one chapter per week just like the original Victorian audience would do for the authentic 1840s coffeehouse experience. To instantly unlock over a hundred more chapters (literally), check out our Patreon.

From beloved baby boomer dolls of the 1960s to the 1990s revival millennials adored, it’s the Liddle Kiddle dolls!

Our friend Tarra rejoins us for a chapter wherein Admiral Bell and Mr. Chillingworth are left alone to watch over the abandoned Bannerworth Hall. Varney the Vampire is a genuine penny dreadful, read aloud one chapter per week just like the original Victorian audience would do for the authentic 1840s coffeehouse experience. To instantly unlock over a hundred more chapters (literally), check out our Patreon.

From Netflix’s Bridgerton to Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, the Antiques Freaks tell all about the rare antique that Dee won’t eat.

An Unwarranted Market Prediction brought to you by Antiques Freaks, featuring clinch covers, bodice rippers, and a very particular brand of mass-market pulp paperback oft overlooked by vintage and antiquarian booksellers.

Emerald Fennell has thoroughly Wuthered our Heights. Let's get into it.

How to make friends and influence people? Consider sitting down and shutting up! All this and more in this tome of Edwardian university advice.

Our friend Olivia rejoins us for the chapter wherein the Bannerworths FINALLY LEAVE THE DAMN HALL! (Except for George, who is left behind Home Alone style.) Varney the Vampire is a genuine penny dreadful, read aloud one chapter per week just like the original Victorian audience would do for the authentic 1840s coffeehouse experience. To instantly unlock over a hundred more chapters (literally), check out our Patreon.

To stiff peaks, you say? (Alternatively, “Archimedes screw? I ‘ardly know ‘er!”)

Wanted: beetle hunk available for 24/7 free use, $20/day. It’s another wild story from the author of Sherlock Holmes, read aloud with commentary from our friends Chris and Paris of Terrible Book Club!

Do you really need to do all the assigned reading? How about performance enhancers in an academic setting? And what becomes of those students who fail to devote themselves to learning? Find out all that and more in this tome of Edwardian university advice!

Wherein a new record is set for most times Ken says “oh no” in a single episode! Welcome to interior design for early automobiles.

Our friend James Wake returns for a thrilling chapter of wacky larks with the lads! Varney the Vampire is a genuine penny dreadful, read aloud one chapter per week just like the original Victorian audience would do for the authentic 1840s coffeehouse experience. To instantly unlock over a hundred more chapters (literally), check out our Patreon.

Throw off that tall hat and don’t you dare grow a beard! How does advice to incoming university students fare after over a hundred years? Tune in to find out!

A former crime reporter stumbles into a thriving antiques underworld in this cozy mystery featuring cats—a startlingly warm and vivid portrait of a culture we know well.

“Do you know anything of yonder fire?” “Yes: I do know it is a fire.” Varney the Vampire is a genuine penny dreadful, read aloud one chapter per week just like the original Victorian audience would do for the authentic 1840s coffeehouse experience. To instantly unlock over a hundred more chapters (literally), check out our Patreon.

Our most blasphemous episode yet! Learn all about the Christmas mistletoe decorating tradition that is definitely Victorian, probably Georgian, and almost certainly not medieval.

An alternative to the more practical kerosene hurricane lamps—and more properly called parlour lamps or chamber lamps—it’ll take more than a stiff breeze to knock these 19th century marvels over. But what are they, really? And where did they come from? Who sent them? What do they want? Plus, Dee’s true feelings on Fenton.

Our friends Abracadaniel and Jon (from our Magic: the Gathering episode!) rejoin us for a thrilling chapter which the author claims will contain THE DESTRUCTION OF SIR FRANCIS VARNEY'S HOUSE BY FIRE. —THE ARRIVAL OF THE MILITARY, AND A SECOND MOB. Varney the Vampire is a genuine penny dreadful, read aloud one chapter per week just like the original Victorian audience would do for the authentic 1840s coffeehouse experience. To instantly unlock over a hundred more chapters (literally), check out our Patreon.

The tail twitches and the eyes slide side-to-side as time slips by… Join us for a dip into the wild and wonderful world of mid-century kitsch with Kit-Cat Clocks!

Our friend Tarra (who is definitely not a vampire) returns to tackle the fifty-second chapter of Varney the Vampire, wherein the chapter title promises The Interview Between the Mob and Sir Francis Varney, the Mysterious Disappearance, and the Wine Cellars. Varney the Vampire is a genuine penny dreadful, read aloud one chapter per week just like the original Victorian audience would do for the authentic 1840s coffeehouse experience. To instantly unlock over a hundred more chapters (literally), check out our Patreon.

How does advice to incoming university students fare after over a hundred years? (Content Warning for irreverent discussion of historical hazing deaths.)

“Furthermore, the circus strongman must be destroyed.” - Cato the Elder, probably.

The attack upon the vampyre's house, the story of the attack, the forcing of the doors, and the struggle! Varney the Vampire is a genuine penny dreadful, read aloud one chapter per week just like the original Victorian audience would do for the authentic 1840s coffeehouse experience. To instantly unlock over a hundred more chapters (literally), check out our Patreon.

Maximize your car-per-car with our macro episode on Micro Machines!

What did it take to be a good wife by the standards of 1930s America, as set forth by George W. Crane (Ph.D., M.D.), cofounder of the Scientific Marriage Foundation? Does an Antiques Freak pass the test? Tune in to find out! (And thanks to Sahrall on the Patron exclusive Antiques Freaks Friends Discord for the full and complete quiz!)

A cunning plan is crafted and foiled in this, the fiftieth chapter of Varney the Vampire! Varney the Vampire is a genuine penny dreadful, read aloud one chapter per week just like the original Victorian audience would do for the authentic 1840s coffeehouse experience. To instantly unlock over a hundred more chapters (literally), check out our Patreon.

Not just for hipster cold brew. Not just for farmhouse chic. There is so much more to Mason and the Ball Brothers. Tune in to learn all.

Our friend Olivia rejoins us for another thrilling chapter of Varney the Vampire! Check out Olivia's short speculative fiction, novels, and essays at ofcieri.com Varney the Vampire is a genuine penny dreadful, read aloud one chapter per week just like the original Victorian audience would do for the authentic 1840s coffeehouse experience. To instantly unlock over a hundred more chapters (literally), check out our Patreon.  

Just a quick lil dip into the history of Victorian medicine. What could go wrong?

What did it take to be a good husband by the standards of 1930s America, as set forth by George W. Crane (Ph.D., M.D.), cofounder of the Scientific Marriage Foundation? Does an Antiques Freak pass the test? Tune in to find out! (And thanks to Sahrall on the Patron exclusive Antiques Freaks Friends Discord for finding the full and complete quiz!)

Our friend James Wake returns to tackle yet another chapter in the hefty tome of Varney the Vampire - The Stake and the Dead Body. Varney the Vampire is a genuine penny dreadful, read aloud one chapter per week just like the original Victorian working class audience would do for the authentic 1840s coffeehouse experience. To instantly unlock over a hundred more chapters (literally), check out our Patreon.

Enamel where? Enamel here! This week we renew our feud with Martha Stewart and discuss everything there is to know about this trendy and oft-reproduced form of metal and glass design.

Listen. We’re all aware that we as a society really whiffed it on Funko Pops. And Beanie Babies. And tulip bulbs. But surely, surely this time is different! Surely this is the collectible that doubles as a safe investment opportunity! Surely this designer art toy turned commercialized customization machine is just as good as cash in my mattress! Surely!

Our friends Abracadaniel and Jon (from our Magic: the Gathering episode) join us for another thrilling chapter of Varney the Vampire. Varney the Vampire is a genuine penny dreadful, read aloud one chapter per week just like the original Victorian working class audience would do for the authentic 1840s Chartist coffeehouse experience. To instantly unlock over a hundred more chapters (literally), check out our Patreon.  

Tupperware? Tupper here! Midcentury designs and vintage plastics make it possible.

So it’s 1403 CE and the future King Henry V of England has just taken an arrow to the face at the Battle of Shrewsbury. Can John Bradmore fix it? Tune in for a story plucked straight outta Shakespeare. (Content Warning for glib discussion of historical child endangerment, medical gore, and medieval attempts at self-harm.)

Our friend Tarra (wellntruly) returns for another thrilling chapter from our Varney vault! Will the Bannerworths finally leave the Hall? (No.) Varney the Vampire is a genuine penny dreadful, read aloud one chapter per week just like the original Victorian working class audience would do for the authentic 1840s Chartist coffeehouse experience. To instantly unlock over a hundred more chapters (literally), check out our Patreon.

Dean Kinzer of Kinzer Coins and the Ancient Coin Hour podcast chats with the Antiques Freaks about holding history in the palm of your hand.

Do you like antique and vintage cars? We can almost guarantee your affection for the automobile does not surpass—nay, does not nearly equal—the lust held by the notorious Edwardian author E.F. Benson. Thrill at this tale of haunted honking! Marvel at the myriad motors! Shrink with horror from a story somehow more sensual than anything tackled by Carnacki the Ghost-Finder! Featuring Chris and Paris of the Terrible Book Club podcast. CONTENT WARNING for irreverent discussion of the passing of a fictional child and a fictional dog.