The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Country Store Collectables. 2nd ed.

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Artifacts from the general stores of the 1850 to 1920 period are the
ideal collectable. They’re relatively cheap, cheerful, decorative, and
unpretentious, and they require little specialized knowledge to
appreciate. Lard pails, coffee tins, posters, advertising giveaways, or
premiums (from calendars to fly swatters)—anything that caught
great-grandmother’s eye—can now impress the neighbors when displayed
in the rec room.

This Charlton catalogue, an update of the 1979 edition, includes the
original text from that first catalogue on how to get started in country
store collectables: just wander into an old store and offer to buy the
unwanted junk in the attic. Obviously times have changed in the
collectables field.

The catalogue includes a detailed article on Canada’s leading
19th-century tin lithographers, Thomas Davidson and David Macdonald.

The guide illustrates, via black-and-white photos, nearly 300
collectables—including labels, signs, tea boxes, thermometers,
calendars, clocks, coffee mills, small cabinets, gum dispensers, and
tins for tobacco, coffee, peanut butter, talc, or gramophone needles.
For each item, the size is given, possibly along with a few lines of
background or explanation. The guide’s popularity rests with the
estimates given for the value of each item—all collectors want to know
what their treasures are worth. The guide responds to this curiosity by
providing three prices for each item, depending on whether it is in
fair, good, or excellent condition. Collectors will love this book.