Sunday, February 18, 2018

Interesting facts through collectibles: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

We have all heard of Mark Twain's fictional character, Tom Sawyer. His best friend and the narrator of Twain's two other novels, Huck Finn was introduced on February 18, 1885, in the U.S.


The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is told in the first person and although it is the sequel to Twain's earlier works. This novel touches many serious topics, such as racism, slavery, and religion. All of these are emphasized with the extensive language and racial stereotypes of characters. Despite it being criticized for a very long time, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn still remains among one of the greatest pieces of  American literature.


The popularity of Mark Twain's novels is undeniable. Reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an adventure of its own. Many items were made with themes of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. Some of them feature quotes from novels, while others illustrate characters. Several of these collectibles can be found on Colnect.


Colnect has been built by collectors for collectors. Do you want to start contributing? Check our Catalog Contribution Guidelines page and start leaving your mark. If you have collectibles that you would like to sell or buy then you can go to Marketplace and start trading with others.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Interesting facts through collectibles: St. Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!!! We would like to wish everyone to have a wonderful time on this magnificent holiday.


Valentine's Day is a celebration of romance in many parts of the world, which honors one or more saints named Valentinus. It's interesting that this day was first celebrated in the 14th century. Later, in the 18th century, the holiday started being celebrated in a fashion similar to today, introducing heart-shaped symbols, cupid, and the tradition of giving each other gifts and handwritten greeting cards.


One of the biggest traditions of Saint Valentine's Day is giving gifts to your loved ones, because of this many gift cards were made to celebrate the day of love, some of which you can find on Colnect. There are also other Valentine's Day themed collectibles worth checking out if you are interested.



Colnect has been built by collectors just like you. If you wish to contribute to our growing community of collectors and start making catalog better for other fellow collectors then you can add new items, add images and information to already existing items, help to translate catalog to your language, edit the catalog, write wiki articles, and even create your own categories. Don't forget to take a look at marketplace if you want to buy or sell your collectibles.

Thursday, February 8, 2018

New Category: Paper Napkins

We are happy to announce the launch of a new awesome category on Colnect. Paper napkin catalog is now available for collectors around the world.



Usually, when we hear napkin we automatically assume a rectangular item, used for wiping mouth and hands while eating. But there is much more depth to it than most think. The first use of paper napkins is dated back to 2nd century BC, in ancient China and it was mainly used for serving a tea. Nowadays, napkins cover a wide array of functionality and there even exists many origami techniques to create specific paper napkin designs.


Paper napkins category was suggested on Colnect New Categories forum several years ago. Recently, we have found a dedicated coordinator for it, luissaldanam.Now we are proud to present the category to the public with more than 13,500 items yet.


Paper napkin catalog has 9 different options for sorting. These include countries, napkin types, qualities, shapes, folds, colors, uses, themes, newly added. Collection management tools are also available for this catalog. 


Do you want to help to expand paper napkins on Colnect? Check our Catalog Contribution Guidelines page to find out how you could contribute. If you have paper napkins which you would like to sell or buy then don't forget to check out the marketplace.

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

8,888 Cigarette Packs Reached

By conquering the number 8, cigarette packs achieved a new milestone. More than 8,888 packs have been cataloged on Colnect and we would like to thank Skyforger, the coordinator of this category and everyone who contributed and helped grow cigarette packs catalog.


Smoking has an incredibly long history which dates back to 5000 BC and was used in shamanistic rituals. Despite it being used so early, the popularization of tobacco started only in 16-17th centuries AD and started spreading all over Europe.


For a long time, smoking cigarettes was considered cool, attractive, and good for your health. Even though today smoking is widely-known as an unhealthy habit, collectors found a way to turn cigarettes into a fun and danger-free hobby. Some companies are even producing packs which are labeled as a collectible. These packs are really rare and valuable.


Cigarettes are the most traded items in the world. Because it is such a big industry, there are many cigarette packs in circulation. On top of it, there are many different types of packages and brands. And even each brand's illustration differs from country to country. All of the above-mentioned facts, make cigarette packs an easily accessible and popular to collect.


Would you like to contribute to Colnect too? You can start to add new items, add images and information to already existing items, help to translate catalog to your language, edit the catalog, write wiki articles, and even create your own categories. If you wish to buy or sell your cigarette packs don't forget to check out the marketplace.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Interesting facts through collectibles: World’s largest diamond found

On January 25, 1905, Frederick Wells was more than 2 meters below earth's surface in Thomas Cullinan's mine, when he found a starlight in the wall, which turned out to be the largest diamond ever. It was named after Cullinan and weighed 3,106.75 carats (621.35 g).



Cullinan, also known as the Star of Africa, was cut into 9 major and 96 minor brilliants. Two of the most notable cuts are Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa at 530.4 carats (106.08 g) and Cullinan II or Second Star of Africa at 317.4 carats (63.48 g). Both of them are part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, the collection of 140 royal ceremonial items which are kept in the Tower of London. Other 7 major stones are in private possession of Queen Elizabeth II, who inherited them from her grandmother, Queen Mary.



As mentioned above, the major part of the most famous girl's best friend remains as a part of the royal collection in United Kingdoms, but many collectibles with the theme of diamonds or other precious stones are part of Colnect catalog. Some of these items are even ones that are illustrating Cullinan.


Do you have an item which you want to mark but it is not in Colnect catalog yet? Learn more about contributing by going to our Catalog Contribution Guidelines page. If you are interested in selling or buying collectibles you're welcome to visit recently launched Colnect Marketplace.

Friday, January 19, 2018

Famous people through collectibles: Edgar Allan Poe

A writer, editor, and literary critic, Edgar Allan Poe, was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston. He is best known for his poetry and short mystery and horror stories. Poe is considered as the inventor of detective fiction genre and the first well-known American writer to earn living completely off of writing.


Although his life was rather difficult, Edgar Allan Poe left us a great collection of his poems and stories. Numerous collectibles were made in the name of this truly remarkable writer, some of them featuring his quotes, some illustrating his portrait, and some celebrating his achievements. If you are interested, on Colnect you can find various collectibles associated with Edgar Allan Poe.


Among Edgar Allan Poe's works, the most notable ones are The Black Cat, a short tale about the psychology of guilt, and The Raven, supernatural poem about lost love. Pluto, a cat from The Black Cat, and a talking raven from The Raven are two of the most well-known characters created by Poe. Many collectibles, which are made in the name of Edgar Allan Poe, depict these two characters, as the main image.


Do you collect Poe-themed or Poe-related collectibles? If there's any collectible in your collection that's not on Colnect yet, you can easily add it to our catalog. You can check our Catalog Contribution Guidelines page and start to add new items, add images and information to already existing items, help to translate catalog to your language, edit the catalog, write wiki articles, and even create your own categories. If you are interesting in selling or buying collectibles you're welcome to visit recently launched Colnect Marketplace.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

700,007+ Stamps on Colnect

Colnectors, let's celebrate that our Stamp category has passed a new super-cool number of items, 700,007 ;)

Paintings, 1997, United Arab Emirates, Colnect catalog

Beginning a stamp collection is entertaining, discovering new information about the stamps which have been issued by the countries of the world over the years. Stamps are tiny pieces of art – colorful, well-designed. Some of them commemorate famous people and events, others - present animals and birds, flowers, railways, ships and aircrafts, buildings and bridges, armors and flags, space and sport.

Fairy Swordfish, 1982, Ascension Island, Colnect catalog

Actually, the Stamps category is the biggest one on Colnect. It has been led for a long time by two dedicated coordinators - Guido Fußhöller [footy68] and Klaus Jochimsen [Lola22]. Thank you guys for all you do for Colnectors and Colnect catalog.

Discovery of America, 500th anniv., ships, 1992, Uruguay, Colnect catalog

There are three main approaches to structuralizing stamp collection:
  • chronological - stamp lovers collect items from the specific historical period
  • thematical approach - stamps on the specific theme for example butterflies
  • geographic approach - stamps from the specific countries
What's your approach to collecting stamps?

African Monarch (Danaus chrysippus), 2002, Azerbaijan, Colnect catalog

Colnect has been built by collectors for collectors and any help is much appreciated. Would like to join and contribute to the Stamp catalog too? Learn more on the Stamp Catalog Contribution Guidelines page. There are many ways you can help us make Colnect catalog better: add new items, add images and information to existing ones, translate catalog to your language, edit the catalog, write wiki articles, and even create a new category. If you are interesting in trading stamps you're welcome to check recently launched Colnect Marketplace.

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