1992 What’s It Worth COLLECTABLES Magazine 6 of 96 Marshall Cavendish Ltd UK

Flipping open this 1992 edition of What’s It Worth? The Complete Guide to Everyday Collectables, you find yourself drawn into a treasure hunt of possibilities. The bisque dolls featured on the cover, their lace dresses delicately arranged in a timeless tableau, seem to whisper their own stories. Who first held these dolls? Perhaps they sat proudly in the nursery of a Victorian townhouse, their porcelain faces silently witnessing the laughter of children or the quiet moments of play. Each page pulls you deeper, urging you to uncover the charm hidden in seemingly ordinary objects—paperweights with their frozen designs, brass cottage pieces that radiate warmth and stability, or even the bold advertising posters that once coloured busy streets with their vibrant designs.

As you explore further, the section on “How to Bid at Auction” begins to weave an experience in your mind. You can almost picture the auction house, the tension rising as bids are called out. You feel the weight of history in your hands, the energy of competition, and the possibility of owning a piece that’s more than an object—it’s a slice of a different world. The brass kitchen tables and the cottage brass pieces are no longer just functional items; they carry with them the presence of past homes and hearths, places where life unfolded in moments both grand and ordinary.

You realise this magazine is more than a guide; it’s an invitation. It nudges you to imagine the connections these items forge between their creators, their owners, and now, you. What might you find at your next auction, flea market, or tucked away in an antique shop? The questions linger as you read: what treasures are waiting to be uncovered, and what stories are you destined to bring back to life? What’s It Worth? transforms the act of collecting into an adventure, leaving you not just informed, but inspired to embark on your own journey into the past.