7 Charming Collectibles Small Enough to Keep in a Mason Jar

The smaller, the mightier!

One of the first pages you’ll see when flipping through our print magazine is the masthead that lists our staff and contributors. I have been working on this page for a few years and have found that sourcing items tiny enough to fill its borders is harder than you might think. As with all the antiques and collectibles we feature, I always end up learning something new about these vintage treasures and how and why were made.

No two objects in these photos are exactly the same, and I marvel at the craftsmanship and intricate details. I love the slight variations in color, design and type seen only when the objects are displayed all together. As someone who is new to collecting and short on space, I find these charming desk drawer collections really inspiring, and great way to take part in the cluttercore trend on a smaller scale. Here are a few of my favorites from over the years, and here's to hoping they inspire a new vintage collection of your own.

Used to embellish feed sack dresses in the 1930s, rickrack enjoyed a resurgence when it appeared on apparel in Little House on the Prairie.

For a cheerful and cohesive collection, cherry-pick a variety of vintage soda bottle caps of the same sweet flavor.

Fulfill your vintage truck dreams with a collection of pint-size pickups. This die-cast fleet features wheels by Tootsietoy, Corgi, and Tonka.

Lemonade lovers can thank the 1800s temperance movement for popularizing this tart alternative to tipples. Soon after, it became a staple of circus concession stands, with cardboard caps surfacing around the same time.

Before the 1980s invention of “pealess” versions, whistles from the likes of Acme and Wilson relied on a small cork ball to produce their sound. Hung from lanyards, they evoke memories of camp counselors and other guardians of summer.

An assortment of vintage game pieces—Scrabble! Dominoes! Checkers!—will bring you straight back to game nights in game rooms come and gone.

Used to promote farming and livestock companies through the 1950s, bullet pencils are marked by a metal cap that serves the dual purpose of pencil extender and protective carrying case.

Virginia England DeGuenther is the associate art director at Country Living, where she creates playful designs and directs seasonal photoshoots. When she’s not working, you can find her browsing the shelves of her favorite local bookstore or taking on a DIY project in her 1950s fixer-upper home.

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