home | Local Time: 28th November, 2024 5:47 PM
From the Editor
It was only a few years ago that I used to set aside at least one evening in early December when I'd write out Christmas cards to friends and family and put them in the mail the next day. There was always the stress of worrying I might have missed someone who'd send us a card that would arrive one day before Christmas, which meant you couldn't send a card by return and pretend you hadn't forgotten them... but on the whole it was a very enjoyable thing to do that has gone by the wayside in recent years. I think, though, that it would have been even more fun if I'd had some of the card designs you'll find on pages 36 and 37 of this magazine. They are mind-bogglingly creepy... murdered frogs, dead robins, children stuffed in teapots, polar bear attacks - these are all subjects of Victorian Christmas cards, which makes me think they may have had a different view of what was considered to be festive...
Hopefully you'll find plenty of great reading in this issue of the magazine to enjoy over the holiday season, especially because at 116 pages it's actually the biggest magazine we've ever produced! And when you've finished reading all the great features, you can get out your copy of the 2021 ACPP Calendar and enter our Quiz Challenge. It might take a while - there are 60 questions all up - but here's a hint: you can find the answers to almost all of them in back issues of the magazine from 2018 onwards (have a look at the Snippets and Curios pages). And it will be worth the effort, because we've got more than $1100 worth of prizes for the entries with the most correct answers. You'll find the questions throughout the calendar, and there's also a complete entry page at the back so you can fill in your answers and send it in to us.
If you're a subscriber you will have received your FREE 2021 ACPP Calendar with this magazine, but this year - for the first time ever - we're also offering the Calendar for sale to all of our readers. That's because when we were talking with customers during the pandemic, we realised quite a lot of our readers buy the magazine from the newsagents because they want to support local business. But because it's a free gift to subscribers only, that meant they didn't receive the Calendar, and it seemed unfair for them not to be able to have a go at winning $1100 in prizes just because they wanted to look after their local newso. So we're offering the Calendar for sale ($15.95 including postage) and you'll find the advert and order form in the insert with this magazine. You might want to order early though, as we only have limited numbers for sale.
Did I mention this magazine is our biggest ever? Obviously that meant it took a little bit longer to put together, which was fine until Energy Australia decided to cut the power off for a day while they did critical work - right before the print deadline. Panic ensued until I had the brilliant idea of hiring a generator. It was perched on the back of the ute, backed up to the verandah and plugged in to the Mac and we were in business. I'll confess, I felt particularly rural.
I really hope you love this issue as much as we've loved putting it together, and that you find something you simply can't do without somewhere in the 18 pages of Paraphernalia! We wish all our readers and dealers a wonderful holiday time and we hope you're able to spend it safely with family and friends.
Julie Carter
Editor, Antiques and Collectables for Pleasure & Profit