Owl & Twig

The Field Guide

How to identify, date, and value the things you find. Written from what passes through our hands, one estate sale at a time.

Doorway into the Owl and Twig Vintage booth at The Rabbit Hole in Waterford, Michigan, under a hand-painted owl sign FeaturedSeller's Desk Find us in Waterford: our new booth at The Rabbit Hole The Rabbit Hole in Waterford Township is doubling its floor space and adding 23 new vendors, and Owl & Twig is on the lineup. Booth pieces are sold in the store only. Reopens September... September 16, 2026
Loose neodymium rare-earth sphere magnets of the same size and type sold as Buckyballs and its many successors ToysBuckyballs: the toy a federal court un-banned, and the rule that banned it again Buckyballs was recalled in 2010, hit with a federal hazard complaint and an unprecedented personal-liability case against its... Oct 1, 2026 ToysAqua Dots and Bindeez: the recall that proved the urban legend true By Matthew Partsch · Owl and Twig Vintage · September 30, 2026 A children's craft toy that turns... Sep 30, 2026 ToysThe Battlestar Galactica missile toy: illegal to resell, for a different reason than you've heard By Matthew Partsch · Owl and Twig Vintage · September 30, 2026 A four-year-old's death in December 1978... Sep 29, 2026 The box for a vintage Austin Magic Pistol, showing its raygun graphic and PATENT PENDING mark ToysThe Austin Magic Pistol: illegal to sell in Virginia since 1950 By Matthew Partsch · Owl and Twig Vintage · September 29, 2026 Every other case in this series... Sep 29, 2026 ToysLead paint on vintage toys: legal before 1978, not after By Matthew Partsch · Owl and Twig Vintage · September 24, 2026 Two federal rules govern lead in... Sep 24, 2026 Design & MaterialsThe drop-side crib: the recall that made reselling almost any old crib illegal By Matthew Partsch · Owl and Twig Vintage · September 23, 2026 In 2011 the federal government did... Sep 23, 2026 Home & SeasonalRadium dial clocks: legal to sell today because of one federal exemption The Hazard Files, Case No. 008: a built-in federal exemption, not a ban or a border, is what... Sep 20, 2026 ToysThe Kinder egg: a federal offense at the Michigan border, penny candy across the river in Canada By Matthew Partsch · Owl and Twig Vintage · September 20, 2026 Case No. 006 was a wheeled... Sep 20, 2026 Design & MaterialsThe Taylor Tot walker: legal at a Michigan estate sale, a federal offense at a Canadian one By Matthew Partsch · Owl and Twig Vintage · September 20, 2026 Case No. 005 was a hazard... Sep 20, 2026 Design & MaterialsThe IKEA Malm dresser: eight deaths, a fix that costs nothing, and a resale price above retail Hazard Files Case No. 005: IKEA's Malm dresser recall, the eight documented deaths that followed it, the free... Sep 20, 2026 ToysClacker balls: the toy that got banned outright, and stayed that way The Hazard Files, Case No. 004. In 1971 the FDA banned an entire toy design, not one company... Sep 19, 2026 Design & MaterialsThe Lane cedar chest: the moth-proof lock that trapped children, and how to date one from the serial number The Hazard Files, Case No. 003. Lane built twelve million cedar chests whose lids locked themselves, a patented... Sep 19, 2026 A Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab open in its case, showing the instruments, ore jars and manual ToysThe Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab: the toy the government never banned, and what a set brings now Hazard Files Case No. 002. In 1950 the Erector Set company sold children four jars of uranium ore... Sep 19, 2026 Lawn darts: the toy America banned like a weapon, and what a set is worth now ToysLawn darts: the toy America banned like a weapon, and what a set is worth now Sold in the toy aisle, banned like a weapon, worth up to $200 to collectors today. Case File... Aug 27, 2026