Marvel Releases 2,500 Comics Online Today

Comic book readers and collectors have a new medium to look forward to in the Marvel world. Today, Marvel is releasing over 2,500 issues of various origin back-stories on their website. Subsequently, 20 more issues will be released every week following. Although Marvel has decided to release these issues to the online public, they will only be viewable through the site's web viewer and cannot be downloaded to the reader's machine for storage. Check out the original article by Mark “Rizzn” Hopkins from Mashable.com for the rest of the story.

iTaggit’s new Facebook Application featured in Mashable.com

iTaggit was featured today in Mashable.com, the world’s largest blog focused exclusively on social networks and web 2.0 strategy. The posting detailed tomorrow’s official release of iTaggit’s new Facebook Application. To read the full article click here.

Discovery Of Ventarron Temple Unearths Ancient American Art

For all of you treasure seekers and American culture collectors and enthusiasts, a new discovery has been made to fawn over. A 4,000-year-old temple, which is located inside a larger ruin, has been unearthed on the northern coast of Peru, making it one of the oldest finds to date in the Americas. Peruvian archeologist Walter Alva (seen in the picture at left with a mural), led the dig in the Lambayeque Valley, about 472 miles from Lima, Peru's capital. Alva also discovered Sipan, an administrative and religious center of the Moche culture, during the 1980's. The temple “Ventarron” is filled with murals and includes a staircase that leads to an altar which was used for fire worship. The construction methods and architectural design of Ventarron impressed the discoverers since its erection predates Sipan by centuries. “The discovery of this temple reveals evidence suggesting the region of Lambayeque was one of great cultural exchange between the Pacific coast and the rest of Peru,” said Alva.

Here's a brief history lesson to help clarify: Until the Spanish arrived in the Americas during the 1500s, the Incas ruled their empire for several centuries. Their nation stretched from Colombia and Ecuador in the north, to what are now Peru and Chile in the south. Peru is known to be rich in archaeological treasure from this time, including that which was found in the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in the Andes. Discoveries made at Sipan have included a gold-filled tomb built 1,700 years ago for a pre-Incan king. Perhaps discoveries of ancient treasure at Ventarron will yield as positive of results as the Sipan exploration's did. Pieces from Incan culture are extremely valuable and highly sought after, and I believe artifacts from Ventarron will be treated similarly. To read the entire article, click here. Also, feel free to post pictures and stories to this blog of ancient art and artifacts, as well as share your historical items within the iTaggit Gallery.

Titanic Artifacts Peak Interest With The Passing Of The Second To Last Survivor

The Titanic carries with its name a resounding historical presence when mentioned. Stories from that fateful night as well as images from the 1997 blockbuster smash hit Titanic floated through my mind as I read that Barbara West Dainton had passed yesterday. She is believed to have been one of the last two remaining survivors from the doomed ship that sank in 1912 according to the Titanic Historical Society. When the Titanic sank, it killed 1,500 people including Barbara's father, Edwy Arthur West, although she was too young at the time to remember the tragedy.
News of Barbara's passing triggered my curiosity of how many and what artifacts are still available to be seen from the Titanic. The word collectible doesn't seem to do these pieces justice as they are so rich with history and personal value. Check out some of these pieces I found and if you have any artifacts of your own, perhaps passed down from your relatives, link them to this blog as I'm sure everyone would love to see them.

This deck chair was given to Reverend Henry W. Cunningham, who was the minister aboard the Minea during the body recovery. He received the chair in recognition of his work with burial and memorial services. This chair is one of the only intact chairs in the world that matches those visible in Titanic photographs. It is made of mahogany and an unidentified hard wood and it bears a carved five-pointed star, which is the emblem of the White Star Line.

This lounge paneling was recovered with bodies by the cable ship Minia and kept by her captain W.G. Squares de Carteret, who later donated it to the Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management. The carvers were given an outline but allowed to follow their own imagination in the details, so each carving is a unique piece of artwork. This particular piece comes from the arch over the forward entrance to the first class lounge, which is the area where the Titanic broke in half just before sinking, thus the broken edges.


Adolphe Saalfeld was a perfume maker from Manchester, England. At the age of 47, he boarded the Titanic as a first-class passenger, and he carried with him a leather satchel filled with perfume samples. At the time Titanic sailed, the American perfume market was booming. He may have planned to sell his perfumes to fashion boutiques and department stores in New York and other major cities. Adolphe Saalfeld survived the sinking but left his samples behind. Of the 65 vials that Saalfeld packed in his luggage, 62 have been recovered. These perfumes vials have never been on public display.


These brass letters spell “C dec” and were originally located in the first class grand staircase to direct passengers to the C level. The “k” was never recovered. This artifact has never been on public display.

Inventory Can Help Ease Stresses Of Fire, Flood Or Theft

iTaggit always places an emphasis on the importance of securely storing your items information and history on our site. We strive to organize to your life and serve to bring clarity about your things during a time of need. If only the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum had known about us, they might not be facing the organizing woes they are today.
The Associated Press has published a report citing that the library in Simi Valley was unable to properly account for more than 80,000 objects out of its collection of some 100,000 artifacts. The audit in question is connected to an investigation into allegations that a former employee stole from the Reagans' collection of gifts from foreign leaders and other dignitaries. Sadly, the sloppy record keeping at the library has hindered the efforts of the investigators to the point of possibly never completely covering the scope of what all is missing. Numerous storage lapses have also occurred, such as pieces of art being stacked on top of one another, and unwrapped sculptures and vases lying openly in an area prone to earthquakes.
Currently, the situation is bringing about some improvements. Some library volunteers said they were asked this summer to start an inventory project, which could take years to complete. Part of the major problem is that many presidential libraries are understaffed and don't have the same strict preservation guidelines used by most museums, as well as consistently struggling for funding. For more on this story, click here.
iTaggit comes in very handy when you need a quick inventory of your belongings for those “just in case” reasons, such as fire, flood or theft. To start a running inventory of your valuables now will undoubtedly save you time and effort in the future. Let us know if you need any help!

Space Collectibles May Gain Popularity With Recent Finding

You have a new reason to share your Star Trek and Star Wars memorabilia on iTaggit! Space exploration has gone one step further, turning science fiction into a real possibility. NASA scientists have recently released a statement saying they have discovered a fifth planet orbiting a star outside of our own solar system. The significance of this discovery suggests that there are many solar systems in the universe that are packed with planets just like our own. The new planet is said to have a mass about 45 times larger than that of Earth's and may resemble Saturn, but it is relatively the same distance from its sun star, 55 Cancri, as we are from ours. This is the first time five planets have been found orbiting a solar system outside of our own; previously only four had been spotted. Time to collect those old astronomy charts from the attic or closet and see if yours includes any of these new stars. I know I'm holding on to mine that still has Pluto as a legitimate planet! You never know what it might be worth some day. They say 55 Cancri is 41 light-years away in the constellation Cancer, just in case you were curious about its location.

All sci-fi enthusiasts and collectors will love this next part: Life could conceivably live on the surface of a moon that might be orbiting this newly found planet. So far though, a moon would be too small for scientists to find using their current methods of detection. Intergalactic real estate may not be available yet, but it seems that a vacation home among the stars isn't that far away after all.

For the original article and more information on the findings, click here.

Decorate Your Table With Fall Foliage And Fruit

We here in the iTaggit family are in the beginning stages of preparing for the holiday season. Christmas Wish Lists are being compiled and travel plans are being made. Recipes and holiday collectibles have been shared as well as fun tales of past gatherings. And we all know that decorating one's home can be a time-consuming, and sometimes frustrating task, so I have found a way to create an easy centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table.

Start by thinking about fall's unusual fruits and foliage, and let them inspire you. Search your market or grocery store for gourds, small pumpkins and colorful fruits, like figs, clementines, and star fruit, and gather oak leaves and branches from your yard (or a neighbor's if they don't mind). When arranged on a tiered cake stand, in bowls, or in carved out pumpkins, these harvest-time items make a centerpiece that takes only minutes to create, leaving you plenty of time to concentrate on the meal.

What You'll Need:

• Cake stands (assorted sizes), and/or pumpkins (hollowed out), and/or glass or decorative bowls

• Foliage, such as oak leaves, acorns, and branches

• Gourds, figs, star fruit, and nuts

• Dried cranberries or cherries, clementines and grapes

Here's How:

1. Use just one cake stand or stack three on top of each other to create tiers. You may wish to place a small glass bowl on top of the highest cake stand to complete the tier. In that bowl you can place a pyramid of clementines (or star fruit) to add a splash of vibrant color – making sure not to stack the small citrus so high that they will topple easily.
2. Start placing the leaves and branches on the cake stands. Arrange an assortment of figs, quinces, star fruit, gourds, and nuts on top of the leaves. If you don't have the cake stands, use two or three hollowed out pumpkins (assorted sizes) or two or three decorative bowls placed down the center of the table filled with the same items.

In addition to the centerpiece, don't forget to decorate the room with flowering fall blooms or colorful fall foliage in unexpected places – and add extra squash, pumpkins, and gourds. With the extra fruits and nuts, you can transform your entire table and decor by placing bowls of fresh figs, dried cranberries or cherries, grapes, and nuts around the main centerpiece. Vary the bowls' contents to include as wide a spectrum of colors as possible of both edible and non-edible items (such as acorns). As your Thanksgiving meal draws to an end, you can dismantle your centerpiece and snack on the fruits and nuts. Also, if you chose to purchase manufactured items, this centerpiece will be easy to recreate year after year. For this article and more holiday inspired decorations, click here.

Need help getting through your piles of collectibles? Let iTaggit help! We help manage collectibles for those who need it most. Organize collectibles by creating new collections on iTaggit to group them in. Show them off in our Gallery and send them to your friends to check out or add to. Research collectibles with our Google search tool to learn more about your things. Whatever it is that you seek for your collectibles, iTaggit will help you!