Featured Items

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  Brass Compass $24.95$14.95
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  Engineering Framed Stamp Collection $95.00
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  House of Cards Personalized Pub Sign $40.99$29.99
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  Monogram Cigar Persomalized Coaster Set $39.99
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  Pharmacy Framed Stamp Collection $95.00
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  Aces Cufflinks with Personalized Case $29.50

The Web's Best Nostalgic, Vintage Gifts Including Wood Airplane Propellers,
Brass Bells, and Wood Lake, Beach and Cabin Signs

When started 15 years ago in the Mall of America in Minnesota, A Simpler Time didn't carry many of its current best sellers, such as vintage replica wood airplane propellers and aviation gifts, all types of brass bells, personalized lake signs or and beach signs, or nostalgic-themed hockey gifts.

Our gift and art selection on that first exciting day in September of 1997 tilted heavily towards Norman Rockwell-type gifts, inspired heavily by the famous illustrator, who seemed to personify our store concept.  We listened to our customers and slowly dropped product that didn't sell well and added heavily in areas (aviation, nautical, railroad, man cave, professions) that did.

One of our first, and biggest, "hits" was when we made our first prototype replica antique wooden airplane propeller after hearing numerous customers remark about the high price of original wood props, which averaged in the high thousands of dollars for an attractive display model. Hand carved exclusively for us in mahogany and tipped in brass, our original propeller is still a best seller and has spawned a whole line of aviation gifts, including over a dozen different prop replicas, propeller bar stools, prop mirrors, large airplane models and aviation-themed wood and metal signs.

Vintage nautical replicas have become big for us as well, as we began to produce our own line of higher quality product---including heavy, top quality replica antique brass diving helmets---priced to compete in today's internet world. We added a few solid brass ship's bells to our product line and found that our customers really liked them!  Now we have bells in all different sizes, in types ranging from teacher-style hand bells to large church or school-type bells weighing nearly 100 pounds!  We've even added a sophisticated automatic engraving machine so we can offer engraved bells.

Personalized Wood Signs, Wood Propellers, Railroad Gifts and More!

Years ago, we started selling unique, personalized wood lake signs with vintage-style graphics, and they quickly became our best sellers.  Who would have thought that a company founded in the "Land of 10,000 lakes" could sell so many wood and metal cabin signs?

Now many of our customers know us as the "vintage sign company" as we carry hundreds of different retro and vintage-style wood signs and metal signs---including many that can be personalized with your own name, company, etc.  And we now stock a huge variety of popular nostalgic tin signs at some of the lowest prices you will find, shipped quickly (free if over $75) and with our ironclad money-back guarantee!

In keeping with our Minnesota roots (we now have our warehouse near Raleigh, North Carolina and a large store on the river in downtown New Orleans), we also carry many hockey-themed gifts, including retro personalized hockey signs and even vintage-style hockey CD/DVD holders. We've recently greatly expanded our train gifts department to include many more train signs and railroad bells and have added many new items to our growing Man Cave department.

We realize not all of you want a wood propeller (or any aviation gift for that matter), a brass bell, a wood lake sign, a hockey-themed gift or a Man Cave sign. Fortunately, these eclectic best sellers only scratch the surface of the huge selection we offer at A Simpler Time.