History comes alive at Nellie Roberts Curiosity Shop in Princeton. This one-of-a-kind antique mall offers hard-to-find treasures from almost every major time period in history.

The shop’s repertoire includes books, primitive stuff, Victorian items, dolls, mid-century modern pieces, vintage toys, automobile paraphernalia, oil cans, signs, vintage jewelry, costume jewelry, clay pottery, crockery, and much more.

Owners Maggie and Mark Williams said when you find a treasure in their shop, you are getting so much more than just an item – you’re getting a real piece of history and a story.

“A lot of the excitement is about the history with us,” said Mark. “We’ve been collecting for a long time, and it isn’t in the monetary value – it’s the historical value. We have china that was imported from England to St. Louis, sold to people on their trips west. People would come out on wagon trains and buy things, and you think about that being in families for hundreds of years, and we have some of that.”

The couple bought the property where the shop currently sits in 1993. Except then, it was a dry cleaner, which they also operated. They knew the building would transition nicely into an antique shop for their retirement years.

“Both Mark and I grew up in families that enjoyed antiques and history,” Maggie said. “The night we met, we knew we were a match made in heaven because we talked history and antiques all night long. That’s always been a part of our relationship. That’s what we do. We go to historic sites, museums, reenactments.”

Even the name they chose for their shop is a historical one.

“Mark is a major Charles Dickens fan, and he wrote a book in the 1840s called ‘The Old Curiosity Shop,’ which in that time meant antique shop,” said Maggie. “The main character is named Nell. That’s how it evolved, but there’s a more regional connection. A lot of people don’t know Charles Dickens had a brother who lived in Amboy. When he was on his American tour, he did come up and visit his brother.”

Whether you’re looking for that missing piece for your collection or looking for home décor that tells a real story, Nellie Roberts Curiosity Shop, located at 625 N. Main Street in Princeton, might have what you’re looking for.