The International Antiques Fair opens today, bringing 110 dealers from around the globe to the Merchandise Mart.

We went to the preview last night, and can tell you that whether you're a seasoned collector of Asian antiquities or a clueless browser on a budget, the four-day event promises fascinating objects (and even more fascinating backstories) galore.

"You don't have to be in the market for a major work of art to enjoy the show," said Aida Sarvan, the fair's director of marketing. "We have a great poster dealer here, and we have prints starting at about $200." The dealers peddle everything from 18th-century jewelry to African art, and mid-century modern furniture to first-edition novels.

If you've got a larger budget, say 40 grand, you'd do well to visit Aosta Furniture's booth, which displays a stunning set of Claritone Project G speakers. Only about 400 were made back in 1964, and they were quickly snapped up by Hugh Hefner, Frankie Avalon and Frank Sinatra, and featured in "The Graduate." The distinctive rosewood cabinet, bookended by large black spherical speakers, retailed for nearly $8,000 back then — as much as a fully loaded Cadillac. Today, only a handful are available for sale. Aosta owners Logan Koons and Megan Louis, who also run a Lincoln Park showroom, retrofitted the Claritone with an iPod docking system, so you don't have to own a vinyl collection to enjoy it.

If your tastes skew toward earlier periods, Chicago gallery owner Richard Norton has a notable collection of American impressionist paintings from the likes of George Ames Aldrich and Lucie Hartrath, whose untitled portrait of a woman sells for $9,500.

"I like a lot of the female artists (from the 19th and 20th centuries) because they had to work doubly hard to break into the canon," Mr. Norton said.

Continuing the theme of female empowerment, London-based antique jewelry dealer Markov has brought along a "suffragette" necklace, so named because it has peridot, rubies and pearls — green, white and red, which stood for "Give Women Rights." The delicate piece, still in its original box, goes for $3,950.

Across the room, Clifford Wallach displays an impressive collection of Tramp Art, a form of early 20th-century American art.

"It's a woodworking style, a form of folk art, made primarily out of discarded cedar and mahogany cigar boxes," Mr. Wallach said.

Many of the ornately carved pieces, ranging from mirrors to a 4-foot-high radio, were created with nothing more than a pen knife. "There were no patterns, but we think the style spread like recipes via word of mouth," he said. Mr. Wallach's radio, which dates to the 1930s and sells for $14,500, was entombed in a crawl space that was discovered during a house remodel.

Tickets to the Antiques Fair are available for $15. The show runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday.