Reviews (18)

New to Hobby - Good Book
I am new to the hobby of horology and enjoy owning this book. It provides a lot of detail and good photos of all the major brands (the competing buying guides leave out some significant brands). Well done and worth buying BEFORE you spend 30 times its price (or more!) on a watch. See the different styles and open your eyes. Take the TIME to appreciate it!

The Bible of the Watch Industry, The Best tool available
This is an excellent tool if your a collector, admirer, in the biz or anyone considering a watch purchase.An incredible reference tool, great in helping one narrow down their likes and dislikes...my 3rd year in a row.There are a couple of others...however this one is the most objective and useful.

A great resource
I've bought each issue since I got interested in watches in 2000, even though the contents change very little from year to year.Another shortcoming of the annual is that the price information is neither complete nor accurate - you can usually get significant discounts on many of the watches featured.Nevertheless, it is great fun just to look at, and read about watches that I can only drool over :-P ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Clocks & Watches    5. Consumer Guides    6. Antique clocks & watches    7. Clocks & chronometers   

Reviews (5)

Indispensable Resource
As a dealer in vintage patterns, (...) Wade's book is an indispensable resource in accurate dating of my pattern inventory. This in turn helps me to better serve my customers. Wonderful color examples of all the catagories, styles and companies.

Beautiful resource for forties fashion and sewing
This book begins with a lot of information about sewing pattern companies, sewing in the beginning half of the century, and fashion changes during the forties that are worth the price of this book.The second half is allreproductions of the fronts of pattern envelopes which provide inspirationfor design as well as pointing out how much more advanced the average sewerseemed to be in the forties compared to today.

Fashion when style and beauty counted
This is a wondreful look at a time in fashion when looking your best whenin public or private did matter. The fashions are an inspiration to thosewho love classic design. The only statement being made by these fasions areupbeat ones. Thanks for a great book that any sewer will treasure forever!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Clothing and dress    6. Dressmaking    7. Fashion    8. History    9. Patterns    10. United States    11. Fashion design    12. Needlework & fabric crafts   

Reviews (2)

The stuff that dreams were made of...
In the brief introduction to this book the editor states, "If there ever was a "Golden Age" of Western Civilization this was surely it. In the following pages one can see both the reflection of yesterday and the seeds of the future, for few things in our culture are able to capture the sense of the times as are the trivial artifacts we give to our children to play with." Well, these were the playthings that the richest nation in human history gave to its children in the Golden Age between 1951 and 1969. The entire world offered their finest toys to America- but none were finer than those made by our own manufacturers (Marx, Ideal, Mattel, Remco, Kenner, Lionel, Gilbert...)
Wonderful But a Bit Pricey
The Big Toy Box at Sears is a compilation from the awesome Sears Wishbook catalogs of the 1950's and 60's covering boys toys.It is one heckuva a trip down memory lane with cap guns, foto-electric football, GI Joe, slot cars and more.
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Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques & Collectibles / Toys    3. Catalogs    4. Reference    5. Reference / Catalogs    6. Sears, Roebuck and Company    7. Toys   

Reviews (9)

Can't do without it!!
I rely on these books from Florence. As always, this one is exceptional.
Disappointment
Gene Florence has let true glass collectors down with this book. With so many etch patterns to identify, he chooses instead to cover more obscure things like Cathay Crystal. I did not solve one glass mystery with this book and wish I had saved my money. Also, again, he chose to completely ignore Maryland Glass. Although a fan, I cannot let this one slide. Save your money and don't bother with this one.

As Elegant As The Glassware
This book is as advertised, an identification book. Wonderful photography assists in identifying glassware of era's gone by. In addition, patterns are easy to define for matching purposes, with a small guide alongside each picture which provides the manufacturer name, pattern name, colors, and years the item was made.
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Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Catalogs    5. Collectors and collecting    6. Glass & Glassware    7. Glassware    8. Pattern glass    9. Reference - Price Guides    10. United States   

Reviews (43)

DC, I still don't get them.
I am a marvel fan. I like DC, but I am not a die hard fan. DC is fantasy. Marvel less fantasy.(At least after that 90's weirdness.)I love Batman and Superman, but the rest of the DC Universe is out three. In the Justice League cartoon, Doomsday was just an alien who wanted a fight. According to this Encyclopedia, he was created on Krypton (Which makes his body able to kill Superman) and was sent into space in a suit he could not escape from. He lands on Earth and spends hundreds of years trying to break free. He finallly does and digs his way to surface. Instead of celebrating, he kills Superman. Wow! Get this book if you like things like this. Personally, DC leaves a bad taste and I can only take so much at one time.

Can't Have Everything
I enjoyed the book.Yes, there are some characters missing.However, I don't think you can include EVERYTHING.Some things just fall through the cracks.Overall and for the most part, this is a very good text for the DC Universe.And with the way the comic universe changes, you can't put everything in a one volume text.This book came out before Infinite Crisis.Look what that did to the DC Universe.

A Must have for ANY comic fan.
What a wealth of information! The book covers over 1000 characters, teams, locations, and vehicles. Based solely on how much is covered in the book; this is an absolute must have for any comic book fan - Marvel, DC, or otherwise.
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Subjects:  1. Antiques / Collectibles    2. Art    3. Comic books, strips, etc    4. Comic books, strips, etc.    5. Comics    6. DC Comics, Inc    7. DC Comics, Inc.    8. Encyclopedias    9. History and criticism    10. Reference - General    11. Techniques - Cartooning    12. United States    13. Art / Cartooning   

Reviews (4)

A must-have for tobacco card enthuiasts!!
This comprehensive and superbly organized work is richly supplemented with numerous color and B/W photographs.A brief and informative history about various tobacco products/inserts and manufactures is provided.The book is organized principally into two units:N-series for 19th century cards (N1-N694) and T-series for 20th century cards (T1-T177).Each entry includes a brief description of the set and card appearance (front and back).The overwhelming majority of entries include an actual size photograph of a representative card (front and back) and a list of all cards in the set.Comments pertaining to card variations and prices are useful.The edge of each page is labeled with the set number to aid with rapid location of descriptions and card images.The work is peppered throughout with short vignettes and essays (published previously in various trade journals) by Dr. Terry Mitchell about specific sets or card themes.Although this is a soft cover book, the pages are printed on high grade gloss stock paper that tolerates repeated handling.Suprisingly, the book is neither overwhelming or boorish in its presentation.The brief descriptions and inclusion of images for virtually every set are effective strategies and make the book exceptionally user-friendly.No other work to date has done such a masterful job at capturing the variety of subjects, visual appeal, and historical allure of tobacco cards.This book is a must-have item for novice collectors and enthusiasts.

Beautifully done; Notcomplete for all collectors
A beautifully executed publication, however as a collector of Victorian Trade Cards, I was greatly dissapointed NOT to find ANY of the cards in my collection listed.I would have expected at least ONE to have beenreferred to, but the items in the book are mostly geared to the collectorof tobacco insert cards.If this is your thing, this is your book.Forgetit if you are more geared to Tradecard collecting

Informative Book about the History of Tobacco Cards
The book is great historical lesson.Reading about the history of the Tobacco cards has been very informative. The writers have dedicated many hours to thorough research of this topic. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Advertising    2. Advertising cards    3. Antiques & Collectibles    4. Antiques / Collectibles    5. Antiques/Collectibles    6. Catalogs    7. Popular Culture    8. Reference - Price Guides    9. Tobacco    10. Tobacco-Related    11. United States    12. Antiques & collectables: books, manuscripts, ephemera & printed matter   

Reviews (16)

Very informative
At first, I was just skimming through this book, but I got caught up in it and I am learning a lot!Good book!

Interesting but Grandma stories got old
I thought this book was interesting, but I wish there was more useable information and less talk about Grandma.I understand that Grandma played an important part but I was looking for more.I hope in future books the author could talk more about how she aquired items (not inherited) and how they did at auction.This author has great style and I stilled learned a lot from reading this.

Great Inspiration to Get Posting!
Everytime I read a few pages of this book it makes me wonder why I've waited so long to start posting all of my garage sale finds to Ebay. I have a spare bedroom full of bargains I've found for the intent of posting. This book actually motivates me to do it!
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Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Collectibles    5. General    6. Industries - Retailing    7. Internet auctions    8. Personal Memoirs    9. Popular Culture    10. Selling   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Calligraphy    3. General    4. Great Britain    5. History    6. Iconography (Fine Arts)    7. Illumination Of Books And Manuscripts    8. Illumination of books and manuscripts, Celtic    9. Ireland    10. Manuscripts, Latin (Medieval and modern)    11. Antiques & collectables: books, manuscripts, ephemera & printed matter   

Reviews (2)

Beautiful people in a beautiful book
When I first saw this book the first thing that came into my mind was that I need it badly. I was simply astonished by the amazing pictures Leni Riefenstahl composed. If someone wants to see the beginning of our civilization and feel it up, close and personal, then this book is a must. Other than having a picture about how man survives in harmony with Mother Nature, one can see how beautiful the human body is in itself.

A STUNNING PHOTO JOURNAL OF AFRICA
Leni Riefenstahl's book Africa is simply a huge compilation, a massive photo journal; page after page after page of full sized photographs depicting both the people / their culture and the land of Africa. (Other than the photos, the book is quite spare of words, chapter titles, that's it.)Riefenstahl's work is very strong but not particularly arty or glossy. True to her filmmaker's voice however, every picture tells a story. (*An important side note, it's ALL photographs. There is very little text to critique.)
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Autographs    3. Individual Photographer    4. Photo Techniques    5. Photography    6. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/Africa   

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Transportation    5. Antiques & Collectables    6. Transport: General Interest   

Subjects:  1. Antiques / Collectibles    2. Decorating - General    3. Design - General    4. Do-It-Yourself    5. Furniture    6. History    7. House & Home    8. Art / Design / General    9. Home furnishing & decoration   

Reviews (4)

great book - a woodworkers essential
Alot of philosphy, mostly biographical, has a few quotes that stick:
Gorgeous and inspiring book
Like the books of James Krenov, "The Soul of a Tree" is as much a book about philosophy as it is about wood. And it's a good philosophy:slow down, take your time, play with the wood, and enjoy it. The book is really about the soul of Nakashima. He outlines some of his own personal history and how he developed his ideas about craft. There's not really much on technique here - you can certainly find better books for that - but you won't find many more inspiring.
Pure Style.
The author omit needless wood and carve great pieces of furniture. It is like zen on wood. You will not regret the money you spent on this title. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Furniture    2. General    3. Photography    4. Handicrafts   

Reviews (1)

Invaluable guide to potter marks
If you've ever wondered if your "find" is indeeed authentic, this book will resolve the majority of your questions.
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Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Art pottery    4. Art pottery, American    5. Ceramic Arts And Crafts    6. Collectors and collecting    7. Marks    8. Pottery    9. Pottery & Ceramics    10. Antiques & Collectibles / Pottery & Ceramics    11. Art techniques & materials    12. Ceramic arts, pottery, glass   

Reviews (4)

Old-Timey Magic
A treasure of a lost time and a lost art. Aside from the short-life expectancy and lack of modern conveniences like, uh, cars, ATMs, antibiotics, radio, microwave ovens, television, computers, etc., this book makes you wish you lived back then- when science, technology, and journalism were in their infancy and every day held some new, authentic wonder- not just a smaller cell phone. It's also quite amazing to see how advertisements, typefaces, layouts, and prose have radically changed in a century, and not necessarily for the better- unless you're one of those "Form Follows Function" kooks. A must for all you Luddites out there.

Thank you NIcholson and Margaret!!
This book celebrates one of the high points in American popular culture.In the late 1800's, Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the New York World, purchased the first great high quality color printer for newspapers.He then used it to publish beautiful color graphics every Sunday.This is both great art and great entertainment.But the story of how the author Nicholson Baker and his wife, Margaret Brentano, tracked down the last surviving complete collection of this work just before it was to be lost forever is just as thrilling.This is an exquisite book that is the product of great work by great people.Get ready to enjoy a true treasure.

Wow! Mere words cannot do justice to these graphics...
Amazingly, there almost no collections of Pulitzer's ground-breaking newspaper in existence. At considerable personal expense, authors Baker and Brentano rescued a trove of New York World papers from a library in Britain. Here they reproduce a selection of the Sunday pages, mostly covers. Included are covers by comic artists like Outcault, Herriman, and McManus, but also by "fine" artists like George Luks -- and a fabulous graphic artist named Biedermann, among many others.
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Subjects:  1. American Journalism    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Art    4. Graphic Arts - General    5. Journalism    6. Journalism (Specific Aspects)    7. World (New York, N.Y. : 1860-1931)    8. Antiques & Collectibles / Art    9. Illustration & commercial art    10. New York    11. Press & journalism    12. c 1900 - c 1914   

Subjects:  1. Colorado    2. Description and travel    3. Individual Photographer    4. Landscape    5. Pictorial works    6. Subjects & Themes - Landscapes    7. Subjects & Themes - Travel - U.S./West    8. Travel    9. Travel - United States    10. United States - West - Mountain (General)    11. Antiques & Collectibles / Americana    12. Photographs: collections    13. Places & peoples: general interest   

Reviews (3)

Murano Magic
Having recently returned from Venice, I wish I had this book before I left. Mr. Gable's meticulously researched volume offers so much valuable information, any glass collector or any tourist interested in a deeper perspective of the glass art of the city should read this book. The author's grasp of the nuances of the various styles is masterful and gave me a whole new appreciation of the experience I had in Venice.

Glass collector?Want to be one?You MUST buy this book!
"Murano Magic" is a terrific volume to own if you love collecting Venetian glass as much as I do.Or if you want to learn the ropes.This exhaustively researched (and yet surprisingly easy to read!) book tells you everything about the big glassmaking families and their works.(I especially liked the historical perspective the author gave to discussing the different glassmaking houses.)And the photos are outstanding.Many glass books I've seen just don't have enough photos to show examples of all the different kinds of Venetian glass (there are literally thousands of styles)."Murano Magic" has wonderful photos and lots of them.I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in Venetian glass.

Made me see Venice with new eyes
It is almost a crime that Amazon is listing this book with "No Photo Available," because it's a real eye-catcher of a volume, with stunning photographs on every page. But don't be fooled by its beauty; this is no mere coffee-table book. Rather, it's an encyclopedic guide, exhaustively researched and engagingly written. I have been fortunate enough to visit Venice several times, but Murano Magic made me see the city and its art with new eyes and a deeper appreciation. I would recommend the book to anyone, but especially to those who are planning a trip to Northern Italy. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Art    4. Crafts / Hobbies    5. Glass & Glassware    6. Glass, Colored    7. Glassware    8. Italy    9. Murano   

Reviews (6)

Title confusing - but charming collection
I see from a previous review that the title of this collection is confusing since it seems to indicate that there is information on Halloween customs in the book...I think this is arising from the fact that this is a companion book to the ACTUAL book (by the same author) called "Romantic Art and Customs of Yesteryear".If you take this one as an extention of that book (to give people the art as a separate, usable item) it makes more sense.I love it as the little vintage window it is.

Double your Halloween fun - get 2 copies!
I have a reasonable collection of postcard books, and I sincerely like Halloween. That's why I bought this.
Halloween: Romantic Art and Customs Of Yesteryear Postcard B
Customs?...what customs? This is just a collection of tear-out postcard reprints with no comments, far less writing, to go along with them. On top of that, none of the "notable" ones are shown (Schmucker, Clapsaddle, etc.). Another "why did I buy this?" item to put on the shelf. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Art    3. Art Media (Specific Aspects)    4. General    5. Holidays (non religious)    6. Postcards    7. Special Subjects In Art    8. Stationery / Gift Wrap    9. Customs    10. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles    11. USA    12. c 1900 - c 1914   

Reviews (1)

Great Book!!!
This book is one of te only i have seen which includes a comprehensive price guide with Grading values from Good-4 to PF-70!!!! no other book i have seen has pf69 and 70 grading values for the new coins.. Very helpful and tells you about the reliable grading services. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Coins, American    5. Coins, Currency & Medals    6. Numismatics    7. Antiques & Collectibles / Coins & Medals   

Reviews (2)

the imaginative and singular art pottery of George Ohr
Ohr does break the mold when it comes to art pottery. Whereas other potters, no matter how innovative or imaginative they are, stay within certain classic forms for vases, bowls, goblets, etc., Ohr often departs radically from the forms. His art pottery is perhaps best considered as free-form sculpture inspired by, but not made according to, traditional pottery. Thus, a "pot" has "elaborate configuration: sharp bends, angles, blades, swirls, and quasi-cylinders [making for] complexity from every angle." Another "pot" has "crinkling result[ing] in dramatically deep three-dimensional spaces...[which] radiate highlights that contrast with the dark-brown glaze...[giving] this piece...a brooding, enigmatic presence." The foregoing quotes are from captions of two of the color photographs of individual pieces of Ohr's pottery on nearly every page. The work is a tour through Ohr's artistic career from "The Early Years" to "A Final Phase" noting and illustrating phases of development and points of his individuality. With their colors and polymorphous, though mostly rounded, shapes, Ohr's pottery/sculpture has a deep earthiness, as if plucked whole from the ground's depths, though they patently demonstrate a clear, singular vision and matching consummate skill.

AN ARTIST AHEAD OF HIS TIME

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Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Ceramics    6. Individual Artist    7. Pottery & Ceramics    8. Ceramic arts, pottery, glass   

Subjects:  1. Antiques / Collectibles    2. Architecture    3. General    4. Methods & Materials    5. Individual architects    6. Interior design