Collectibles Books

This is a very interesting and helpful book. It has a wealth of information about US stamps and the full color illustrations are just great. After collecting for in excess of 50 years, this is a rare find.

I highly recommend this book for US collectors.

Encyclopedia of United States Stamps and Stamp Collecting is not intended to replace the requisite catalogue, but meant to supplement it. Its sixty-two chapters are divided into three parts. "Stamps of the United States" spans thirty-one chapters and covers definitives, commemoratives, special purpose stamps, and postal stationary. The first two chapters discuss postage before stamps and are well-researched and concise without being simplistic.

"History, Production and Technology" claims twenty-four chapters and covers the history of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, United States Postal Service, and technology of stamp production. The last seven chapters focus on related collectables such as first-day covers, metered mail, seals, and cancellations. Appendix A is a glossary of terms. It is unfortunate that this glossary is not available as a stand-alone publication as it would complement a catalogue well. Appendix B and C are print and web resources. Appendix D is a list of benefactors without an explanation of their generosity.

Each chapter has an almanac, a reference for additional information, and relevant quotes from that period. Some chapters have notes for collectors or examples of postal usage. All of these addendums serve to make philately more interesting for novice and seasoned collectors alike.

Curiously, this publication has no index making it difficult to cross-reference issues that are cited in multiple entries. The term "encyclopedia" would imply that the book contains detailed information on every US stamp issued (until its publication). In this regard it is a disappointment as some issues are not covered at all, and a large number are given perfunctory treatment.

Generally, an interpretative review of the socio-political factors that prompted an issue or public reactions to it is lacking in its depth of coverage. Technological factors essential in the production of stamps are adequately covered and well presented. While the glossy pages enhance the vibrant color reproductions, these pages are not conducive to writing personal notes.

One can debate if the book is truly an encyclopedia. However, it is packed with interesting facts and insights making it a wonderful companion to any philatelist's United States stamp catalogue.

Armchair Interviews says: Great for stamp lovers.

This book is a must for US stamp collecting. Use it often to find hidden information.

As a newcomer to American Philately I found this work to be

erudite,logical in its layout and,most importantly,very easy to

read.

This is a well put together book. It's very informative and entertaining. The full color illustrations are a plus. Overall great value for the money for any stamp collector, beginner or expert.

This is persented as a collector's price guide, so he can know the value of his Lucille Ball collection. It has rare pictures of her and is a must for any Lucy fan. The prices are outdated however and there are too few stories throughout the book. The book might feel to some as too much Lucy and not enough pictures of others who worked with her.

Let me start with the complaints. The prices that the items have designated to them are very off. You can easliy go to a flea market or an online auction and get most of the things at least 25% cheaper than they are listed as being worth in here. Maybe the prices are so high because the guy never planned to update it, but an update is what the book needs. After the 50th Anniversary of I Love Lucy there was a ton of stuff released. In all honesty a For The Love of Lucy Pt.2 book could be made, after all the book is 7 or 8 years old. Now moving on to the good stuff about the book. This book includes so many Lucy items that were made available from early on in her carrer to after her death that this book would be a great conversational piece for when you have any company. Each page is filled with stuff from cards and comic books, to dolls. This book is perfect for any Lucy fan who is or isnt collecting Lucy stuff. Overall this book is great, but updating it would be nice.

This book is full of photos of beautiful collectibles on Lucy - magazines, posters, toys, all sorts of memorabilia. It is wonderful to the Lucy fan to use a something of a check list. The one flaw is the absolutely ridiculous prices Wyman says some of these things are worth. I recently bought the 40s picture frame photo he says is worth $75 for $4! Many times I have paid less than a third the price he says these things go for. Wonder if he jacked up the prices expecting they would eventually fetch these rates in years to come. Still, this is a gorgeous book and he certainly does have an outstanding collection on Lucy.

Ric's does a beautiful job on this book. I get the feeling he really loves Lucy! Ric is a true fan. The photos and information on Lucy are outstanding!

Talk about complete! "For the Love of Lucy" is the ultimate book for fans and collectors of "Lucy" memorabilia. Filled with beautiful color and black & white pictures, along with helpful text and value estimates, this compendium will keep any fan busy for hours. I'm not a collector, but I found it thrilling to sift through all the pages and see the many different things out there. This would be a great birthday or Christmas gift for any Lucy lover you know.

this book cotains hundreds of photo's of paintings, drawings and refrences photo's of tim hildebrants artwork. It also cotains the original sketches of the paintings of lord of the rings paintings. highly recommended.

I hadn't actually heard of the Hildebrandt brothers,but got this book for the simple fact that it bore the name of Tolkien.I opened it up and there it was,scenes I pictured in my head were now right in front of me,in richly painted acrylic colors,with moods of sadness,fear,peace,and courage.I recommend this book and give it five stars!Get it come on you know you want to....

The Bros. Hildebrandt were *the* Tolkien artists of my youth, and even today, when I find my own artistic interpretion of the scenes varies so much from theirs, I still deeply appreciate what they did, and am thrilled to see their calendar work -- with the associated sketches and model photos -- reproduced here.

The childhood anecdotes by the author -- son of one of the Brothers -- are occasionally interesting, more often annoying. But the art itself remains glorious.

As any Brothers Hildebrandt fan knows, Greg and Tim's first Tolkein calender went on to become a worldwide bestseller. Some of the art,such as Unexpected Party or Gandalf with the Balrog was simply brilliant. Some of it looks dated today such as the hideous 1976 granny dress that Galadriel wears or the Sgt. Pepper mustache on Aragorn and the silly looking Fell beasts ridden by Nazgul who look like they're about to fall off at any minute. Oh well. Nobody got out of the 70s without some style howlers. Laugh at the funny stuff and be awed by the great.

One of the strongest and most charming elements of the book is the descriptions from Greg Hildebrant's son who was five when the brothers began working on the calenders. Young Greg's memories are full of wonder that's in keeper with what his uncle and father were working on. It's not all sweetness and light however, young Greg remembers that toward the middle of the project things got increasingly difficult in the studio. The pressures of the deadline, creative disagreements and artistic disappointments (Among other things the brothers didn't have time to do a huge battle scene that they'd planned) and the need to do separate projects are all mentioned.

Besides all three Hildebrandt calenders, the book has pictures of privately commissioned works (some of which are better than the orginal paintings), prelim sketches, and photos of the models. If you loved the work of the brothers or have just discovered it this will be a highly entertaining treat for you.

I loved the Hildebrandts' art as a kid, and I appreciate being able to revisit it in this handsome volume. Engaging scenes, fabulous detail, vivid colors, and some of the best Tolkien paintings ever (the Ring of Galadriel, Old Man Willow, the Pillars of the Kings, Saruman and the Palantir). Their influence can be seen in many subsequent interpretations of Tolkien (compare the Hildebrandts' "Eowyn and the [left-handed] Nazgul" with the same scene in the 2004 Ted Nasmith calendar) and in much "generic" fantasy art.

But... Some of the earlier works have odd perspective (check out the chimney in "Gandalf visits Bilbo"). The hobbits look like children (the 5-year-old Greg Hildebrandt Jr. was the model). Shadowfax just fell off the carousel. Treebeard is a cartoon. Rivendell looks like a gingerbread house. Smaug appears to be made of plastic. The Nazgul fly around on rubber chickens (really, that's what they used as the model). And Aragorn's mustache! Perhaps it looked majestic in the 70s, but now it's just laughable.

It is interesting to see the sketches (some of which are superior to the final painting) and reference photos. The text is annoyingly told from the author's perspective as a 5-year-old model, but contains some amusing nuggets like the rubber chicken fell beast. I didn't think much of the pullout poster -- it's certainly not their best work. Still, on balance I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Tolkien (unless you already have the calendars).

This guide , to my mind is the creme de la creme of guides to Biblical coins.The scope of the learning is breathtaking and I feel a bit humble
to own such a useful book

I first read this book as more or less a total newcomer to the world of ancient Jewish coins. The stories of Hendin's introduction to the subject and his experiences in the world of ancient coin dealers are fascinating. The historical information presented in each chapter is informative, reliable, and will be appreciated by anyone with even a passing interest in the history of ancient Israel. Of course, the real reason for owning this book is that it is an indispensable and authoritative general reference on ancient biblical coins, and probably for the library of anyone interested in collecting or studying them. If there is one minor improvement that I might wish for in a future edition it would be to update the photographs of the coins with higher resolution images, preferably in color. Still, even in black and white the book is worth every penny.

Having collected ancient coins, mostly Judaean (and related Greek and Roman) for over twenty years, I use this reference more than all others combined. My collection is organized by "Hendin number".

I would recommend that any potential collector buy and read this book BEFORE buying their first coin!

Aside from its value as a reference, the stories alone are worth the price of admission.

David Hendin makes not only great standard references, but includes many wonderful anecdotes about his experiences as a collector. The chapters are well divided, and there are plenty of plates and line drawings. A must for the Biblical coin collector, and makes for an interesting read even for the non-collector.

Few people have the resources to own ancient art unless it's in the form of coinage.

Likewise, few people have the ability to assemble their museum of bible history again unless it's in the form of coin ownership.

In this book you will discover that you can come to own the following coins all for less (sometimes significantly so) than $100 a piece:

1) Coinage from the time of the creation of the Second Temple. Minted under the Persians and later the Greeks these small silver coins are known as Yehuds for the use of the Hebrew letters for Y H and D on the coinage minted to denote its use in the Judah or Yehud district of those empires;

2) Coinage from Hasmonean reigns. Referred to as "Widow's Mites" in the New Testament, these coins overwhelmingly minted during the reign of Alexander Jannaeus (103 to 76 BCE) and remained in common circulation for over two hundred years...well through the New Testament era;

3) Coinage from Pontius Pilate. In the years 29 and 31 Pilate minted two different varieties of small bronze coins. They have obvious value today for their connection with the events mentioned in the New Testament.

4) Coinage from the First and Second Jewish Revolts. Just as today, the Holy Land in the first century was a hotbed of action and political turmoil. The two most prominent manifestations of that turmoil were during the years 66 CE and 73 CE (during the First Jewish Revolt) and during the years 132 ant 135 CE (during the Second Jewish Revolt). In each case, it took the full weight of the Roman military to restore Roman control.

In this great book, Hendin also describes other coinage issued from the ancient Holy Land and shows copius pictures so that you can at least view the coins that may exceed your purchasing power.

This book was very helpful. I was able to identify 10 pieces that had been sitting on my shelf! I was like a kid in a candy store with all the pictures.

I found the text to be very informative. The pictures were clear and the descriptions were accurate.
The histtory of the LE Glass company was helpful in identifying the value of items I have purchased and am presently selling.
I would highly reccomend it to persons that are collecting or have an interest in the history of american depression glass ware.

Loved the book!!! Has pictures of glass pieces that I am collecting with a value along with the photo.

We are fairly new glass collectors and have found this book to be very helpful. The estimated values seem a bit on the high side and have quite a large range, but do give you an idea of what things are worth. We collect Moon & Star and have never found such a complete listing as in this book.

Tom Felt's L.E. SMITH GLASS COMPANY: THE FIRST ONE HUNDRED YEARS blends a historical overview with an identification and value guide perfect for L.E. Smith glass collectors. Measurements, maker's marks, years of production and color photos of pieces throughout make this a 'must' for any serious collector of the glassware.

This is a very helpful book. Easier to use than some others on this subject. I highly recommend it!

Very well put together. Easy to find items. Pictures clear and easy to see. Values for items included.

Wow, is this a mature book. It covers nearly every pattern I've run into, gives a good history and overview of nearly every one, has realistic prices, lists each piece, identifies and describes (yes, describes) how individual reproduction pieces can be spotted. The patterns are listed alphabetical.

The only way I'd improve on it (and this goes for all these books) is adding a little cross-referencing between similar patterns. I've had to write in the book "similar patterns: ..., ..., ...".

I thought the pictures were very clear and the details sharp. I liked the general layout of the text.

My wife is a very active collector of all types, manufacturers, styles and colors of depression glass. Over the years she has become quite proficient in her knowledge but always appreciates a good authoritive up to date source of pricing, photo and description. This photographic reference along with pricing has been a welcomed addition to her book collection. The book is very well done with clear photos and good product descriptions. Pricing will always be difficult to lock down in print as prices vary from region to region but as a reference source to see what direction and what pace the pieces are moving in value as compared to earlier editions of pricing guides, this book does well. I would see this book in the hands of both an experienced collector as well as someone just starting out to enjoy this facinating type of collectible. There is a lot of knowledge to be gained from this book.

I have found this collection of advertising characters indispensable as reference. A brief history of the subject matter is included and reads well. The lack of an index is perplexing, and given the occupations of its authors the cover design should have been a little more proficient. Otherwise it is well worth a look or two or three.

My wife and I had fun laughing at some of the characters in this book. Apparently there was NOTHING you couldn't make fun of back in the 1950s.

Even if you're not interested in advertising this is still an enjoyable little book, fun to look at while sipping tea on a rainy afternoon. Well worth the money.

My brother is a commercial artist and his personal artistic style is kind of "retro". I got this book for him for his birthday because I though he might like to have it around for inspiration just in case he needed some someday. I was right! He loved it. I was surprised at the size of the book. It's kind of small, but it gets it's point across just fine. Being a fan of nostalgia, I wouldn't mind having it for myself.

The compilers have done a wonderful job; the layouts are absolutely marvelous, a real pleasure to flip through, great retro colors used, and should be an essential addition to the collection of anyone who enjoys 50s & 60s graphics.

Tons of product logos here, with the bulk of them from the 30s to the 70s. These are reproduced very well, and each of them is dated and carries a two-line description of their purpose and company origin. There are a few pages of introductory front matter that summarize the history of product logos, but the meat of the book is taken up by the graphics, with anywhere from one to four logos per page. I didn't know there were so many anthropomorphic logos, among them Mr. Coffee Nerves, Mr. Dee-Lish, Mr. TV Tube, Phillips Screw Man, Johnny-One-Note, Miss My-T-Fine, Miss Fluffy Rice and Mr. Weatherball. Many of them you'll recognize, and some of them you won't, but all of them will delight you.

I loved this book and was facinated with the subject of money and currency in the world. I have students who love Eyewitness Books and they often ask me to buy more. I think this a great edition to our classroom library and the students will be just as facinated as I was with money!

Alexa is 8 years old and is interested in checking things out. She has the book "Money" that describes old money. She saw this and said, "Grandpa, I need that book to check out new money". She reads and re-reads the book all the time.

This book is the best book for young children to actually visually see what money does and what it looks like in different countries. Very good educational book.

"The earliest reports of payments with cowrie shells were from China about 3,500 years ago."

The first thing I noticed on the first page was the heart-shaped English brass halfpenny token from 1665. I've seen a lot of coins, but had no idea that they could be in so many shapes. From the Ancient Chinese bronze hoe-shaped coin of the 6th century to the square Indian gold mohur of the 17th century, there is a coin for every taste and collection.

There is information on funny money, the first coins, paper money, how coins are made, how banknotes are made, forgery and fakes, money and trade, money in war, power, shared currencies, checks and plastic and coin collections. The countries features include ancient cultures, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan and African countries.

"The name for a piggy bank comes from pygg, a type of clay used in Middle Ages to make pots for money and other thing. The idea to make banks in the shape of pigs probably came from the similarity of the words."

If we could still pay with shells, many of us would probably spend a lot more time at the beach. Some of the most fascinating "money" in this book includes red feathers glued together and tied onto vegetable-fiber coils. Writing a check on a cow? That has to
be the strangest thing I've heard about money.

This book has the most bizarre tales about money and also has a special section on coin collecting, how to store them and why you should note store them in a plastic envelope.

Other features:

Timeline of Banking
Glossary with Pictures

It is truly amazing how humans went from stone money to transferring money directly into our checking accounts. This book reminded me of visiting a place in Africa where a man told me if I could lift a gold bar with one hand I could have the gold. I did try. There is a picture of the Federal Reserve Bank in New York where one-third of all the monetary gold in the world is found in special cages.

"When one country sells gold to another, it is moved between the cages by workers wearing shoe covers to protect their feet from dropped bricks."

The most fun you will ever have reading about money.

~The Rebecca Review

I have an older version of this book. The latest has added a section on shared currency. The cover on the older version has more exotic coins such as heart cutouts. However any version of this book shows a lot of colorful pictures of script and coin. There are simple descriptions of the making of and measuring of money. If you are a coin collector the descriptions help enhance the collection by telling what the symbols represent on the coin as well as some tog the history. My only disappointment was the lack of information on porcelain notgeld. This makes you wonder what else may be missing. Well you can not stuff everything in to 64 pages with pictures.

I strongly reccommend everyone read 2 or 3 books before spending a dollar on a coin. This book would be 1 of the 3 books I would start with. Excellent info and easy to understand. The detailed descriptions of each of the grades ( no matter which U. S. coins hold your interest) is great. You most know what your spending your money on and this is a truly wonderful source. Good luck and read READ READ.

I collect mostly wheat Penny's, if the book is correct my collection has all went up one grade from what i thought. THANKS

Thanks so much. I reference coin values in this book as I am on-line bidding.

Jeff

If you want the true grade and able to judge the true value of a coin, you need to be able to grade according to ANA standards yourself. There is no better book than this, with clear explanations and pictures. I buy and sell a lot of coins, and I use this book many times a week and recommend it to all.

Very well done. The introductory information is key to understanding the rest of the book. Grading is made undertandable.

Very Good!

This is my first time buying the Overstreet...It's great because the authors realize what a changing investment comics are. So they tell you, 'this isn't the end all guide' but it's the most respected/encompassing guide you'll find. Besides EVERY type of comic, big little books, promotional, victorian age, gold, siver, etc, they also give you a grading scale from .5 - 10 that breaks down what to look for in a fair and balanced grade of a comic. There's a million adds for everything comic related you could ask for, a list of stores around the country (and few around the world), web-sites. A lot of dealer's/collector's/auctioneer's opinions in the year in review...soooo many lists...it's awesome!! If you love comics, loved them and forgot how great they are and are getting back into collection...BUY THIS!! you can't go wrong with buying it every year just to see trends and read some great stories of collections past...Thanks Overstreet!!!

I have bought the Overstreet Comic Book Guide 3 times now. The 13th Edition 1982, 35th Edition 2005 and the 38th Edition 2008. I seem to buy one whenever my interest in collecting comic books picks up. I like the informative Market Reports by the advisors and have broadened my reading of different genres because of it - right now, bronze age DC horror and westerns. The color pictures are always fun to look at, and the price guide is essential especially if you are buying back issues on ebay or at your local comic book shop. I always find myself flipping through it or looking up a specific title. I highly recommend this book.

there is many information that you can use and know other sites that you didn't know before, so you can check prices and where to buy the best bargain.
paper is also great. glossy.

CGC is great but this is the "bible" for the industry. Long live the King!

38th edition of Overstreet is the best yet. The ads are a valuable resource for pricing and buying/selling. The top sales of CGC certified comics is handy, too. There are articles from the Overstreet team of advisors -- collectors & dealers who know the latest trends.

I use this to beef up my own collection, knowing the trends and investing smartly. What are the top ten sellers? What Silver Age hero is in high demand? What's my House of Mystery lot worth? It's all here!

Other interest:

Comic Book Collecting: A Valuation Guide