Collectibles Books

Mr. Hill's magnificent contribution to the world of Hebrew/Yiddish scholarship enriches the field in a way rarely seen in modern times. This catalogue is an indipensible addition to the library of any institution with an interest in this field, and to the home library of any serious student.

Mr. Hill has compiled a splendid catalogue of the riches of the British Library's collections of books on vellum. This meticulously researched volume is a tremendous boon to the serious bibliophile of Hebrew/Yiddish literature. With a sure hand and a remarkable eye, this catalogue highlights the rarities and the backbones of the collections in a volume that is surely historic in its scope and aesthetics. An absolute must-have for the library of the serious and discerning academic and layperson alike.

This book reflects not only the inherent interest and beauty of the bibliographic items that are illustrated and described therein. It is a testimony to the remarkable knowledge and aesthetics of the author, Brad Sabin Hill. Mr. Hill is surely one of the world's leading experts on Hebrew and Yiddish bibliography, and his expertise is reflected nicely in this very attractive and beautifully executed catalogue. A must for all Hebrew bibliophiles.

This beautifully appointed and richly illustrated catalogue of books printed on Vellum in the British Library is a collector's delight. Particularly impressive is the collection of rare Hebrew books assembled by Brad Sabin Hill, who is currently the Librarian of the Oxford Center for Postgraduate Hebrew Studies. A masterpiece worth owning for all lovers of books.

This book contains full color pictures of all Boyds plush animals up until Spring of '99. Yet, the book also informs the reader of up and coming new releases and retirements. Of the 221 pages in the book, 46 pages give information about the Boyd's company and info on all the plush animals. 146 pages contain the full color pics of all the Boyds plush animals and each one's information such as height, color, year issued, year retired and current value. There are 4 pages to list your collection of Boyds animals and write in their market value. 14 pages list info about furniture and accessories for your Boyd's plush. Finally, there is an 11 page index for looking up all the Boyds mentioned in the book. With an alphebetical listing of all the names of the animals, and separate catagories such as Bears, Cats, and Hares, it takes just minutes to find exactly what plush you are looking for. This book also gives info on bearstones, folkstones ect., limited edition and exclusive pieces and the F.o.B club. This book definitely deserves its 5 star rating.

Wonderful paperback for Boyd Plush collectors. This book has great pictures, and identification details of all Boyd Plush. Best info for insurance purposes with original prices as well as current values. Super tool to update a database of your collection. Love it!

This is a wonderful guide for Boyd Plush collectors. This book has pictures of all plush. Also gives original prices as well as current values. There is a place to record the value of your collection for each of the pages towards the back of the guide.
Highly recommend!

This book is much better than last year's in that fewer bears have been omitted and the "long losts" of Boyds have turned up in its pages with some beautiful photographs. I do miss the photos of the Boyds in scenes with accessories (T.H.B. Style) side by side. But these photos are great! CVG prices are realistic and in some cases even low - unlike some other value guides - these are the real prices people are paying this Spring 99 for many of the pieces I see bought and sold. The book has one serious SHORTCOMING - not found in the 99 partner book for resins (The Bearstone Collection...and Desk Animals, also by Checkerbee). The alphabetical index is great -- the organization is fine -- BUT there is no numerical index on this guide so that users can use the "Bearfinder Index" by name and by number - only by name. As Boyds have Boyds numbers assigned to them and sometimes arrive to owners as mystery bears - known only by number, this book makes you work hard in such cases to determine who your little prize is - even if he is mint in the manufacturer's bag with a Boyds Style # written on it. But - don't be deterred - If you are a serious collector, you will use it daily! And, you'll see lots of nice little furry faces while you hunt! It will make you smile.

For anyone interested in the transition from massed un-aimed firepower to more accurate individual shooting, this is a must have book. Plenty of information on the famous "Baker" rifle as well as its predecessors. The illustrations alone are worth the price of the book. As a reference it can't be beat.

I really enjoyed this book. It's very much like another magnificent book, The Flintlock by Torsten Lenk.

The beginning of real, verified info on the British rifle, and the dispelling of myths about them, and about the men who carried them.

DeWitt Bailey is a thorough scholar, and leaves little to chance or to lore. Unlike other recent books about British riflemen (Phillip Wright's "Rifleman" and Haythornthwaite's "British Rifleman", for example) which rely on traditionally-believed information and guesswork from regimental museums and reenactors for their content, Mr Bailey wields a well-written, easily readable mix of official records, primary sources such as diaries, journals, inspection returns, official correspondence etc., all laid out in assiduous detail, complete with all sources in footnotes and a voluminous bibliography.

Lots of myth busting: The concept of the Ferguson rifle was not invented by Patrick Ferguson. The Baker rifle was not called a Baker rifle in its heyday. The 95th Rifles gave up powder horns very early on- why? Buy the book and you will find out, and, you can trust the info Mr Bailey gives you- it's all backed up with solid research. Would that more writers in this field were like him!

For students of antique British military rifles, this is THE sourcebook to buy! I saw a copy at a friend's house and couldn't put it down. It is the best work to date on the subject! Collectors, museum staff, historical artists, and militaria buffs will find a gold mine of information, especially on the Baker rifle. The attention to the small details, such as gun tools, ammunition and actual performance in the field really completed this work.But be warned, you might find yourself humming "Over the Hills and Far Away"!!!

Joss Whedon at his best. The characters are spot-on. Very interesting story. Really good artwork.

SPOILERS AND QUESTIONS BELOW.

I never figured out why Amy thought it would be such a tragic curse to put on Buffy that to get out of her coma she needed to be given a kiss by one who truly loved her. What's the difficultym just have someone kiss her who's in love with her! A real curse would have been that she couldn't wake until someone who *despised* her was persuaded to kiss her. They covered this thoroughly in Fairy Tales 1.02.

I also wonder why Andrew, our wonderful Andrew, is still stuck in his supernumerary job training potential slayers, as if any slayer worth her salt wouldn't rebel on learning she was expected to take classes from a twit, I wonder why Andrew's monologue about EMPIRE STRIKES BACK has him referring to "Billy D."--evidently some sort of sassy Andrew shorthand for "Billy Dee" (Williams, as Lando Calrissian), but why represent the two spoken words Billy Dee as Billy D.? May seem like a small thing but then again, so is the use Dark Horse is making out of Andrew. I guess they just have decided, he's going to be the Mr. Peepers of a new generation.

Buffy fans will be expecting a lot after seven stellar seasons on television and the success of the first issue of "Season Eight." So the question here is this: Does Issue #2 deliver?

In short, yes. I have to say though--there is so much going on, so many jokes, and so much foreshadowing that I wasn't able to completely enjoy the Jossy goodness until my second read. The first read intrigued me, but the second wow-ed me.

The plot continues directly from the previous issue. Amy (the former rat) is working with the government to take out Buffy and the slayers, and she has an army of zombies to back her up. The ending sequences are amazing--I'm already itching for May 2nd to come so I can get my hands on the third issue. There was a big revelation about half-way through the comic, and clues to who the Big Bad of the season will be as well. Giant Dawn is great, Buffy is true to herself, and Xander is playing the biggest role he's played since the first season.

This issue also re-introduces two fan favorites: Giles and Andrew. So, all in all, this issue is just as good as the first. But did anybody expect anything less? I mean, come on--Joss Whedon wrote it.

9/10

Warning: Thar be spoilers ahead!

Remember each week those exciting words (which alerted us that we were about to get a new exciting episode of the best show on TV)? "Previously on BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER . . . " The new comic series seems to be doing something along these same lines. On the inside of the outer cover are printed the following:

"This story takes place after the end of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Season Seven.

"The Slayer population of the world has gone from two to nearly two thousand. Almost five hundred are working around the world with Buffy's organization in squads--or "terrorist cells," according to the American military. Buffy, Xander, Dawn, and a passel of Slayers are currently bunked out in a Scottish castle, where the latest mission revealed a strange symbol carved into human bodies.

"Also, Dawn's a giant."

This may be a summary that is rewritten each month to reflect what has happened in the previous issues.

The first episode in Season Eight established the situation; this one begins moving the story forward. The U.S. military (or rather, a military leader who has on his chest the strange symbol referred to in the monthly summary) has authorized Amy the witch and her army of zombies to go after Buffy and her cohorts. After the story begins with three very different approaches to training the new slayers by first Giles, then Buffy, and finally Andrew (who actually couldn't be said to be training them at all) we find Xander explaining why Dawn took the form of a giant when it was possible she could have assumed other forms instead (obviously, she is trying to get her sister's attention in the most blatant manner possible). The catch is, does Xander really tell any of this to Buffy or is it all just part of what we later learn is a spell-induced sleep in which she experiences an unbroken nightmare. And in a fairy-tale twist she can only be awakened by the kiss of true love. We can, of course, imagine a line of possible candidates for that: Angel and Spike fighting to be first in line. Well, of course Buffy will be awakened, and sooner rather than later. Can't imagine her being asleep at the end of the next episode. The tricky part is how one defines "true love." That needn't mean romantic love. My gut tells me that the kiss won't come from any of the usual suspects. My money is on Dawn. Yeah, I know. No one likes Dawn. But the brute fact is that except for struggling to save her in Season Five, Buffy has been a truly awful sister. Not in a Cinderella step sisterly way, but in the completely neglectful, can't-spare-her-a-minute way. But early in Season Six, Dawn seemed to miss her more than anyone. Like I said, my money is on Dawn.

The issues ends with Buffy asleep, the castle under assault by hundreds of zombies they can't keep at bay, Amy gloating that she could handle slayers with ease, so there was no one there who could take her on. The final frame is of someone who says that they would "like to test that theory." And thus Willow makes her first appearance in the story.

I am going to say something that I don't think I can say often enough. I don't want Joss Whedon writing comics. I want him creating new television shows. I suspect he enjoys the control that a comic gives him. I am sure he is tired of battling studios and networks. I can understand that. But once the battles have been waged and the BS has been waded through, Joss Whedon has been able to create some of the most extraordinary, most timeless television that has ever been made. He needs to get back to it. That being said, I am so much happier with him doing BUFFY Season Eight than either his X-Men project or the Runaways (and mind you, I like both the X-Men and the Runaways). There are others who can tell further stories about the X-Men and the Runaways, but Joss Whedon is only one who can give us authoritative Buffy stories. So I am acquiring these with joy and my heart and impatience in my soul. But I want him back in television. We've had some great TV since BUFFY and ANGEL left the air. LOST, 24, VERONICA MARS, and especially BATTLESTAR GALACTICA have filled the huge gap BUFFY left at its departure. But LOST needs to start winding down (whether it will has to be seen), BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (the only show to completely match the brilliance that was BUFFY) has possibly only one more season left and at most two before Ron Moore brings his series to an end. 24 is definitely in decline. VERONICA MARS might be cancelled. In short, JOSS! WE NEED YOU TO COME BACK TO TELEVISION! But in the meantime, I'll wolf down every one of these issues.

Many books and movies have told the story of Cowboys and the Wild West over the years. This book tells the love story of a seasoned rancher and his young bride as they begin their life together in an unbelieveably remote part of Arizona in the middle of the 20th Century. Bob White brought his new wife, Joyce, a California Girl of the 1930s, to his ranch. She had to learn about everything there was to know about ranching. She cooked on a wood stove, she tended farm animals as well as range cattle and she established a wonderful relationship with her favorite horse and with the cowdogs of the ranch. All the while, she raised her son, Mike, and home-schooled him in the isolation of their remote ranch. She hauled water, gardened, and became a master seamstress. That's not bad for the greenhorn she was when she arrived. She tells her story in a delightful and honest way that results in grabbing the reader's attention and making it impossible to put the book down. She generously shares what she learned and the clever ways she devised to put her knowledge to good use. What is particularly interesting is the many tasty recipes she devised and shared throughout her telling of her life on the ranch.

Joyce writes in an easy, honest, and casual manner which makes this book comfortable and interesting reading. It is hard for the reader to put it down because one wants to read more about the hardships she overcame as well as the joys she experienced in becoming a real cowgirl. Enjoy.

I now own and operate the loving u ranch. It was a great surprise to find out that there was some one else who felt the same about Burro Creek. The history was very informative and easy to read. Sat down and had a hard time putting the book down. Thank you for writing a great book.

The book is about the ranch of my mother's brother and his family. It has wonderful pictures and although I haven't been there since about 1954 it is very much as I remember it. The incidents and experiences of an isolated life in the western part of Arizona are brought back to life in a very readable style. Joyce White has captured the essence of that life. I could not put the book down and finished reading it in one evening.

What a great tale of ranch life!

As you read the book you feel as if Joyce is sitting with you on the porch telling wonderful stories as you eat supper. You become a family friend and feel like you've visited the Loving U Ranch before. Her favorite ranch recipes are a homey touch and the details of real life on the trail are insightful. There are poignant moments of her sweet horse, favorite cowdogs and her son growing up immersed in Burro Creek Canyon that will make you smile and maybe bring a tear to your eye.

The book is an easy read and I was sorry when I finished- I wanted her to keep "talking!" It is a rare glimpse into the life of a gal and her cowboy. Wonderful!

This book features beautifully executed illustrations of both male and female Byzantine fashions from the empire's many ages. Adapted from works of late-antique and medieval art, the drawings present emperors, aristocrats, townspeople, country people, clerics, and soldiers. The introduction gives an overview of terms pertaining to Byzantine clothing. Explanatory notes, including reference to the time period and to the class of individuals represented, accompany each drawing. Finally, the closing pages contain small depictions of the various hats, hairstyles, and footwear worn throughout Byzantium's long millennium. A valuable resource for students of Byzantine history, and a genuine visual treat.

I would recomend this coloring book to any young artist, especially one that loves history. Actually, I think all the Dover coloring books are great: very detailed and beautiful!

When I've got a Tom Tierney coloring book, I know I'm in for a world of fashion fun. I own several of Mr. T.'s coloring books - and have enjoyed all of them immensely.

I always have a creative blast with Tom's coloring books. He draws each person as an individual with interesting expressions and body language which I find invites me to create dialog for the character, especially since there are usually two figures per page.

Tom also supplies interesting facts about the fashions being worn and the time period.

The fashions and figures are always very well drawn. Some of the designs are intricate, if a child finds the smaller lines difficult to manage, I would suggest just color over the design/pattern on the clothes--it will still look wonderful--if you use something which allows the design to show through the color.

I do them with markers that won't bleed through, and colored chalk applied with Q-tips.

An ideal coloring book for anyone who enjoys coloring people and costumes/clothes.

Highly recommended.

As an educator of history I feel that this is a great outlet for the precocious child or the history buff-collector. Money well spent!

I'd been looking for an authoritative Kane "Bible" for some years now (I spell Kane with the "K" as the ancient Cameroonians did). This book not only met my Kane needs, it exceeded them. I was doing a article for a local paper on Kane usage in the Depression years. This answered all of my questions and gave me the insight to write my Hufnagle Award For Journalism winning article (named for the late great Earnesto Hufnagle). This is a must buy for any Kane enthusiast!

I'd been looking for an authoritative Kane "Bible" for some years now (I spell Kane with the "K" as the ancient Cameroonians did). This book not only met my Kane needs, it exceeded them. I was doing a article for a local paper on Kane usage in the Depression years. This answered all of my questions and gave me the insight to write my Hufnagle Award For Journalism winning article (named for the late great Earnesto Hufnagle). The is a must buy for any Kane enthusiast!

I consider Mr. Monek to be the "world authority" on walking sticks and canes. I've managed to make a very good living in the antique cane business with his expert guidance. If you're investing your hard earned money in this "tricky" industry you better have this book.

I learned what type of canes are valuable. What an amazing book! It's so thorough! Very well researched! --Stacy S., Houston, Texas

I haven't even finished the book yet, and I can tell you that it is one of the most captivating accounts I have ever read. The author takes you square into the world of the Case's and their relatives, and pulls no punches about their strengths and shortcomings. Each character has his own chronological tale, so there is a lot of going over the same time period from different viewpoints. The reader can almost feel the way that it was to have to compete in that time period, and new respect is earned for those who went through it and made it work. The book itself is also well made, and worthy of a place in your collection.

Was very interesting to find out how many family ties Case had to other companies. Gives a great insight to how foreign imports have affected U.S. manufacturing over the years.

I'm a huge fan of author Brad Lockwood, having read all of his novels ("Wink" rules and "Sellout" will be a great film) but I was a bit confused when I saw he had a non-fiction book coming out. Now, I don't know anything about knives, only from using them in my kitchen, but this book is truly amazing. I knew Brad could write, but I never realized how far he could take the story of his family - almost 2 centuries of knife makers - and make a very "testosterone heavy" industry so interesting. Wow! Buy this book - It isn't just about forging steel, it's about the women who put up with their husbands being away for months on end, and somehow kept the family together. A great, fast, truly informative historical read. It took me 3 days. Rereading it took 4.

I must warn you that this review may be prejudiced; I am a direct decendant of Jean Case, the son of the last Case decendant still manufacturing knives and a high school acquaintance of the author. Still, I would like to share an objective view of this text from a historical point of view. My undergrad degree is in American Civilization and I am currently completing my Masters in 20th Century American History. I found Brad's book thoroughly engaging and though provoking from this perspective. Following the Case family is a microcosm of westward expansion, the industrial age, the progressive era, the Great Depression through the catastrophic effects of free trade and foreign importation. Historians, sociologists, anthropologists and economists could all benefit from reading this compelling text. I am going to recommend that members of our faculty use it in 19th or 20th cen. Am. Hist. classes.

If you are going garage sale shopping, this book will fit in your tote and provide immediate information. Ms. Morrison does a good job of organizing alphabetically by designer, and she takes the time to warn about copies, particularly the Weiss tree pins. She also has a theme section with pointsettia pins, candles, reindeer, etc. I really like the cover where she lays a selection of her pins on a piece of Christmas fabric. I do find the print of the captions very small, even wearing my glasses, no doubt an accommodation for the size of the book. I also sometimes have trouble deciding which pin among three or four she is describing. Each is noted in the text with a letter of the alphabet, but there's no letter on the picture. I would also recommend that in her next edition, her husband not photograph any pins on dark paper backgrounds. In several instances, a dark burgundy or sapphire paper makes it impossible to see the details of the pin.

Mary Morrison has put together a wonderful array of some of the best costume Christmas jewelry out there! A good range of the inexpensive and available to the rare and most desirable pieces with reasonable prices that reflect the market of the time the book was published. If you only get one book on this collecting area, this is the one to get

Christmas Jewelry by Mary Morrison is the very best book currently available concentrating on costume Christmas jewelry. The photography is excellent, allowing you to clearly see the details in each pin. Mary's descriptions with each photo are informative and interesting. It's size is very convenient for carrying to shops and shows. It is extremely easy to use. The variety of pins shown is staggering; as a Christmas tree pin collector with over 100 pins, my only disappointment with this book is that it is not a catalog where I can place orders!

I love this book! I am a beginning collector and this book has inspired me. The research is thorough, and it is great to finally know the story behind the pins I already have.

Beautiful book! Would have liked to see weapons of the north and south in the same book.

For years, the field of American Miliary swords has barely been addressed. Since Peterson's book, which is good, but by now quite outdated, there has been no orderly study of the field. Bezdek's books have been useful, but are not as comprehensive as Peterson's. The rest of what is out there has been amateurish. This has been particularly apparent if you are familiar with Jean L'Hoste's superb books on French swords. Finally, someone has come along, not only to fill the gaps, but to significantly expand our knowledge and understanding of American swords: John Thillman.
This is a well-written, beautifully illustrated book on sabers of the Civil War era. If you own it, you will have at your fingertips virtually every reliable bit of information known about the subject, in a wonderfully useful form. Best of all, the author is planning further volumes to cover other sword types. There can be no doubt: this is the book to buy. It will expand not only your understanding of American swords, but sword manufacture, manufacture in general during the Civil War, and the use of swords and sabers during the Civil War. Bravo, Mr. Thillman. Keep up the outstanding, and seminal work!

I have been interested in Civil War swords for the past 30 years. Unfortunately good sword reference books with pictures were limited. This volume answers allot of questions and has loads of images. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words.
I recommend it as an excellent buy.

For years, the field of American military swords has only been superficially addressed. The foremost book on the topic, has been Harold L. Peterson's The American Sword, 1775-1945. Though a very good treatment of the subject, it has grown to be quite out-of-date in scholarship (the first edition was published in 1954). Since his book, there hasn't been any serious publication dedicated to American swords that is until now. John H. Thillman, an expert on U.S. cavalry and artillery sabers, has assembled a comprehensive and meaningful guide to Civil War sabers. The first section contains notes on design, materials, and components and is followed by a 16-page color section of photographs. The main body of the volume lists, in alphabetical order, every maker, importer, foreign manufacturer, assembler, retailer, and model. An important feature of this book is that it includes all known sabers from the prewar period dating to 1833. Every make and every known variation is covered with full history, tables and illustrations. The work is extensively illustrated with close-up images showing particular details of the weapons and how to distinguish one from another, as well as photographs of officers who used them. A truly groundbreaking work.
Civil War Cavalry & Artillery Sabers is well-written and beautifully illustrated. It is extremely easy to use when searching for a particular type of saber or manufacture. Sidebars in each section call out specific identifying characteristics and lists of inspectors of particular blades. The image quality is very good. A strong bibliography and useful index complement this book, making it easily one of the best works on American swords to come to light. The price might seem high, but at $79.95, it will be the most inexpensive lesson on Civil War swords a person can obtain. (originally reviewed for Military Trader magazine: www.militarytrader.com)