Collecting Books

Andy establishes his position as the preeminent authority of an endangered writing instrument. The chronological and authoritative description of every major manufacturer is interlaced with some of the most beautiful and actual size photography of pens you'll ever see.

This volume is a work of art and effort of a true aficionado, the most comprehensive history of pens you'll ever see is inside this book, the book will become just as coveted as your most treasured pen.

Beautiful heavy stock paper ensures this volume will endure in your collection for decades.

Andy Lambrou's reputation is well deserved, and this is the work of art from the master.

I have always admired Lambrou's book, 'Fountain Pens of the World', but could not justify the price -- after all the cost of this book could go towards another fountain pen -- I WAS WRONG!!

I wished I bought my copy years ago, it would have saved me so much money in buying pens that were not exactly the model that the seller described (going to a few markets/pen shows and especially on-line auctions).

The history of pens from around the world is well documented. The pen manufacturers are grouped in chapters by country.

Every pen is life size. More than 2,300 pens are shown and the color representation is great. Even a Parker Snake, Aztec, Swastika, Forget-me-not and many, many more I just dream about! Only gripe -- no price list, but Lambrou states that people can abuse the information as the price list is only valid at the time of print.

To date, I 've yet to see any other book as well put together's as this one.

Don't use false economy like I did. Buy this book as soon as you can -- it gives many, many happy hours of pen collecting and reading!

My love affair with fountain pens - particularly vintage fountain pens - entered a new stage the day that my copy of Lambrou's Fountain Pens of the World arrived. Covered with a gorgeous dust jacket, weighing in at several pounds and measuring 9" by 12.5", the book made an impression before the first page had even been turned.

This first impression, positive as it was, in no way prepared me for what I was to find inside: over four hundred pages with glorious color plates. Literally thousands of pens - mostly vintage - spectacularly photographed, and presented exactly life size. (Ever wonder whether your newly purchased vacumatic is a sub-deb, debutante, junior, slender, standard, major, oversized, or Maxima? Just lay it over the photographs in Lambrou's book!) Fascinating reproductions of vintage advertisements. Detailed histories - model by model - of all major manufacturers and many lesser-known ones, including Edward Todd, Triad, Diamond Point, Chilton, Stephens, Mentmore, Summit, Wyvern, Burnham, Soennecken, Osmia, Tropen, and so on and so forth, covering the U.S., the U.K., Germany France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Japan. The book is, plain and simple, a work of art and of incredible beauty. I could spend weeks just browsing its pages.

In retrospect, my biggest mistake in fountain pen collecting was to wait for several years before purchasing a copy of Lambrou's Fountain Pens of the World...

I have always admired Lambrou's book, 'Fountain Pens of the World', but could not justify the price -- after all the cost of this book could go towards another fountain pen -- I WAS WRONG!!

I wished I bought my copy years ago, it would have saved me so much money in buying pens that were not exactly the model that the seller described (going to a few markets/pen shows and especially on-line auctions).

The history of pens from around the world is well documented. The pen manufacturers are grouped in chapters by country.

Every pen is life size. More than 2,300 pens are shown and the color representation is great. Even a Parker Snake, Aztec, Swastika, Forget-me-not and many, many more I just dream about! Only gripe -- no price list, but Lambrou states that people can abuse the information and the price list is only valid at the time of print.

To date, I 've yet to see any other book as well put together's as this one.

Don't use false economy like I did. Buy this book as soon as you can -- it gives many, many happy hours of pen collecting and reading!

This is it. If you buy only one book on fountain pens, or if you are serious about fountain pen collecting, this is THE book to get. Unfortunately, it is Really expensive. Look around for a used copy using the usual suspects on the Web. The photos are great and the captions clearly identify each pen shown. Numerous non-US pen companies are written about and many pens are pictured here and nowhere else (in other standard pen ID books). Highly recommended.

This book is just what the title says - the author uses some humor and information is aimed toward a casual collector rather than a scientist or a super-rich collector. Besides the usual information about the make-up of a gemstone, there is also comparisons of the gem if it is found in more than one location, a bit of history of the discovery of a gemstone, and even a bit of information about the beliefs in the health benefits of some stones. It is not absolutely a complete guide, but more than just an overview of the main gems such as diamonds, sapphires, etc. The photos are very good, although not all are labeled.

I very much enjoyed this book mostly because it is written in plain ordinary English for the average person. With all the internet shopping that is now available, it is advisable to know something about the various gems so you know what you're getting.
This book fills the bill perfectly!

This man knows his gems and he has great stories behind each piece. He has great ways of romancing the stones like no one else. I get so excited hearing the little background stories he tells about each gem and the history behind the locations they come from. A great book by a renowned expert of gemology. I highly recommend this book.

I can't begin to say how wonderful this book is. Whether you are a layman or a professional, this is THE book to turn to. Not only is it highly informative, but it is written so well that you actually WANT to read it. Dan's sense of humor and his love for gems shines here. I wouldn't trade this book for anything.

This book is very insightful. If you want to know anything about gems - how to care for them, where they come from, etc. - this book is a must. Highly recommended!

Love the book. It has lot's of great pictures of Helen Kish dolls (some that I have and love) and interesting info about Helen.

This is a well rounded book of Helen's past, previous, and current dolls. She is a talented artist and has a very human side to her too! You can see her talent and creativity improve page by page. Her struggles getting noticed by worldwide and national doll and sculpture collectors increases gradually until she is so popular that she finally gets a book about her career as an artist.
So many of my dolls by Helen is in this book that I finally have a doll artist book that I will cherished because I can identify most on them in this book. I love the color photos of her work. I haven't read every page yet; but it seems to be accurate.
I've also had the advantage of meeting this wonderful artist in person several times at doll events and conventions and she is as wonderful as described in the book. Helen is very down to earth and her husband and daugther are her greatest supporters.

The most popular doll that has made Helen superpopular is little Riley!
That little 7 and 1/2 inch doll has so much attitude and has taken over the hearts of many doll collectors worldwide.

I also love Helen for adding many ethnic dolls to my collection and I cherished them very much. I have one of her ethnic black little boys and he is in this book on page 48 and his name is Bailey.

If you are a new or old collector of Helen Kish; you will love to have this book in your collection.

Enjoy, Lena

This is a wonderful book. A must for all Kish collectors. The photography is beautiful.

Thrilled with this edition.. wonderful photographic record of her productions.I have used it many times already to identify a doll before a purchase and in discussion with other collectors on internet groups

As a collector and admirer of the work by Artist HElen Kish, , it was enjoyable to read her personal bio..

..a must for anyone who collects Kish dolls

This book is very helpful especially to the new collector of Helen Kish dolls. It provides interesting historical information about the artist, as well as lots of good photos and information about the dolls themselves. I refer to the book often to help identify Kish dolls made in the past. While I am glad to own the book and think it's a good value I would have liked more information on which dolls were made in the USA and which were handpainted by Kish herself. I rate the book FOUR stars.

A very good book for reference. I have used it many times looking at thing I'd like to bid on and wanted more information on the origin and value

This book is indispensable for indentifying the older pieces of Homer Laughlin. While not a price guide per se it does give the reader an idea of the value of older pottery shapes.

Wonderful book about a wonderful company. HLC is one of the oldest companies in the USA which continues to operate successfully. It's famous for Fiesta and restaurant china, and in earlier years for an endless array of household patterns. In this book Jo Cunningham does a sensational job of documenting company history, along with hundreds of popular as well as rare patterns made from 1873 through 1939.

This is a must have for Homer Laughlin collectors. Get a feel for the life,times and area that produced the largest American manufacturer of dinnerware. This book is packed with information that you just can't digest in one setting. I'm constantly referring to it and learning something new everytime.

A well researched and well written guide. Readers like pictures and this book has lots of bright and colorful pictures with descriptions and information. The book gives insight into Mr. Laughlin and his pottery. I recommend this book to all collectors of Homer Laughlin.

This was purchased for our 4 year old who is a major Hot Wheels fan. He and dad pour through the colorful photographs and line up all their cars that match those found in the book. I am sure from a collectors point the information of the value along with the detailed picture would be very useful. It is a nice thick, heavy paged book that will be around this house for a long time.

I find this book extremely helpful in listing a very large percentage of the current (1989 onwards) Hot Wheels variations. The book follows on from the earlier editions and I find it a very useful refererence source.

Awesome very fast shipping. Arrived in excellent condition. Will buy from again. Thanks so much.

If you collect variations of Hot Wheels, you have probably heard of the Godfather of Variations, Michael Zarnock. This guy is nuts about variations and has put together one of the top 3 Hot Wheels collector books ever published. I love the book and have loved it since volume 1 because it has fantastic Blue Card identification pictures and very accurate price guide. If you don't know if a variation is real or fake, just check the Grail, it will let you know if you are dealing with fraud or not. In other words, if it is not in this book you are probably not dealing with a variation. Indispensible to a serious Hot Wheel collector. Gratzi, Don Zarnock.

I just got got this book today and It was more than I expected there were tons and tons of pictures, mr. zarnock give yourself a pat on the back because you did one heke of a job.

The first thing to hit me was how beautiful this book is. The photographs of the thousands of collectibles are delectable. It made me want to run out and find some of this stuff, or find new things to start collecting. The author unfolds her theories about why people collect, and describes many wonderful childhood scenes of Bronx life and early collections of marbles, baseball cards, sewing kits, you name it. Adult adventures collecting all over the world, and the collecting adventures of her friends and family, are included, and make for a wonderful warm biography of a collection of collectors. The descriptions of the original uses and methods of manufacturing of various collectibles is fascinating, and it's lovely to see simple and sometimes disposable things treated with such interest and respect. The history and character of our country shine through in the old graphics and designs of postcards, matchbooks, lawn sprinklers, and countless other items, and after spending time with them in this book, I can feel more deeply what's been lost to more efficient means of production. I'll never browse a flea market or garage sale quite the same way again. It's a wonderful conversation piece, a fun book to have around for guests to peruse. It gives you permission to bring out those old shoeboxes of stuff from under your bed and show them to your pals, even though you're not a kid any more. I loved this book, it was part anthropology, part history of design, part memoir, part encyclopedia, part travelogue, all work of endearing art.

Reading this book was like day at my favorite swap meet, antique collective or a random search on eBay. I visually recognize the material but appreciate it more for being brought together in groups. The collector's mind automatically seeks groupings and hierarchies of individual examples and this book plays to that weakness easily. The little stories are at times educational and fascinating and at other times too personal and esoteric. My only problem is that after reading this book, I tend to want to own too many of the objects featured.

This is a beautifully produced look book. The unusual and very particular collecting subject matter is very personal. Quirky, wonderfully photographed and of superior quality.

This is the best book I have found on Collecting. The writer gets into the state of mind of a collector, then presents profusely illustrated collections of an almost unbelievable scope. Like - you mean people really collect THIS? Yes they do and it's there. COOL book that will broaden your horizon - and you'll never throw anything away again because someone out there collects it.

I have purchased at least seven copies of this fascinating book to give as gifts to a wide variety of friends. For those interested in collecting, the book offers fresh insights into the forces that motivate people to acquire, while illustrating a remarkable diversity of eccentric collections that surprise and delight. For the novice or general reader, the breadth and types of collections are amazing. The book is superbly designed and the objects beautifully photographed and presented. The author is a farsighted collector with an awesome range of historical knowledge and an accessible, highly informative writing style. I highly recommend this book for readers of all persuasions who simply enjoy being intellectually and visually stimulated.

This book follows the current trend in vintage clothing books, in that it consists of photos of items belonging to one collector, presented as an identification and price guide. There are brief captions and a little explanatory text. The author has photographed her items flat or on stands, thus avoiding the jarring effect created in some other books by the use of very modern-looking live models. Most of the items represent everyday, easily purchasable vintage accessories rather than spectacular or rare collectibles. There are also many black-and-white period advertising pictures, possibly to atone for the relatively small number of pre-1900 items photographed from the collection. The prices (unfortunately!) seem low for the current market, and I found no indication of how they were derived. Unlike some other books, most of the time the author avoids gushing about her collection. However, she does follow the current trend of giving comparatively little practical information on how to restore and use vintage accessories (which many collectors want to do), on the grounds that they are "too precious." In fact, most of the items pictured in her book could be worn and enjoyed without much risk of damage.

This book is the generous sharing of Ms.Johnson's passion of 25 years - the collecting of vintage clothing and accessories. With overviews of all of a woman's favorite accessories, the book can easily serve as a basic primer for those with a new-found interest in vintage pieces. The information on documentation, age determination, and worth accessment is both helpful and inspirational. The numerous close-up photos of a wide variety of accessories, along with drawings, illustrations, and ads from old periodicals will delight both new and experienced collectors, as well as those simply interested in the past - for fashion, as always, tells us much about culture. Ladies' Vintage Accessories is written in a personable style and is full of both information and food for thought. Highly Recommended.

LaRee Johnson Bruton's Ladies' Vintage Accessories ...covers hats, purses, shoes, aprons, shawls and all kinds of vintage accessories, with full-color photos alongside the latest prices. The history is as involving as the color photos of spoons paired with their values.

LaRee Johnson-Burton's book, Ladies Vintage Accessories, is outstanding. The photographs were stunning, and the information imparted about the value and description of the collection was exceedingly valuable. Quite frankly, I feel this book is a must-have, not only for the serious collector of vintage accessories and garments, but for writers of historical fiction, who can use this guide to bring them back in time and make certain that their characters are properly adorned. From cobalt blue Victorian parasols to 1920 gold mesh bags, this is a valuable and beautiful crafted book, packaged impeccably by Collector Books, and written by an author/collector who is clearly knowledgeable and passionate about her field. --Karen Plunkett-Powell, author, Remembering Woolworth's

This book was put together very well, there is so much to see and the pictures are all nice and clear.

This inventory is a toy collector for all i got this book is great it have a lot on G3 my little pony toy for all of us to know if you a my little pony toy collector this collector book is for you

The guide is beautifully done, with clear pictures and fantastic organization. There is clearly a lot of research and work that has gone into this labor of love, and it shows. This book is just brimming with valuable information.

It's a great resource to have on hand. For those of us with extensive collections, it really makes all the difference when trying to organize and inventory ponies and accessories.

As someone who owns both of Summer's books, I highly suggest getting one of your own--it's a great investment!

The pictures are nice and glossy with excellent descriptions of each item. SO many pages from the past few years of all the pony toys and playsets and she provides checklists next to each item! I was personally excited about getting this book and was lucky to get to meet Summer in person and have her sign it for me. :) I highly recommend this book. I will definitely be using it for years to come. Thanks so much Summer for a fantastic product!

This inventory is a toy collector (or kid's dream) come true! Each page is full of high quality, colored pictures with the name and description of the ponies IN YEAR ORDER of when they came out. A picture of the new in box ponies of EACH one is also featured at the bottom of the page!

This guide also feautres EVERY pony and My Little Pony piece from 2003-2007 when the book was published- If your little girl (or boy) loves the ponies, you would be at a loss to not purchase this book for them.

Can't afford to buy or purchase every pony out there? Well this would make a great addition to the pony collection and doesn't take up as much space and money as owning all the ponies!

This book is DEFINITELY worth it if you collect the current release My Little Ponies. Everything is very organized, with pictures of the different ponies both in their original packaging and removed from the box. Some even have detailed Cutie Mark pictures. There are notes about special European released items and the peculiar Mexican and Brazilian ponies, as well as those available for general distribution worldwide.

The only error I caught was a picture mix-up involving Fancy Hair ponies Royal Beauty and Rainbow Treat on page 112. Other than that, everything was perfect!

It is a fabulous paper resource to organize and catalogue one's collection.

This could also make a very good gift for children who like the My Little Pony toys, due to the pictures and interesting information, but beware--they could fall in love with one of the RARE ponies like Rosey Posey! ;) Of course, perhaps that would create a budding collector!

I can't wait to see a second or third edition as the My Little Pony line continues! Heaps of thanks to Summer Hayes for taking the time to get this guide together!

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

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.

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!

Metropolis Comics articles on investing in comics medium is well thought out and written with the collector in mind.

New section on the Golden Age and Victorian Age comics, grading definitions, business directory, photos of covers, article on Star Wars comics & George Lucas.

Well worth the bucks, and Amazon makes them cheaper.

I have been a comic book collector for over 50 years. During that time I've looked at every price guide ever published. While I get an occasional insight from other sources, I consistently find that the Overstreet annual guides are by far the best source. I also find that collectors of all ages and sophistications rely on this guide so it tells me what the market will be for comics I might want to buy or sell.

Some people feel like they don't need to buy these every year. I disagree!

Even the advertisements are valuable . . . I've found many helpful, low-cost suppliers through these pages over the years.

I especially enjoyed the updated versions of articles about much older comics in this edition. Don't miss them.

And I rarely even look at the prices. This is THE reference book for what was published, when, the actual title, which issues feature notable artists, guest appearances, first appearances, origins, major events like weddings and deaths, etc. If you collect comics you need this.

Accessories, even more than complete costumes, rarely get scholarly attention. This book is one of the few to address the subject in a systematic, historical way. Much needed.

This book has helped me immensely to make smarter additions to my own purse collection because there are so many clear examples of each genre. As a reference book, this is the go-to volume when you need to be SURE of a time period, the correct name for a style, etc... Yet it is such a beautiful book, my mother purchased one for her bookshelf and she has no interest in purses!

What a wonderful accomplishment for Paula and Lori! The information pertaining to early purses such as misers, pockets, chatelaines, textiles and needlework purses! I especially enjoyed the chapter on purse restoration. The photos of the figural & scenic purses are absolutely amazing. The celluloid and compact purse examples were also a delight.
For everyone who knows these two lovely ladies, they know that they truly have a passion for purses. Many times I have heard of Paula donating her time to deliver public presentations, printing and passing out breakthrough information on early purses and donating them to interested parties, as well as contributing to other books including mine. If anyone deserves a pat on the back for this groundbreaking book, it is these two ladies, Paula Higgins and Lori Blaser. Congratulations ladies! Well done!

What a beautiful book; filled with glorious bags of the past, historical information and current values. There are hundreds of bags, created using techniqes such as beading, embroidery, tapestry, netting, crochet, knitting, tambour, loom, petit point and various stitchery. Gorgeous bags are displayed - eye-smacking delicious- that I have not seen in other collectible publications; a real plus for collectors. There is a chapter dedicated to restoration of vintage bags, with instructions for repair and cleaning, plus photos; tips when purchasing bags; and choosing the right purse frames. At the back of the book, page 256, I was delighted to see the two contemporary bags by Katerina Musetti, an artist and established opera singler; the bags are exquisite. It is obvious this book is a culmination of Paula and Lori's purse obsession, historical studies and labor. I highly recommend this inspiring book for collectors, as well as, bag enthusiasts; a book not to be missed. Review by Lydia F. Borin, The Beadwrangler

'Passion for Purses' is a beautiful, quality reference book for all purse lovers & collectors; from novice to the serious collector. The book has special emphasis on very early antique purses by one of the most knowledgeable persons around today. Contains previously unseen purses from private collections that have never before been published. Hundreds of pictures on quality paper, excellent information on the many catagories of purses that are included. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a passion for purses. Great book for study or pleasure.A Passion for Purses, 1600-2005