Collecting Books

Very helpful for the antiquing "debutante" in the overwhelming world of antiques, including tips for negotiating with dealers, what to look for on certain items, even ideas of what one might want to collect. Definitely worthwhile purchase.

Antique lover I am HOWEVER, knowledge is minus, MINUS! ANTIQUING FOR DUMMIES was given to me as a gift and MAGIC has been created. My brain is now functioning in the antique mode. How proud and delighted I am. I will be forever indebted to having the opportunity to own such as informative treasure. In fact this book will be on my future "gift purchasing" list for my "hard to please" friends. Again, THANK YOU, from Dallas, Texas.

Antiquing for Dummies is a cheerful primer for those of us who were antiques-challenged. Learn what to search for and what to avoid when confronted with the possible pitfalls of flea markets and antique malls. Find out how to differentiate trash from treasure. The text is very readable, filled with puns and mnemonics. A must-read for budding antiques enthusiasts!

I have collected, sold and even appraised antiques and artwork for 25 years. This book is well written, and has valuable insights and tips for the beginning or the intermediate collector. It has very good illustrations, good anecdotes and hints, and is all in all a delight to have and read! I learned a couple of things myself, and have bought copies for my antique collecting friends and colleagues as gifts. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to gather practical and easy to understand tips and facts from authors and experts who obviously have many years of study and work in the field of antiques, collectibles and fine art. For this price, it is worth more than many of my big fancy books on single topics within the field of antiques or antique collecting. This is easy to read, humerous and fun to read, and offers good basic information on many kinds of antiques and fine art which are being collected, inherited and sold. Bravo to the writers and to Dummies!

Whether you are someone who breaks for garage sales or the serious collector of rare antiques, Antiquing for Dummies offers information, tips, insight and inspiration. Zoglin and Shouse help de-mystify the world of antiques and collecting and leave you feeling like you, too, can confidently and successfully find treasures that fit your lifestyle and needs. The tips on negotiating are especially helpful and I have never seen them appear anywhere else. Zoglin has spent three decades in the antique business and knows what he is talking about. Whether you are interested in antiquing or not, this book provides an entertaining read, and you will likely not look at a teacup or Granny's old desk again without a deeper appreciation of its history.

I found this book to be very helpfull in finding what I needed to know on the dolls and clothes

I have two other Shirley Temple Price guides and I think book is just the most comprehensive. It has lots of pictures and includes all different Shirley Collectibles. It has pictures of a lot of rare Shirley Dresses and compo. Shirley's that were made in Germany, Australia, Great Britain. It is a nice large book and is a great reference guide. Love it!

This is the best ever book about Shirley Temple dolls. It is amazing. Filled with information and tips. This book could easily sell for double the price.

Great pics of Shirley Temple Dolls & memorabilia organized by years-very thorough and helpful since I am a Shirley collector. Additionally, great tips on improving the looks of the dolls. Well done.

This book is one of the best books on the subject of the Shirley Temple dolls (& other S.Temple Collectibles).
Written on quality paper with excellent photos

Great book.Colin does a wonderful job on this book with his insight & knowledge of muscle cars & there world.Colin has a unique & fun way of writing about these cars which really gets your emotions going.Great photos too.My favorite muscle car book!

The best car book for non car guy. I look the photographs and history of each vehicle. It may you go out on the web to purchase a muscle car to cruise. When is the next follow up book coming out.

Bought this book for my dad for fathers day, he has a collection of muscle car books a mile wide, and this is the first one i found that he does not have (usually he gets a Barnes and Noble Gift Card for Fathers day). For anyone with an interest in muscle cars, you will surely enjoy!

The author's personal experiences and those who own these awesome cars adds volumes to the appreciation of the marques, models and even the era they hail from. To illustrate, I am "into" cars and drive a 1968 GT Mustang California Special everyday (not qualifying as a million-dollar car just yet) yet most of my friends and family are not "car people". Since leaving this book in the lounge I've found many people, those you would least expect, engrossed in the tales of these truly legendary cars. This book bridges the divide with universal appeal. Scary to think that it will probably introduce more filthy rich to the collector car market... next edition: billion dollar cars!

How refreshing it was to finally read a muscle car book where the author lives and breathes the stuff and the book is not filled with factual errors. The book reads effortlessly and without really knowing it your educated on the history of the cars as well as the current market for significant cars. This book is muscle car 101 for anyone considering the purchase of a muscle car. Must read for anyone who calls himself a car guy.

While reading this extraordinary and unique book it is obvious that Edwards put the time and effort into this project and Buchanan packaged it. Yet Buchanan seems to want all the credit. She alone is listed as the author, but what did she actually do? She wrote a distant and dry essay - well written no doubt, but what exactly is her relationship to this fascinating object called the Vietnam Zippo?

Judging from the lively discussion below on this page, Buchanan was, in fact, the publisher with the power to manipulate the crediting. It appears that Edwards' role was greatly diminished and he was relegated to the person who just provided the collection. Apparently another sad example of an artist being taken advantage of - there must be a back story here and it probably isn't pretty. What a shame this situation is considering what a finely crafted book it is.

The Vietnam War had many facets for those who served in that theatre of military combat from 1965 to 1973. One of the unique memorabilia associated with the conflict were the Zippo brand cigarette lighters that were ubiquitous among the American troops. Drawing from the collection of Bradford Edwards, Sherry Buchanan (an independent scholar, author, and expert on both Asian and Vietnamese contemporary art, history and culture) has created "Vietnam Zippos", a volume of images of Zippo brand lighters used and personalized by members of the American armed forces. Zippos lighters were visible associated with the burning of grass huts as part of search-and-destroy missions, they were used as engraved symbols of social protest, and often became a kind of talisman for American GIs during their hazardous tours of duty in that increasingly unpopular conflict. Beginning with a Timeline that begins in 1965 and ends in 1990 (when Vietnam Zippos were sold to tourists at Saigon Street Stalls), "Vietnam Zippos" is a fascinating and specialized military cultural history that is a unique and recommended contribution to the growing library of Vietnam War histories, biographies, and scholarly studies.

A touching compilation of soldiers who served in Vietnam and the history of Zippos in the Army. Full of color pictures: numerous Zippos dipictaing pictures, unit slogans, witty banter, and more. A must read for anyone who wants to connect with history.

It is a shame and a pity that such an impressive book should reflect such a travesty in crediting. What does Ms. Buchanan have to do with the Vietnam Zippo? There is ample evidnce that it was the focus of Mr. Edwards' attention for many years. Yet he is relegated to a minor participant in the book itself! Anyone who closely examines the book can see the truth - it is self-evident. Apparently, Ms. Buchanan's massive ego overshadowed her sense of justice - she, as the publisher in fact, decided to not even share the authorship with Mr. Edwards. Othewise, it a near perfect book - striking graphic design - highest quality photographs - excellent essays and thorough research. Life can be unfair.

My hippie Dad loved it! He is a history buff and had not heard of this practice!

I bought this as a gift for my sister who collects Victorian type items. I was very pleased with the quality of the book, it is beautiful, and the price was great. Would recommend to anyone who is looking for a little history.

Very detailed, lots of images. Values a bit on the wishful side. Great for collectors, costumers, dealers as the research possibilities can be as simple as using photos, to actually reading the informative text.
An excellent addition to your library.

a realy beautiful book .full of hundreds of illustrations and a good source for a budding milliner

if it is tons of pics of hats you want this is it!

The book is a good buy for the price with a lot of color photographs and text but I was really more looking for something to compare my vintage hat collection to as a price guide. I have over 110 vintage hats, and I still don't have any idea about the history or value of any of them.

This book is an invaluable reference and great educational tool for collectors of ancient coins. It explains many aspects of the field in an academic but witty style. Very readable text, also contains lots of reference material indexed for additional study of specific areas of research. A "must have" for those new to this area of collecting.

This is a good introductory book to ancient coin collecting. Getting one's feet wet in this are of numismatics, is a touchy thing in this day of on line auctions...where forgeries are easily sold as authentic. Book covers most everything a numismatist new to this field could want, online help, types, forgeries, authentication, caveats, etc. Good read for the newbie in ancients.

This is something of a potpourri of ancient coin information. It doesn't make a good reference work, per se; there are other books, etc. to purchase when you settle on your collecting theme. It is a great background resource, though, and helped me to clarify my own collecting themes.

As a collector over 30 years on Chinese and modern world coins, it's an adventoure for me to probe a totally different field of coin collecting - the western world ancient coins. What I need most is something to show me the way, to give me an outline, to guide me to the right direction, as well as to keep me interested at the unfamiliar new world.

This book serves my needs exactly as it starts with very basic but substantial introduction to the ancient western cultures which are not familiarized by an oriental like me. Then there are good references provided, among them I appreciated most the last part of Chapter II, "Ancient Coins and the Internet", and also Chapter VI, "Numismatic Literature". Those information show a beginner to a broader view and an easier access in continuing his collection interest.

I would say the most fancinating part of this book is surely Chapter VII, "Identifying Ancient Coins". It's systematically arranged thus I can get a clear picture of different categories of ancient coins, together with fundamental history background of the coin issuers. That is, indeed, far more interesting than just reading a coin catalogue.

For anyone who intends to start ancient coin collecting, this is the book to start with.

This is a great single volume reference on Ancient Coin Collecting. I don't want to repeat what others have written, but I found it to be thorough, well-researched, engaging and well-organized. It will spark your imagination and add to your knowledge base without overwhelming you.

"Collectible Silver Jewelry" provides a brief, yet reasonably comprehensive, guide to silver jewellery and jewellery makers from around the world. This book covers most of the major silver jewellery producing countries of the world, including the U.S., Mexico, Peru, Scandinavia, the U.K., Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, China, Japan and Siam, and for each country, it provides a guide to all of the main silversmiths and manufacturers of that country. For each manufacturer, a brief history is given, along with a photograph or illustration of the maker's marks used. A valuation guide (with pictures) is also provided at the end of each section to give the reader some idea of the style of jewellery produced in each country and its value (although this book was first published in 2001, all values were updated in 2005).

This book is very well presented. It is a large size hardback with glossy pages and full-colour photographs throughout. A glossary of jewellery terms is provided at the back, as is a detailed index, making this book very easy to use.

This was a general book on Silver and I felt it did not go into depth. I do not like it as much as others but it covers many country silver jewelry.

I haven't found another book that covers what this one covers. It is well organized and has lots of good photos. There are written commentaries about the various manufacturers of silver jewelry, discussions about mid century artisans, and great information about silver jewelry from Scandinavia, Mexico and other places in the world. There are additional resources in the back of the book and lots of information about hallmarks as well. I can go on and on but take it from me, this is the best book out there on silver jewelry.

This book has been fabulous because it includes a broad span of silver jewelry, not just one specific type. It has helped me identify many pieces. Great pictures, great explanations. Includes many different marks. I love it and use it all the time.

Whether you are an expert collector or a neophyte, you will find this book a valuable reference source. It is illustrated in full-color and covers the range of silver jewelry makers exhaustively, maker by maker, including illustrations of makers' marks.

This is the Red Book of coins need you say more. Got to love this book it just keeps getting better every year.

This is probably the best book for coin collectors who have a limited background and no one they feel they can trust. It gives an honest opinion based on recent coin sale prices and conditions.

The one part that I feel they could have given more value for your money is a more thorough description of coin condition with more pictures and examples, that said, I recomend this book to anyone (most all dealers have one on their premises whether for your benefit, or to help them in a sale, it says something). Lastly, the price is right. I would always recomend checking the price of spot metals before any purchase.

We are beginners in the hobby of coin collecting. "United States Coins"
is a great help and we recommend it hightly.

I've relied on older editions of the Official Red Book for information about various coins that I've seen. Having been a coin collector since I was a child, I decided to purchse this book to see what information has changed or been updated. From time to time, I've found unexpected coins in my change and I enjoy being able to look them up to see what they are, what historical period they might represent, etc. It also helps me understand this country's history through its coinage.

This book was just what I was looking for. I have a coin collection that I want to sell and needed to find out the current market value. Easy to read, nice spiral binding.

What would vintage Barbie lovers and collectors do without this and the other 2 books by Sarah Sink Eames? Without a doubt her books are the best on the market for identifying all the wonderful vintage outfits for Barbie and her family. Beautifully presented, detailed and comprehensive information. Each outfit is presented by name, stock number and years made, as well as detailed descriptions of the fabrics used and the accessories accompanying the outfits. Original outifts that came with the dolls are also shown and described. A trip down memory lane and the next best thing to owning all the wonderful outfits.

Another great book by Sarah Sink Eames!-Great outfits and pictures-easy to see values-Fun to see how Barbie and friends followed current fashion trends for the late 60's and early 70's-very helpful to any vintage collector!!

Great book. Found outfits and the year they came out. Do Recommend if you are into Barbie clothes...

If you are a collector, you should have this book on your shelf. Comprehensive, complete, with photos galore. A+++++

In Hong Kong, it is not popular to collect vintage Barbie dolls so that it is not easy to explore specific related knowledge. This book really helps a lot. It is a bible for every Barbie collectors!

Shows how words and reading can be fun! My 4 year old loves the book. I donated a copy to his school's library and the librarian loved it too. Why can't there be more books like this out there for young children?? No bad guys, just fun.

My son Max and I enjoyed this story of the youngest and wildest brother of three who insists on creating a collection of words, after his older brothers refuse to share their collections of stamps and money with him. Max and I both enjoyed the fun that comes from the idea of collecting words. A really fun book with great illustrations.

I find Max's Words to be an excellent tool for children on how to learn the principles of the structure of a language. The power of this book is that the idea can be adapted to any language. That makes me think that any child using it frequently may become, if not a writer, at least, an avid reader.

I find this to be a delightful story of a little boy that is looking for something to 'collect' just like his older siblings. They have their coin and stamp collections which they refuse to share, so it's up to the youngster to go out and find something of his own. What better collection is there than words?! As a primary, elementary school teacher, I think Max is right on the money, and hopefully my students will think so, too, when I introduce Writer's Workshop to them with a read aloud of 'Max's Words'.

I bought this book because I thought it was cute (the cover intrigued me). I took it to my classroom to share with my lst grade students. They got so excited about it that they thought our class should start a word collection. So I drug out old magazines & newspapers and we began to clip and save the most fascinating words we could find. Then we decided that we should try to invent some sentences just like Max did. It was so much fun! The kids worked together for over an hour for 2 days straight. They came up with several sentences. We posted them in our hallway along with a review of the book. They are so proud! I would highly recommend this book for anyone who has anything to do with children!