Collecting Books

Collectors of 50's kitsch and pop culture will love this book. The pictures are great and the text informative. I would highly recommend this book!

"Tells virtually all the beginner needs to know to start, develop and maintain an accumulation of U.S., foreign and ancient coins with fun and investment as objectives." - The New York Times

A complete guide for the beginner as well as a reference book for the advanced collector, this handbook by two of America's foremost numismatic writers covers U.S. mintage completely and samples the most interesting foreign coins as well. It tells you how to go about collecting coins by denomination, type, and year, as well as in proof or roll, and, most important, explains how to determine each coin's condition and value.

Among the helpful features:
Enlarged recognition photographs of key coins in each U.S. series, with arrows pointing to mint marks...a valuable list of "collector" coins...up-to-date catalog of coin values...sound advice on coins to buy for future value or historical interest...how to take care of your coins.

"So well organized, so clearly written, and so rich in excellent illustrations that it will certainly delight nayone starting out in this field. - The Rotarian

WITH HUNDREDS OF ENLARGED PHOTOGRAPHS ATTRACTIVELY ARRANGED FOR EASY IDENTIFICATION

This is a great book to see wonderful pictures and to experience what made some of the earliest bicyles different. Each picture comes with a small description of the bike, such as year and name. This is quite helpful in determining if you really bought what you think you did.

This book is a must for every bike Enthusiast, and a gotta have for all vintage or modern bike collectors. I give it 5 stars!

Experiences Of An Ornithologist Along The Highways And Byways Of Bolivia: Collecting Birds In An Isolated, Magnificent Land In The Nineteen Thirties is the outstanding autobiographical story of ornithologist Melbourne Armstrong Carriker, Jr. and his three expeditions in Bolivia back in the 1930's. Vividly detailed with an informed grasp of the South American terrain and with the poignant authorship of first hand observation, Experiences Of An Ornithologist Along The Highways And Byways Of Bolivia remarkably depicts a riveting tale of survival, disobedience, hardships, will-power, the unexpected, and the courage to explore. Experiences Of An Ornithologist Along The Highways And Byways Of Bolivia is very strongly recommended reading as an epic true-life tale of one man's extraordinary personal and professional accomplishments.

Book Review: Exposing Electronics
edited by Bernard Finn, Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC

Exposing Electronics is the second Volume of a series "Artefacts: Studies in the History of Science and Technology". (Artefact: a functional or decorative man-made object) "..historians are using technological artefacts in the study and interpretation of the recent past. Their work is largely pioneering, as they investigate approaches and modes of presentation."

While a delegate at IEEE Sections Congress in Washington DC, last year, a group of us were conducted around the exhibit "Information Age" in the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History. Our guide was Bernard "Barnie" Finn, who is a curator and designer of "Information Age".

Our small group of electrical engineers heard a "behind the scenes" explanation of how the exhibits were put together with the rationale of attracting and holding the interest of the public of all ages. To us it was fascinating - not just a collection of original objects, but a story line threading through communications - telegraphy, telephony, digital, satellite; computation - calculating engines, data processing, real-time data bases; electronic devices - control, power, integrated circuits. The displays of artefacts were supplemented by photographs, posters, videos, and original films which helped our understanding of the motivations and needs of the engineers and scientists who built them.

"Why" are there museums and how do things end up displayed in museum exhibits? Exposing Electronics tells us about the "Information Age" exhibit and points out many of the problems in communicating the history behind the objects.

Why do we go to museums? The theory of learning is touched: What is the necessity of prior learning for vision? The role of the curator- `first helps visitors to see artefacts more clearly, then imbues those artefacts with symbolic values that come from their function and history.'

Exposing Electronics is worth having from many points of view.
It is a high quality publication 19cmx 24cm filled with interesting chapters, historical photographs and clear drawings of electronic devices - J.A.Fleming's valves; Wilhelm Cauer's calculating engines, Baaken's transistor devices, Boysel's microprocessor, Seymour Cray's supercomputers, I.I.Rabi's molecular beam apparatus.

The stories are those of our contemporaries and predecessors. The chapters have many notes which support the observations and conclusions, and invite further investigation.

The final chapter "Collectors and Museums" suggests the origins and uses of why we save, classify, index, record, things as a hobby, and how these collections can end up in museums. "Collectors help to shape museums, and therefore to shape the ways we present our cultural identities to ourselves and to others." The author notes that `Electricity is well represented in museums throughout the world.' and lists five pages of them around the world- one near you

Exposing Electronics Finn, Bud, Trischler eds. xiv+199 pp. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers 2000. Euro25 paper
ISBN 90-5823-057

© Roland Saam, February 2003

I was walking around the bookstore, and this book popped out at me! I'm not normally an art fan, but I'm big on pop culture, and I had to pick it up to look at it!

I found it a strange book, which I loved. It's just filled with ordinary and not so ordinary items that we may have used ourselves. (or not)

Example: Do you remember Squeez-its? I remember drinking those juices in elementary and junior high. What happened to them?

There were Japanese "blood type" condoms that are said to sell 2 million every year in Japan.

One very interesting item I found was "Doti," which is hardened termite excrement, believed to give strength because they are rich in minerals. Women in Zambia eat it during their pregnancy.

One very disturbing picture I found was of an Aryan doll that KKK members give to their children to play with. One good thing I read was that the membership is dwindling, from five million in 1920, to two thousand, five hundred in 1998. Not perfect, but getting better.

Basically, it's a good small coffee table book that will generate some interesting conversations. It's written in French and English. I think that it would be good for all cultures to read, in order to understand each other better.

Don't forget to look up the "edible cow pie!" Which is really chocolate, caramel, and pecans, which is destined to turn some heads.

Mashburn writes great books, no question about it. This particular postcard guide focuses on fantasy postcards, which are a particular favorite of mine. He coveres all the basics: fairies, nursery rhymes, dressed animals, mermaids, teddy bears, Santas, Krampus, nudes, death fantasies, Halloween, Hold-To-Light, and a whole host of other types of weird and wonderful subjects.

As well, Mashburn gives us a comprehensive history of postcards and collecting, covering the seven eras of postcards. He discusses the various types, how to date them, grade them, and value them. Since the book was written in '96, his prices do not always reflect current online auction prices, but that's understandable. My only real quibble with this book is that after reading through it and looking at the many black and white illustrations I only wanted to go out and buy more cards! A wonderful book, don't hesitate.

This book is a part of my Flow Blue research library. Jeffrey Snyder is a leading authority in Flow Blue collecting. His descriptions are clear and precise. His photography is fantastic.
The prices listed in this book should only be used for insurance purposes as the Flow Blue collecting phase swings with decorating fashions and colors of the times. In reality, you can find prices much more affordable than suggested in ths book.
Add this to your collection and you will enjoy it for years to come!

Yet another fine book from Schiffer's growing series of this kind. The images from the catalog are reproduced clearly and sharp. The colors also look well defined. The focus is primarily on women's fashions, as there usually is in this series, and there is a sampling of men's and childrens clothing, too. We will probably never see fashion like this again. The level of detailing seems almost "fussy" (bows, buttons, embroidery, pleats, gatherings, shirring and the like) but it can be pretty to look at and I can almost begin to admire the level of effort it took to maintain such a feminine image.

This is an amazing resource, loaded with full color photos of those groovy, crazy styles of the 70s. Featuring mostly women's clothing, this is no disco party -- this is a total Mary Tyler Moore/Rhoda fashion parade. Each page is more insane than the next!! Super duper cool. Gee, think I like it much?