Antiques Books

Great book! Such talent needs to be recognized and applauded.

An all-inclusive journey through the lives and souls of African American painters from days gone by. These creative souls painted breathtaking beach landscapes... Many of their works still survive today, and sell for [a small fortune]. (I know, I have one in my living room.) A great buy! Just be warned; one look through it's pages will draw you toward Florida's shores lke a child to the smell of cotton candy!

In 1994, art aficionado Jim Fitch assigned the name "Highwaymen" to a loose association of young, mostly untrained black artists (including one woman) from the Fort Pierce area who created thousands of Florida landscapes and marketed them from the backs of their cars for about $25 in the 1960's and `70's. Theirs was an unabashedly commercial venture, and the artists collaborated to create and sell works as quickly and cheaply as possible. Dismissed as "motel art" at the time, these intense, lush and at times otherworldly depictions of an idealized Florida have become a subject of renewed interest and critical attention in recent years. Consequently, many myths and vague tales have grown up around the group.

As part of his research, author Gary Monroe interviewed many of the remaining artists to bring the story to life, presented here in a 26-page annotated essay. In analyzing the art, he insists that the speed with which they worked was far from a detriment: "By unintentionally bastardizing the canonical pictorial strategies...they created a new form of fantasy landscape painting." The artists found their strength as colorists, and the emotional hues capture the essence of Florida (or at least, as we imagine it.)

As a northerner who visited Florida twice as a child in the pre-Disney days, I must confess that the 63 glorious full-color reproductions here gave me goose bumps of fond memory, real or imagined.

A followup: This book launched an explosion of interest in The Highwaymen. Surviving members no longer need hawk their wares, since collectors now come to them and new works sell for as much as $18,000. The were inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2004.

This book highlites a special group of amateur black artists who lived in Florida in the 1950's. The story is well presented with wonderful details that make their artistic journey come alive. The paintings are wonderful. The only drawback to this book, as I see it, is that the vivid hues of the paintings did not come through in this book. I happened to read a magazine article, full of rich colorful pictures of some of the paintings, which sparked my interest, and led to my purchasing this book. Unfortunately, it seems that this printing process could not represent the original brilliance of the paintings. This is a fascinating peek at a little know bit of Florida art history.

I think this book was a great book.I think this book was great because it had the most awesome cars every . I like the old Ferrias and other old cars. The car I like the most is the Chevy Blair it is the most awesome car i liked.I liked in the Book is the cars.You read this book and see what you lik the most

If you ever owned, rode-in, worked-on, loved or wanted a real HOT ROD then this is your book. The pictures and the selection of featured cars is superior to any other book like this one. You will go back to it over and over.
This would be a perfect gift for anyone who ever owned, rode-in, worked-on, loved or wanted a real HOT ROD and was to good a father or husband to give up the time or money necessary to make that dream come true. This is just simply a wonderful experience.

How many times have you walked into a bookstore and seen picture books of cars for $4.99? Well, this isn't one of them, Vincent is an artist and the pictures are beautiful. The text is interesting and informative even if you are NOT a gearhead. This is more than just a peek into a fascinating culture kept alive by a lot of greybeards, it's an education - a fun one too. This is not just a guy obsession - a lot of women love hot rods as well. All ages welcome...AC

If you ever owned, rode-in, worked-on, loved or wanted a real HOT ROD then this is your book. The pictures and the selection of featured cars is superior to any other book like this one. You will go back to it over and over.
This would be a perfect gift for anyone who ever owned, rode-in, worked-on, loved or wanted a real HOT ROD and was to good a father or husband to give up the time or money necessary to make that dream come true. This is just simply a wonderful experience.

Must have to read (or do) a lot of the old school type customizing for cars. Very complete. Well written and detailed sections.

Burger and Hendrickson have done a great job of covering the process of building a hot rod. With their years of experience, wit, and wisdom it makes for a very enjoyable read. Much of the text is obviously culled from the late, great RODDER'S DIGEST magazine, but it was good then, just as it is now. For anyone who is seriously into hot rods, this is required reading.

Okay, I admit, I am not a hot rodder. I like fast, water-cooled volkswagens. The book was a gift. "Great," I thought. "What am I gonna do with this?" It sat around for awhile before I cracked the covers. Good Golly, y'all!! THIS BOOK ROCKS!!

The authors have really distilled auto resto and modification down to were even a nimrod can understand it and envision doing the projects. I can't really speak to the "Model T-this," "Deuce-coupe-that" sort of stuff in the book, but man, the technical stuff about metal-bumping, welding, body work, paint application, suspension modifciation, and other how-to stuff is great. They have put the facts in simple, step-by-step sequences with loads of photos to clarify the procedure. This is the kind of stuff you find in good car magazines, but here, the authors have wrapped into one slick package.

Okay, so it looks a little funny on my shelf with all my euro-car books, but I am not ashamed to own (AND actually to have READ) a copy of Hot Rodder's Bible. My hat is off to the authors. I am sure hot rodders will love this book as much as I found that I did. Believe me, I was determined to not like, or even admit that I owned, this book. Now, I take it to my club meetings and show if off to my buds. I wonder if the authors would ever consider a "Pocket Rocket Bible?"

This book was designed to be a complete guide to finding, building, and enjoying a hot rod. Chapters include: * A Brief History of the Hot Rod * Finding Your Hot Rod Project * Building a Better Body * The Hot Rod Frame * A Rogue's Gallery of Hot Rods * Hot Rod Suspension Basics * Hot Rod Brakes * Hot Rod Engines and Drivetrains * Hot Rod Interiors * 15 Things to Do With Your Hot Rod * The Ten Commandments of Hot Rodding * Source Guide * Club List

Each chapter includes a section on general information and theory, followed by step-by-step how-to sequences. The "Rogue's Gallery" includes color features on a variety of hot rods.

This is the very finest volume on the subject -- bar none. Each and every car has a one- or two-page listing, complete with description, history, variations, and values by color. Photos are large and lavish. Hot Wheels playsets, accessories, and collateral merchandise are covered as well. Plus, the book is published in a sturdy library binding. It's well worth the price. You will not need another book about Hot Wheels Redlines.

Finally!!! An accurate price guide for Redlines. Don't waste your money on Tomarts. This is the book you need!

This book is a must have for any serious Redline collector. It is a beautifully presented hardcover book of almost 400 pages; jam packed with photos, facts and figures for all Hot Wheels models from 1968 to 1977.

Each model has its own page listing colours, variations and values for loose and packaged cars from Hong Kong and the USA. The book also has special sections on Gran Prix, Heavyweights, Sky Show, Spoilers, Carry Cases, Displays, Gift Sets, Playsets, Track Sets, Merchandise, Collector Buttons and more.

I own the Tomart guide, the Schiffer guide and several others and none of them come close the detail and accuracy found in this book.

In a word, "Indispensable!"

This book is huge! About 400 pages in full colour.Where do you start? Every model and every colour variation is shown in this book and it just brings your memories flooding back.I dont even remember half of these toys.Its all in here.Each model,each variation,gift sets and so much more.

This has to be THE ultimate book on these series for sure!
A huge book,superb quality and good value make this book a legend.To the authors who put this book together,you guys are champions! Thank you.

I am a re-creator of medieval illuminations for modern use. This reference contains some very interesting illustrations in the borders, scenes of people working, and charming little references to tools and such. I'm enjoying this book as a source of inspiration for my artwork.

considering this small book is printed at the orignal scale, the details are astonishing. the printing quality delievers the art work right to your hands. it is a superb full color reproduction. the introdution is an indepth study of the history of the two original copies and the process of reconstruction of the book. the related history, manuscript making of the time are well studied.

however, the published book does not translate the Latin text in to any language i can understand. but, i guess, the text is just explaining what the picture is, which the editor always gave a longer explaination paragraph for every picture in the book, in modern eyes.

this is one of the best reproduced manuscript available today.

One doesn't need to be Christian to fall in love with this book. Each tiny painting is rich in detail and imagination. There is not one careless or unnecessary brushstroke. The artists who produced this work did the very best in their power and each image glows with their intention. There is a wonderful awkwardness in many of the human figures, but the natural and imaginal worlds are depicted with loving fidelity. This is religious art that stands with miniatures from India and Persia as some of the greatest art ever created for an intimate scale.

First published in 1966, The Hours Of Catherine Of Cleves is a wonderfully beautiful work that reproduces a fifteenth-century illuminated manuscript featuring unforgettably beautiful Bible illustrations of scenes from the Old and New testaments. These artworks were originally created for Catherine of Cleves on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of Guelders. Each page of this splendidly illustrated book is accompanied by the commentary of John Plummer, who offers insight and a descriptive vibrancy to the splendor of the illustrations. A treasure to read, view, and absorb, The Hours Of Catherine Of Cleves is recommended for Christian Studies and Christian Art History collections.

This book is found in the printrooms of most galleries and print collectors as it is a precise and concisely written text which explains the complex processes of printmaking. It clarifies the sometimes baffling differences between printing families and the creative techniques involved in making a print such as the subtle visual difference between an etching and an engraving. The book is illustrated throughout to assist the reader to identify printing techniques, characteristics and attribution marks used in Old Master prints through to those made in contemporary times. This reference text would appeal to anyone fascinated by prints and provides a new vocabulary for those who want to know more about the interesting visual variations possible in the world of the print.

I almost said "for the beginning print lover," but even the pros might want occasional reminders about obscure processes.

This book displays an incredible number of processes and variations. Even within etching, there is standard intaglio process, relief etching, intaglio so deep it's amost relief, spit-biting or open-biting - well, a very long list. This gives an exacting look at the marks specific to each process, and gives good diagnostic descriptions. A special strength in this book is the differential diagnoses, the questions to ask that help distinguish two very similar kinds of marks. Every point made in the text is illustrated real samples, and that makes for a heck of a lot of illustrations.

I have almost no quibbles with this text. There are just a few minor points that Gascoigne could have brought out more clearly. First is that Japanese woodcuts are under-represented. It's a rich tradition with a number of distinguishing features: gradations of ink hand-placed on a block, occasional use of mica for luster, and occasional use of un-inked "blind" impressions to impress texture into the paper. Second is a mark that I think is unique to drypoint: the line is often asymmetric, crisp on one side and blurred on the other, capturing the asymmetry of the drypoint burr. The split drypoint line is more famous but, in my experience, less common. I've seen it only in the most aggressively worked drypoints, such as some by Picasso. Third is a feature of some dust-ground aquatints: that the white marks can sometimes form a connected mesh around the black dots, where a spirit ground always has a black ocean dotted with white islands. I know these are minor points, and I hope you see how few there are.

I'm a process nut. It's not the only way I enjoy prints, and not the way everyone enjoys them. For me, though, it really adds something to know how the maker's hand created each mark that I see. This isn't strictly a process book, and only accidentally a book of process history. It's a book about how a print looks, and seeing even more in the finest part of its looks. In the end, that's really the best reason to love a print.

//wiredweird

PS: A little while ago, I was given a very nice color print. It was done in mezzotint style, using burnishers to work from dark to light. Instead of a rocker-made ground, though, it had an aquatint ground. Color came from inking au poupee, dabbed on the plate. The giver was quite surprised that I read its story so precisely. Read this book, and you'll know just what I saw.

Now in an updated and expanded second edition, How To Identify Prints: A Complete Guide To Manual And Mechanical Processes From Woodcut To Inkjet is a superb reference and self-teaching tool for discerning between manual prints, process prints, and screenprints/non-prints, whether the print in question is monochrome or color, and whether it is relief, intaglio, or planographic. 272 illustrations, 40 of which are in color, highlight the meticulous attention to detail in this excellent manual, which also covers essential aspects of printing history and the craft of printmaking. This new addition is revised with insights concerning how increasingly sophisticated yet inexpensive cheap printing processes such as quality inkjet and laser prints affect the process of identifying and evaluating printed images. A "must-read" for anyone collecting authentic prints or pursuing a career involving the identification of prints.

Back in print and updated in a new paperback edition is Bambar Gascoigne's classic How To Identify Prints, first published in 1986 and enjoying ongoing acclaim as an essential resource for any involved in identifying prints, whether they be woodcuts, lithos, or etchings. Some ninety techniques - manual and mechanical alike - are described to round out an accompanying history of prints. A lasting, classic work essential to any art library and many a general library reference collection.

I have not been to a ballgame yet but when I do, i will bring this book with me. It is a great guide with tips on how to get a baseball(get to the game early, etc.) I am glad that there is someone from New York who agrees with me about the kid who reached onto the field in Yankee stadium. Recommended for any baseball fans. END

We snagged a baseball within 24 hours after the book arrived, at Shea Stadium, from reliever Armando Benitez. Never thought it would be possible!!

My ten year old grandson is a baseball nut. His greatest dream is to snag a ball at a major league baseball game. I gave Zack Hample's HOW TO SNAG MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALLS to him and he can't wait for the season to start so that he can put into practice what this so smart book teaches him to do.

This book will put a major league baseball in your hands. I stumbled on some of the tips Zack explains in trying to get a ball myself. But Zack outlines many more - most common sense - but easy to overlook unless you have the single-minded devotion to major league baseball acquisition that characterizes Zack. This is a book for all little boys and girls, even those over ten (or forty) years of age, whose passion is to hold their own major league baseball.

Even though the expected date of arrival was 5 or 6 weeks ahead, it was shipped less than one week after the request and it arrived to Europe (from US) next week. So the total waiting time was 2 weeks instead of the 5 or 6 weeks it anticipated. I'm happy with he conditions the book arrived, so it was my first purchase in Amazon and I am definetely satisfied.

I just finished reading an old edition, whihc is late 80's and it's incredible, I can't wait to get this new edition. If you like aerodynamics and are interested in space re-entry vehicles, for sure you should have this book in your personal library.

While this description refers to an out of print edition by McGraw-Hill, the book has been republished by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) with the ISBN 156347459X.

This book in conjunction with Anderson's "Modern Compressible Flow with Historical Perspective" will give you and excellent fundamental background in high temp gas dynamics. I think the third section alone of this book (which introduces stastical mechanics, kinetic theory, chemically reacting flows, equilibrium and nonequilibrium flows) is worth the price.

Jock Elliott captures and relates all of the building blocks that went into making our Christmas holiday what it is--in terms of the way in which we celebrate.

As an ad man, he's got a unique perspective.

Fascinating reading.

This book is such an amazing find! It tells the whole celebration of the Christmas holiday, from it's pre-Christian pagan celebrations, through the 20th century. Particularly interesting is how it became a Christian Holiday a few hundred years after the birth of Christ. But the book also covers how Santa Claus came to be, the history of the Christmas Tree, carols, and a pretty extensive article on Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol.'
The author, Jock Elliott, is probably the foremost collector of Christmas memorabelia, and through many color photos has shared some of his extensive collection with us. The man even has his letters to Santa from the 1920's! But, most impressive of all (to me!) is his 'A Christmas Carol' collection. He has a copy of the original first edition from 1843, as well as the original newspaper advertisement for the book from that same year! And, yes, Mr. Elliott shares this with us, too.
I've compared his history of the holiday with other books I own and I feel I can safely say that Mr. Elliott has done his research. His writing style is very entertaining and easy to follow, so the younger set can enjoy this book, too.
All in all, this is one of the most entertaining books I've read on the Christmas holiday. I guess if I had one complaint it would be for Mr. Elliott to maybe add a bit about the Reason for the Season - Jesus Christ.
Very highly recommended.

Saw this book when it was listed with a book I wanted to buy about Christmas and the history of our American traditions. It is a beautiful book with lots of pictures- not alot of written information. Still find it interesting and informative.

Almost all Americans celebrate Christmas but so few of us really know its deep-rooted and ancient origins as well as the origins of so many of the traditions we hold so dear.

In his wonderful book called, Jock Elliott has charted all of this story (and more) with care and good cheer. He reminds us of how recent the Christmas "tradition" is, and how ancient. He tells us, for example, that the Christmas tree is basically a product of the second half of the American 19th century, and can be traced to England. The British royal family - themselves imports from Germany - first pitched such trees in their palatial homes. But the trees, and the rituals of winter celebrations, could themselves be traced all the way back to pagan times and the celebrations of the winter solstice.

We learn about the men who defined Santa claus Including Clement Moore who wrote the "Night Before Christmas", and Thomas nast. Nast was the greatest political cartoonist of the 19th century, perhaps of any American century. During the holiday season of 1862-63, Nast put visual flesh on the poetic bones provided by Moore. In the Jan. 3, 1863, issue of Harper's Weekly, he showed Santa Claus cheering up the battered Union troops. He's wearing striped pants and a shirt spangled with stars. Nast would do a year-end drawing of Santa Claus for each of the following 25 years.

From giving gifts to misletoe, Elliots great book fills us in on the origins of Everything Christmas. Highly Recommended

Co-written by expert antiques dealers Joe Keller and David Ross, Jadite: An Identification And Price Guide informatively examines and showcases Jadeite dinnerware from the 1930s to the mid 1970s. Gorgeous full color photographs are combined with a comprehensively researched price guide to make for a marvelous compendium of Jadite works. Highly enjoyable for armchair connoisseurs of practical art and devoted collectors alike, Jadite is exhaustive, authoritative, "user friendly", and enthusiastically recommended.

I LOVE MY JADITE BOOK, IT'S VERY INFORMATIVE AND EASY TO USE TO IDENTIFY AND PRICE ANTIQUE PIECES. I COULDN'T FIND THIS BOOK ANYWHERE EXCEPT AT AMAZON.

This book has awesome photography with accurate color and well conceived layouts. It is well organized and easy to use as a reference and pricing guide. I would highly recommend this book to both the novice collector and the seasoned veteran.

One of the things I hate about price guides is the pricing. So many authors price items by what they have and what they want to have. If they have it, it's worth a fortune. If they want to have it, it's not worth anything. The reason for this is simple. If they want to sell something they have the price has been established and they'll ask the price in their book. It they don't have it and want it they price it low so they can buy it inexpensively. Keller and Ross don't do that. They are out there shopping, doing shows, going to auctions and their prices are generally right on the mark. That's a tremendous help to both collectors and dealers. The other great thing about the book is the photos. There are lots of them so it makes it easy to identify the pieces you have or are looking to buy. I like the organization by category which makes it easy to look up itemsIf you're a collector or a dealer this book is well worth the price.