Antiques Books

This book is the best Japanese reference book you can own! It identifies swords, dirks, tassels, belt buckles, civilian swords, and pretty much anything else you can think of. This book is a must have for any Japanese sword collector! In fact this book itself is very hard to find and is skyrocking in value. Whatever you have to pay for this book it is worth it, I know I made up for the price with the first purchase I made.

Excellent book for the new or advanced collector. lots of good photos never published info. Clear and concise info on anything you may find at estate sales flea markets or antique shops

This book is very comprehensive and has more information than most books of a similar topic. Great reference material as well as some nice closeup details of rare swords. A MUST HAVE item for anybody that wants to collect Military swords and such. Information of the type included within this book will assist newcomers to buy swords with confidence. Well worth $50 price!!

This is an excellent reference for anyone interested in Japanese swords. The authors have made not only a great handbook, but also one that is easily readable. It is an excellent buying guide in terms of identification, authentication, and evaluation. It also provides great information on sword knots, sword belts, and hangers as well as collecting tips and period photos. Don't go to a show without it! It gives you a knowledge advantage over 90% of the folks selling Japanese military swords. Easily pays for itself with your first treasure find.

This book had exactly what I was looking for. Many beautiful designs of animals from simple to really extravagant. I highly recommend this book to anyone in the jewelry business or who has an interest in gems.

This is a wonderful resource for high end, modern animal jewelry pieces. These are not designs you will find at your local jewelers, and it is probably of limited use to crafts people, but as eye candy it can't be beat.

While brief mention is made of historical pieces, this is really a book about Victorian jewelry to the present. It is a shame that there is not more information about the wonderful animal jewelry of antiquity, but perhaps that will come in another volume.

If you are interested in contemporary and 19th-20th century jewelry design, this book is a steal at the Amazon price.

I FIRST SAW THIS BOOK @ MY LOCAL LIBRARY & BOUGHT IT THE SAME DAY. FULL OF ORIGINAL & MASTERFULLY CRAFTED JEWELRY THIS BOOK IS A MUST FOR ANYONE WHO APPRECIATES ORIGINALITY & ARTISTRY IN JEWELRY DESIGN. I WOULD HAVE PAID MORE FOR IT!

This book is crammed with page after page after page of the most breathtaking animal jewelry by the world's elite designers, such as Verdura. It is amazing to me that the book, printed on high quality paper, retails [at a low price]. The authors have compiled a comprehensive review of jewelry history and photos and if you are a fan of whimsical but elegant design, you'll love this book.

This is a great book on one of the great private jewelry collections of all time. The images in this book are the benchmark for this kind of book and the text is highly informative. The Duchess had impeccable taste and the Duke indulged her at every turn. Not a piece this woman owned was anything but the epitomy of elan and elegance, it was no wonder that her jewel auction brought out royals and the famous, I especially appreciated the breathtaking Prince of Wales feather's broach bought by Elizabeth Taylor, no surprise that this woman of singular taste would buy the best piece from the collection of a lady with dare I say even better taste. Great book, highly recommended.

I adore this book! It's an oversize publication which increases the beauty of the photography. The photos of the Duchess'jewelry are breathtaking, and it also provides a full account of the famed auction, including the amounts paid for the jewelry. There are great pictures of celebrities who purchased some of the pieces. There's even a stunning photo of Liz Taylor wearing the Prince of Wales Plume Pin for which she paid over $500,000. It also recounts the story of their lives along with pictures, including copies of newspaper clippings during the abdication. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Duke and Duchess or the forthcoming auction of the Windsor's household possessions at Sothebys. This book is the jewel in my collection of royal books!

THE JEWELS OF THE DUCHESS OF WINDSOR 1st edition,is a lush vicarious view of the golden age of royalty. The illustrations are breathtaking, done by some of the world's most famous photographers including Lord Snowdon..a marvelous addition to any collection.

THE JEWELS OF THE DUCHESS OF WINDSOR 1st edition,is a lush vicarious view of the golden age of royalty. The illustrations are breathtaking, done by some of the world's most famous photographers including Lord Snowdon..a marvelous addition to any collection.

From the infamous ant farm to Wooly Willy, this book covers all the hokey and cool toys you probably had if you grew up in the 60s, 70s or even later. The author does a nice job of providing an interesting synopsis of each toy, including its invention, popularity, and success (or lack thereof). There are dozens of obscure facts and stories behind the creation and evolution of these toys, and this book culls them all for us, making it a fun and enjoyable read.

The great thing about this book is that the toys featured include those that most of us had as kids (or at least had a friend who had them): Magic 8 Ball, Slinky (my personal favorite), Mr. Potato Head, Tinkertoys....and the list goes on. This book is great for the kid who never grew up.

This book brings back wonderful memories. As a child it was wonderful playing and experiencing these wonderful toys. As an adult it is wonderful to find out why and how these classic toys came to be. This book is sure to bring a smile to all who read it.

One way in which the thinking processes of successful inventors and entrepreneurs differs from the average person is that they often see a potential masker that others fail to see. Many demonstrations of this ability may be found when reading this delightful little book, Kid Stuff. David Hoffman has assembled the histories of the most familiar toys of our childhood. From the Ant Farm to the Whiffle Ball, he details how they were conceived, perfected, and promoted.

Consider the Slinky. If Richard James, in 1945, had not been intrigued by how a spring he accidentally dropped "walked" across the floor, the story could have ended right there. But be did see a potential. He perfected it, named it, and packaged it. It then died on the vine at the local retail outlet. Again, the story could have ended right there. However, he realized this was a new item and that it had to be demonstrated. When he demonstrated it at Gimbels, he sold 400 in minutes. In the 50 years since, 250 million have been sold!

Three basics in the Slinky story form a common thread that runs through many of these classic toy histories. First, someone sees a potential market; secondly, a dynamite trade name is created; thirdly, clever marketing is utilized.

Often the opportunity is in plain sight and, in fact, may have been for some time. Hoffman points out that it is said that the Yo-Yo is actually the second-oldest known toy (after dolls). Yet it remained for Donald Duncan, in 1927, to see the possibilities. Further confirmation that some people do look at the world differently may be had by noting that Duncan also invented the parking meter and introduced the Good Humor "ice cream on a stick."

An example of a mental process utilizing analogical thinking may be seen in the history of the Erector Set. Back in 1911, A. C. Gilbert observed girders being assembled for an electric system along the railroad line he frequently traveled. Realizing kids love to assemble things (wood blocks, etc.), he put together a toy kit consisting of girders, gears, pulleys, etc.

This power of observing the obvious and seeing the not so obvious is again shown in the history of Mr. Potato Head. George Lerner noticed how children love to play with their food. Who has not? He utilized the observation to create Mr. Potato Head. Incidentally, "Mr. Potato Head was the first toy to ever be advertised on television." The story recites how the toy has been adapted to the times. His pipe was eliminated and the last pipe given to the Surgeon General at the Great American Smokeout. Responding to safety regulation they increased the size of its pasts and made them less sharp. As Hoffman notes, the current Mr. Potato Head may surprise nostalgic parents, but he is still loved by the kids.

Another example of how a toy was adapted to the times is Antonio Pasin's original wagon, "Liberty Coaster," of 1923. It was made of wood and it was followed by the classic little red wagon, "Radio Flyer," made of steel. It was called "Flyer" to emphasize motion and "Radio" to honor the Italian inventor of radio.

If for no other reason, read this book to satisfy your curiosity as to how the classic toys came to be. How Paul Guillow created the balsa wood airplane industry. How a toy store owner and a marketing consultant created Silly Putty---it floundered until a mention in the New Yorker magazine resulted in orders for a quarter-million and it's sales has since reached the 200-million mark!

This book is jammed packed with toy trivia. Largest-selling football in the world? Nerf football. Barbie Doll's last name? Roberts.

Viktor Budnik's photographs for this book are terrific. They make this little book look good enough for your coffee table. But best of all, even your kids will enjoy this book and, perhaps, pick up on the idea that behind each toy there was a real person who took an idea from the dream world and brought it into the real world.

These guys have put together a tremendous walk down memory lane. If you want to know the secrets behind your favorite childhood toys (as well as be reminded about how much fun they were)...buy this book. Set it out on a coffee table at your next party, and you are guaranteed an evening of fun reminiscing.

This book is more than fun reading...it is childhood joy recaptured.

This is an amazing book on wine that will attempt to drastically improve your knowledge on wine. Incredibly well organized and put together with pictures. Graphically stunning and impeccably written.

MUCH MORE USEFUL THAN "DUMMIES" BOOK. HAS A HUGE LIST OF WINE AND FOOD PARING AS WELL AS COLOR PICURES (UNLIKE DUMMIES). OH. AND IT IS SNOB FREE! IF YOU ARE INSULTED BY A BOOK TEACHING YOU COMMON SENSE, HOWEVER, THEN MAYBE A MORE INTELLECTUAL BOOK WILL WORK FOR YOU.

As a person who appreciates drinking wine I keep looking for books that will help me appreciate it even more. As soon as I started thumbing through this book, I knew I had found a winner.

While the book doesn't go into any great depth on the many aspects of wine, it does give the reader a foundation in just about all the topics that make wine drinking enjoyable. In a very short period of time, the reader will know how to select, buy, store, and serve the right wine for the right occasion. It won't make you an expert, but, it will give many of you a way to make a wonderful hobby even more enjoyable.

I highly recommend this book to most people who enjoy drinking wine.

KISS puts out many "Keep it Simple Series" books that cover topics in an easy to understand manner. In this guide, a big-nosed dog helps you through the tasks of understanding and learning about wines. It does its job well!

The book begins with the basics - the history of wine, what wine is, and a brief overview of wine and health. Then it moves into section 2 - learning how to taste wine. It talks about the basic moves involved, and then gets into the flavors you will find. It goes into acidity and sweetness, with simple explanations of both. It even goes into what you should NOT taste in a wine, and describes what a 'corked' wine is like. It points out that cork bits floating in your wine do NOT cork it, and that this is perfectly harmless :)

Another area tries to explain styles of wine by comparing them to celebrities - from Shirley Temple to Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's an interesting exercise, although not all readers will have seen movies with all of the people mentioned!

The book goes in to how to buy wine in stores, how to store it, and how to serve it. It then goes into the main grape varieties, and how each differs from its relatives. And then it gets into the meaty last portion - the region by region reviews. It goes through each - France, Spain, Italy, the US and others - with interesting facts and history, plus recommendations for what to buy and try. It discusses how Chablis should come from France and Port from Portugal, and what to beware.

The end area has a glossary of terms, vintage charts and other handy references.

While it doesn't give you much information about any one topic, this is a great way for a newcomer to wine to gain a solid grounding!

I purchased this bible as a wedding gift. It far exceded my expectations. Many pages are included to record your very own family history. This bible is so much more beautiful than I ever thought it would be, and the illustrations are real pieces of art. This bible is wonderful to look through and read. It made a fantastic gift.

After receiving the KJV Antique Bible, I knew I had to speak to the quality of it. Not only is it well made, with a binding and pages that I'm sure will last for future generations, like the Bibles of old, but the content is presented with contemporary features and in a way that updates the presentation of content to modern standards. I look forward to reading the words of God to my family from such an authoritative looking Bible, besides the fact that it is the King James Version, which is more than just another version, but is the only Bible that captures the passion and thoughts of The Lord in the way He inspired it to!

The Bible was bound beautifully making it look acceptable for a young couple but still maintaining a distinguished look that will last through generations to come. The print was very acceptable. It was a delight to give this gift to our godchild and his new wife.

This is a beautiful Bible, quite suitable for a wedding gift...one that can be displayed for years and years. I have given several as gifts, and all who have received them have loved them! Be sure to have the name engraved!

Yo pude conseguir una edicion de Lalique Perfume Bottles
by GLENN UTT, y me siento feliz por tenerlo y disfrutar de tanta belleza convertida en cristal. Ojala se actualice.
Contacteme para intercambiar comentarios.
Saludos, Maria

Yo pude conseguir una edicion de Lalique Perfume Bottles
by GLENN UTT, y me siento feliz por tenerlo y disfrutar de tanta belleza convertida en cristal. Ojala se actualice.
Contacteme para intercambiar comentarios.
Saludos, Maria

Soy coleccionista de botellas de perfume de Lalique, he oido hablar del libro "Lalique Perfume Bottles", escrito por Glenn and Mary Lou Utt. Siento mucho que esté agotado, podrían ayudarme a conseguir un ejemplar? Los comentarios de Michael Trenteseau indican que es un verdadero conocedor del arte del cristal Lalique, me comunicaré con él. La colección iniciada en 1994 para su propia fragancia Lalique es preciosa, espero con ansiedad y mucha curiosidad por ver la próxima. Yo las tengo todas, gracias al amor de mi familia, que cada año me la regalan. Estoy interesada en conseguir libros relacionados con el arte del cristal Lalique. Espero la nueva edición de este libro en especial.

"Lalique Perfume Bottles" by Glenn and Mary Lou Utt is the definitive book on the work of the Lalique in one of the most important aspects of the family's design history. Rene Lalique designed the bottle for "l'Effleurt" for Francois Coty, originating the concept of a specific bottle designed for a single fragrance. Lalique later produced bottles that would house any of Coty's dozens of scents, but the concept of individuality in presentation was born in 1907.

The book is thorough in its descriptions and its pictures. Every flacon mentioned is illustrated, and there is a table in the back which lists them all as well.

There are two drawbacks to the first edition: There are some errors - pieces listed that are not in fact by Lalique, and some older designs have come to light. Much of this was dealt with in an addendum given to attendees at the International Perfume Bottle Collector convention in Atlanta in 1991, which may or may not be available elsewhere.

The second drawback is that it was written in 1990, before a boom in perfume bottle collecting, which included the release of Lalique's own fragrance in 1994.

Bringing the first edition up to date would mean including the changes made in 1991, and adding more recent designs. Fortunately, other than the colored stoppers of the classic double dove bottle for "L'air du Temps," the only new styles are those produced by Lalique either for their main crystal line, or for their own four fragrances.

I hope that the book is updated, I will be eager to add it to my collection.

The bandwith of this book is impressive. The photos are better than the narrative, but this book contains some interesting surprises.

This books shows you the lighters and gives a history of the lighter company. Many lighters. It doesn't give values of lighters, but its practically an encyclopedia on lighters..

A must for every collector.

Ad's book includes phantastic photography and an interesting concept regarding matching the things. The focus is not the jewel stuff one can always find in such books. It is the reflection of pure fascination of lighters, their history, function and the thrill of fire making history. Most important is the fact that the book adresses to the NON-collector as well as to the collector but more to the former. People that do not know anything about the subject will be fascinated by it. Although I am a collector I always read it again and again.

The second, all-color updated edition of Peter Winnewisser's THE LEGENDARY MODEL A FORD: THE ULTIMATE HISTORY OF ONE OF AMERICA'S GREAT AUTOMOBILES provides fans of Henry Ford with a close inspection of the history of his 1920s masterpiece the Model A. Period literature, color photos, dealer material, and anecdotes blend in a lively story which picks up where his first edition left off, providing some of the best photos of the last surviving Model As on the road, complimented by stories of the people who built and drove them. Nearly two hundred color photos blend with source material and references culled from the auto industry to make for an extraordinary keepsake.

History interests me and I'm restoring my 1931 Model A station wagon, so when I discovered Winnewisser's book I was excited to get it. I rarely buy books, and normally wait for the County Library system to purchase those that I might like to read. Thinking that a book like this might not have a wide audience, so the Library might not acquire it, I decided to fork out the money for it, and I'm glad I did. This is a good book and I enjoyed it quite a bit, reading it in three or four sittings. I lent it to my father, who grew up when Model As were on the street and drove the wagon for thirty-five years or so before giving it to me, and he liked the book, too.

That said, this book could have been better. First, Winnewisser needs an editor. The language is fine and the book is quite understandable, but it contains obvious errors. The caption under the engine photograph on page 9 is typical: it misidentifies the cutout that sits on top of the generator as a generator. On page 220 another caption misidentifies an 1930 station wagon as a 1929 model. Ford made substantial changes in the the Model A body lines between 1929 and 1930, as a reader can see by looking at the 1929 station wagon shown on page 77. When I looked at that photograph, I thought the car must have been made for use in England, as it has right-hand steering. Closer examination - the women are shaking left hands and the man's pocket square is on the wrong side of his suit coat - indicates the photograph is reversed. In discussing sales to its dealers, Winnewisser writes on page 197 that Ford adopted a twenty-two percent discount effective February 6, 1931, and then adds parenthetically that this discount was in effect at the River Rouge plant "as early as November 10, 1931." Is he saying the Rouge instituted a dealer discount 9 months after Ford adopted it, or did he use the wrong year? Good editing could clear up this confusion and the errors I cite above, and would make the book even more enjoyable.

Winnewisser did a lot of research for this book and brings out new subject matter (for me, at least). For example, I was surprised to learn that Ford not only employed African-Americans on the assembly line (as opposed to relegating these men to more menial work), but that blacks supervised white workers in some cases. There are some things that are not in Winnewisser's book. I would have been interested to see visual side-by-side comparisons of the different models and differences between standard and deluxe models. I would have appreciated more information on the making of parts and the painting and assembly of automobiles, since the assembly line was Ford's great innovation, albeit twenty-five years prior the period depicted in this book. I would have liked to have seen a little more information on Ford's AA commercial trucks. Some of this information is available elsewhere, but I would have expected to see it in a book subtitled "the ultimate history of one of America's great automobiles."

These criticisms aside, I'm glad Winnewisser took the time to research and write this book, and to include a bibliography so that I can look for more details when I have a mind to do that. I'm recommending the book to the folks in my Model A Ford Club of America chapter, and to other friends who I think might enjoy a history of another America in another time. I recommend it to anyone who reads this review.

This book does an excellent job of covering the history of the Model A! A great read because it goes beyond the historical and touches on the actual social feel of the car and the times. Filled with fun facts and antecdotes! I would recommed it to any history or antique car buff!

Pictures (B/W) and history of the production of the Model A Ford for all 4 years. Like "The Ford Model A, As Henry Built It", but the entire book (272 pages) is dedicated to the history of the Model A production. Haven't seen any other book which covers this stuff in this detail. Great pictures and images of original Ford documents.

This heart-warming work is all a book of doggy stories should be!!! Sometimes I laughed, sometimes I cried, but was always moved to thought by his deep insights into the canine mind. His liberal philosophies and mystical religious tastes aside, this book should warm the soul of all who have ever owned a mutt.

There are a lot of books on dogs out there. Some are worthless, some are truely useful and meaningful (like Suzanne Clothier's 'Bones Would Rain From The Sky').
This book is just completely enjoyable. You get a genuine feel for Mr. Welsch's love and regard for dogs, and for their love and regard for us. The frequency of laughs is no small benefit either.

Having seldom been without a dog in our own lives, my husband and I were recalling the antics of many of our dogs from the book's beginning to end. This fun heartwarming book from a true dog lover, richly enhanced by the artwork of Linda Welsch, is one of those that is practically impossible to put down until it is finished. We have enjoyed Mr. Welsch's writings for many years and are very proud to add this book to our long shelf of other dog books.

As the official representative of Richard Lee Anderson, Jr...[the California Whiskey Heeler of Page 211] AND recipient of Roger's forgiveness...I have to tell you, after reading this book you'll probably want to trade your cat in on a dog, head to your Humane Society for more dogs or adopt your first.
Dogs are good for your soul, Roger's books are great reading and Linda Welsch's illustrations are heart warming to behold.