Collecting Books

I just purchased this book and it is what I was looking for. Service from Elagebooks was great- received it within 4 days. The book was in excellent condition. Hats off and may cheers to Elagebooks.

This is a fabulous book! For those of us who revel in collecting ephemera (printed paper of all sorts), this book provides a feast of information and visual overviews. The author covers the following subjects (among others): collecting ephemera; sources and values; conservation and display; the various printing processes; various categories (such as tradecards, letterheads, handbills, poster stamps, playing card stationery, book labels, valentines, and rewards of merit); a variety of themes (such as travel, funeralia, crime and punishment, rural life, cigar packaging, education, and entertainment); and includes a wonderful glossary, reference of papers and watermarks, and a good bibliography.

All in all a must-have for the serious collector of ephemera (you know who you are!), and well worth the price to special order. Don't hestitate, buy it!

Davies' book is a unique document, a mix of art history and personal stories. First, the most important thing is there is excellent color. Without that, truly many art books, with their fancy essays and guest writers, fail on that most basic level. But the color richness is excellent here.

The most refreshing elements are all the humorous anecdotes Tom Davies includes. They include stories on how and where he bought particular paintings (and then trying to hide them from his wife as he brought them in the house!), the eccentricities of the art dealers or his relationship to the galleries he was in, and even sometimes his own experiences when meeting the artists themselves. Davies seems to have begun collecting at a special time (the early 1960's) that allowed him as a very young man to have met many great American painters at the very last years of their lives.

There is great Western work here, Impressionists, numerous examples from the Brandywine artists, the Cape Ann School, the New Hope School, etc. I am certainly envious of all Davies has acquired. But this book was certainly not cheap to produce, so I am grateful that someone picked up the check to fund this beautiful book. Considering the astounding number of color images, it is a very reasonable price.

Davies seems to be very down to earth, as a collector and a person. I own many art books made up of the work of private collectors - always wealthy white men. And there is often something snooty in the books themselves - mostly because it was obvious the collectors always "outsourced" everything - hiring outside writers and researchers to do all the work. But Tom Davies does all the writing himself and speaks to the reader like two people talking about life over a cocktail (or a cup of coffee.....) Davies shows himself to be just the kind of collector that the rest of often WISH major art collectors were like - cultured and sophisticated but still very real people, able to poke fun at themselves.

An excellent book all around. its on my coffee table now.

The avid collector of American art for 40 years Davies relates stories on 236 artists whose works he has collected. Going with each artist are fine color reproductions of paintings of his or hers Davies has acquired. Including illustrations in introductory material and some details of paintings, there are in all 420 color illustrations.

Davies' stories are multifaceted vignettes from a couple of hundred to a few hundred words. The collecting experiences he relates as parts of the vignettes include variously his original exposure to an artist, what attracted the author to him or her, typical subject matter, and characteristics of style. Vignettes additionally mention Davies' contact with the particular artist or relationship with dealers or representatives. The author came upon paintings in antique shops as well as art galleries. In some cases he had to wait for years before he was able to acquire an artist's painting at an auction. Occasionally, the author will write briefly on techniques of a particular work. His comments on what he saw about an artist's work which prompted him to collect the artist offer plain, reliable advise to would-be or beginning collectors.

Personal, wide-ranging, and brief in its commentaries, Davies' art book is nonetheless a commendable educational resources for newer art collectors. There's top names as Davies was able to acquire these--Albert Bierstadt, Edward Moran, N. C. Wyeth, Childe Hassam, and Fredric Remington, for a few. But the particular value for new collectors and even some veteran ones is the inclusion of many secondary artists and also regional artists (e. g., Western, New England) and others such as Maxfield Parrish whose subjects and mediums (e. g., prints, illustrations) limited their appeal and market value. All, however, are of merit and collectible. Though one art collector's acquisitions and tales and advice of collecting, the book is not idiosyncratic or narrow. Davies interests and appreciations are wide; his eye, keen; his judgment, reliable. The "Collecting Stories" offers exposure to numerous worthy artists while at the same time relates the basics and some of the more sophisticated knowledge about collecting art. Davies imparts not only the rewards and enjoyments of this pursuit, but also the kinds of experiences, activities, contacts it involves.

This book and series are great!
An interesting story, great pictures and good ideas about using math in our everyday life.

A Collection for Kate is one of a series of books in the Math Matters collection. Each Math Matters book looks at one concept and features a character with a predicament to be solved.

About the book

Written in 1999 by Barbara de Rubertis and illustrated by Gioia Fiammenghi, this 32-page book was published by Kane Press. It is for children ages 5-7 or kindergarten through 2nd grade. The math concept in A Collection for Kate is addition.

The story

The setting for this book is Kate's classroom. The children signed up to bring in a collection and share it with their classmates. Kate had less than one week in which to come up with a collection. Kate went home and rummaged through all her things. She had "a little of this. She had a little of that." But she didn't have enough of anything to make a collection. She wasn't even sure how many things made up a collection so she decided to see what the other kids would bring.

On each day a different child brings in his or her collection and talks about it. Joseph had 2 tote bags with books. Nine books were about snakes and 5 were about lizards. Kate added that up and it came to 14, which sounded like a lot to her. The book continues with the children bringing in their collections: one child collected 2 kinds of magnets - 13 animal magnets and 11 food magnets. Kate was really worried because that added up to 24!

Kate went home and looked again but couldn't come up with a large collection. The book continues with many children sharing their collections, counting them out and Kate adding up the numbers. In some cases it was more than 2 numbers; some she had to add a row of 3 numbers. One child had so many types of pigs (glass, plastic) that Kate had to regroup to find the sum. (For those of you who learned math like I did - the old-fashioned way and don't teach, regrouping is the new way that math is taught. Rather than carrying for addition or borrowing for subtraction, children regroup.)

Kate ended up coming with a very creative collection to share with the children that they all though was "cool" and "a great idea." Her teacher commented on her collection and Kate answered, "Right...for me that just didn't add up."

The illustrations:

This is a very cute book and the pictures are adorable. The children look real. They are all sizes and colors with a variety of expressions on them. The pictures aren't intricate. They are simple faces, for example with a line for a nose and in some cases the faces don't have eyes. It adds to the appeal of the book as a children's book - one just to have fun with and not take too seriously. They are colorful and detailed when necessary. When Ben shows his shell collection, the shells are shaped like shells and in a box labeled with different states on them.

What your child will learn

The point of the book is achieved and achieved well. The point is to have a child read the story and get drawn into it so that he or she doesn't even know he is doing math.

You will find two important pages at the end of this book. One page is an addition chart with problems that you and your child can solve together or perhaps he can solve alone. I really feel after reading this fun book, it won't seem like work.

The other crucial page is the last one, which guides parents and teachers on how to use the book. For example, you can talk about different kinds of things people collect and what Kate might want to collect. You can look at a map and find the states that are mentioned in the book adding Social Studies to the lesson. You can have your child check to make sure Kate's math is correct. Of course it is, but your child won't know that and will want to make sure she is correct! You can have your child count the items in her classmates' collections, talk about less than and more than with your child, and write down some of the math words that he or she may have learned for the first time.

My thoughts:

This book can be used to read to your younger child or the child who can read alone can enjoy it by himself. Many of the words will be much too difficult for a 5-year old but most children at 7 will be able to read this by themselves or with just a little bit of help from you. I think this book (I would probably have the whole series!) is super for children who love math and who don't. If your child loves math he or she will love reading this and doing the activities at the end of the book. Have him do it on a separate sheet so he can do it more than once. You can also make up your own problems and hide them in the book for your child to find the next time he goes to read it.

If your child is math phobic this is a really fun way to get them interested in learning math or at least gets them to learn math even if they never get interested. I highly recommend A Collection for Kate. This book is perfect for the homeschooler also!

This book is available in hardcover or paperback. [...]

I have a substantial collection of reference books about Barbie doll and her world, but I simply COULD NOT do without this book! It is the most complete, chronological breakdown of Barbie & family dolls and that I have found. This book, in combination with Marcie Melillo's "The Barbie Book", will help the beginner and even the advanced collector to identify just about any Barbie family doll from any early (60's & 70's, primarily) era. It even goes into detail about dolls offered in successive years, and the differences in their manufacture, so that, for one example, you can tell to WHICH year your specific Growin' Pretty Hair Francie, a doll offered over a few years in the early 70's, belongs. The text accompanying the many, many photos is succinct and easy to understand, and while many photos are in black-and-white, there are quite a few pages of color photos as well, which detail much of Barbie's clothing across those early years. Well-executed, altogether. One might expect just such an excellent guide from Sibyl DeWein, who was a major player in the Barbie collectibles world until her death just a few years ago. I bought the book because she was a name of such renown & had written it (with a co-author/collector), and I was and am pleased to have it.

This is a must for anyone who collects vintage Barbies and related items. It contains information and prices from the first Barbie starting with 1957 to 1976. It has all marks from those times. Also, pictures with information each year, which dolls were released and what clothes they were wearing. They have a year by year section, with information on other Mattel dolls, Ken, Midge and other rare ones. This is the most informative Barbie book I've read.

I found this book to be very useful. It's very well organized and well written. An only suggestion for the next edition is to have glossier/brighter/clearer photographs.

I found this book to be logical and informative. The foundation of this book is based upon the chronilogical use of each mark. The patterns are then listed alphabetically within the time period that "mark" was used. Because of this book - all my freinds and colleages think of me as a "Early Noritake Expert" - I dont have the heart to tell them that I am not! I highly recommend this book to any and all collectors and/or dealers of Noritake!

I purchased this book to clear up my conception of some of the Metlox patterns but it opened my eyes to some very collectible pieces that I had been over looking. Nice pictures with several styles in each catagory that eliminates the guess work. As a beginner collector of Metlox I am truly please with this book.

This book is the definitive work on Metlox Pottery. It's a "must have" for the collector and enjoyable reading for the person wishing to learn more about California pottery. Full of hundreds of pictures and values, this book is an invaluable guide and resource.

This second edition, 288 page, 8 1/2 x 11" softbound book has more than 2,000 beautiful, full color photos. There is a very complete index for easy reference. Year 2000 values. An informative introduction and history of the topic is included. Major topics range from functional ashtrays, advertising, novelty to ashtrays from the past and ashtrays without a country. There's plenty of information on pottery and porcelain, glass, metal, plastic, marble, soapstone and wood. Every kind of ashtray from alcoholic beverages to educational to world's fair. Add this book to your collectibles collection. You'll enjoy it and find it very useful.

A valuable price guide for anyone collecting ashtrays or for an antique dealer like myself wanting to learn more about what I offer for sale. Arranged by sections shown in the front of the book. Sections include Funtional Ashtrays, Advertising Ashtrays, Novelty Ashtrays, Ashtrays from the Past and Ashtrays without a Country. Plus an index by company names in the back. The book has 287 pages. Beautiful color pages throughout. Prices for 1999 shown on same page as pictures. No having to turn to a back page for each item to see a price. Some real surprises of what qualifies as being called an ashtray. What I had sold at one time and thought was a handled vase, this clever author noticed what I had overlooked; an indentation on each side for a cigarette! Besides pictures, basic identification and prices are all easy to figure out which one is describing which picture. There is a basic description for each sub-section. In section one under Glass Ashtrays there is a page of terms like a dictionary with a short definition. For example: Amberina: clear and translucent, shading from light amber to ruby red. Section one alone is divided into Pottery & Porcelain, Glass, Metal and one sub section that includes Plastics, Marble, Soapstone and Wood. Under the Pottery & Porcelain section are 9 sub-sections. If you have never owned a price guide before when you see this one you will want all future guides to be as well done and as easy to use as this one. If I were going to write a price guide I would hope I could write one as useful as this one! A real value for the price. Far better than I expected when I ordered it sight unseen.

Jerry and Elaine Heuring's E.C. Simmons Keen Kutter provides an excellent guide to identification and values of this brand's cutlery and tools, with color photos aiding in the process. This manufacturer produced a range of pocket knives, hand tools, catalogs and squares: all are surveyed and given current values here.

This volume (copyright, 2000) contains 192 pages and more than 750 full color, large, sharp photos. You'll find information about thousands of Keen Kutter items here. The book discusses Keen Kutter history, tradmarks and motto, reproductions, fakes and clubs. Price ranges are provided for each item. Major topics cover Advertising, Calendars, Catalogs, and Kitchen, Paper Goods, Saws, to Tool Boxes, Wrenches and Yard and Garden. A must have volume for collectors of this popular collectible.

Neva's daughter -- I saw a lovely set of Harker dishes at a shop, but I don't know the pattern. Would you help me identify it? Contact me at kdavis@cir2.com

OK, I'm biased. My mother wrote this one. Many of the pieces featured in the book are part of my collection. But it's still the ONLY book on Harker Pottery, America's Oldest Pottery. This book not only includes beautiful pictures of Harkerware, but also includes a price guide and some history of the pottery industry of the Ohio Valley. Harker is a contemporary of many currently collectible potteries such as Hall and Homer Laughlin. While not as valuable currently as Autumn Leaf or Fiestaware, Harker's Cameoware is becoming increasingly popular. Harker is also the only manufacturer of ceramic serving forks and spoons as well as beautiful ceramic rolling pins

It's about time someone did a comprehensive study of the Horsman company and the wonderful dolls they made. This is a book that will prove valuable to all serious researchers and collectors. Let's hope Jensen will write more books of this caliber.

Don Jensen certainly has "put meat on the bones" for the Horsman Company. A newspaper writer and editor by training, he comanded the considerable research skills necessary to ferret out extensive information on the Horsman company and their early chief designer, Helen Trowbridge. It also made it possible for him to present for the first time ever a picture and markings of the earliest composition doll made by Solomon Hoffman. Horsman's product line is delt with comprehensively, from the early imported dolls to cloth, bisque during WWI, composition and finally plastic. Not only is this an indispensible reference book for doll collectors, but also makes for fascinating reading.