Berry Books

I have collected dolls for many years, but always shyed away from antique dolls. I don't know much about them and felt I wouldn't know if I was recieving a fair price. This book has helped me see some of the antique dolls I find appealing are not so out of my price range. Although I cannot afford to buy a single doll at $1000.00 I can still find great looking antique dolls from $200-$500. Magazine listings, books, websites, clubs and doll doctors are included and I feel these are references I can trust. This book has sparked a fire in me to aquire some new antique doll for my collection. It was a great start to a learning process.

John D. Berry continues his publication of essays in this second in the series of thoughts on the influence of fonts ('typeface' for those of us who grew up in an earlier time!), this time extending his thoughts on the effect of the appearance of letter formation on the eye as pertaining to design. In many ways this second volume excels over the first in ease of reading and in appeal to the non-typographer student: more visual information and less didactic facts that can be head-scratchers.

This series of essays are grouped into categories that truly help the reader absorb all the information Berry and friends offer. After a lucid introduction the examination of fonts' influence on the way we perceive information (indeed, whether we take the time to read it or just pass it by), the book is divided into 1) Practice and Ideas, 2) Real-World Effects, 3) Design All Around Us, 4) Design On The Page, and finally 5) Design and Culture. In these wisely organized (and beautifully illustrated topics Berry presents his views and evidence on how the mixing of new and old fonts, traditional and radical fonts, and even the bold versus italic versus whisper thin fonts combine to make an impact. There is much psychology shared here and reading Berry's essays helps us to think about and notice the way newspapers grab our attention for some topics and defray attention from others: information presented to our eyes penetrates the page-brain barrier chiefly because of the way the information is designed typographically.

Berry extends his discussion to relate to the manner in which museum exhibitions are influenced by font and graphic design to enhance viewer understanding, how book design on covers influences reads whether to buy or not, and how important design elements are in influencing public consumption of products. All of this information is shared in a jovial manner of writing that allows the reader to learn while maintaining tongue in cheek! Few writers are able to convey this kind of information beyond the purview of the immediate intended audience of graphic designers to embrace any reader fascinated about factors that influence our perception of the world. This is another book that deserves a wide audience. It is a very fine read. Grady Harp, March 07

John D. Berry may be categorized as an editor, book designer, and expert on typography (and his credentials certainly substantiate that slot!), but to this reader Berry is a contemporary philosopher. He just happens to use as his tools for investigating human thought and idea extension the wide variety of fonts and their uses in the media as a means to explore human response and even human behavior.

The casual reader may not be attracted to a book about fonts (or, in older terms, typeface): the topic sounds dry and sterile and far too narrow to warrant buy his book to peruse with care. The book is most assuredly a 'Must' for graphic designers, artists who incorporate words or word fragments into their art, and for those who evaluate the final presentation of any book, whether a child's story, and adult novel, an art book, or newspapers and magazines. The surprise is the book's affinity for all readers fascinated with language and its development visually as a means of looking at the times!

What Berry achieves in this fascinating collection of essays culled form his website Creativepro.com is a history of the written word focused on the appearance of the constituents (read letter appearance) developed and used from as early as the 18th century to modern times. The old arguments, such as the long enduring one as to whether serif or sans serif (footed or non-footed) typeface/fonts produce faster and easier reading, are explored with both humor and scientific approach. But the essays all offer an entirely new ways of thinking about how the appearance of what we read plays on our retinas and hence our brain entries and the whys of that phenomenon.

Mark Batty Publisher continues its quest to offer alternative books that have to date not found a friendly home for promotion and their library of now published works is an impressive one. As one would expect from a publisher with this goal, the design and layout of each of the books is of the highest quality, allowing for visual examples to clearly add to the written word without crowding the succinct manner in which the essays are meant to be read: the converse is than when their books are about visuals (as in the excellent New Orleans Bicycles) the written word embroiders the photographs instead of submerging them in bloated commentary. Their books are works of art in and of themselves and this book 'dot-font: Talking about Fonts' is an excellent example. Fascinating reading! (...)

There is something really special about this book. When the text is as entertaining and clever as the pictures are captivating and beautiful, you have a treasure to enjoy over and over. This book captures the excitement of a day at the beach perfectly from the perspective of five adorable ducks. You can almost feel the movement of the water with Nakata's fantastic illustrations, and I don't think I will ever tire of the rhythm and rhyme of Berry's text. My son is almost 2, and he asks to read this over and over. I am sure older children would enjoy it, too. If you're planning a trip to the beach, this is a must-have for setting the tone of the trip.

This is a very nice book with great pictures and old print ads. It also provides considerable written information on the history and progress of the company and glass making.

I learned a great deal about Carnival glass and my ability to identify specific pieces was greatly enhanced because of this book. Highly recommended, especially for the beginner to Carnival glass.

Under an ordinance passed in 1785 the virgin lands of the Northwest Territory were offered for sale to the public, the first public land in the U.S. to be subdivided. Four land offices were established in Ohio for the auction and private sale of these lands. Sales from the Marietta Land Office, covering twelve present-day Ohio counties--the entire southeastern portion of the state--are the subject of this book.

In an easy-to-use tabular format, there is a complete list of the 7,500 persons who bought land in southeastern Ohio from 1800 to 1840. Data given includes the purchasers' name (in alphabetical order), date of purchase, place of residence at the time of the purchase, and the range, township, and section of the purchased land. The information in this tightly organized book is a distillation of the contents of thirty volumes of unindexed land records.

This volume is available on our Family Archive CD 765

This book is exclent! I'd recomend this book to anyon

This book is an outgrowth of an environmental conference which was held in Seattle in the early 90s. It is both hopeful in reporting some of the activities which are going on in the earth/human relationship and hopeless in that it tells the situation like it is...dire. The presentation of the sacred in everyday life is beautifully done. The book was a consciousness raising session and the message is inspirational.

This book was one of my favorite books as a kid I could make anything from a Kite to a self propelled boat from match sticks and the box of matches. I would spend hours upon hours making the projects in it. Now I purchased it for my son.

...It's worth having. The author takes archetypal psychologyand applies it poetically and relevantly to a host of contemporary andliterary topics. Worth looking for.