1 comments about The Shipcarvers' Art: Figureheads and Cigar-Store Indians in Nineteenth-Century America.

1. I collect figures. I have read the books that are used for reference. I have seen the exhibit that was chaperoned by Mr. Sessions (Sandwich,MA., NYC,NY & Baltimore,MD). I am a student of the art he describes! I was impressed by his scholarship, his easy east coast art scene style of writing, his photography/graphics, his hommage to Ms. Sanburn, Mr. Pendergast & Mr. Fried (I knew him). This is not a picture atlas. This is not a coffee table book. I would have liked to seen/read more especially regarding the social relevance of color race &c.(the folly of the time theirs & ours) but this is another matter! I RECOMMEND this book to all who treasure american sculpture. The vulgar artist is finally getting his place(WELL DONE Mr Sessions! What is next?).

3 comments about Hawaiiana: The Best of Hawaiian Design (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. This instant-expert in Hawaiiana is evidently one of those people who move to Hawaii and think "it's much too good for the Hawaiians so I'll sell as much of it as I can". The photography is good but so many of the descriptions are soooooo wrong that I looked through it in slack-jawed amazement. Don't fall for this phoney-baloney aloha - the real Hawaii is not for sale, no matter how many books you write badly about it.



2. Sixty dollars spent for a new cover, some corrections in the index and a general increase in values is about all that is new in this edition. If you have the older one, don't bother! I felt cheated.



3. I came across this book in my hotel lounge on the North Shore of Kaui last week, and couldn't put it down. So I've come looking to buy it here. Although it's designed for collectors (which I am not), and places emphasis on the values of the artifacts pictured, it's also designed to chronicle the unique history of our exotic Hawaiian Islands. Beautifully laid out, it includes images of picture postcards, Hawaiin shirt designs, garment labels, wood carvings, and glorious Hawaiian quilts - all accompanied by just enough historical lore to make it a very smart picture book indeed!

1 comments about Indian Artifacts the Best of the Midwest: Identification and Value Guide (Indian Artifacts of the Midwest).

1. If this is the best that Mr. Hotham can find, he needs to look a little harder.

1 comments about Turn-of-the-Century Farm Tools and Implements (Dover Pictorial Archive Series).

1. In 1898 Henderson and Company created an illustrated trade catalog advertising tools, fertilizers and gardening equipment: this reprints a very rare volume which will intrigue social historians and any with an interest in early American history. Many an antiques collector will also find this useful, including over six hundred black and white illustrations of farm tools.

2 comments about Our Vanishing Landscape (Dover Books on Americana).

1. Eric Sloane wrote "Our Vanishing Landscape" in 1955 as the United States was entering the Atomic Age and our rural past was rapidly vanishing. He wanted to document through his wonderful illustrations and writings, a material culture that would soon be gone.
   
   Sloane's take on American history ignores the big names and the famous dates. He is more interested on the mundane and ordinary. Sloane's point of view is that most Americans were farmers a hundred years ago and therefore had to master a whole series of skills that are now gone. Purchase this book, if you want to see how are ancestors lived and functioned on a daily basis. Sloane's wonderful illustrations are like a window into a time that is long gone.
   
   Eric Sloane's books are addicitng. If you like this book, you will have a whole series of outstanding books to purchase. In this same vein, I would also recommend the works of Edwin Tunis, another master illustrator an historian of America's material culture.



2. This book presents early american real life on the farm with many wonderful detailed illustrations. Learn how a grist mill works, how roads were dug, how stone walls came to be, and other wonderful information about early america. The illustraions only add to the reader's understanding and amazement at how ingenious, hardworking, and skilled our early american ancestors were.

No comments about Kovels' American Collectibles 1900-2000 (Kovels American Collectibles).

1 comments about Maxfield Parrish : Identification & Price Guide 3rd Edition (Maxfield Parrish: Identification & Price Guide).

1. Incredibly useful. I believe Flacks has written the most accurate and convenient pricing guide available for Maxfield Parrish collectors and anyone else who wants to figure out what a Parrish item is worth. If you're looking for a great coffee table book, I suggest Alma Gilbert's The Masterworks. -- James Halperin, sf novelist (The Truth Machine & The First Immortal) and Parrish collector.

1 comments about Minnesota Underfoot (Midwest).

1. This book describes 56 different geological sites, scattered all over Minnesota, where you can scramble around, looking at geological features. It uses USGS maps and black and white photos to show you exactly where to go. Plus, there are line drawings, tables and interesting, accurate verbal infomation about the geology of each of these sites.

   If you plan to visit Minnesota or live there, and you like the outdoors, it's well worth owning this book, as well as Guide to the Superior Trail, Hiking Minnesota, and Isle Royale National Park: Foot Trails and Water Routes.

No comments about Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Coins, Vol. 1: Gold, Silver, Nickel and Aluminum (Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Coins).

No comments about Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Coins, Vol. 3: Gold, Silver, Nickel and Aluminum (Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Coins).