2 comments about The Definitive Guide to Betty Boop: Memorabilia With Values.

1. Finally! Someone bright enough to give Betty Boop her due! Mr. Ellis obviously loves his subject, and by showing us how Boop's endearing image has been immortalized through the years, he not only reminds already loyal fans just how special she is, but has also created a tool by which future generations will learn to love her. I can't wait to see Volume 2!!!



2. For over 70 years, companies have been producing Betty Boop dolls, figurines, cookie jars, pins, keyrings and about everything else you can imagine. Collectors have been busy buying everything from trinkets to limited edition porcelain dolls. At long last, Mr. Ellis has compiled a reference guide that highlights some of these items, detailing their origins and history. A price guideline goes along with the description so collectors have some idea of what a reasonable value is for a particular item. The first reference guide dedicated to the queen of cartoons, an invaluable guide for collectors. The number and quality of the photos is outstanding, even though only about 10-percent of the collectibles on the market are shown in this book.

1 comments about Tramp Art: A Folk Art Phenomenon.

1. Tramp Art is a specific type of folk art made by layering notched pieces of wood in order to create ornate and multi-dimensional surfaces. Most tramp art was made in the Great Depression years from wooden cigar boxes. Helaine Fendelman was the curator of the 1975 exhibition "Tramp Art" at the Museum of American Folk Art. Jonathon Taylor, a professional photographer and tramp art collector, has done extensive research of the history of Tramp Art. Entertaining and beautifully illustrated, the book is noted as the "seminal guide to Tramp Art", and chapters include: What is Tramp Art?, Evolution of the Art, the Artists, How Tramp Art was made, the Continuing Trade, etc. At present, this is the best book on the subject of Tramp Art.

5 comments about Antique American Frames: Indentification and Price Guide (Antique American Frames).

1. What an amazing story of the way period frames came into their own. This book is the perfect way to start an understanding of the value of frames or to enhance your knowledge tremendously. This is a must have for anyone interested in the art of framing!



2. This is the best way to begin or refine your understanding of antique American frames.



3. It struck me as odd that people were tossing these things of craftsmanship and age simply because they didn't think they could profit in a monetary sense. It was the death and destruction of antique frames that has made them rare. So many died, so so many could live. I am sure marketing was the key factor in showing the buyer with the bucks the joy and appreciation of the vintage frames beauty. And so to Mr. Eli Wilner belong the spoils. I found the book enlightening and enriching. Dealers who trade in these wares should buy numerous copies and send them out to their customers for the holidays.



4. I purchased a copy of the first edition of Antique American Frames a few years ago because of a keen interest I have in American painting and antiques. The book totally transformed my perspective on frames, and now when I am shopping for antiques or considering the purchase of a painting, I take notice of the frame. Using the knowledge gleaned from this book, I fancy myself a budding frame aficionado. I was expressing my newfound passion to my cousin and ended up giving her my copy. I often take the book with me to the store or gallery I am visiting, so I immediately orderd a replacement copy for myself. I was delighted to find that there is a currently a second edition of the price guide available, complete with the latest prices. The 2nd edition also contains a wonderful chapter on collectors, both collectors of paintings in antique frames, and, just the frames themselves. I was particularly struck by the analogy of the period frame to vase; when you think about it, vases are valued the world over just by themselves and exhibited empty. You never think about something being missing. I highly recommend the 2nd edition of Antique American Frames Identification and Price Guide as a must-have for anyone who appreciates the power and beauty of American craftsmanship and artistry. Like the final sentence in the new chapter says "at last period frames have come into their own."



5. I bought this book hoping to get some real specific information on buying and selling antique american frames. I enjoyed reading this book because it gave me a bigger picture of how the frame styles developed in America (even though I also felt like Mr. Wilner's chatty tone seemed to talk down to his audience). I agree with some of the other reviewers in that this certainly is an enthusiastic book and creates awareness for people to look at what surrounds the picture instead of just looking at the painting. Antique frames should certainly be studied and written about and noticed and matched with the right paintings.

   I do have some complaints however. I am an antiques dealer and I have some other books in the Confident Collector series. I really don't think this book fits in the same spirit as the rest of the series. I think Mr. Wilner's prices are all off base with the real world of antiques and collecting. They seem to be a self-serving guide to prices in his shop alone. I go to lots of auctions and antique markets in many states and have been in the business for many years of selling both paintings and frames and I rarely have seen frames alone sell for the kind of values he is giving them. I know that prices are going up since more awareness has made people appreciate the so-called art of the frame more. I have seen that there are many exhibits and articles on antique frames in the last few years, and I have seen that frames are starting to cost more as people become more aware that frames can be as important as a painting.I know that people like Mr. Wilner are benefiting the public by educating them on what a good frame is. I agree that some frames are very valuable, like an original Stanford White or a signed artists frame (as described in the book), but it seems that Mr. Wilner's book attempts to make all American frames seem valuable and that just can't be true. It's not true of American furniture or other antiques, they all have highs and lows, so frames must too. Like for example simple black Eastlake print frames in his book are starting at $2500, but those kinds of frames can be found at nearly every antiques mall for well under $500. There is no indication in the text about why Mr. Wilner finds Eastlake frames are suddenly so valuable other than that he says so.

   Also Mr. Wilner's book seems to be the only one in the series that he is the only dealer listed. Other books list other experts and sources to buy or find out more about the specific antique. Overall, I think that for people who know nothing about frames and want some idea of what they are about and to learn some general history, the chapter text is quite informative but the dates of the frames shown are not in chronological order which is somewhat confusing. Unfortunately the black and white pictures are so small and fuzzy and such bad quality that it is very difficult to see the detail in the frames, so how can you tell if you have one of the valuable ones or not?

   The photo captions themselves don't really give much extra information I wish they talked more about the decorative motifs or described the frames better since the photos are so bad. As generalist antique guides go it's a decent overview. I would just tell anyone to take the Price Guide part of this with a very large grain of salt, since the frame prices seem to be on the moon instead of in the real world of american antiques.

3 comments about Warman's Civil War Collectibles.

1. This a great book for collectors of Civil War relics! The book has nice colored pictures of everything from bullets and artillery shells to full uniforms and pictures. Great reference for all your collecting needs.



2. I've collected Civil War relics for over 13 years now & I can tell you that it's very important to have a book like this. By studying this book you'll be able to better identify relics as well as tell a fake from the real thing. I've already used this book to identify a canteen I recently bought for $40.00(!) as a Union medical canteen. Also, this book will tell you the general price of each relic so that you won't be cheated by some crooked dealer on e-bay! However, this book doesn't cover excavated relics well at all & doesn't even mention collecting Civil War veterans' relics. The very best Civil War relic price guide available is North & South Trader's Civil War Collector's Price Guide which not only covers ALL categories of Civil War relics but also has great sections on Revolutionary War relics & the War of 1812. That price guide cost at least double what Warman's guide does, but it's worth it. I think both are great & belong in every Civil War buff's library.



3. I thoroughly enjoyed this book - it had exactly the information I was looking for, and was extremely interesting. I highly recommend this book for anyone intersted in the Civil War, whether or not they collect Civil War items.

No comments about A Descriptive Catalogue of Rare and Unedited Roman Coins: from the Earliest Period of the Roman Coinage, to the Extinction of the Empire under Constantinus ... numerous plates from the originals. Volume 2.

1 comments about Town - Country Old Tools.

1. This 1999 8 x 11" 290 page 7th edition contains 1000's of black and white pictures. Major topics range from wood and metal axes, hatchets, blacksmith, wrenches, railroad track, saws, levels, screwdrivers to farm tools. There is a very large section devoted to locks, keys and closures. Many original old catalog pages are included. The book is completely indexed for ease of use. A very useful reference work for this popular collectible.

2 comments about Our California (Our States Series).

1. I ordered this book as a wedding present for a German friend who had spent 6 weeks with me when she was a teenager. She is a nature lover, and this is one of the few books on California that I could find that consisted mostly of photos of the natural beauties of the state and also didn't contain great quantities of text...it included many of the places my friend had seen when she was here.



2. Our California presents an outstanding color photographic album of many of California's finest visual sites. The book is ideal for anyone who has never been to California before and wants to check out the potential scenery in advance. If you are a California lover and want a coffee table book, you should probably look for something built around Ansel Adams's work or any of the other great California photographers.

   I especially enjoyed the nature photography and the many scenes bathed in dawn or sunset light.

   The book abounds in redwood groves, poppy fields, rocky shorelines, foggy hills, thundering water, snow-capped peaks, still lakes, deserts, wildlife, vineyards, city scenes, ghost towns, festivals, architecture from the Mission days through today and amusement parks.

   The photography is routinely splendid. The quality of the paper and the page sizes are such that high quality reproductions are possible. Over 85 percent of the images are beautifully printed. The rest are either too dark or overexposed. That ratio is pretty good for a book in this price range.

   Although unaccompanied by a text, the captions are detailed enough to help you locate where you can see the sights captured here. Many of these views can only be seen at certain times of the year. Be sure to check a travel guide for the best times to go. For example, San Francisco is foggy and cold most days in the summer and rainy in the winter. September and October are better times to be there. The waterfalls in Yosemite are at their peak in the spring.

   I was disappointed to see that there were no whale photographs in the book. You can see grey whales migrating in the spring and fall and there are boats to take you out to see them.

No comments about American Country Store (Wallace-Homestead Price Guide).

5 comments about The Official Overstreet Indian Arrowheads Identification and Price Guide, 7th Edition (Official Overstreet Indian Arrowhead Identification and Price Guide).

1. Since there are few references available on point types, this was added to my reference library. Disregarding the prices, for the types, descriptions, etc. I have the Texas type book also. What puzzles me is why Overstreet has listed some types for Texas, which are not covered in the current Texas book, nor any of the old books (and I have them back to the second or so book from the 1960s). Example is the Texas point type Overstreet calls Edwards. Not in any other Texas books I find. No explanation by Overstreet. Not a bad reference for types, just wish there was a better one available, more akin to the 1960s book from Texas.



2. Despite the emotional opinions of some, on the whole monetary value issue, I found this book to be quite a valuable reference guide in terms of tool typing, and assessing style variations and aiding in establishing era. In fact I've not seen a more comprehensive reference guide. In addition to this being a fine guide for the collector, it is also a nice reference for the amateur or serious archeologist. I have participated in several responsible, (academic), archaeological digs and have witnessed more than one academic reference this book for regional typing purposes.
   
   The issue of affixing value to antiquities is always subjective (and it is reality on a Global scale) I believe the author is simply providing a range of what collectors have paid for certain examples. Again, this may be useful information to some collectors, or for Museum curators in establishing the 'street' value of collections for insurance purposes.



3. I bought this book to figure-out the monetary value of pot hunted artifacts, in order to change pothunters of federal and state crimes. Very informative. Thank you.



4. This book and the whole collection of Overstreet guides are a unsubstantiated ruse! DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. The author seeks to mislead and misdirect the general public by putting a monetary price on human history. is the value of an artifact monetary? Can riches be made from stealing the history of the public? This book would like you to think so.

   One large discrimination of this book is the fact that the prices within are set by a bunch of country yahoos sitting around a swap meet, spitting tabacky into priceless ming vases. The fact that there is little mention of the money it may cost you if you collect artifacts on public land and the fact that looting significant archaeological sites for arrowheads can land your butt in jail, is barely mentioned.

   Do yourself a favor, take a class in archaeology from your local junior college, pick up the Bruce Bradley video called Flintknapping or Andrefsky's lithic book from Cambridge and start making your own arrowheads. Then go to your local swap meet and sale them to dumbasses that buy this book!

   Remember price is only what you can get some country bumpkin to give you for an arrowhead, and looting sites on public or private land will only land you in jail, or even worse get you filled with lead from an angry landowner.




5. Purchased to study projectile points. I was not disapointed with the packed information and photos on this subject. Used as well, as a price guide for collectors, I none the less use it as a reference manual. It lists point artifacts from each part of the country broken down in groups of states. It then shows most of what is common for that area as far as shapes, sizes, etc. It is a good guide for the beginner to learn both projectile shapes and nomenclature. I carry it as a supplement to other books on archaeology and prehistoric American Native studies.............

1 comments about Collecting American Country.

1. I bought this book in the early 1980's, and back then ,this was considered a very up-to-date book. I loved it back then!
   
   However, now that it's 2007, many of the photos in this book will seem out-dated ....to the reader.