1 comments about Boys' & Girls' Book Series Real World Adventures: Identification & Values.

1. Brand new, year 2002 volume dedicated to these series collectibles. It contains 176 pages, filled with more than 325 excellent full color photos. Prices are 2002. There's sufficient text to answer many collector questions. Major chapters include: pricing, intro, publishers, identifying first editions, glossary, abbreviations, resources, and more. Descriptions are complete. This is an exciting collectible, that brings back many childhood memories for collectors. A very nice collector's reference.

2 comments about Painted Labyrinth: The World of the Lindisfarne Gospels.

1. An interesting history of the art of hand printing books. Fantastic pictures.



2. In a mere 48 pages, author Michelle Brown, currator of illuminated manuscripts at the British Library, has put together a wonderful expose of the Lindisfarne Gospels, one of the beautiful illuminated productions to come out of the Irish monastic/scholarly traditions of the so-called Dark Ages. One can wonder how an age that could produce such exquisite books as the Lindisfarne Gospel could ever be called 'dark'.
   
   The Lindisfarne Gospel is a piece of art, and a piece of history. It is a significant milestone in the history of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon development. Brown's book has illuminations of a more modern sort on every page, pictures and graphics, illustrating the beauty, grandeur, and history of this great work. The Lindisfarne Gospels helped to define Christianity for the local culture, connecting it with the larger world of Christendom.
   
   The Lindisfarne Gospels' artistry lies not only in the beautiful pages, but in great attention to detail throughout. The colours and pages, the hinges and covers, the stitching and construction all testify to an unparalleled care for craftsmanship. The influences of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon imagery is clearly seen in the illuminations and construction, which in turn influenced the further development of those traditions. The calligraphy was influenced by Roman, Greek and Germanic lettering, blending things together in an astonishingly complementary way.
   
   This book would be a gem for the pictures alone; with the brief, insightful text by Michelle Brown, the book becomes a real gift to the reader.

No comments about The World from Here: Treasures of the Great Libraries of Los Angeles.

2 comments about The Master of Mary of Burgundy: A Book of Hours for Engelbert of Nassau.

1. This title is a reproduction of a late medieval/Northern Renaissance Book of Hours or prayer book. There is just enough explaination of the artistic conventions, the revisions made as one nobleman's coat of arms replaced another, artistic conventions and medieval/early modern symbolism to let the modern reader understand the book, without going into abtruse art history discourse.
   
   The physical book is suprisingly small--palm sized. I can look at this volume for hours to marvel not only at the calligraphy but also the details of paintings of the borders.
   
   I am no art historian, just a book lover, and I love this little book.



2. This is a lovely facimile of a book hours in the bodleian library in oxford. This book of hours was made by "the master of Mary of Burgundy" in the early 16th century. In additon to the 'carpet pages' of this manuscript, various text pages are also reproduced. Many of the illustrated pages have gold leaf on them and an gold ink is used to reproduce this effect. My only complaint with this book is that this ink has in some places obscured details of the manuscript and made pages look heavier than I think they probably do in the orginal work.

   If you have read any books on illuminated manuscripts in the past, you might be suprised by the number of pages you will recognise in this book. In size the book is quite small. Quite litrely the size of your palm, and this is a reflection on the actual size of the manuscript in Oxford. The publishers have tried to reproduce the facilmile as close as possible to the orginal where they could.

   If you are interested in illumanated manuscipts this book is worth having.

3 comments about Buying Books Online: Finding Bargains and Saving Money with Booksense Stores, Amazon Marketplace, and Other Online Sites.

1. Buying books is much more enjoyable and much more affordable now than it was in years past for many reasons. The prices of new books online are lower than in traditional bookstores. There is less overhead in an online bookstore. Also, in additon to new books, many online bookstores sell used books which can be priced much lower than a new book. Also, many books are OOP and the used book is the only way to find a copy. The internet has truly opened up a world of books to any interested buyer.



2. As e-commerce is more and more integrated into our lives, many more people are using the internet to find and purchase books they need for many different reasons. How is a buyer to make decisions? To know how to choose which seller to use? The price of this book will be saved again and again as any buyer becomes more aware and more knowledgeable about buying books online. Whether you hope to provide books for your children, for a college class, or to find the best deals on the latest best sellers, you will become a more savvy buyer after reading this book. And remember, the more knowledgeable a buyer is, the more we sellers need to be knowledgeable. Knowledge benefits all of us.



3. This book is going to save me a lot of money on books for myself and for my son, his cousins, now and probably when it is time to start buying college books too. It's a very thorough manual with helpful glossaries, abbreviatin guides, and some very good advice for finding the online booksellers most likely to provide good customer service. It's also enjoyable to read and it is obvious that the author has a great sense of humor, loves books, and understands what drives people to buy them.

3 comments about The Gutenberg Bible: Landmark in Learning.

1. An outstanding account of how Huntington acquired this rare bible--the first book printed with moveable type. There are many full color details of the illuminations painted by hand, and the reproductions are accurate to the originals.



2. good informative booklet.never be bored to read a short history of the first printed book.



3. This short book, a mere 48 pages, is a real gem. Of the 48 pages, 20 or so are full-page or most-page, full-colour graphics of pages and illuminations from the Gutenberg Bible in the collection of the Huntington Library. Another five pages include black-and-white reproductions of highlighted letters, engravings, or other such details from the Bible.
   
   The Gutenberg Bible holds a special place in the annals of literary and publishing history. Prized by collectors, this particular Gutenberg Bible was quired in 1911 by Henry Huntington by fascinating circumstances, laid out as part of the history of the Bible -- Henry Huntington's purchase at auction was at the time a phenonmenal event, the highest price paid at auction for a book, at $50,000.
   
   The Gutenberg Bible was not, in fact, the first thing published with movable type printing presses. However, it was the first major book to be printing by this then-revolutionary process, and has become iconographic of many things, including invention, literacy, and spirituality. The revolution in learning, the ability for libraries to spring up in every community (as opposed to just a few centres of learning), and the expanding availability of texts of every type were precipitated by the invention of the printing press -- that Gutenberg chose the Bible as the first major work also speaks to the air of change that would sweep across Europe with the Reformation.
   
   Of course, it was not simply the availability of the printing press itself that made the particular achievement of the Gutenberg Bible and the more general achievement of literary production in volume -- movable type presses had been invented prior to the time of Gutenberg, including in places beyond Europe (such as China). However, the convergence of discoveries in ink, availability of paper, and the press (as well as a willingness to use and develop this new invention) caused a revolution in Europe.
   
   The brief text, written by James Thorpe, details the book, the press, the history, and the path this book took to its present location. It is a wonderful book for a gift to the bibliophile, as well as a nice coffee table book, and a good piece of reading for enlightenment.

5 comments about The Nancy Drew Scrapbook: 60 Years of America's Favorite Teenage Sleuth.

1. This is not a story, it's an informational book about Nancy Drew. Everythin in it is factual and it even shares a few mysteries of the life of Nancy Drew. I recomend this book to any mystery fan, ND fan, or the curious reader.



2. Outstanding service. Book was in better than expected condition.



3. This was the best and most well-researched book I've ever read about Nancy Drew. Not only does Ms. Plunkett-Powell "introduce" us to the REAL Carolyn Keene -- Mildred Wirt Benson -- but she gives us a history of how the idea for Nancy Drew was born and some of the politics involved in it for Wirt when Stratmeyer died and his daughter, Harriet, took over everything and tried to control too much of the writing. We learn which NDs weren't written by Wirt, and how much of the writing was changed as well as the covers.

   She tells collectors how to know the worth of their stash. She goes through each of the characters and their start with the series. She even talks about the TV show and MOVIES in the 1930s that were made -- more for the fun of it than to truly showcase the books. Info about Russell Tandy, the illustrator of the early books and the first to design covers, also is described.

   She hasn't forgotten anything. It's truly a work of genius for the Nancy Drew collector, a "must have" for all of us!




4. ...and other fascinating background trivia for the queen-of-teen-sleuth buffs! I'm not a true Nancy Drew fan, I'm a bookseller with a mercenary interest in the vintage teenage sleuth, but this book almost made me a believer! The author approaches her subject matter with the infectious enthusiasm of the true fan, and delves into carefully guarded mysteries of secret ghostwriter identities, Riverview's true location, and other gems of trivia too numerous to cite, with a determination and verve Nancy herself would be proud of! Fun to read, captivating, and informative to the collector and bookseller alike! (and by the way, the writing is adult-level, not 4-8 yrs., as the description implies!)



5. What a fun read! I loved seeing all the old pictures, and was amazed by the "behind the scenes" intrigue of the Nancy Drew publishing syndicate. Plunkett-Powell really tracked down the many Carolyn Keenes, in true "sleuth style." Anyone who ever stayed up late reading their Nancy Drews with a flashlight under the covers will absolutely love this book.

1 comments about Dahl's History of the Book.

1. As an artist I travel alot because it is required of me, but when one tours a country they'll never truly know what to expect, especially since tour guides only reveal the good things about their country. This book is really excellent for people who are interested in not only the physical beauty of a country, but its social and political standings. It's very informative and gets staight to the point.

No comments about Hollywood Movie Posters, 1914-1990.

No comments about Miller's: Collecting Modern Books.