No comments about Cissy: Identification and Price Guide.

No comments about Collecting Toys: Identification and Value Guide (O'Brien's Collecting Toys).

1 comments about Insider's Guide to Doll Buying & Selling: Antique to Modern, Insider's Guide (Insiders Guide Series).

1. I think Jan Foulke is the leading authority on doll collecting. This is a great book for beginners. It gives great advice on what to look for in a quality doll. The dolls condition can be just as important as its rarity etc... This book is not thick, but has great tips and advice. I would recommended any book by Jan Foulke. She also sells dolls on Ebay.

No comments about Collecting Toy Soldiers (Pincushion Press Collectibles Series).

No comments about Dolls, Teddy Bears and Accessories of the Twenties and Thirties: from Sears, Roebuck and Co. Catalogs.

4 comments about Collector's Compass: Barbie (r) Doll.

1. This is a great book for those that are looking to collect barbie and don't know how to judge a doll or what problems they might have. They will not have to learn with an expensive horrible experience.
   IT is good for new sellers because it presents them with all the questions that they will have to answer. AND finally tells them that GREEN EAR is not REALLY completely fixable and that this decreases the value of the doll!
   A mistake many novice sellers commit. Writing on their description "green ear, but I have heard it can be fixed"....



2. This book would be wonderful for many who are in to loving Barbie. It gives wonderful tips on collecting.... wonderful for beginners!!!



3. I checked this book out of the library and that was a relief, because I did not waste $12.95. I found nothing new or special in this book. There are plenty of other Barbie books out there that may be a bit more expensive but you will get your money's worth if you spend an extra $10-15 on one of them.

   There is no price guide, no list of the vintage outfits available, and only 16 pages of color photos. (16 pages isn't very impressive when you've seen Barbie books that contain hundreds and hundreds of color photos.)

   I gave this book 2 stars because it's fairly inexpensive and it could be helpful to a complete novice who has never read _anything_ about Barbie collecting. There are still better, more informative options for absolute beginners. A lot of the advice in here is generic common sense and BASIC information that could apply to any collectible hobby.




4. this book is compact and informational. it features photographs and plenty of tips and direction to beginners. The author includes cleaning, how to buy, and a beginning awareness on the world of barbie collecting

2 comments about The Barbie Doll Years 1959-1996: A Comprehensive Listing & Value Guide of Dolls & Accessories (Barbie Doll Years).

1. This book lists nearly EVERYTHING! And I'm assuming when the third edition comes out, it'll cover the few things missed here. The values are as accurate as any other price guide (i.e. to be taken with a grain of salt), but the best part is having such a completely comprehensive list of not only dolls, but also fashions, accessories, licensed items, even pogs and postcards!



2. This is THE one book you MUST have if you collect in the broad Barbie doll family. They are few photos, but there is the most comprehensive listing of every Barbie & Friends you could ever find. When I'm bidding in auctions, this is the book I look to for the REAL value of the item. Get it...or you could overpay on your Barbie items. Highly recommended!!

3 comments about Baby-Boomer Dolls: Plastic Playthings of the 1950's and 1960's a Reference and Price Guide.

1. To try to fit all the Baby Boomer dolls in one book would be impossible. This book gives a good overview about dolls from this time. Good pictures, lots of company info. In its second printing so that should say something right there. My favorites were the TV related dolls like Jeannie and Pebbles and Bamm Bamm.



2. This was strong on Terri Lee dolls (9 pages) and on Mattel (13 pages). Though 16 pages were devoted to Madame Alexander, I felt that just two small pictures of "Cissy" were not enough; and there were no pictures of the Winnie or Binnie Walker dolls. Most of the MA coverage was of the child-dolls and Alexanderkins.
   There were only two pages devoted to "Ginny"--and there were no pictures of Ginny with painted eyes, molded lashes, or bent knees. All were of the painted-lash version.
   Karl offers less than 1 column (about 100 words!) on the prolific and highly collectible Virga dolls, offering no pictures at all.
   The quality of the pictures is excellent, and this is a nicely produced book. But I feel that it does not offer full enough coverage, especially of the hard plastic dolls of the 1950s, to be considered a comprehensive guide.



3. If you collect dolls of the 50s and 60s you should buy this book. It has hundreds of full color photos with descriptions and prices. It's a great reference guide. I enjoyed looking at so many of the dolls I grew up with.

4 comments about Sewing for 20th Century Dolls, Volume II.

1. I bought this book because a previous reviewer said there were many Barbie type patterns in it. It's a great book, but there are NO Barbie type patterns in it. The author specifically states that she has put no Barbie type patterns in it because so many of them are available elsewhere. So, great book, but don't buy it if you want 11 1/2 inch fashion doll patterns.



2. If you sew for dolls, you need Johanna Gast Anderton's Sewing for 20th Century Dolls Vol. 2.The patterns are meticulously researched and produced.Nowhere else will you find patterns that came from careful measurement of existing vintage doll clothingform the 1900s through 1990s.

   I bought the book for the patterns for dolls of the Sixties and Seventies: Cher, the Crissy Family, Littlechaps, Miss Seventeen. Following JGA's advice, I resized and used patterns from every era to redress an assortment of orphan dolls.

   Most commerical patterns give you a style somewhat resembling the original clothes dolls came in. This book gives you the real thing. For most collectors, anything less is just not worth the time and trouble.




3. If you want to see your collectable dolls dressed authentically, but don't want to see the poor dears wearing stained and faded vintage clothing, then this book is for you!

   Anderton has included patterns for wardrobes, including undergarments and shoes, for popular collectable dolls from the 1900's to the 1990's. 1900-1910 includes period wardrobes for 18" antique Bisque-head girl dolls and 15" lady dolls. 1920's includes patterns for Dolly Rosebud, Baby Peggy and Patsyette. 1930s includes wardrobes for 7 1/2" Madame Alexander's Dionne Quints, Effanbee's 12" Patsy and 14" Patricia, and 13" Shirly Temple and other composition dolls. 1950 features wardrobes for 14-24" hard plastic dolls featuring a pattern for Miss Revlon's original dress and the original outfit for Madame Alexander's Cissy.

   The 1960's has the complete original wardrobe for Miss Seventeen Beauty Queen including the pageant bathing suit with crown and sash. The Chatty family, my favorite, includes Charmin Chatty's sailor outfit with patterns for the saddle shoes and glasses! - but no socks. Also for Charmin are the party dress, the Foreign Lands coat, the Cinderella costume (but not the ball gown). Patterns for Chatty Cathy include the Peppermint Striped dress, The pajamas and the Sunny Day outfit (only with shorts instead of peddle pushers) including a pattern for the seal applique and the hat. Also included are original outfit patterns for Chatty baby, tiny chatty baby, and Singing Chatty. The 60's also include wardrobes for the Littlechap Famlily and the Whimsy dolls. 1970's, 80's and 90's include *many* patterns for fashion dolls like Barbie and include celebrity costumes like Sonny & Cher, Laurie Partridge and Dorothy Hamil. There are also patterns for male fashion and action dolls. There are 5 outfits for Ideal's Crissy and movie costumes for their 12'Shirly Temple including the costumes from "Stowaway", "Heidi", "The Littlest Rebel" and others.

   I think a "beginning" sewer could use this book, but doll lovers with no previous sewing experience will need to learn a few basics first.




4. This book has lots of hard-to-find doll patterns! The patterns are easily traced and there are so many of them. I bought it for the Littlechap doll patterns and found some for Penny Brite, as well! Lots more! The instructions are a little to be desired and the reason for four star rating instead of five star, by me, but the experienced and unexperienced seamstress should be able to follow them.

No comments about Identifying German Parian Dolls.