3 comments about Kovels' Antiques & Collectibles Price List 2008: The Bestselling Price Guide in America- 40th Anniversary Edition (Kovels' Antiques and Collectibles Price List).

1. This is a nice reference book. Not as complete as I wished. Sometimes difficult to find specific items. However, it is solid and full of information. A nice reference to add to your collection.



2. For information on a wide variety of antiques or collectibles, it's almost as good as Warman's. But, really, I like having both books available for use. I've found, however, that if I know what I'm interested in, I'm better off spending the money and getting a book specific to that antique or collectible (if there's one available.) Nevertheless, a good reference book to get someone started in collecting. Prices listed vary greatly from what one finds on internet market; you need to be aware of this with some antiques or collectibles.



3. The Kovel's book is by far the most detailed, entertaining and informative price book I have ever owned. It helps us sellers and buyers and on line shoppers understand real-time market values. I like that it is based on ACTUAL prices. ( after all things are really only worth what someone will pay). It helped me identify things that I was unsure of with some really clear four-color photographs.
   The book is packed with TONS of pictures! It also is easy to find things and the Kovel's seem to have a knack to know how to organize such a large group of potential categories. Overall, this book was worth every penny in terms of showing me what things are worth and what they are. No other place I have found that can do both so well.

5 comments about Furniture: World Styles From Classical to Contemporary.

1. I had taken this book out from a library to get some ideas for my final project in my cabinet making course and I just had to have it. I like the way the furniture is classified for each time period and also the many pictures and their discriptions.



2. I waited and reviewed many books on furniture history and was very pleased with this one. Many beautiful pictures and great information to go with it. Judith Miller is a well penned author in the area of Interior Design. My husband could not put this book down until the end, and was online trying to find many of the pieces for sale! Worth the wait of being picky about what I wanted in a book of this topic. Many of the items in here were, or are, for the top 1% of our society, but you can take the information and apply it intelligently to other more common pieces to get the history and inspiration for those items. I could go on and on, but just trust me when I say, the ink stops here.



3. We found this book to be a useful guide for styles of furniture of the upper class of society. For doing stage productions this is very helpful, however, more pictures of "common" furniture styles would make this a perfect book for our reference. If you are interested in collecting antique or reproduction furniture you will find this a great resource. It's like strolling through a museum.



4. This is the most thorough, extensive, well-organized, beautifully photographed book on period furniture and interiors on the market today. It should be a required text for all design schools as well as a treasured resource for collectors, historians, and lovers of furniture of all kinds. Well worth it at twice the price.



5. This book is amazing, and needs to be on your shelf if you are involved in Interior Design, Historical Renovation, miniatures construction, film making, etc., etc! What I like best is that it treats less-expected styles, such as Scandinavian and Russian, which are often difficult to locate. The photos are outstanding. The quick Elements of Style at the beginning of each chapter are nut-shell explanations of how to identify a piece as belonging to a certain era. Well worth the price.

5 comments about The Encyclopedia of Furniture: Third Edition - Completely Revised.

1. If some one like antique furnitures, you got to have this book. it is very completely and tells you most the styles in the history.



2. This is a great visual encyclopedia for learning what parts of furniture and styles from different periods look like. When reading about a reproduction Greek klismos chair with sabre legs or a Louis XV commode with Sevres plaque and riband trim, there is nothing like a visual reference to understand what those words actually mean. Not a light read, but this is an important addition to the bookshelf of anyone really serious about being educated in elements of interior design.



3. The condition of the book was very good.
   The book itself was not very useful, it had a lot of information and enless you knew exactly what you were looking for it was hard to find



4. This is an encyclopedia of furniture. The information on each subject is limited. It makes a good quick reference, but didn't help me too much..



5. THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FURNITURE is more like a dictionary of design terms with pictures of specific furniture pieces. It gives a brief history of the furniture periods, but it will not aide you in learning about the characteristics of the pieces in each style. It is a good choice if you are looking for a quick reference guide with pictures and definitions.

5 comments about Furniture Repair & Refinishing (Creative Homeowner Ultimate Guide to...).

1. Another fantastic book on how to repair wood furniture. I was able to correctly, and easily repair several old furniture items. Highly recommend this book for those who are involved in furniture repair, as I am.



2. After my grandmother went into a nursing home 3 years ago, I aquired the old kitchen furniture she had. Consisting of a square table (complete with a green Formica top!), 4 matching chairs and a hutch. Dating back to the late 1950's or early 60's, every piece needed some refinishing. And 2 of the 4 chairs were rather wobbly. This book addressed all of the issues I was concerned with, including clean-up, stripping the old finish, applying the new finish and repairs. When you balance the value, monetary or sentimental, of your furniture against the price of this book, it's as much of a good investment as the furniture itself.
   
   My only gripe, and it's a minor one: A lot of items like aniline stains and upholstery items for chairs are things you're not going to find at your local Home Depot or corner hardware store. It would have been nice if the author had provided a list of reliable internet and mail order suppliers.



3. Along with the other book I purchased I should now be able to restore some old pieces that I find or already have. I will be quite busy doing these repair.



4. Perhaps the best book of its kind currently on the market. Positively dripping in excellence, this book is your one stop resource for all of your furniture restoration questions. Warped tabletops, veneer repair and replacement, broken chair leg, worn chest of drawer's runner, dents, scratches, staining and finishing, no subject is given short shrift, and all of the examples are accompanied by a plentiful supply of colour photographs, and clear instructions. It even makes a great read for those who lack the time and resources to undertake such repairs. A thoroughly satisfying book.



5. If you only wish to buy one book on repair of old furniture, this is the book. The author is a true specialist within the field and everything is explained and illustrated excellently. In addition it's a very pretty book with many fine photos. The only little flaw is that the info on refinishing is a little scattered. Anyway, the info is there. Go buy the book!

1 comments about Furniture in History: 3000 B.C. - 2000 A.D..

1. The book I ordered arrived on time, in a quickly manner. It was in excellent condition- brand new. I will use this service again.

4 comments about Jansen Furniture (20th Century Decorators) (20th Century Decorators) (20th Century Decorators) (20th Century Decorators).

1. I love all decorating books & have several pre-ordered for the next few months from my favorites. However, Jansen is the best. No one created more divine interiors than this old line Parisian firm. I have toured homes that even after 50 years look as fresh as when Jansen created their magic.



2. A good photograph album of individual pieces of furniture by the great Paris firm of Jansen. Pictures are mainly from the Jansen archives and from promotional materials the firm produced in the early 70s. Apparently this is a distillation of photos because the Firm had many more pictures in their archives than are reproduced, including some interesting pieces that the author seems to have missed.
   The examples shown are mostly reproductions of period furniture and not especially interesting except that Jansen made them. Some more original pieces are twists on period styles and there are some attempts at more contemporary designs in the 1970s using steel and glass.
   Nevertheless, a valuable book for collectors and dealers.
   You could have purchased the archives themselves fairly cheaply as they were sold at auction in the past few years.



3. This is a wonderful research resource. The photos are detailed and clear;
   the writing is of top quality; the book dovetails well with the first Jansen book. I have already used the book as a resource and buying tool several times in the 3 weeks since it arrived. My only wish is that it contained a more detailed index; otherwise, it exceeds all expectations.
   Mary Tindukasiri



4. As a companion to Mr Abbott's previous book JANSEN which gives a wonderful overview of what is probably the most influential design firm of the 20th century, this book JANSEN FURNITURE provides an extensive catalog of the custom furniture produced by the company from about 1905 through the 1980s. Along with exact reproductions of 18th and 19th century antiques, there are extraordinary inventive adaptations of historic models for modern use. In addition to the classic French 18th century styles, all the trends from the late 19th century to mid-20th century are represented. Although there is some descriptive text, the majority of the book is devoted to images of the furnishings with hundreds of photos and drawings in both black & white and color showing the pieces either in isolation or in the finished setting. Chapters are "Historical Seating" which includes canapes, banquettes, sofas, a Roman-style daybed, and an incredibly chic Art Moderne Egyptian-inspired child's high chair in addition to countless other types of chairs; "Modern Seating"; "Historical Tables" which includes consoles as well as dining tables; "Modern Tables" which also includes bureau plats as well as the famous folding dining table of gunmetal steel and ormolu; "Case Furniture" which includes secretaires, bookcases, commodes, and the famous wardrobe for Jackie Kennedy's White House Dressing Room; "Occasional Tables" including card tables, low cocktail tables and the much-copied petite telephone table on casters; "Lighting"; "Metal Work"; and "Upholstered Pieces and Draperies" which also includes carpets. Clients as diverse as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, President and Mrs John F Kennedy, CBS founder William and Babe Paley, the Cuban Countess de Revilla de Camargo, and the Shah and Shabanou of Iran, clearly they all appreciated truely great style and had the financial means to express it. This book is a wonderful reference resource for all interested in the history of interior design.

5 comments about The Official Precious Moments Collector's Guide to Figurines.

1. The 2007 Bomm Precious Moments guide is truly precious since it incorporates retail and secondary values into the same book. The cross-indexing by figurine title and model number is also wonderful. The photos are great quality, too. The guide is a must-have for all collectors!



2. Took a while to receive due to release issues, but once received, Book is great!



3. I think this book is a great way to keep track of my Precious Moments and give me a current value of each one. However, because values change from year to year, it could be a lot of work transferring them to a new book each year. I think every couple of years would be fine to keep track of what you have unless you purchase numerous figurines every year.



4. This guide is an essential reference for any serious collector or anyone buying or selling Precious Moments figurines. The lack of serious competition will make sure this sells. However, there is little improvement in this 3rd edition over the 2006 second edition. The addition of the newer figurines and an update in pricing, which seems to average about 16% increase, are the main differences. There is also a size difference. The second edition was a handy 8.5" x 5.5" but the third ed is 11' x 8.5", which I believe is too large for a soft cover book. There is no new information about each piece that is not in the earlier version. It would have been nice to include the size of each item. There is an annoying change in the index that consolidates several previous entires into entries by series. For example, instead of separately listing the sugar town skating pond there is one listing for the series 'sugar town' with 18 page numbers.
   
   Overall, I was disappointed in this guide and would recommend that anyone not needing information on the last 2 years figurines stays with the 2nd edition and awaits the 4th.



5. Just received this book in today's mail, and frankly, other than the pictures of the pieces, it is, in my opinion, not worth the paper it is printed on. There is NO secondary market except internet auctions for Precious Moments any more. This guide lists "Free Puppies," for example, as a value of $2,100 - they sell regularly on auction for $300 - $450, depending on whether or not they have a box. Last week, one with an original brown cardboard box (extremely unusual), went for just under $600 in mint condition - a beautiful piece. The rest of the "Original 21" are priced through the roof - some of them 10 times and higher prices than what reality is. There is a disclaimer in the book claiming that the prices vary from spot to spot, and they got this information from dealers and collectors around the country. I wish they would give credit to these so-called knowledgable people, and it would be nice to know who paid $2100 for "Puppies" and how many years ago that happened.
   
   For the pictures, the guide is fine, but beyond that, DO NOT rely on it for accurate price information - even many of the suggested retail prices in the book are incorrect.
   
   I give this one a thumbs-down. There is no secondary market to amount to anything in collectibles any more, in my opinion, and this book's prices just encourage disillusionment among collectors so they keep buying (or investing?) in pieces, hoping to make good money when they sell. It ain't gonna happen - there is a ton more merchandise out there than anyone ever guessed back 30 years ago at the beginning of this.
   
   Buy what you like, like what you buy, and don't expect to put your kid through college when it's time to sell - you might not get back enough money to even pay the bookstore bill!
   
   For what it's worth - my opinion!

5 comments about Chairmaking & Design.

1. This is a well written book. It does an excellent job of starting off with basic chair designs and moving on to more advanced designs. A lot of good photographs show the process of chairmaking. The gallery of chairs from other woodworkers is great - inspiring.



2. Jeff Miller starts you out with the most basic chair ever and then leads you along to more and more complicated designs step by step. By the end of the book, you feel confident in starting to build an arm chair. Great book.



3. An excellent overview of different types of chair designs and production of each. Not over the top for anyone that would like a guide to building chairs.
   
   Chad



4. Excellent and clear book with very good detail on the techniques for the more unusual shapes and angles. A good series of projects starting with basic disigns and progressing onwards.
   Chairmaking & Design



5. I looked all over the Internet for this book a while back and couldn't find it. Used sellers are charging way too much (over $100), so I finally just checked it out of the library (very available and no cost).
   
   This is a good book, and is the only one I know of with general chairmaking info that covers different chair types. The other chairmaking books I've seen seem to be specific to Windsor chairs. I would like to see more books like this ... until then get this one from the library.

5 comments about Home Book of Picture Framing: Professional Secrets of Mounting Matting, Framing and Displaying Artworks, Photographs, Posters, Fabrics, Collectibles, Carvings and More.

1. This is a great book. I have always wanted to offer my customers top quality framed and matted photographs, but wasn't shure how to go about it. This book opened up a whole new world to me, and I bought some reasonably price tools and now I can frame and matt like a professional. This book is worth its' weight in gold.



2. Author writes from first hand experience and adds in good technical details. Good examples of using common tools and professional tools to create desired results. Many examples and pictures to show how to perform each step. Many areas of framing, matting, and hanging the art are covered. Many references to the best practices are included. Overall a very well written reference book. A great place to start, but include a lot of extra material so the intermediate framer will get a lot out of this book also.



3. This book focuses mostly on woodworking techniques and building picture frames, with a minimal amount on matting (using the Alto mat cutter), mounting, or aesthetics (choosing colors and proportions). Some modern methods of mounting (for instance, strip mounts in which no glue touches the artwork) aren't even mentioned here. This book might be useful if you want to focus on building picture frames, but for a more general introduction to the kind of framing I might do myself, including assembling frames, I found Logan's "Mat, Mount, and Frame It Yourself" more useful.



4. These questions are misleading - I ordered one book, and received and paid for two - I have sent emails complaining, and all I get back (weeks later) is this stupid email asking me to rate the book - which book? - where were you when I asked how I got two books? And how do I correct this? - but NO, instead you send me this idiotic questionaire about "the book" I received - is anybody there? Are you people there, or am I talking to a computer? You pretend to care, but it appears you are just robots - HOW DID I GET TWO BOOKS, AFTER ORDERING ONE, PAY FOR TWO and GET ZERO RESPONSE TO MY QUESTIONS?!! Your computer generated concern is phony - the books were fine, Amazon is suspect!



5. Treat this as an encyclopedia. There is a lot of good information in this book, but a lot more than you need to get going. I have only just finished wading through this thing (after six months) and would have been better off with a book 1/8 the size of this one. For a "How To" book, the author is way too verbose on his way to getting to the bottom line--if he ever does. Only because I am very good at puzzles was I able to pick out the things I really need and the best methods to complete anything - otherwise, you can get terribly confused. The author wastes a lot of time on "you could do this" and "some people do this" when the most helpful advice would be just to say, "Do this."
   
   Don't take this as too harsh an indictment of the book. Afterall, I Learned Everything I Need to Know About Picture Framing from the book. There is A LOT of stuff in it. But I could have done, and you can do, without the exhaustive descriptions of differences between various manual, as well as, power tools. It's a hobby, I expect to spend some money...just tell me what do.

2 comments about 500 Metal Vessels: Contemporary Explorations of Containment (500 Series).

1. I love ALL of the 500 books from Lark. They are great for inspiration and for learning new artists. I have almost the whole series!



2. I really like this book, there is a lot of good work. For those of you who had a fit about the unwearable jewelry in the various 500 jewelry books: many of these vessels are non functional. So I don't want to hear your complaints like, "I don't see how anyone could use that teapot..."