3 comments about The Encylopedia of Shaker Furniture.

1. "The Complete Book Of Shaker Furniture is DESTINED TO BECOME THE STANDARD IN ITS FIELD.
   A comprehensive survey of the entire 150-year range of Shaker design arranged to show the works of 14 Shaker communities, it combines lavish illustrations, including 117 in full color, informative background essays, updated research largely based on original sources, and detailed construction analyses....."
   [from the book of the front flap]



2. I'm obsessed with Shaker furnitue and architecture. I'll get around to reviewing all of my books in time. I think I have every Shaker book printed!
   
   This one isn't "Complete" but there's an aweful lot in here. I look at "complete" more or less as meaning "most" variety of furniture. I didn't take it literally.
   
   This is one book that gives a lot of weight to Shaker built-ins as well. Of which I'm trying to re-create so I've been referencing this book a lot lately.
   
   I do have other books, some of which focus more on details and drawings with potential variety in drawer configurations for example, others more on color and simple photos etc.
   
   So far it 's been one of my favorites in terms of the wide variety of material it contains. An overall wonderful photo and text reference to existing furniture.



3. Probably because it is one of the newer books on Shaker furniture, this one seems to be the most accurate on the provenance of the many surviving Shaker items. It appears they have done an excellent job of deciphering where a piece was made regardless which village it was found.

   THERE IS WARNING HOWEVER! Don't be fooled by what they mean by "The Complete Book." They use the word complete to mean, that in addition to covering the "Shaker Golden Years" of 1830 to around 1850, they have included items from the 18th to the 20th century.

   With approximately 400 beautiful illustrations, they can't possibly cover every important piece of Shakerdom. To my disappointment, they did not discuss the particular 12 to 20 foot benches of two slightly differing styles that I have seen pictured in the meeting room at Sabathday Lake. Nor did they show the small wall clock at Sabathday Lake that I wanted to know about.

   The authors certainly accomplished their goals of descibing the various, differing forms used by the different locatations over the approximate 150 years covered.

   For me the final test is, would I buy it again -- Abosolutely.

4 comments about Building and Restoring the Hewn Log House.

1. The best book I have found on the restoration of the traditional log home. Book shows how to restore log homes to their original appearance and even covers such issues as stonework, adding a frame addition that harmonizes with old logs, and the replacement of damaged or unuseable logs. There are a couple of shortcommings: For a book that has the word "Building" (verb)in the title, there is scanty information on the construction of roofs, and almost nothing is said about plumbing or wiring. McRaven is a purist (will not use asphalt shingles on a log home) and clearly has the knowledge,- but I came away feeling a little like the book could have gone further. Still very good in many respects. Highly recommended.



2. This is critical book in the collection any builder/restorer should have close at hand. The knowledge McRaven shares from his vast experience is a standout among the limited sources available to the restorer. While I am using several sources for my restoration project, I have referred to this one most.



3. After stumbling upon a tattered copy of the earlier version of this book (now out of print) in the local library, I can only say that I called Mcraven several times LD from Germany in 1993 to check on the publish date of the revised edition. Really an excellent book- essential for the shelf of anyone with an interest in the authentic square-hewn type of cabin.



4. McRaven describes in detail the steps necessary to ultimately live in a log house. From acquisition through to suggestions for decoration of the interior, this book clearly outlines what is in store for a log house enthusiast. The author also provides helpful suggestions throughout the book. Preservationists, historic resource surveyors as well as people interested in living in a log house will all gain from the content of the book.

1 comments about The Love of Lace.

1. But that's about it. The information is a cursory skim of the subject, the pictures are small and overlap each other, the whole book is small and disappointing to me but it is...a pretty little, very little, light, slight and insignificant thing.

No comments about Courbet.

5 comments about ABC for Book Collectors.

1. This book can be hard to come by (you can order it from Amazon but just try to actually GET it from them--I gave up after 4 months and used an Amazon 3rd party seller). But it's worth hunting for. A wealth of information and handy reference volume for the serious collector and serious bookseller.



2. Written by bibliographer John Carter (1905-1975), and originally published in 1952, this 232-page compendium of information and insights has long been considered the "how-to bible" for dedicated antiquarians, bibliophiles, and specialty lib-rarians with respect to locating, evaluating, and acquiring rare and out-of-print titles. Now in a completely revised, expanded, and re-set eighth edition, the ABC For Book Collectors is additionally enhanced with an informative introduction by Nicolas Barker (a personal friend of the late John Carter and the man who is responsible for the updates and revisions of this eighth edition). Among the subject authoritatively covered (and arranged in more than 490 alphabetically presented entries) are technical terms used in book collecting and bibliography; auctions, book conditions, facsimiles and fakes, "points", rarity, and more. This new addition provides up-to-date information on web-based book collecting (including eBay sales). The ABC For Book Collectors is a seminal and essential reference shelf component for dealers and collectors, and will prove of immense interest to authors, publishers, librarians, bibliophiles, bibliographers, and reviewers as well!



3. Carter's book is not dated for me, but timeless. He has a droll and elliptical way of deflating the fatuous inclinations of book dealers. Yes, there is no index, and it is tough to find exact terminology sometimes. But this book is not a mere reference book, it is meant to be read and enjoyed and instruct you in the "what", but also the "why" and "how". Carter, in his manner and wit, shows a *way* of approaching rare books which I think is very healthy. His skewering of the term "mint condition" and his hilarious description of "issue mongers" have me revisiting this book for momentary pleasure again and again. I started in used books in a store about 8 years ago and when I was hired, my boss put this book in my hands. I have always appreciated that gesture. Any collector should find both pleasure and knowledge in this tome.



4. One of the earlier reviewers -- a history grad student -- noted that this book is "outdated and unorganized." Both of those claims are inaccurate. I'm a manuscripts curator by profession, and this text is certainly not outdated. Book knowledge, and the subtleties of collecting and discriminating among important texts, are the highest priorities of John Carter's book, and he imparts those things with great skill. Several reviewers also criticize the lack of an index or table of contents. Folks, it's an encyclopedia; each term has its own heading, in alphabetical order! The book IS the table of contents and the index. This book was required reading for the "Introduction to Descriptive Bibliography" calss when I first attended Rare Book School in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1998; I'm sure it still is.

   It's important for historians (grad student or no) to familiarize themselves with this terminology. "All the terms and abbreviation in the book can be found on the Internet," notes the aforementioned grad student. Whoa! The great hulking trash barge that is the Internet does indeed pull up search terms for all of Carter's entries, but I don't trust them to be accurate. Many book-collecting terms are highly subjective ("first edition," for instance) and I'd never rely on an unvetted digital source for an accurate description if I knew nothing of the subject. You can trust John Carter's book. It should be handy on the bookshelf of every bibliophile. You'll find yourself reaching for it a lot. -Dan Lewis, Ph.D., Curator of the History of Science, the Huntington Library.




5. Very informative, well written, witty and interesting. A good read for a reference book. Lack of an index keeps it from being a great book.

5 comments about Standard Encyclopedia of Pressed Glass: 1860 - 1930: Identification & Values (Standard Encyclopedia of Pressed Glass 1860-1930).

1. The 5th updated edition of a pressed glass classic continues to be a 'must' for any avid collector of the medium: it covers glass companies, shapes and patterns, decoration definitions and insights on table glass factories, and more, blending in history with the latest values and collecting trends. Color photos on every page make it easy to identify pieces, while accompanying descriptions comment on cuts, names, pattern development, design modifications and changes, and more. Simply packed with detail, any authoritative glass collecting collection needs STANDARD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRESSED GLASS 1960-1930.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. Would that it were otherwise! The fact is, no other commonly available reference is as handy and easy to use; and while the pictures leave much to be desired, this book has more useful color pictures than any other. It has helped me become familiar with the most common EAPG patterns, but since I know it's full of mistakes I don't accept its information uncritically. I wish the authors would clean up their many sloppy errors in future editions, even as I look forward to the book's expansion. This book is helpful, but I use mine alongside McCain's vastly more authoritative, reliable work.



3. Some of the reviews of this book surprise me. I have seen similar negative comments written about these authors on separate web sites, and no doubt the comments here are by the same people. My experience with this book is this....the main appeal to this book is that there are literally hundreds and hundreds of patterns identified, and by using the photos in this book, I've been able to identify pieces in my collection that I previously could not. Certainly I wish there was more information and detail written about each pattern...this book lists maybe a line or two about each pattern only, with no to few comments about reproductions. So, I use this book in conjunction with other pattern glass books (Reilly and Jenks, Warman's, etc) to get the most comprehensive picture I can. Some of the pictures are not super clear. Compared to other books which don't list many patterns at all and then do so in black and white or hand drawing, I'll live with it. I would imagine photographing the detail on clear glass isn't easy! I guess I'll summarize by saying that while the book is not perfect, it certainly takes a good stab at trying to organize information and photos of hundreds of pieces of glass from the turn of the century. Are there errors? Probably! But with all the fires in these glass companies over the years I am sure no one has the truth about everything.



4. Suppose you do not know much about glass. You probably won't know a whole lot more when you've looked at this book. Some of the pictures do not show the pattern. There are numerous ones, ie.; caprice, chestnut oak, star & thumprint, etc. that are taken at poor angles, or poor lighting or whatever and are just indisctinct. I was looking for a pattern on Cathedral and that is shown on a bowl that has the pattern going underneath. No way can you see what the entire pattern looks like. In the front of the book, they describe the shapes of the glassware. They list 20 shapes, but in the price guide, they list many more. What is the difference between a milk pitcher and a pitcher? a tumbler and a goblet? What size and shape is a sauce? What is a wastebowl? They never show or describe the bottom pattern. No explanation is given as to whether this is important, distinct or has no effect whatsover. I have no more knowledge of the patterns on my glass than I did before.



5. I have been buying and selling pressed glass for 30 years
   and I can agree with reviewer 'a reader' totally. I have read 3
   other books by this writer and consider them all as incompetently done as this one.

2 comments about Antique Enameled Jewelry (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. Great Book, fabulous photos. I recommend it to anyone with a love of Gorgeous Enamel Jewelry



2. This book was a pleasant surprise. I expected the dry recitation of facts and adequate photography of the average collector's book, but that's not what I got. The narrative is fun, with much of the primary author's personality shining through, and the photography is lovely.
   
   The book is beautifully designed. Literary quotes about jewelry and a sense of a personal connection with the authors enhance the text. I found myself reading the entire book instead of just looking up the parts I wanted to know about. The information is thorough and detailed.
   
   Since this is the first text on antique enamel, one would expect it to do well among collectors, but this exceeds those expectations and will be an asset to anyone in the antique business.

No comments about CO2 Pistols & Rifles.

No comments about The Handbook of Chinese Snuff Bottles.

No comments about The Goldsmith's Art.