2 comments about Friedrich Becker: Kinetic Jewellery.

1. Whether you're interested in kinetic jewelry, or you just like beautiful photos of jewelry, this book is fantastic. I've never seen work like his anywhere. For him, kinetic is not just a matter of adding some hinges or dangles, but designing hidden devices that allow the jewelry to change its shape, or to move in surprising ways.
   
   Get it as a fabulous coffee table book, or an invaluable reference work. It can be difficult to obtain, but is well worth the wait.



2. This retrospective volume is so immense and impressive in scale and quality it is hard to describe. Becker's influence on modern jewelry design is so far reaching that many take many of his trademarks (geometric aesthetic coupled with his obsession with movement and kinetics) for granted in modern metals design. While this book may be a bit expensive for private ownership, it is a must have for any art focused library collection or jewelry school.

1 comments about Anri Woodcarving: Bottle Stoppers, Corkscrews, Nutcrackers, Toothpick Holders, Smoking Accessories, and More.

1. This book is written for collectors but as a woodcarver, I appreciate the history of woodcarving that is a part of this book. The book is filled with great color photos of carvings done over many years. On the downside, it cost me more money because after reading it, I ended up going to ebay and bidding on several anri carvings. I did note than a number of the carvings for sale were being sold by the books author.

1 comments about The Classic British Rook and Rabbit Rifle.

1. This is an excellent reference at a bargain price!
   Well written and the photos are worth the price of the book

1 comments about Nineteenth Century Cameos: A Price and Identification Guide.

1. This really is a wonderful addition to the unfortunately small number of sometimes iffy books on cameos currently available. Though it generously contains 134 color plates and is so well presented, I only wish it was longer. Thankfully, it does not waste your time with photos of junky, mass produced modern cameos. These are all important, Georgian and Victorian cameos, fine examples in hardstone, shell, coral, tortoiseshell, lava, jet, jasperware and ivory to train your eye toward picking out the very best at high-end antique venues. The author, a London antique jewelry dealer, has a website, (rowanandrowan), which contains many beauties, if you want to see more. This is a book I will often enjoy browsing through, especially since I am not wealthy. Price guides are notoriously undependable, especially for one-of-a-kind, rare items, and the location of your find can wildly affect the price you can expect to pay. This book is not a price guide, though it occasionally includes a price in UK pounds. (Many of the cameos are privately owned or in museum collections that you might not easily visit, but are of a high-end type occasionally still found in odd places, estate sales and auctions by the avid cameo hunter.) It depicts primarily Greek and Roman mythological subjects in very clear color photos with concise overviews of the myths and identifying information. Additionally, there is a small collection of portrait cameos that does not include, thankfully, the ubiquitous, anonymous ladies' heads. These are portraits of famous Victorians, Lord Byron, Florence Nightingale, and a Victorian portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots. Of interest to me are wonderful, deeply carved ivory portrait cameos of the poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and the novelist, Elizabeth Gaskell. There is a short 2 page section referencing eminent carvers who signed their cameos in an effort to differentiate their work from real antiquities. If I could wish for anything, it would be for the author to expand her book in the future with even more examples of the lovely and unusual cameos that have passed through her hands. I recommend this book as a small indulgence to serious fine cameo collectors. Antique Collectors' Club books can be depended on for quality information and wonderful color photography.

1 comments about Legendary American Cars.

1. The book is gorgeous. Its size, its overall quality of binding are impressive, and its photographs are just stunning. In fact, the quality of photographs is the most attractive feature of this book. The large-scale format, and what is even more important, the ultra-high resolution of the pictures allow to see every single detail of the car, literally, while deep, gleaming colors make every photograph the candy for the eyes! The text comes like a pleasant bonus. Unless you are a newcomer in the fantastic world of classic cars, you'll probably find it not very informative, but certainly nice and neat to read. It`s like an icing on the cake. What makes the book on such general subject remarkable is the model selection, and that's exactly what makes me so exciting about it. Elegant Packards, mighty Duesenbergs, rakish Cords, classic Chrysler Imperials, fabulous Cadillacs ... You will find all of them, both pre- and post-war, in abundance! If you were born a little earlier and knew the classic car before it became a muscle car, you know what I mean. The books with such model selections are not so common nowadays, but you have a nice opportunity to buy just one more of them right now.

2 comments about Elegant Glassware Of The Depression Era: Identification and Value Guide (Elegant Glassware of the Depression Era).

1. The shipment arrived very very fast, the book stinks but that is not the shippers problem.



2. This book is a little large to be carrying around, however I still do carry it to places that I already know will have the pattern I am looking for.
   The forward describes "Elegant" glassware as handmade and acid etched glassware that was sold by department and jewelry stores during the Depression era through the 1950's, differentiating it from the dime store and giveaway glass that has become known as Depression glass. The word "Elegant" has become "official" nomenclature among today's dealers for designating handmade glass.
   It is well organized with the glass patterns in alphabetical order and the prices in columns by color of glass. Most of the pictures are color and have good enough definition to identify what you are looking at. There are a contents by pattern and a contents by company.

1 comments about Toy Soldiers (Forbes Collection).

1. Award-winning creative director and veteran writer in the realm of collectibles Richard Scholl presents Toy Soldiers: A Century Of International Miniatures, a dazzling study of the Forbes collection, an assemblage of more than 10,000 toy soldiers amassed by world-renowned businessman William Forbes. Full-color photographs of the pieces, and descriptions of the sets' history and how Forbes acquired them fill this captivating "must-have" for toy soldier enthusiasts. Toy Soldiers' flawless, visually impressive and narratively engaging presentation elevates children's playthings to the level of collectible sculpted art. Also very highly recommended is Richard Scholl's companion title drawn from the Forbes collection, Toy Boats: A Century Of Treasures From Sailboats To Submarines (0762418788, $12.98).

1 comments about Arts and Crafts (Dk Collector's Guides).

1. I first became aware of the Arts & Crafts movement of William Morris and his circle back in the late 1960s, when Art Nouveau (an outgrowth of Arts & Crafts) was enjoying a renaissance. I ended up with several pieces of Arts & Crafts-style furniture (replicas, naturally, on my graduate school budget), some poster (reprints) and a couple of affordable ceramics (original). And I made a point thereafter of searching out museum collections and galleries specializing in this stuff. I still have a preference for the clean lines of furniture and the luminescent glazes on pots, especially those by Pilkington and Rookwood. Miller has brought together in this beautifully produced volume more than a thousand examples of design and craft, with detailed descriptions and notes and a list of "Key Features" for various artists and studios. Approximate values also are included, though I'm happy just to look at the pictures. If you're trying to learn about the Arts & Crafts movement, this would be a good visual textbook.

1 comments about Corgi Toys (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. This book covers most of the Corgi toys that were available in my childhood.This book brings back memories.So many colour photos shows so many Corgi toys.
   
   If you are a collector or just love looking back through your childhood memories then this book is inexpensive and will impress you.

4 comments about Vecellio's Renaissance Costume Book (Dover Pictorial Archive Series).

1. Despite what some may tell you, this is actually a VERY good source for late 16th century Venetian, and to a lesser extent Italian, costume, especially if studied in conjuction with a study of the portraits of the period. Vecellio was a Venetian born and bred, and also had first hand knowledge of Italian fashions outside of Venice. However, any costume depiction in this book that is of costume outside of Venice or Italy should be taken with a grain of salt.



2. I had heard of the Vecellio book and had even seen excerpts from it here and there. As a member of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism), with a persona in the Italian Renaissance, I was most anxious to see this book. It was all I expected! The first third of the book is Italian fashions from most ancient times to Vecellio's own period, which is the period of my persona. In no time at all, I'd found several costumes I want to recreate. The only drawback is the lack of color, but the drawings show considerable details.



3. While this book is fascinating as a means of seeing how dress was perceived, and as a primary resource (as the woodcuts are not modern), the costumer should keep in mind that these drawings are not always accurate, esp. regarding details. Many of the woodcuts have minor mistakes, some are gross misrepresentations of costumes Vecellio had no knowledge of. An interesting resource for the historian, but don't use this for costuming ideas unless you either don't care for accuracy or know enough to sift the false from the true.



4. I bought this book with the expectation that it would cover all of Renaissance Europe and not just the usual area of focus for this subject (i.e. Elizabethan England). However, to my disappointment at least half the book concentrated on Italian costuming, which in retrospect is to be expected, since the author was Italian! The author definitely focuses on middle to upper-class clothing and will not be helpful to someone who may be looking for lower class clothing.

   However, in general, the woodcuts are exquisite and the organization is very easy to use. It is certainly a 'must have' for anyone looking for historical pictures of Renaissance period clothing, written by someone who was a contemporary of the time.