2 comments about Warman's KISS Field Guide: Values and Identification (Warman's Field Guides).

1. I have read and enjoyed Tom Shannon's first KISS price guide since it was released in 2000 & have found it to be a VERY informative and helpful resource for pricing my collection. The prices are quite accurate and it is very thorough, covering nearly every item in the vast KISS memorabilia empire. It is a very well done book and the printing is top notch. I have been very eagerly awaiting Shannon's new book since I heard he would be starting another about two or three years ago. I purchased his new book "Warman's KISS Collectibles Field Guide" and in my opinion, it leaves much to be desired. Although this is of the highest quality printing, its thick & small 4 1/2" by 5 1/2" size makes it difficult to go navigate easily. Also the amount of info on the pages is very limited due to its small size. The tons of quality color photos he includes with his books are a big plus. It does feature the prices on the listed page rather than having to flip to the back of the book, which was the case with the 2000 book which is a bonus. Many of the old items that were in the first book are in this book. I was expecting much more of the newer items to be included in the book. Much to my disappointment, where some items may have been left out of a category in the 2000 edition, many complete categories are left out completely in the 2005 edition. This is a far better printed book than Ingo Floren's (released last year), although not as complete. If you want a GREAT price guide pick up Tom Shannon's first book. This one may fill in some gaps for newer items, but it is not a complete listing by any means. It does have an interview with Bill Aucoin that is very interesting. This would make a good traveling companion (hence the name Field Guide?) due to its small size.



2. This is an excellent book. Tons of terrific color photos along with a cool interview with former Manager Bill Aucoin makes this product a winner!

5 comments about Warman's Barbie Doll Field Guide: Values and Identification (Warman's Field Guides).

1. My 8 year old daughter loves Barbies and she loves encyclopedias about everything that she loves...so this book has been well loved!
   Great pictures. Easy to read and easy to take with us in the car or on trips. Fun to share with friends.



2. According to my little friend who received this guide as a gift, It is easy to understand, teaches you some very interesting Barbie history, and show great photos of early Barbie, how they progress and their value. She highly reccommends it.



3. This books size makes it convenient to carry around to garage sales or toy shows. But the content could be better, some dolls are depicted with inaccurate prices and some vintage doll's aren't pictured in their proper outfits with proper accessories. So this can become confusing for the beginner collector. However there are "warnings" listed with some vintage outfits stating that Mattel has made a reproduction (these are worth far less) of it. This is a great feature if you are not a Barbie expert.

   A good book for the beginner, but I recommend using this guide along with a larger more detailed Barbie book.




4. What a wonderful book! The Warman's Barbie Doll Field Guide is packed with useful information and great color photographs. And all at a super affordable price. I'm impressed. The book is designed as a take-along pocket guide, yet it's amazingly complete and thorough. It covers six decades of Barbie dolls, provides several hundred color photographs, a history of Barbie, critical identification information, -- including how to identify Barbie No. 1 -- fashion sets, designer dolls and a price guide to more than 1,500 dolls. It's perfect for a gift or for yourself, or even as a gift for yourself. I have several Barbie books on my shelves, and that's where they stay. But this little dynamo is never going to leave my side.



5. First thought upon getting this, it's tiny! I've been waiting at least two months for this book to come out and I was a tad upset that the price guide is not up-to-date. NOTHING that came out in 2002 is in there, nor are any non-collector dolls listed.

   If you need a pocket guide to carry to conventions, it's perfect. If you want something to help you figure out how much to bid on E-Bay, it's perfect. Otherwise, just get it for the vibrant color pictures (No black & white) , which strangly have dolls that haven't even been released yet.

2 comments about Shelley Tea Ware Patterns.

1. Though a little expensive, this book is a "must have" resource for any Shelley collector. As an avid collector myself, I use this book on a daily basis and have found it to be 99.99% accurate on patterns and descriptions. It does appear that the dollar value placed on items may be a little high, but that may be due to the fact the author lives in England and her values in pounds need to be "translated" into current dollar equivalency. Highly recommended resource for a Shelley collector!



2. This is a great reference book for Shelley china collectors. It shows pattern shapes, pattern numbers and color photos of the hundreds of Shelley tea sets. Great for a beginning collector or for someone who wants
   to catalog their collection. Also,it gives the history of the Shelley company from 1860 to its end in 1966. I like this reference book the best of all the Shelley books I have collected.

5 comments about The Art of Opium Antiques.

1. Thanks goes to Steve Martin for bringing to light a significant, and nearly forgotten, history. Through artifacts (Steve's impressive and beautiful collection of opium paraphernalia, and period photographs) and down to earth story telling, I found myself transported to opium dens in the East and West, and imagined the lives and circumstances of those who were entranced and enveloped by the narcotic.
   
   The pictures are gorgeous, the writing evocative, and the topic and the objects themselves provide a fascinating portal for history.



2. This book is really helpful to identify antique opium art. I work for Asia Galleries in San Francisco where we sell a lot of antique opium artifacts. I had hard time to find a book that helps me to study about details of opium art, but in this book I see many dampers, pipes, lamps, and opium scrapers are similar to the ones Asia Galleries have; therefore, I was able to gain some knowledge through this book. Now, I am confident to explain details of our antique opium art to customers. I would like to say thank you to Steven Martin.



3. When the paraphernalia associated with opiates comes to mind what do you picture? Syringes? Drippy candles? Bent spoons? These are the gear of the heroin user but what about heroin's long dead uncle, opium? The paraphernalia of the two drugs couldn't be more different. This book will take you back in time when drug use was at least practised with style and flair. The opium pipes, lamps and other accouterments illustrated in this book are gem-like works or art made from rare and precious materials such as silver, ivory and jade. It's a world long lost but the author manages to bring it back to life for a brief moment and dazzle us with the promises of chemical bliss that tempted our ancestors. Getting addicted back then was no doubt as painful and ruinous as it is today, but they sure knew how to do it in style!



4. The Art of Opium Antiques is one of the most artfully illustrated and artistically written books on the subject. Throughout its pages Steven Martin traces the cultural use in China alongside the artistry and astounding craftmanship of the time, from the low and common to the truly decedent. Photos of amazingly ornate apparatus are peppered throughout alongside diagrams depicting the main components of a typical pipe or lamp. Historical photos help put one in the mind frame of the times, allowing one to contemplate how this blissful habit, aided by dedicated artisans progressed up until its zenith during the nineteenth century. Martin's vast collection and grasp of the subject are equally great, allowing one to walk away with a greater appreciation for opium related antiquities. There is no doubt this book will help spawn new collectors as well as reconfirm the addiction of the collector aficionado, for this book is a grand spring board for newbies and opium-porn for the serious collector.



5. Such a great book! Instead of just relating the well-known disastrous effects of opium, the author of this book brings new insight into the history of the drug by exploring Opium paraphernalia as an art form. It works!
   
   We are brought into the mythical Opium dens of a not so distant past, with the rich illustrations of this text. A rare photo of an 1880 Butte, Montana bunkhouse "opium den" is particularly amusing. However, it is the lush photographs of the drug paraphernalia that make this work so worthwhile. The extensive captions that accompany each photograph have enabled the author to not only inform the reader about the use and artistic achievement of these artifacts, but entertain as well.
   
   The result is a more humanizing view of the addiction itself. Knowing that these beautiful instruments were the tools in which to feed a deadly addiction gives us another vantage point to view this era of history.
   
   Anyone with the an interest in the history of China, the Chinese Diaspora living in the USA in the late 18th/19th century or the history of Southeast Asia will find this book particularly fascinating. The Art of Opium Antiques will be an essential addition to your bookshelf.

1 comments about The Official Gun Digest Book of Guns & Prices: Rifles, Pistols & Shotguns (Official Gun Digest Book of Guns & Prices).

1. I did not know what to expect, but I wanted to sell my late husband's guns and the book really helped alot and gave me some insight on prices.

No comments about The Official Blackbook Price Guide to U.S. Paper Money 2005, 37th Edition (Official Blackbook Price Guide to United States Paper Money).

1 comments about A Treasury of Bookplates from the Renaissance to the Present.

1. This treasure of _A Treasury of Bookplates_ from Dover Publications is a feast for the eyes--A visual treat for artists and art lovers alike. Softcover book is approx. 8-1/2 x 11-1/4". 146 pages with 4 to 6 black & white images per page; totaling 761 illustrations. Includes bookplates from Germany, Great Britain, United States, France, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union, Japan, Hungary and Spain. Some nudity, but tasteful (in my opinion). There are a mere five pages of text, the introduction. In the back of the book there is an A to Z index of the Artists.

4 comments about Presidential Dollars 2007: Complete Philadelphia and Denver Mint Collection.

1. I had bought the Statehood Quarters book from this same company before, and was happy with it so I searched for one for the Presidential Dollars. I just wish that it had shown the inside of the book because I didn't know you have to have a dollar from each mint to fill the book. I do like how there is a plastic cover to go over the coins to protect them from fingerprints.



2. PAGES CAN BE RE-ARRANGED IN ANY ORDER. BLANK PAGES CAN BE PURCHASED AND ADDED (UP TO A TOTAL OF 7 PAGES) HOLDS BOTH P & D MINTS. COINS ARE EASY TO INSERT AND CAN VIEWED FROM BOTH SIDES.



3. I got this for my husband, and he is thrilled with it as he wanted both the Philadelpia and Denver mints. It's also a very attractive and easy-to-use album.



4. I am a coin collector and this brochure accomodates each year and mint until the end of this coinage. It is of good quality construction and includes clear sleaves to protect the coins. If you are a serious coin collector and wish to display and protect your uncirculated presidential dollar collection this is the album for you.

1 comments about A Guide to Hopi Katsina Dolls.

1. If you have an interest in Hopi katsina dolls, this is the right book at a price everyone can afford. Having been in contact with the author several months prior to the book's publication, it was eagerly anticipated. The finished product does not disappoint. As a collector, judge at several major juried shows and owner of a Native American Trading Company, Kent McManis knows his stuff! I have only one complaint ... I wish the book were at least twice it's size. At 56 pages, I hope the author will consider another book on the subject as he had with Zuni fetishes. This is the first book I have discovered which traces the katsina cycle and includes the corresponding doll on the page where it is discussed. This aspect alone makes the book a "keeper". Robin Stancliff is to be commended for 70 beautiful photographs of both contemporary / action pieces and historic / traditional katsinam as well. If you have never seen the work of modern masters like Brian and Ronald Honyouti, Cecil Calnimptewa, Ros George, Loren Phillips and Dennis Tewa ... add this book to your library. Thank you, Mr McManis, for sharing such a valuable resource with your readers.

1 comments about Children's Fashions, 1860-1912: 1,065 Costume Designs from "La Mode Illustree".

1. Funny thing, all I could think when I was reading through this was 'Hey Kids, if you think what your mothers are trying to put you in now stinks, this is what they would be putting you in back then'.
   
   Considering what kids are wearing today, back then looks pretty good.
   
   My only problem is this book does not show what work cloths of the time were like. Nor does it show ordinary cloths. Just the Sunday best.