2 comments about Ceramic Coin Banks: Identification & Value Guide.

1. This 200 page softbound book contains over 1,000 full color, large, sharp photos of every type of ceramic coin bank. Each entry includes the description, size, dates and value (1997). Although essentially an I.D. and value guide, there is a considerable amount of information of value and interest to the collector. Included are: Ceramic Manufacturing Processes, Dating, Condition, Rarity Ratings, Geographical Ceramic Manufacturing Centers, and Photo Notes. Chapters range from Human heads, Humans, Cats, Dogs and Elephants, to Squirrel, Fish, Monkeys, Lions, Vegetables, Pots, Books, Vehicles and Ships and Purses. A complete glossary and bibliography are provided. Very useful for collectors of this popular topic.



2. This is a great book for the established or beginning coin bank collector! It really has a great variety for any type of specialized ceramic bank afficianado. As a long time collector & seller I recommend this book to any one!

No comments about Early American Furniture: A Guide to Who, When, And Where.

No comments about Masters of Light: Designing the Luminous House.

1 comments about Desktop Titanic: For When You Have that Sinking Feeling! (Running Press Mini Kit).

1. This product was smaller than I was expecting but exactly what I wanted. It fits nicely on a corner of your desk or shelf for the titanic buff in all of us.

4 comments about Best Furniture Buying Tips Ever!.

1. As an Interior Designer I found this book an interesting read. I like to check out books written for the public to see what kind of advice is being given (there's a lot of bad information out there). This book offers insight into the furniture buying world of which the public is often unaware. Be warned, though, if you are used to bargain hunting this isn't likely to help you find a $50 sofa or $30 dresser. This is intended for people who want to buy better quality, long-lasting furniture. (she talks about good dressers starting at $1200 - for some people this may seem like a lot of money).
   
   It is also most helpful for people who live near a city as she talks a lot about shopping design showrooms. One thing I did not see mentioned is that trade showrooms usually require that public shoppers be accompanied by a trade professional or at the very least have a legitamate letter from one (and an appointment) stating exactly what the client will be looking at. Many of these places will not offer assistance or pricing to the public without such. You'll need to investigate this prior to embarking on your shopping trip. If such is the case, your best bet here is to have a design professional aid in the process or you will have to pay outrageous retail prices. The Design Center usually offers these services (for a fee).
   
   That said. She does explain a lot of terminology found in furniture buying as well as many pitfalls (one being that your average furniture salesperson's opinion varies markedly and can often be based on fabricated speculations). Ms. Letwin also offers an education on furniture styles for those who are interested.
   
   If you are shopping for quality pieces that you plan to have for the rest of your life you may find this book helpful. It pays to be forewarned. For the price it can't hurt to get this book.



2. Enjoyed the book. Learned about furniture shopping. Especially good for people that live near the cities whose furniture stores she reviewed.



3. This book was such a great help. I use it as a source for everything, most recently for online antique shopping. I never would have known which stores to check out -- and to trust -- without the information I found in this book. It's great.



4. I recently purchased a new home and had decided that I wanted completely different furnishings. I had no idea where to start and Best Furniture Tips became an invaluable guide. It enabled me to understand various styles,furniture terminology, what to look for in a piece of furniture and information on how to negotiate prices.
   
   I especially liked the advice and insights from some of the nation's top designers. Since I travel frequently the book was easy to take along and enabled me to check out design centers and stores in other cities in my spare time.
   
   Litwin has a pleasant writing style that explains in easy to understand English all the furniture jargon and pricing structures which many times seem overwhelming to a buyer. I would recommend this book to anyone who is contemplating a furniture purchase. Armed with this, one can confidently enter any store and not feel like a babe in the woods.
   
   One suggestion, buy her previous book, Furniture Hot Spots to find out where the really good stuff is.

5 comments about The Gibson Les Paul Book: A Complete History of Les Paul Guitars.

1. Depending upon your degree of knowledge about vintage guitars and Les Pauls in particular you may find this book a helpful and informative resource or a complete waste of time.

   Tony Bacon has written a lot of books on vintage guitars and guitar collecting. I like his stuff, but he very often gets things just plain wrong. I am certain it has more to do with mistakes in the editing process than anything, but there are some nit-picky errors in this book.

   The best treatment of Les Pauls and vintage Gibson electrics that I have seen is A.R. Duchossior's excellent and exhaustively researched book "Gibson Electrics - The Classic Years" (published by Hal Leonard).

   This little book is a good introduction to the history of this important model and it has some nice photographs of various iterations of the Les Paul model from 1952 to the date of publication in the late 1990s, but if you're looking for a completely comprehensive guide/history to the Les Paul guitar that is 100% accurate this is not it. Still, if you're a guitar nut (like me) it's a nice little book to have.




2. The book is rather small and thin -- despite that it contains quite a lot of information but unfortunately much of it is in a dry tabular form. That said, what text there is inside is quite enjoyable. The story of the magical 1959 Les Paul is insightful. They varied tremedously as they were hand made by old ladies for the most part -- so the whole concept of a 1959 specification and 1959 is really somewhat flawed. I also like the pictures: 2 of Jimmy Page's Les Pauls and Gary Moore's "Peter Green Les Paul" (yes that Les Paul, the one with the reversed magnetic in the neck pick-up). Some of these guitars have passed into guitar folklore -- they have become well known characters over the last 43 years or so of their existance. Pity they didn't have an image of Eric Clapton's Les Paul -- the one used on the seminal Beano album -- as it was stolen back in the 60's. [There was a rumor recently -- in Guitar Techniques magazine -- that another London professional, Bernie Marsden, is currently playing that guitar but who knows.]. The book should be brought up to date and some holes filled in - hence only 3-stars (actually more like 3.5) but if you like Les Pauls, I mean really like Les Pauls - then you will probably want to take a look at this.



3. The book is rather small and thin -- despite that it contains quite a lot of information but unfortunately much of it is in a dry tabular form. That said, what text there is inside is quite enjoyable. The story of the magical 1959 Les Paul is insightful. They varied tremedously as they were hand made by old ladies for the most part -- so the whole concept of a 1959 specification and 1959 is really somewhat flawed. I also like the pictures: 2 of Jimmy Page's Les Pauls and Gary Moore's "Peter Green Les Paul" (yes that Les Paul, the one with the reversed magnetic in the neck pick-up). Some of these guitars have passed into guitar folklore -- they have become well known characters over the last 43 years or so of their existance. Pity they didn't have an image of Eric Clapton's Les Paul -- the one used on the seminal Beano album -- as it was stolen back in the 60's. [There was a rumor recently -- in Guitar Techniques magazine -- that another London professional, Bernie Marsden, is currently playing that guitar but who knows.]. The book should be brought up to date and some holes filled in - hence only 4-stars (actually more like 3.5) but if you like Les Pauls, I mean really like Les Pauls - then you will probably want to take a look at this.



4. This book is quite good, but I really think that the idea has a lot more to offer. The book is great for a quick reading of Gibson's history and the evolution of the Les Paul model in particular, but I think it could have been more clearly-structured. Not everything is negative though, there are great pictures, and I like the emphasis on descriptive details about the guitars. I wish this book had 30 or 40 more pages worth of text and pictures, that would have been great!



5. Bacon gets points for overall organization but looses a great deal for leaving out key details and making too many mistakes. For instance, the early years were covered well, but the end of and the post Norlin period was full of glaring ommissions and mistakes. As an avid Les Paul collector and frequent contributor to vintage guitar magazine I was sorely disappointed. There was no mention of the 1988 Showcase series where Gibson installed EMG pickups in its guitars. No mention of the experiment with Steinberger and the bizarre mutant Les Pauls that surfaced in 86-87 timeframe. The Norlin 81 Silverburst was not covered nor was there any mention of the Kahler tremelo collaboration, the Ferrari Red and other color experiments. The reference tables are packed with errors and more omissions. This book wont help a collector identify or understand Les Pauls. If you are going to write a book about the Gibson Les Paul then make sure it is accurate if not complete. This book has great photos and a very good summary of key early year facts....but enough already about the 59-61 bursts already. There is no much more to the Les Paul history.

No comments about Old Furniture: Understanding the Craftsman's Art (Second, Revised Edition).

No comments about Spongeware 1835-1935: Makers, Marks, and Patterns (Schiffer Book for Collectors.).

5 comments about Tomart's Price Guide to Hot Wheels Collectibles (Price Guide Series).

1. As others have said before me....the guide is a rehash of previously error filled versions. I have collected since 1994 and would only use this book to identify what the car looked like and possibly the year it was manufactured. Strauss promotes his own limited editions with high prices over more valuable limited editions. Accuracy is not one of the attributes of this book.



2. This book is loaded with valuable information. Lots of pictures & needed specs, but as in previous editions, the incomplete index leaves much to be desired, and the pricing is out of this world. However, that said, it is a great addition to a collectors library.



3. I have an interest in older Hot Wheels, and was looking for values and prices. This is the only book that differentiates between the various colors of the early cars, and those colors make all the difference in value. As a result this book is almost indispensable. The color guide itself is only so-so, being particularly difficult to match up with some of the brighter colors. There were so many shades that sometimes the guide is only so-so too. But since this is the only book that even bothers to attempt to divide the cars by color, this is the one to get.



4. This book purports to be a guide to all of the hot wheels cars produced for the last thirty plus years. It's very up-to-date, and well written and thought out. It has lists of all of the cars, with the early ones priced by color so you can keep track of which ones are more or less expensive. The colors in the color guide don't look that good to me, and since there are so many shades, I didn't find it that valuable, but the price guides are very good. They aren't completely up to date in and of themselves (how could they be?) but they're as good as they can get, and you can use them to judge how much one color will cost as opposed to another.



5. Honestly the latest edition is just a tired rehash of the last one. No effort to clean up errors, just seemed to be rolling the same information over and smacking it with the lastest edition number on it. The pages fall out of every edition I have owned. If you are a Redline enthusiast, there's a new game in town. The Ultimate Redline guide by Jack Clark and Robert Wicker is it! It's a hardback, has really neat history of the cars. Beautiful pictures, and lists all variations.

   I like a little more substance than what the Strauss book has offered lately. Hopefully Clark and Wicker will release more books soon and put this guide out of it's misery!

3 comments about Fifty Years of Collectible Glass 1920-1970: Easy Identification and Price Guide : Tableware, Kitchenware, Barware and Water Sets (Identification and Price Guide , Vol 1).

1. Great book for the avid collector of 20th century glass. Arranged by style, this reference book is easy to use. What would make this book a 5 star book? More color photographs would make this an unbeatable buy.



2. This book lives up to it's title "Easy Identification"....I would recommend it to both new collectors as well as the experienced one! Loads of background information on glass companies as well as values!



3. The great thing about this book is that the patterns are arranged by type of pattern rather than alphabetically. When trying to identify something, an alphabetical listing isn't a lot of help. Having patterns arranged by whether they have diamonds, flowers, flutes, hobnails, etc. makes a lot more sense and I wish more glass books were organized in this fashion. The authors have done a great job. If there is anything about this book I would change it would be to have more of it.