5 comments about Erte's Fashion Designs.

1. I love art and am always on the look out for great art books. Erte is a favorite artist of mine and when I found this inexpensive book, I jumped at it! Plenty of pictures, mostly black and white, and less fluff! Too many art books fill entire pages with well known images. This book is the opposite and has tons of great illustrations from Erte. For the price, who can complain? I would recommend this book to anyone who loves the 20's, studies fashion, and/or enjoys art.



2. This is a lovely little book that includes many georgeous fashion illustrations in the art deco style. An excellent book for the art deco enthusiast, or those those looking for new design ideas.



3. These designs may not always be emblematic of actual clothing in the 1920's, but they represent some of the most innovative, dramatic, and stylish stuff from the era, and remain inspirational to this day. The book features a few of his more ordinary designs, but also includes "Harper's Bazar" covers, theatrical designs, and some amazing haute couture. While there are no pictures of extant costumes, this book of illustrations, quite a few in color, is beautiful, stylish, and motivating.



4. One of the best! Truly unusual designs for creative figurative art dolls. Highly recommended.



5. With this book you get a glimpse into the master's mind at the birth of Art Deco and beyond. Erte's designs flourished in the mid-20's, when the Deco age was new, but you can still sense a taste for the noveau and baroque ages in his art and gorgeous designs. Erte was a pioneer artist untill his death and anyone seeking to learn true fashion design will benefit from the vision of Erte.

1 comments about Antique & Contemporary Advertising Memorabilia (Antique and Contemporary Advertising Memorabilia).

1. A brand new 2002, 416 page beautiful plastic laminated hardbound library book advertising memorabilia lovers will appreciate. There are more than 1,200 large, full color sharp photos included. Current values are shown. Listings are in alphabetical order throughout the book, making item location easy. Useful for beginners and advanced collectors, and everyone interested in ad memorabilia. Add it to your library. It's a beautiful book.

1 comments about Classic Travel Posters: 16 Art Stickers.

1. Very pleased with my purchase -- exactly what I saw on the seller's site. Arrived timely.

2 comments about Griswold Cast Iron Vol. #1.

1. This book it great for learning how to recognize great finds and how to ascertain the values in collectors' circle. You may have to thumb through the pages to find the items; but, that in itself is a learning experience. The history of the industry is as valuable as the prices of the pieces. And you won't find this much experience in cast iron between any other cast iron books (if you can find any other cast iron books).



2. I was sorry that I ordered this book. Information is not organized well and incomplete. Prices do not compare accurately to internet auction prices.

2 comments about Watches International: Volume IX (Watches International).

1. Ugh.
   
   I've had different versions of the "watch bibles" for the last 10+ years, and from now on I'll have to look at them in person before buying.
   
   These books used to be great references for the products of all the major watch manufacturers. Now it's just a glossy overview of what's new in watches.
   
   If you are into the boutique and jewelry watch brands like Cartier, Dior, and the like, this is a great book. Most of the content is dedicated to these watches, and the pictures are great.
   
   If you want a reference for Patek, Rolex, JLC, etc. Stay away. Get the manufacturers catalogs instead.



2. This publication has the "potential" for being great. However, everything seems a little incomplete. Many watches lack prices. Many of the brands are missing models of great importance. Several big companies are missing. The good thing is the brief description offered of each brand including facts and history.

4 comments about Secret Lives of Frames: One Hundred Years of Art and Artistry.

1. I purchased this book to better understand and appreciate frames. I was not disappointed! The book starts with a general description of what is involved in making a gesso frame. With photographs to illustrate the process, it is a wonderful tutorial on how high quality picture frames are constructed. The remainder of the book is full of great pictures of antique picture frames and how they are used to enhance the art they surround. The book is a visual feast. I highly recommend it.



2. Not many people would see this as a great book, But if your into craftsmanship or framing you can not go wrong. This was a companion book to a frame ehibition that toured museums in the U S, I saw it in Norfolk Va. and immediately got the book. As Ferris says "If you have the means I highly recomend it"



3. As a long time furniture maker and also someone who is making frames, this book has a wealth of photographic history documenting frames from the beginnings of the art movements in Europe and is separated by the styles popularized in the different countries. As a novice carver and gilder, I can really appreciate the craftsmanship shown by the photographs. They're both inspiration and intimidation!



4. I bought this book as a gift for my husband, whose family has been in the picture frame business for over 40 years. I really bought it for the photographs, which are truly outstanding. They illustrate the beautiful, hand-carved frames of long ago, when gold truly meant genuine gold leaf. This book is almost a history of frame-making.

3 comments about Warman's Zippo Lighters Field Guide: Values And Identification (Warman's Field Guides).

1. this is a great gift for my SO who is interested in collecting these lighters.



2. Don't waste your money on this one. Full of pictures: yes. Info?: no. It's full of pictures of lighters you will never run across. Go with Poore's book.



3. The book was well researched and very well presented. The photography was excellent. For the money, this is a great book and a must have for all Zippo lighter collectors.

5 comments about Warman's Depression Glass Field Guide: Values and Identification (Warmans Field Guide).

1. Apparently, a lot. This book makes me want to go out and buy a different one on the same subject. I can't seem to find anything in it that is useful. Either they left a lot out, or I am just looking in the wrong book. I see things on Ebay all the time that one would think would be in here but they are not. I've only identified one pattern so far. There are no toothpick holders or salt cellars. I'm more confused now than before. The pictures are dull and boring. I think a Field Guide in general is a bad idea because the size of the photos is so small. Sticking to the large books would have been better.



2. I've used this book for selling many pieces of depression glass. It is very detailed with lots of pictures to help identify pieces by maker and pattern.



3. If you are interested in depression glass you will enjoy adding this book to your collection of reference books.



4. This book is a fantastic take-along for going to antique stores and garage sales and the like. It contains several helpful sections to help you identify patterns including a catagorized section of borders (birds, floral, art deco, etc.) and a shape guide which is primarily useful when looking for plates and serving pieces. All of the photos of actual pieces are in color. This book also contains several patterns that Gene Florence's Collector's Encyclopedia of Depression Glass does not.
   
   One thing about this book that needs to be mentioned is the large discrepency in value for many pieces between the Warman's guide and Florence's guide. I don't know if this is because this edition is already 3 years old or what. You may feel like you are getting an incredible deal when you are actually not. This book also doesn't contain much information on each pattern except for the basics and it doesn't have much good information on reproductions.
   
   This is a great field guide for glass, but it's good to have a back-up, more recent guide for values.



5. Lovely descriptive book. Found several of my pieces immediately. Will be a great reference book for my collection.

5 comments about Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and the Playmakers Who Created Them.

1. I have nothing to add to all the other five star reviews, just that this book is amazing, a real labor of love, huge amount of illustrations and history, and impossible to put down. it's worth every penny of the list price as a fascinating coffee table book, and you can get it for ten percent of the list value, used,as well. apparently there were two publishers with two titles, 'timeless toys', and 'playmakers' seems to be the same book.



2. I happened upon this book browsing through a used book store. I sat down and started flipping through the pictures and descriptions of familiar, famous toys, and COULD NOT put the book down! I bought it that night, of course, and was even more spell-bound the more I read. I was astounded by Tim Walsh's research; the large, bright photographs; and the intimate history of the development of so many toys that are part of any American children's heritage. Learning that Mr. Potato Head originally came without the potato (children used a real one!), seeing all the variations of Candyland (found my own version: 1970's), and reading about what made the Cabbage Patch Doll craze (4th grade - I remember so clearly!) was fascinating. It was my treat to read every day coming home from work until sadly, I finished it! But, as a 5th grade teacher, I promptly took the book to school and watched with delight my students' reactions as they discovered interesting and arcane facts about toys they all knew about as well (how long some toys have been around got the biggest reactions). It was passed around the classroom for several weeks. I cannot recommend this book too highly!



3. As someone interested in toys and collecting, I've read lots on the subject. But Tim Walsh still told me things I didn't know. The best part is that someone with no interest in the subject will still find this lavish, inviting coffee table book an enthralling read. The reason is the author, Tim Walsh. Most toy collecting books start with no criteria as to what goes in and what stays out of the book. Tim did. One criterion was that the toy had to be created or invented by an outsider. Thus, a lot of well- known toys already didn't make the cut.
   
   The ones that did have stories a lot better than the title, Timeless Toys, makes them sound. By that I mean that this isn't one of those nostalgic "see how much better these simple toys were than all your overdone gadgetry?" books that abound in collecting circles. You might come to that conclusion, but Tim started somewhere else. When he made his own games, he started asking questions about others. Why is the box like that? Why is this that color? Where did they get that name?
   
   Those are the same questions one asks playing with toys. The cynical answers are that marketing research showed that more people would pick up the package if it were blue, and a computer poll of all co-eds showed they liked the letter "Z". But Tim shows, thank heaven, that those cynical answers are wrong. Lots of great toys came from accidents, and many inventors began with a sense of wonder.
   
   Tim doesn't stop there. Those outsiders need insiders to make a toy. Tim covers all that, including the most famous toy designer, Marvin Glass. As with Andy Warhol, the Glass name covered a design team, and Tim introduces some of the faces behind the scenes. Many toys were inspired by other toys, and Tim traces the roots back. His findings usually don't jibe with the urban legends surrounding their creations, and when there are multiple tales, Tim tells them all.
   
   The most interesting parts to me are some that might be overlooked. They are small sidebars showing the origins of a toy and some of the companies that have made it. Often the company names change because the companies are bought by other firms. A decade ago Tyco was bringing back all the classic toys that ever existed, having bought those companies or their toy molds. Where's Tyco now? I wondered, until Tim revealed it was bought by Mattell.
   
   Tim also tells the origin of many toy companies, including one started by two guys named Matson and Elliot. I've read about Wham-O before, and even interviewed an animator who made Superball commercials, but Tim reveals the secret of how Wham-O made so many great toys. Tim also breaks it all down with by decade timelines. He often shows the box art of toys that were revived in various decades. Toy art in the '50s and '60s, much of it done by comic book artists, is a wonder to behold, while the overdone, throwaway art of today really does look like the result of committees on market research.
   
   The bad news is that this 300 page book is only about 75 toys. But that may be a good thing. Those interested might track down Bill Bruegman's Toys of the Sixties or related volumes to read on. Don't buy The Playmakers, though, because Timeless Toys is the new title of the same book. Tim Walsh convinced me that creative souls, even today, even if by accident, may still have a chance. If toys be the fruit of wonder, play on!



4. The author has created an excellent book covering the most popular toys of the 20th Century. As you go through this book, you are going to come across many toys you remember from your own lifetime. While some have faded with time, many are still popular and have entertained ever since they first appeared.
   The book takes a rather wide view of what a toy is; and includes many games,puzzles,and other things that have entertained young as well as those who are young at heart,if not in years.
   The first toy discussed was the Flexible Flyer sled.It brought back a memory to me ,since I had one as a kid.Mine had the straight-runner,and I ran into a gutter grate and punctured my thigh. It seems it happened enough that the runners were rounded.Then, there is the Big Wheel. The kid next door had one and he loved it so much ,he wore completely through the plastic wheels.
   Here, you will not only see great pictures of the toy or game ;but also the story behind its being invented and marketed. You will also learn about the person who invented it,details about patents,how many were sold;and lots of other interesting details. It's highly likely that you will find your favorite toy or game covered.
   At the back of the book you will find an extensive Bibliography. The book covers many games and puzzles.I have been a long time fan of puzzles and if you are interested in them ,I suggest a search under Jerry Slocum,[...]or The Slocum Puzzle Foundation,Beverly Hills,California.
   Overall,a wonderful book that would be interesting to just about anyone who enjoys toys,games or puzzles.



5. As a toy inventor I was surprised when I first saw the book by how beautifully designed it was as well as the extraordinary quality of the photography. On further examination, it greatly surpassed my first impression with its fascinating stories and (truly astonishing), that it got its facts right!
   
   In addition to the fun of seeing all those cool looking toys and taking a nostalgic look back over the last century, it's an historical tribute to American and American immigrant's genius and hard work that has given us all so much pleasure.
   
   treat yourself and your friends to this fine book.

1 comments about A Handbook of 20th Century U.S. Gold Coins: 1907-1933.

1. This is just a rehash of Akers' original withOUT all the personal wisdom and insight that Akers shared with the reader, which is what made his books the best coin guides around. There's very little in this book that isn't readily available on the internet. Look for the original...it's just a better book.