1 comments about More Boys' Toys of the Fifties and Sixties: Toy Pages from the Great Montgomery Wards Christmas Catalogs, 1950-1969 (More Boys' Toys of the Fifties & Sixties).

1. It is amazing the memories that this book, and it's companion volume on Sear's Wishbooks, can stir up. So many other childhood memories of family, friends, school, neigborhoods come flooding back- all triggered by some favorite toy that you either owned or dreamed of owning. Everying from Marx playsets, Remco greats like the Big Caesar Roman Galley and the Barracuda Sub, Ideal classics like Robot Commando.... And let us not forget Hopalong Cassidy, Tom Corbett, Lone Ranger, Batman, etc. merchandise. Be careful though, or you'll end up on EBAY with this book in one hand searching the listings for that favorite toy that got away (it is amazing how many are available at reasonable prices....)

3 comments about Tools Rare and Ingenious: Celebrating the World's Most Amazing Tools.

1. If your Pop loves to tinker in the workshop and appreciates old things, he will love this book.



2. "Fine Tools" is a classic book and this second book of a similar nature is a fitting and excellent sequel. As a certified "tool nut", I found this book as interesting and informative as the earlier volume while expanding a bit from the earlier effort. Another treasure for my library. Highly recommended.



3. The Author does a fine job of artistically photographing and describing a wide variety of rare tools. A veritable smorgasboard for the senses. I only wish I could reach into the photos and hold and examine the tools.

No comments about Samuel McIntire: Carving an American Style.

2 comments about A Guide Book Of United States Type Coins: A Complete History And Price Guide For The Collector And Investor (The Official Red Book).

1. US Type sets are a great way to learn about the history of the United States through its coins. This book is a great resource for learning how to compile said type set. The first ~50 pages are spent on a history of the US through its coins, history on the most famous set of all time (Eliasberg), some practical notes on grading (though if you really want a detailed resource on how to grade coins, you should look elsewhere), and then several pages on what to consider when assembling a US type set - such as by metal, everything but gold, just gold, how many varieties to include, etc.
   
   The bulk of the rest of the book is devoted to describing almost all types of US Coins that have been minted since 1792 (including the 1792 pattern half disme). Before each major type (such as half cents, large cents, small cents, etc.), a few pages are spent with an overview of the series, tips on collecting a type set with those coins, and then information on going "beyond a type set," in other words, what issues you may encounter if you want to assemble a set of all the coins in that series by date and mintmark.
   
   Then, almost all types are subsequently descirbed with full-color pictures, mintage information (e.g. 158.1 billion Lincoln memorial reverse bronze coins were struck), basic information, a "key to collecting," and "aspects of striking and appearance." It also has suggested grades to shoot for based upon three budget tiers. It then has tables of approximate market value at time of print (2004) by grade, certified population reports and approximate field population, and then market price performance for the last 60 years in decade intervals, which show how the value at (usually) 3 grades has changed (making you wish you bought back in 1950).
   
   Overall, if you want a general resource/guide to collecting type coins from 1792-2004 (I assume an update will be published within the next few years to account for the remaining Statehood Quarters, Jefferson 2005 reverse and obverse and the 2006 Jefferson obverse, and the new Presidential Dollar Series), this should be on your shelf. If you are an experienced numismatist, you may find much of it elementary, but still worth buying for the history section in the beginning and the relatively comprehensive data for each type.



2. If you want to start a "type collection" of US coins, this is the place to start. This book gives you the information that you need to get started. It also give you the price information that you need to make informed buying decisions. The history and other information will be extremely usefull to collectors that are new to this hobby. If you are a more experienced collector, the detailed numerical information will be a be help in improving your collection.

5 comments about The Book of Shaker Furniture.

1. I found "The Book of Shaker Furniture" to be very enlightening. I had no idea that REAL Shaker furniture was so ugly. However, to give the author credit, if I wanted to reproduce a piece, I could do so from his drawings and pictures very easily. I also learned a great deal about the history and demise of the Shaker culture.



2. The book presentation itself, is beautiful. Mr Kassay has over thirty years experience teaching industrial style, and it shows in his book. All of the photos are black and white, which at first, struck me as odd -- but Mr Kassay highly successfully uses this medium to help convey the grace, simplicity and sleekness of the Shaker's furniture. In his excellent descriptions, he provides the colors, type of current finish, and the original, if known.

   The measured drawings of the selected items are a work of art by themselves. They are beautiful line drawings with gray shading which gives a three dimensional presence. Mr Kassay carefully and completely exposes the hidden joinery that has often been omitted from the other classics of measured drawings of Shaker furniture. None of the other books that I have read, come close to providing as much detail of the actual craftsmanship of the joints.

   At first impression, my favorite is his drawing and explanation of the Harvard side table with the under slung drawer from the Fruitlands Museum. It's stability has always looked questionable to me, and he openly discusses it and I gained insight how to modify mine to be more sturdy, but still very recognizable as a reproduction of the original.

   Instead of showing photos of one or two examples of each type of item,for example, candle stands, he shows four or more. While he doesn't have measured drawing of each photo, he has at least one measured drawing of each type and provides dimensions on the other pieces. By providing many examples of items, he relates a broad sense of all of the Shaker's candle stands, rather than portraying, "this is the characteristics of this stand, look elsewhere for the big picture."

   He also includes a good history of the Shakers. While the information is fairly common among the books about the Shaker's and their furniture, it makes his book a complete reference for new comers and for people who have only room on their shelf and budget for one book.

   If the reader is interested in the beauty of the Shaker furniture, a beautifully done book, and extremely well done drawings, this is probably the book!




3. I'm, as a woodworker, an advanced amateur (I'm a Civil Engineer). One of my last works was a case with 27 (yes twentyseven) drawers of 15 different sizes and a door. A few months ago, attracted by a photo in the cover, I bought a book in London (England) about all the aspect of the Shaker Community and with a great surprise, I found there something very similar to what I had drafted and done. I didn't even know the existence of a Shaker Community before. Do you believe in reincarnation??? So I become extremely interested and tried to learn more about all the aspect of the Shaker furniture. I think this book has solved many questions I had and put in my mind many ideas. The drawings, in particular, are extremely clear and accurate and made with a loving care. After having seen this book I' m working to a sewing desk and to a woodworking bench in Shaker style. Certainly I didn't regret the money! Antonello Ruscazio - Sardinia Island - Italy



4. A great book to show customers. Includes a paragraph detailing each peice, a wonderful history of the shakers and their furniture, overall dimensions, and plans for a limited number of pieces. This book could use some color photos plans for each peice and more detail in the plans, but that was not necessarly the aim of the book, though it achieved what it meant to do well. When reading this book, one feels the struggle shaker cabinet makers were engaged in between simplicity and "the world".



5. A classic work on the Shaker community and furniture. Kassay's hand-drawn plans of specific furniture items reflect great detail while remaining relatively easy to follow. Logical organizaton of the content with excellent references. A "must have" for any serious woodworkers interested in or having respect for the Shaker lifestyle. Much deeper content than softcovers on the subject.

2 comments about Remembering Revell Model Kits.

1. On coffee table books such as this I usually borrow a copy from my local library before I lay down 30-plus dollars at my high street stockist (hobby shop, Yank). It's a good thing that I followed my usual pattern with "Remembering Revell..." since the book covers only US-based operations during the period 1952-1979. Revell's sizeable, more profitable and argueably more interesting UK, West German, Mexican (Lodela) and Japanese design and manufaturing operations are virtually ignored. The UK shop does get some ink but it is primarily spent criticizing the British tool and die makers. To be accurate the book should have been titled something like "US Revell Models 1952-1979".
   The author has given the reader a well organized, smoothly written and beautifully illustrated book, albeit, one of limited scope. The text's limitation goes beyond the time and geography. The end of Revell as an independent, closely-held firm is dismissively summarized in less than half a page. All that the reader is told is that "costs rose" and "Profit margins had always been slim",...oh. What does that mean? If margins had always been minimal how had Revell survived, no, prospered as the world's largest model manufacturer? The author does tell the reader about changing liesure time options for US children and teenage boys, Revell's traditional market, that cut into US sales but nothing else. The effects of Revell's always more proftable foreign operations and the emergence of fine scale modeling as an adult hobby in the US go undicussed as do the oil shocks of 1973-74 and 1979 as they effected the cost of Revell's raw materials. Similiarly, the place of Revell in the stagnant N. American and W. European econonies of the late 1970's is ignored. This is not a tome aimed at MBA's but I'd like the full story about why my favorite boyhood model company folded. I suspect it is rapped up in the early death of the founder and the presence of a fuzzy undefined corporated hierarchy with ill-defined authority, responsiblity and accountablity.
   Additionally, be advised that the introduction and much of the first chapter are lifted from this same author's earlier book about Aurora models.



2. This book takes a look at the history of Revell in its heyday of the 1950s to the 1970s. The book looks at the development of everything from the kit itself to the artists who drew the box tops which drove me nuts because I could never even come close to making the model like what was on the box top.

   I was born in the 70s when Revell was starting to go through the turmoil that consolidated the plastic model industry so all this history is new to me. This book makes me want to go back in time and build most of these kits with only my trusty tube of glue as and a powerful exhaust fan as my companions.

   Although I generally build the Tamigawa kits when I get the chance, I still have many happy memories of building assembled models from Revell even though they were poorly painted and badly built (fault of the builder, not the company.)

   My only quibble is I wished the author would have spent more detail in describing how a kit goes from idea to market.

   If you are a modeller who enjoyed building the planes, vehicles and ships of Revell, you will find this an enjoyable history into the company that helped millions (including me) find things to do on a rainy day.

1 comments about Japanese Kimono Designs (Dover Pictorial Archive).

1. I looked at many other books on Kimono, some very expensive,beautiful hardcover volumes in fact...(I confess, if I see a book I like in a bookstore, I go directly to Amazon, the prices are so much better...)
   I was satisfied with this book, it had enough imagery and variety in it for me,should I wish to design my own Kimono.Its great as an artist's reference book, the price is good too. If you want a book with more historical facts, with meanings of colors and symbols, seasonal kimono styles,etc,there are books out there that are really loaded with all kinds of fascinating info. I wish I could afford one of those, but this one does the job for my purposes.

1 comments about Warman's Watches Field Guide: Values and Identification (Warman's Field Guides).

1. This book Was a disappointment although it is in a convenient format it is just a copy of Dean Judy's other book.

5 comments about Omega Designs: Feast for the Eyes.

1. It amazes me that a well-known maker as Omega has a paucity of books in print detailing the history and products of this renowned maker (at least in English). Other than a hard to get and doubtless expensive official history, this leaves the gentle reader with this book by Mr. Kreuzer. A translation from German, this book is an exception to the overall thoroughness inherent in the German horological press. The history of Omega is very general and reads almost like a sales brochure from the company itself. Little effort is given to chronicling product development, especially in the era following WW 2, the most prolific period for the company and of most interest to collectors. Much better in this respect is the book "Tale of the Seamaster" by Messrs. Nakamura and Noda (Tokyo, World Photo Press). Unfortunately, this is in Japanese. On a positive note, the section in the back of the book detailing Omega movements is quite helpful, and I have often used it to identify watches.



2. If you are interested in more than how Omega watches look and need to know what's inside them, this book is a great resource. As a collector it's frustrating to see watches listed for sale with movement calibers listed, but not have a source of information that provides details on the movements. For Omega watches only, this book seems to be definitive in this area. I also enjoyed the descriptions of the major Omega lines and the other information on the company, although it's far from comprehensive. I would only recommend this book if you want or need the technical data on the Omega movements.



3. With a far from comprehensive collection of color photographs of vintage Omega's, a smattering of vintage ad reproductions, and a barely comprehensible company history, this book's only saving grace is the illustrated history of Omega movements.

   If you need more movement info than can be found in Cooksey-Shugart, buy this book. Otherwise your money is better spent on something more generic, like (Heinz Hampel's) Automatic Wristwatches from Switzerland.




4. This book tells the long history of Omega and describes all watchlines (Constellation, Deville, Seamaster, Speedmaster etc) very well. There is not much depth, but the book do give you a lot of information about the used movements, great photos and information on all watchlines by Omega. For indepth stories about how watches work, buy Chronograph Wristwatches : To Stop Time; Reinhard Meis, Gerd R. Lang or Wristwatch Chronometers : Mechanical Precision Watches and Their Testing; Fritz Von Osterhausen.



5. great explanations on the concept of omega watche

5 comments about Masterpieces of French Jewelry.

1. As a previous reviewer stated, I also saw the "Masterpieces" exhibit at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco last month, and it was one of the most beautiful shows I've seen at any museum in some time. As with numerous other exhibits I've had the good fortune to see over the years, I expected a good-quality book or catalogue for purchase. Was I in for a surprise with this book! It is JUST AWFUL!
   
   The book gets it's one-star rating because the text is interesting enough, and the typeface is legible. But why does someone buy a book on jewelry in the first place? For the pictures of course, and the pictures in this book are amateurish (the most polite word I could come up with). Most of the photographs appear to have been shot straight on with a flash, no side or backlighting. The jewelry looks flat, one-dimensional, and washed out. Basically, it all looks like cheap costume jewelry. Many photos are printed against a bright, white background. They look like they were cut and pasted in low-grade photo editing software. But worst of all are the numerous shots that are out of focus. There's no excuse for this.
   
   It's disappointing to go to such a nice exhibit and have nothing to remember it by. It amazes me that the National Jewelry Institute approved this publication. The Institute and Running Press really blew this one.



2. This book documents the astounding pieces contained in the Masterpieces of French Jewelry Exhibit at San Francisco's Palace of the Legion of Honor thru June 10, 2007.
   This exhibition honors the breathtaking inspiration, unsurpassed craftmanship and variety of French jewelry from the Art Nouveau period at the beginning of the 20th century to contemporary pieces. All the jewels in the exhibition are illustrated in this inspirational book, in full color and exaggerated detail.
   The exhibition begins with several lavish Art Nouveau creations by René Lalique and Georges Fouquet, moving into the Belle Epoch, Deco and Retro styles. The book and exhibit also feature original contemporary examples by Joseph Arthur Rosenthal (JAR).
   Fabulous addition to a jewelry lover's library.



3. Author Judith Price is President of the National Jewelry Institute: her background has long been in French art and jewelry, so she's the perfect choice to write an authoritative review and history in MASTERPIECES OF FRENCH JEWELRY. Over a hundred photos of pieces owned by Americans - most never seen by the public before - accompany historical background which covers jewelry from the late 1800s to modern times. There's a thoughtful attention to the layout on each page that juxtaposes large-size photos of pieces with good-sized, clear text descriptions and commentary. Both specialty art and jewelry libraries and more general-interest holdings will find in MASTERPIECES OF FRENCH JEWELRY a welcome, popular reference.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



4. Not much jewelry and the gold Sterle' evening bag (the same one which our company owned and recently sold) is photographed upside down! I gave this book as a gift after one quick flip through. Should cost $5.00 (incl shipping)



5. You might purchase this book for the tolerably decent photos of French jewelry, but don't expect a scholarly, in-depth discussion of the subject. Price's writing is almost laughably bad, consisting as it does of pointless, unhelpful captions ("The engraved goldwork on the front of the owl signals its use as an accessory of a refined lady.") and smarmy, gushing intros for a bunch of B- and C-list socialite collectors, including such luminaries as Actress, Producer, and One of America's Leading Motion Picture Executives Dina Merrill Hartley (daughter of Marjorie Merriweather Post--"one of the richest women in the world," we're told) and "the First Lady of Fiction" ...Barbara Taylor Bradford. When Price gets around to discussing French jewelry, the result is much like a high school report cobbled together from material cribbed from an encyclopedia entry--an effect weirdly reinforced by the publisher's decision to print the text in double-spaced format. Her observations are trite, obvious or altogether incorrect (and sometimes all three). Apparently, Price's presidency of the National Jewelry Institute (founded...oh, about last week) is qualification enough to write on the subject. Or maybe it's the fact (see dustjacket flap) that she lives in New York and "Paris, France."