1 comments about Country Living: American Glassware: What Is It? What Is It Worth? (Country Living).

1. I truly only glanced thru the book and read very little of it, because I purchased it as a gift for a friend who collects. However what I did see, it seems to me the pictures were skimpy and with glass ware being what it is, most folks need more pictures in detail as well as descriptions to purchase. PLEASE: Let me state this: AMAZON IS THE GREATEST PLACE I HAVE EVER FOUND FROM WHICH TO PURCHASE BOOKS.

3 comments about The Collector's Encyclopedia of Salt & Pepper Shakers: Figural and Novelty.

1. I guess the book is ok if you like ugly salt shakers. It sure wasn't worth the $20 to me that I paid for it. 90% of them, I wouldn't take for free.



2. This is my favorite book on salt & pepper shakers, and I have quite a few! There are so many sets pictured, I keep finding a set I hadn't seen before every time I look through this book. The pictures are great, as are the descriptions! Definitely recommend!



3. This book is definately for anyone who is looking for a wealth of information about novelty salt and pepper shakers. Since this book was published in 1990, the values may not be as up to date as later books, but I have yet to see another shaker book with so much other information about the shakers themselves. The shakers are photographed in related groups sitting on 4-5 glass shelves with a solid-colored background. The pictures are excellent. The entire first page of each section contains a detailed description of the shakers pictured with the values for each listed at the bottom of the page. The description are truly wonderful and must have been thoroughly researched. That is the best part of this book. Ms. Davern talks about the background of many of the shakers as well as of the company that made them. She also mentions other related shakers that are not pictured in some cases. There are very few collectible salt and pepper shaker books that one can truly say is enjoyable reading. However, this is a wonderful book to just sit and read through due to Ms. Davern's descriptions, personal views, and beautiful pictures. This book is a must for any novelty salt and pepper shaker collector.

1 comments about Whitefriars Glass: The Art of James Powell & Sons.

1. A perfect reference for the collector with alot of colour photographs. The book tends to concentrate on the later range of glassware from Whitefriars, particularly during the Baxter era. This comes as no surprise since the book was written for the Manchester City Arts Gallery exhibition of Whitefriars glass and there was a great deal of collaboration between the books authors and the late Geoffrey Baxter. The book is quoted as a reference on alot of EBay auctions of Whitefriars glass.

5 comments about The Encyclopedia of Modern Marbles, Spheres, & Orbs.

1. A perfect book for the marble collector, this is the kind of book that can be read a hundred times and learn something new about the marble collectors world. Beautiful pictures and it shows that a lot of work went in to this book! Looking forward to more books by Mark Block!



2. While Block's first coffee table book on the subject of contemporary marbles was a fine piece of work, his second book is not, and anybody who says it is is either blind or crazy or a homer. Marble collectors love to see nice pictures of beautiful marbles, and while there are indeed LOTS of marble pictures in this book to look at, the vast majority of them are of such poor quality that it actually becomes a painful process to keep flipping the pages to see more of them. But that's not the worst part of the book. More egregious than the photography is the organization of the book. It is a haphazard mess of marbles, with no clear sense of how they are grouped and why. It actually starts out as if it's going somewhere, but then completely falls apart, as if the author was being whipped while on a chain gang in order to get the book finished by some crazy deadline. It ended up being maddening to flip through, since marbles were thrown together in bizarre ways that just leave you frustrated.
   
   In summary, save your money and find places online instead where you can find some true quality pictures of marbles with MUCH better stories and descriptions behind them. Hopefully somebody else comes out with a better book to redeem the marble community from the pain of this one.



3. This book is clearly one of only two that specialize in the hot collectible of contemporary marbles. Mark Block is the reknown and acknowledged expert in the field. This is easily seen in the in-depth research he has done, the cooperation he received from the Corning Museum of Glass, and all of the beautiful works that were incorporated into this exciting volume. I only hope that future books by Mark Block will meet or exceed his own expectations. If they do, the glass community will be all the better for it. He is truly Mr. Ambassador when it comes to contemporary marbles and related art glass.



4. For those of you who aren't aware Mark Block was convicted of a felony for screwing around with marble artist creations. He was also charged with faking marks on marbles to increase value although these were dropped as part of a plea deal. So my question is what publisher in their right mind releases a book supposedly by an expert who has a felony conviction specifically related to the subject he is an expert in? Obviously not a very conscientious publisher. Let me be the first to publicly state that I will boycott all Schiffer books until they get this criminal off their roster -- and no this doesn't apply to the rest of the Blocks. For those of you who want to support criminal behavior and want to buy this book beware the pictures aren't good, each one has a reflection on it, and the marbles in the book are certainly not first quality. By the way Mark, how many of the marbles in the book that were given as "donations" actually were "mistakenly" sold by you or your brother? Oh, I'm sorry you can't sell marbles - that's against your probation isn't it?



5. I haven't been collecting art glass marbles all that long, but I do know a beautiful book when I see one. The pictures are fantastic, clear and cover every possible type of handmade marble. I haven't had time to read the entire book, but I have paged through it several times just to marvel at the photography. What I have read seems to be concise and well written. I'm sure that I will find it to be a valuable source of reference for years to come.
   
   There's only one problem... every page shows a different type of marble that I need to add to my collection... this could get expensive!

No comments about The Mirror Book: English, American, and European.

2 comments about Warman's Fiesta Ware: Identification & Price Guide.

1. I love all things Fiesta, but this book is terrible. My main complaint is the "quality" of the photographs. They are so grainy-- sort of clear but fuzzy at the same time. And the color is way off. I mistook several pictures of gray Fiestaware for lilac at first glance! So forget about his "comparison" of the greens because it will not help you. What gets me is that any crap digital camera would have done a better job but from the reflections in the dishes it looks like he had a professional shoot the pictures. By the way, I also completely ignored the text (even though it is in LARGE print), since the Huxfords' book and the HLCCA's book cover everything. The bottom line: don't waste your time or money.



2. First off Fiesta is beautiful, but the photographs in this book are terrible!!! Not one photograph shows an accurate depiction of the subject. Many photographs seem blurred or fuzzy.
   Pass this by and get "Fiesta, Harlequin, and Kitchen Kraft Dinnerwares" by The Homer Laughlin China Collectors Association. You will not ne disappointed....unless you purchase Warman's book.

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.

1 comments about Depression Glass for Collectors.

1. After looking over this book, I find that the author does not show a grasp of the patterns he is writing about. His pictures do not agree with the pattern he is writing about. See the picture for Jubilee. (it is not Jubilee) Should have rechecked before book was printed.

1 comments about The Artistics Glassware of Dalzell, Gilmore & Leighton.

1. Jo and Bob Sanford and Barbara & Jim Payne's THE ARTISTIC GLASSWARE OF DALZELL, GILMORE, AND LEIGHTON pairs collector history with the latest price guide for these specialty pieces, providing notes as specific as commentary on patterns to accompany a history of makers and production lines.

1 comments about The Art of the Paperweight: Perthshire.

1. A beautiful book full of glorious colour pictures and information. Excellent details and pictures of how paperweights are made. Historical details about paperweight making in France, Italy, Bohemia, England, the USA, plus pictures and information about contemporary paperweight artists.