2 comments about Lancaster Glass Company, 1908-1937: Identification & Value Guid4e (Identification & Values (Collector Books)).

1. Item arrived at the same time as items ordered directly from Amazon; item was exactly as advertised. Entire transaction was excellent.



2. If you like depression era glass, and particularly Lancaster glass, you'll enjoy the pics and info in this book. It's fun just to pick up and review the pictures and helpful if you wish to purchase any Lancaster glass. If you are selling a piece of glass, you should know that on some items you will probably get about half of what they are listed for in these types of books.

3 comments about Tiffany Stained Glass Windows: in Full-Color (Post) Cards: 24 Cards (Card Books).

1. Was looking for good color photos of some of Tiffany's work. This book did not disappoint. The illustrations here have excellent detail that I didn't see for some of the works published elsewhere.



2. This is a companion book, as it's glossy postcards. I spent an afternoon at my local frame shop & framed 6 of the cards, they are very attractive as smaller framed images. The images are sharp (although small) & the colors seem to be pretty true to what the windows would actually look like. I'm pleased with the results of my afternoon & glad I had a chance to read the previous review to know these were postcards.



3. It isn't at first apparent from the listing that this is a book of postcards. I found it very valuable because I also bought Eaton's "Tiffany Windows: Stained Glass Pattern Book". Although colored examples were given for them, the Tiffany designs are complicated. 15 or 16 of the postcards were duplicate designs that were in the Eaton book. I use the images for computer application and they helped me a lot to choose the right colors.

2 comments about Early American Pattern Glass: Collector's Identification & Price Guide.

1. Ditto to the above review of this book! "Index, Index, Index!!!" I am a relative newbie to antique glass and started a few months ago trying to identify family pieces. Because of the volume, extensive research, pictures, etc... of this source, I bought it a couple of months ago. What a waste of time and money. This book ***only*** has an alphabetical listing of patterns in the Table of Contents - no index. As I am trying to ***indentify*** a glass pattern - do not know the pattern name, the Table of Contents is useless. I have to laborously search page by page (500+) in hopes of stumbling on a black and white pic or sketch of the pattern. Granted several other glass books only have alpha listings of patterns but they are smaller in volume making it a bit easier to thumb through them. Now Warman's Glass by Schroy does have an index which lists not only pattern names but catagories with sub-levels. Why couldn't this book have taken a little more effort and added an invaluable index?



2. I'm sorry to say this book makes me want to stick a fork in my eye every time I use it.
   
   That's because mostly I need to identify an unfamiliar piece of glass, so I don't have a pattern name yet, and for some reason the authors chose to assume that anyone using this book would already know the pattern name of what they were looking up! Even the table of contents lacks any organization other than alphabetical pattern names.
   
   But most of all, identification is made hair-pullingly difficult by the lack of even a rudimentary INDEX.
   
   The authors have provided no way to look up patterns by characteristics such as 'star and circle,' or 'ribbed with lattice,' etc. The authors of books on marks have managed to come up with organization systems like this - so why is it so lacking in pattern identification books? This is not the only book without an index, even Mauzy's excellent book on Depression glass forces you to look at every pattern on every page when you're researching an unfamiliar piece.
   
   But, what makes this book's lack of index particularly egregious is its enormous size and complexity. Having to look at mostly black and white line drawings of patterns on EVERY SINGLE page of this book's 498 (!) pages of patterns is so discouraging I have yet to actually id a piece. I keep just giving up, which makes this book a waste of money.
   
   In fact, if you have a pattern name, you've already GOT identification, haven't you? All you really need to know is the price and what else is available in the pattern line, which YOU HAVE ALREADY IDENTIFIED YOURSELF!! The use of the word "Identification" in this book's title is an outrageous lie.
   
   The only way to make this book valuable to the majority of collectors, who have not managed to memorize thousands of EAPG patterns, is to buy another better organized book of patterns and use this one for the exhaustive listing of all pieces produced or reproduced under each pattern name.
   
   Obviously, the authors put a lot of hard work into this huge volume (which is the only reason this torture device still got two stars) but expecting anyone to access all that info without an index is ridiculous. This is a reference book after all, and reference books are meant to be WELL organized.
   
   If the authors had done more than just part of the job, and included at least an index and/or at least one other organization method than alphabetical pattern names, this could have been THE definitive guide to EAPG. What a disappointment.
   
   This was my first book on EAPG so I don't have any alternative suggestions, but perhaps someone else out there does?

4 comments about Frank Lloyd Wright Glass.

1. The dust jacket and the hard cover have the same big color cover photo and a smaller color photo on the back. What's key about the photos is that it's not all just pictures of glass designed by Wright. Most of the photos are of glass in the context of where it is in the home, either imbedded in the wall or in furniture or as part of the building. A number of the photos show how the light affects the building.
   
   I love FLW photo books when they're large like this one is. I always hope they'll take full advantage of the size and offer as many full page photos as possible. In this case the majority of the pages have a white paper border with only 14 full page photos, all color except one that is of Wright. I didn't think I'd be interested in a book just of his glass but the way they are photographed, most in the context of the building, it really does give you a detailed view of the impact Wright had on his buildings by designing even the glass. This books reminds you that much of the glass he designed were windows, not just lamps or a part of furniture. This makes it an excellent supplement to a collection of large FLW photo books of his various buildings. The text is a bit dry. It takes up about a sixth of the book which isn't bad. The author really does let the photographs speak for themselves in terms of giving them much more space than she gives her writing. Because of her focus on glass you see a lot of detail that is never shown in most large FLW photo books. There are only 4 black and white photos and only 2 drawings.
   
   This is a book well worth owning, particularly if you are really into Wright's work and would like to see detail that you pretty much don't find anywhere else. Certainly, it's worth obtaining if you can get it for less than the asking price.



2. This book contains fantastic full-color photos spanning Wright's career and use of art glass. Unfortunately, the text and editing are dreadful, one has to plod through most of the paragraphs. The writer appears to have been attempting to pack as many words into each sentence as possible; she also has several pet phrases, such as "proof, if proof were needed" that are over-used the first time they appear. A few factual errors are also scattered throughout the book that should have been caught in the editing process (e.g., on page 83 she places the Dana-Thomas house in Chicago [its in Springfield, Illinois]). I still recommend buying the book solely for the photos. If you are interested in reading a history of Wright, there are many more well-written books in press. Five stars for the photos, one star for the text.



3. This book deserves more than five stars for overall excellence and its ability to extend your appreciation of how glass can improve our ability to enjoy public buildings and homes. The photographs and essays could not have been better, more in point, or easy to understand.

   If you are like me, you feel that Frank Lloyd Wright's use of glass was one of his most distinctive and attractive features. He employed glass to create a "quality of repose" by diffusing light, and using "window curtains" to separate spaces without denying light by employing patterns in the glass. In doing this, he wanted to create a "vista without, vista within." For many of his urban homes (especially those in Oak Park, Illinois), there was no opportunity to have much of a vista without. In those circumstances, he emphasized creating internal vistas, and using access to the sky through skylights and elevated windows for the external ones. In the S.C. Johnson Administrative Building, he relied on pyrex glass to let the light enter while providing structural support. The geometric shapes (often in color) on his art glass also added eye appeal. The book contains many wonderful designs such as his famous tree of life and of hollyhocks. Glass was also an integral part of his lighting fixtures, which often evoke Japanese lanterns.

   The bulk of Mr. Wright's buildings are in private hands, which you cannot visit very easily to see the insides. So much of the beautiful use of glass is hidden except in the external windows viewable from ground level. This book is a remarkable resource to overcome that handicap. If you are like me, you will come away especially impressed with the Dana-Thomas house glass in Springfield, Illinois.

   The book is superb for beautifully displaying and exploring these many dimensions of Mr. Wright's use of glass.

   After you finish enjoying this volume, I suggest that you think about how you could use some of Mr. Wright's ideas to make where you live more filled with vistas and repose. For example, can you use cellophane and constuction paper to create art glass effects when placed atop windows?

   See the light in more beautiful ways!




4. Although lavishly illustrated, this title has more than just pretty pictures. Frank Lloyd Wright Glass offers a close up examination of some of Wright's greatest achievements, structural and decorative, discussing what they have meant to those who have followed. It looks through the window of architecture to see the broader cultural horizon, profiling specific sites to illustrate Wright's ideas and his legacy.

4 comments about Warman's Carnival Glass: Identification & Price Guide.

1. Hundreds of classic and popular glass patterns, more than 5,000 prices, and headline production pieces pack Warman's Carnival Glass: an identification and price guide key to understanding Warman colors, forms, identifying characteristics, and values. Each piece receives a color photo paired with information on common reproductions, making for an excellent and solid reference work collectors will find easy to consult.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. Beautiful colorful photos. Very easy to read and identify patterns. SO MUCH TO LOOK AT!!!



3. Another excellent identification book by Ellen T. Schroy. It is well organized and the beautiful color pictures are clear for pattern identification. She identifies the maker, the colors which were produce, the known forms, the identifying characteristics, and the prices at the time the book was written. There is a section showing and describing the colors of carnival glass, and an explanation of how to determine the color of carnival glass. Also included in the book is a time line and information about each glass company during the Carnival Glass era. This book is one of the best for identifying pieces of carnival glass. I use it more than any of my other books. It is my favorite! I highly recommend it to every beginning collector!



4. Great service book is in excellent condition.
   Thanks so much.

3 comments about Cobalt Blue Glass.

1. This is basicallly a photo book on blue glass. It has no information on the manufacturing process, the difference between blown, cut and formed glass or particular glass vendors. The photos have prices associated with them, but no dates of manufacture. It is the only thing out there exclusively devoted to "cobalt blue", but I was disappointed in the lack of information. The authors seemed more interested in attributing the ownership of the items depicted in the photos than in providing facts.



2. I searched far and wide for information on Cobalt Blue Glass. I found this book and "The Discovery of Glass: Experiments in the Smelting of Rich, Dry Silver Ores, and the Reproduction of Bronze Age-type Cobalt Blue Glass as a Slag" By John F. Dayton. The tittle of the above book looks like somebody's thesis. Anyway this book is colorful and is exactly what it was designed for "collectors." There is a brief history and a small bibliography. I think it is worth the money. However I was looking for something more definitive that discriminated between the color and the material in cobalt. This may only be real cobalt glass but there is no mention of how to discern the blue color from real cobalt. I also saw pieces that were a mixture of cobalt and gold on a TV show. I can not find an example in this book. There is no reference to any organization of cobalt blue glass collectors. This book will also make a great coffee table book.



3. This is the only book that I've found on this subject and it is in my favorite format for pricing collectibles (lots of color pictures and pricing with the pictures). Have discovered that I have probably been selling too low. No wonder I have immediate sales.

5 comments about Bottles: Identification and Price Guide, 3e (Bottles: Identification and Price Guide).

1. A lot of good info for the beginning collector and a fair reference for all.



2. I've been an Antique Bottle Collector for approximately 10 years and have bought all of the previous editions of Bottles: Identification and Price Guide. While the other 3 editions have been excellent and a great help, the 4th Edition is by far the best of the group. The front part of the book with respect to how to understand bottle collecting,the history of bottles and glass, and digging for bottles (which I do) is an excellent update. In addition, the updated pricing sections along with the photographs, both black & white and color, are also extremely helpful. I find that the other area that provided a great deal of help is the back section of the book. The Trademark Section, Glossary, Clubs and Dealer Guide, and Bibliography. Overall, Mr. Polak has done a great job providing a super updated 4th Edition. The book makes mention that it has been called the "Bottle Bible" and I can understand why. It's been extremely helpful to myself and many of my fellow bottle colletors.



3. This book is a very difficult book to use. No index, bad alphabetizing of lists, no cross referencing. It lists mostly high-end bottles, and ignores others. It has pages of useless content. e.g. bottle club listings, bottle dealers, etc - all things that are out of date a month after publication and best found other ways. That space could have been used for something useful, like an index. I recommend this to no one.



4. I have a copy of this book, along with dozens of other books on antique bottles and collecting them. It is one of the least worthwhile of them all, and I am including books published in the 1960s with more listings, better photos, etc. The book shows mainly bottles that are more easily found in the West, and chances are that the bottles you want to find info on will NOT be listed. (Of course, no book can list them all, as there have been hundreds of thousands of different bottles made-just in the US alone). But Mr. Polak's book is a hyped mess of misinformation, fuzzy b&w photos (although he does include a lovely centerfold layout of several beautiful bottles in full color!!) and a "quick course" on identifying the age of bottles which is almost useless, as the problem of learning the true age of a bottle is not always as simple as he makes it sound. The list of glass factory marks has been copied from other writers who copied from Julian Toulouse's book on bottle makers' marks, and some of those are in error just as he first presented them in 1971. Production dates of bottles listed must be taken with some caution. Some of the bottle club information is very outdated, having been lifted from old magazines that are 20+ years old. Information is often vague, with little explanation of exact condition, damage, or the exact embossing variant being referred to, which can make a HUGE difference in the value of a bottle in some cases. I think every bottle collector should have a copy, but mainly as another checklist they can refer to, in order to help find out what all is out there in the field of antique bottles that they MIGHT eventually run into at antique malls, bottle shows, yard sales or by digging them themselves. Values are mostly overrated, some are too high, some are too low. Overall, this book is an example of the type of material that I find disheartening: Lots of HYPE, but not much solid, worthwhile information for the serious bottle collector/hobbyist/historian/digger/amateur archeologist out here!!



5. Don't buy this book. It is a waist of money and time. I have a lot of old bottles and can't find one of them in this book. It says it is the best book for bottle collectors. If it is, why can't I find even a Vicks Vapo Rub cobalt bottle in it?? I am very dissatisfied.

5 comments about Marble Mania.

1. wonderful photos', informative narrative, the new guy can't go wrong. And the speed of shipping can't be matched. Thanks all around.



2. i loved this book because it gave you funny expample of how to play i also loved it because it gave you marbles that you can play with.
   from,
   caroline



3. Marble Mania has fine photographs of every imaginable marble from pebbles found alongside streams to the Industrial Revolution in Germany & Austria. Here the cutting of agate cubes & polishing them into marbles for export all over the world became a huge cottage industry. You have to see the beauty of all the clay, pottery, crockery, china & porcelain globes. It was fun to read this big book. Found myself chatting at the local recycle shop about the blue canning jars in their windows filled with marbles. Eyeing them eagerly, with a little more knowledge & a few more names.



4. I bought this book for my husband (from Amazon) for Xmas. Not only is the book very beautiful, but he has become an expert in his own right. With a year-2000 interest in things retro, marbles are enjoying a boom. We now have jars of them everywhere, looking great and, according to this great book, appreciating in value as we watch. With the help of the pricing guides we discovered that we already owned some very valuable marbles, and have since acquired more. In fact, the book paid for itself about 10 minutes after we got it, with the discovery of an unrecognized treasure.



5. Marble Mania will prove to be the standard to which other marble related books will be compared to. A thorough, comprehensive view of all aspects of marble collecting. Graphically superior with detail that will be utilized by not only the beginning collector but the advanced collector also. Mr. Block has taken the time, performed the research and compiled this vast amount of information into an enjoyable, eye and mind satisfying beautiful book. Mr. Block is clear in his intentions to continue to be the leader in an area of great challenge, I can't wait for Mr. Block's next marble book. The bar has been raised!

1 comments about Fenton Art Glass Colors and Hand-Decorated Patterns 1939-1980: Identification & Value Guide (Fenton Art Glass).

1. This is a very informative book with a detailed picture guide. Each type of glass design is expained and color pictures help in the identifcation of the glass.A price guide is also included. An excellent tool for identifying Fenton Art Glass. This book is worth the price.

3 comments about Elegant Glassware of the Depression Era.

1. I found this book very interesting and was able to identify glassware not found in other books. Great for reference, good pictures and more glass makers.
   Great Book.



2. I was already familiar with the publication, so I knew what to expect. That's why I purchased it.



3. This book is a little large to be carrying around, however I still do carry it to places that I already know will have the pattern I am looking for.
   The forward describes "Elegant" glassware as handmade and acid etched glassware that was sold by department and jewelry stores during the Depression era through the 1950's, differentiating it from the dime store and giveaway glass that has become known as Depression glass. The word "Elegant" has become "official" nomenclature among today's dealers for designating handmade glass.
   It is well organized with the glass patterns in alphabetical order and the prices in columns by color of glass. Most of the pictures are color and have good enough definition to identify what you are looking at. There are a contents by pattern and a contents by company.