4 comments about Reel Art: Great Posters From The Golden Age Of The Silver Screen.

1. ...This is a groundbreaking book, the first (and only one since!) that truly unearths the story of how movie posters were created, who drew them, why each studio had a certain 'look' to their posters and what impact they had on the popular culture. The text is wise, witty, thoroughly enjoyable while it imparts vast amounts of fresh and fascinating information. And as for the images, they are magnificently chosen and reproduced, each one of them accompanied by intriguing and smart observations on the films themselves, their making and their role in Hollywood history. This is an ambitious undertaking, yet it's an ideal book to get lost in during a lazy weekend. Hard to put down, beautifully done and crying out for a sequel. A classic!



2. Reel Art is like looking at a carpet sampling booklet. The paperback edition that is. Apart from a few none specific notes given a the front of the booklet the information on offer is very limited. Page after page of vintage posters with no text to accompany them makes this flick book an annoying "read". If all you require is visual this is an excellent choice. However, if you thought this book would actually tell you anything about the posters published, think again.

   Hope you find this helpful. JG




3. This is a must have book, even if you aren't "into movies". It is a sheer visual delight and a worthy addition to any library. Those with an interest in the graphic arts should definately acquire it. Arranged in a thoughtful manner, the glorious artwork is accompanied by intelligent text that is never dry and always informative.



4. This undisputed classic actually surpasses its reputation. The sumptuous, coffee table-style volume, over 340 pages, would be worth owning alone for its eye-popping reproduction of rare poster images that advertised such films as King Kong, It Happened One Night, Dracula, The Old Dark House, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Casablanca, Gilda, Gone With the Wind, It's a Wonderful Life, The Wizard of Oz and hundreds of others. Each chapter is beautifully organized into genres making the tome as compulsively entertaining as it is enlightening. Don't mistake this one for any of the other copycat poster books, though, which merely display page after page of images with no analysis or comment. What makes Reel Art a must-have, definitive book on the subject is its witty, hefty, impeccably informative text and extended captions which reveal so much about how the old-time Hollywood publicity and marketing machines worked to sell the moviegoing world not only on particular stars, directors, films, but also on the sexiness of things like cigarette smoking and the patriotic duty of going to war. Talk about "The Hidden Persuaders"! I especially appreciate the groundbreaking information Rebello and Allen reveal about the actual artists (some very famous, like Norman Rockwell, Al Hirschfeld and Miguel Covarrubias) and art directors who were responsible for the distinct visual style of posters from MGM, Paramount, Universal, Columbia, RKO and even the so-called "poverty row" studios. There's even a lengthy section of illustrators' biography, complete with actual poster credits -- something I have never seen anywhere before this. What research the book must have taken! Awesome and essential, as I guess is to be expected from author Rebello, who also did the first-rate Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of `Psycho.' Only quibble: this book cries for a follow-up, so when will the authors get around to the sequel?

5 comments about For the Love of Lucy: The Complete Guide for Collectors and Fans.

1. This is persented as a collector's price guide, so he can know the value of his Lucille Ball collection. It has rare pictures of her and is a must for any Lucy fan. The prices are outdated however and there are too few stories throughout the book. The book might feel to some as too much Lucy and not enough pictures of others who worked with her.



2. Let me start with the complaints. The prices that the items have designated to them are very off. You can easliy go to a flea market or an online auction and get most of the things at least 25% cheaper than they are listed as being worth in here. Maybe the prices are so high because the guy never planned to update it, but an update is what the book needs. After the 50th Anniversary of I Love Lucy there was a ton of stuff released. In all honesty a For The Love of Lucy Pt.2 book could be made, after all the book is 7 or 8 years old. Now moving on to the good stuff about the book. This book includes so many Lucy items that were made available from early on in her carrer to after her death that this book would be a great conversational piece for when you have any company. Each page is filled with stuff from cards and comic books, to dolls. This book is perfect for any Lucy fan who is or isnt collecting Lucy stuff. Overall this book is great, but updating it would be nice.



3. Talk about complete! "For the Love of Lucy" is the ultimate book for fans and collectors of "Lucy" memorabilia. Filled with beautiful color and black & white pictures, along with helpful text and value estimates, this compendium will keep any fan busy for hours. I'm not a collector, but I found it thrilling to sift through all the pages and see the many different things out there. This would be a great birthday or Christmas gift for any Lucy lover you know.



4. Ric's does a beautiful job on this book. I get the feeling he really loves Lucy! Ric is a true fan. The photos and information on Lucy are outstanding!



5. This book is full of photos of beautiful collectibles on Lucy - magazines, posters, toys, all sorts of memorabilia. It is wonderful to the Lucy fan to use a something of a check list. The one flaw is the absolutely ridiculous prices Wyman says some of these things are worth. I recently bought the 40s picture frame photo he says is worth $75 for $4! Many times I have paid less than a third the price he says these things go for. Wonder if he jacked up the prices expecting they would eventually fetch these rates in years to come. Still, this is a gorgeous book and he certainly does have an outstanding collection on Lucy.

No comments about Elvis Memorabilia (The Collector's Corner).

1 comments about Cartoon Toys & Collectibles Identification and Value Guide: Identification and Value Guide.

1. This beautiful 224 page book features over 800 full color, large, sharp photos and estimated values. Major categories include: Disney, Warner Brothers, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Character Hall of Fame and resources. There is a complete history of each major category where you'll find interesting and useful information. A welcome addition to your library.

1 comments about Christie's Rock and Pop Memorabilia.

1. The demand for rock and pop memorabilia has created a diverse and eclectic market including original manuscripts and artwork by the musicians as well as mass-produced artefacts aimed at fans in the 1950s and 1960s that have become rare collector's items in the 21st century.

   The various memorabilia are categorised by chapter as autographs, letters and manuscripts; recordings; guitars and other instruments; costumes; posters; printed artefacts; merchandising; awards and artwork. There is also a chapter titled Collector's Information and the book concludes with a bibliography and index.

   Christie's Rock Memorabilia is a superb guide to this fast growing collector's market. The book is richly illustrated with full colour photographs and the text contains interesting anecdotes on some of the artists and the specific items of memorabilia. Even if you're not a collector, this is a fascinating read and a great reference work. Music fans will love it.

2 comments about DK Readers: Creating the X-Men, How Comic Books Come to Life (Level 4: Proficient Readers)".

1. This wonderful little book (of about 44 pages) is designed for younger readers in the Level 4 - "Proficient" category. This is not a comic book, though it does contain a number of wonderful pictures. Instead, this book is about making comic books. It talks about the artists behind the comics, and how they go about designing and creating comics, the X-Men in particular.

   This is an interesting book. My eight-year-old son got this book, and enjoyed it, though I don't believe that he understood everything in it. Overall, though, he did like the book. So, we do recommend this book.




2. It always eluded me as to how the X-men were on and off a sizzling bestselling comic book for the past twenty years.So what fuels this book is actually curiousity.'Cause it was always a wonder to me what was it that made x-men so diferent than other comics.Well,i still don't see what makes this a phenomenal chart-scorcher,but it will be a bit useful for aspiring artists and writers trying to break into the comic field.

2 comments about Autographs: A Reference and Price Guide for Sports and Celebrity Autographs.

1. I purchased this book expecting to get a complete listing of values for autographs of celebrities and athletes. What I got was nothing more than a reproduction of the listings that Beckett includes in its monthly publications. With the exception of about 200 prices for celebrity autographs (which is a far cry from the thousands you would find in other publications), this book has nothing that you can't get in a monthly issue of Beckett. It may have a few nice pictures, but that does not make up for its lack of content. And the prices are obscene! Is a Dean Cain sig worth more than Willie Mays? Or for that matter is Dean Cain worth more than Jack Nicholson? Where do they get their information? They spend way too much time listing prices for autograph inserts manufactured by card companies, and not enough time listing prices for REAL autographs obtained by collecters. Can I get my twenty-five bucks back?



2. I am not being critical when I say, in retrospect I would not have purchased this book. The general info listed above doesn't really tell what you what you're buying, so I'll try to give you a bit more info here. Don't expect to learn a price estimate for your John Wayne photo here. There are about 500 Hollywood celebrity names and price estimates, but they are all living performers. The baseball section is better. There's an active player section as well as a lengthy retired section, including deceased players -- with price estimates. NO signature samples of the celebrities are included. About 150 baseball players (past and present) signature samples are included. There are football, basketball hockey boxing and other sports sections which are similar to the baseball section. There's also a lot about trading cards, but I'm no expert on how good that is. I'm not saying how good or bad this book is. I just want to help you know what you're buying.

3 comments about Collector's Guide to TV Memorabilia 1960s & 1970s: Identification and Values (Collector's Guide to TV Toys & Memorabilia).

1. I don't really collect this sort of stuff but I loved this book because it brought back my childhood buying Beverly Hillbillies viewmaster sets, Charlie's Angels puzzles, etc. Contains hundreds of color photos of all sorts of merchandise: TV Guides, dolls, comic books, lunch boxes, coloring books, records, cups, all sorts of toys, etc. The shows profiled with memorabilia are The Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched, Bionic WOman, Brady Bunch, Bugaloos, Charlie's Angels, Chips, Donny and Marie, Eight is Enough, Family, Family Affair, Fantasy Island, Flipper, Flying Nun, Gidget, Gilligan's Island, Good Times, Green Acres, H. R. Pufnstuf, Happy Days, Hardy Boys, I Dream of Jeannie, Josie and the Pussycats, Julia, Krofft Supershow, Kung Fu, Land of the Lost, Laverne and Shirley, Lidsville, Life & Times of Grizzly Adams, Little House on the Prairie, Love Boat, Mod Squad, Mork and Mindy, Nanny and the Professor, New Zoo Revue, Patridge Family, Patty Duke Show, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Six Million Dollar Man, Starsky & Hutch, That Girl, Three's Company, The Waltons, Welcome Back Kotter, Wonder Woman. There are estimated values for the items circa 1997 but I would argue few have really gone up since then due to the phenomeon of ebay where tons of this sort of stuff is now on the market and even if you don't collect it's a wonderful look back at when TV shows really merchandised to the hilt. The guys have an awesome collection!



2. i love i



3. This book is very good for a collector of TV Memoralbilia.It also shows the top shows of each year.(60's-70's)This book has almost every TV show.They show wonderful color pictures of the items,and if an item is not shown it is listed.And the price is included.I recomend this book to an collector of tv

No comments about The Musical Box Handbook: Cylinder Boxes / Vol 1.

1 comments about Collecting Monster Toys (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. John Marshall is THE toy guru, and his opinion is highly respected. This book is no exception. Informative, entertaining, and nostalgia all in one package. Really, not to be missed.