5 comments about Kovels' New Dictionary of Marks: Pottery and Porcelain, 1850 to the Present.

1. Nicely laid out book with lots of information on Pottery and Porcelain marks, great illustrations and contains a comprehensive reference list for further reading.



2. Great quality of shipping. Found book to be in the best condition.
   Thank you so much and I would hope to have the opportunity to purchase
   a book from you again.



3. If you collect this type of pottery, you will have to get this book sooner or later as it provides an outstanding reference to marks found on these items and so permits you to assess the age of the item. But the lack of any real advice, wisdom, guidance, explanations, etc. about the subject of collecting these pieces, knowing when marks are real or fake, and assessing the quality of the pieces is essentially nil. So you will have to learn pretty much everything you need to know from other sources. A real disappointment given that the authors are almost certainly know a lot more about the subject matter than they put into these books. M Pezim



4. This is a good resource book. It has it's limitations, but I use it almost daily. I look up alot of ceramics marks, and I find the large majority of them in this Kovels book. It is great if you are looking for a specific makers mark, or decoratoras mark. The limitation is that there is no way to comprehensively view all marks from one particular maker. If you have a few treasures that you want to accurately identify, then it is very good. Don't get me wrong, I haven't found every mark I look for. But I haven't found a Marks reference that I do. This book provides a good clean and easy format to locate the mark I need, and quickly.
   
   Also, if you are looking for back ground info on the company, this isn't the book for you. While the Kovel's do an excellent job of showing literal thousands of easy to find marks, thats all they show. All in all a highly recommended resource. Any serious ceramics collector, dealer, or dedicated flea market/yard saler should have a copy.



5. Bought this as a gift for my daughter and she has really enjoyed it's contents. Now she can see if the "Junk and/or Antiques" she has purchased has any real value!!

5 comments about 500 Plates & Chargers: Innovative Expressions of Function & Style (500 Series).

1. great color-clear photos
   and every page a masterpiece
   so many ideas i do not know
   where to begin



2. these lark 500 books are a wonderful resource for artists and students working in ceramics



3. Not quite the depth and color of other books in this series. It is none the less interesting and a good review of a narrow field.



4. 500 Plates & Chargers: Innovative Expressions of Function & Style (500 Series) Great collection of plates/chargers both functional and decorative. Use it for validation or stimulating your own creative processes or just for the joy of looking! Like500 Tiles: An Inspiring Collection of International Work (500 Series) it is well worth buying for your own collection as well as teaching.



5. The book provides beautifully photographed plates. A great inspiration for those with a passion for pottery.

5 comments about 500 Tiles: An Inspiring Collection of International Work (500 Series).

1. The only reason I gave this four stars intead of five is there was some amazing tile work and some I wondered "why they heck did they bother putting that in". I think they could have chosen a bit better on some of the pics but all in all it was an inspirational book.



2. As a ceramic artist and sculptor, I find the "500" series of books quite inspirational. I especially appreciate the wide variety of techniques used by the individual artists. I live in Australia which in some ways is quite isolated from the ceramic world at large. People in isolation tend to develop their own culture. This is especially true in ceramics. By showing contemporary work being done in other countries, Lark again in this publication, has given the artist food for thought. And the many full-colour photographs give an insite into the techniques being developed by others.
   
   From the book's title, I had expected to find page after page of ceramic wall tiles. But I was happily surprised to find that the book shows more or less flat (or relief) sculpture and is not limited to the sterotyped wall-only "tile" applications.
   
   I would recommend this book to artist who work in clay or any other 3D medium. It especially makes a good read when you are suffering "artists block". There are so many examples of different types of work here, that you are bound to go back to your workbench with a wealth of new ideas.



3. I own a handmade tile business. There was some inspiration to be found in these pages.



4. I am an all around arts and crafts person I thought I would find this interesting. It wasn't what I expected and I sent it back. It is a very large book with pages and pages of tiles...most I didn't like.



5. Great book - great price. Gave me lots of ideas for my own projects. I was able to create original works using similar ideas to those others had made.

5 comments about No. 1 Price Guide to M.I.Hummel Figurines, Plates, Miniatures, & More (Mi Hummel Figurines, Plates, Miniatures & More 10th Ed. (Mi Hummel Figurines, Plates, ... Plates, Miniatures & More Price Guide).

1. I recently started a hummel collection. This book is a MUST have. Hummel collecting can be complicated and making sure that you are getting a good value is almost impossible without this book. I highly recommend it.



2. The book, as a resource guide, contains a wealth of information; it is a very useful, very informative reference guide. The binding, however, stinks. Within 1 day of using the book in a normal manner, the pages started to come out due to the inferior method of glue binding. They should have stuck to the spiral binding method.



3. this book was very nice and the added touch of color pictures was a pleasant surprise.



4. This book made it extremely easy to reference, cross-reference and catalog my collection of Hummels. Although I realize that the market value of these figurines changes frequently, the book will still give me a starting point for years to come.



5. We have remained collectors of Hummel Figurines since 1971. Currently we have some 93 Hummel Figurines and 1971 thru 1982 Hummel Anniversary Plates. We like to keep up with the current values of these beautiful collectible pieces and have found the Robert L. Miller price guide to be full of great information and very thorough.
   
   We truly enjoyed our visit to W.Gobel Porzellanfabrik GmbH & Co. KG located in Rodental, Germany where we were invited to watch and speak with so many artists at work.
   
   Note: Amazon.com. Thank You for your dedicated Great Service.
   
   Sincerely,
   Charles E. Brock Sr.
   

No comments about Ceramics in America 2009.

5 comments about Pictorial Guide To Pottery And Porcelain Marks.

1. Nicely laid out book with lots of information and pictures of Pottery & Porcelain and their Marks and contains a comprehensive reference list for further reading.



2. I have hundreds of collecting , price guide and reference books for antiques. As we all know, a price guide does not mean much, unless you have the venue and buyer to get the price. This book is the best investment in a reference books I have ever made! I buy and sell antiques and feel that if I can identify the mark, the research is easy. This book makes it easy to find the mark! I purchased this 2 years ago, and have used it everyday! This is a must have if you are a serious porcelain collector.



3. The good news: this book has thousands of photos of ceramic items with their backstamps. The bad news: there are many inaccuracies of company names, typographical errors, errors of dating, and other errors. Given the over 7000 photographs in the book, perhaps it is to be expected that there was insufficient proofreading or fact checking before the book was published. The book is interesting to browse, but it has not been a reliable reference book. However, it is useful as a jumping off point, when used in conjunction with other reference materials.



4. This is the first mark identifier I bought and was really impressed with the color photos of the marks along with an example of the piece. I was able to identify and date many of the pieces from my collection and date items I've found since buying this book. It became very handy when it came time to clean out my great aunt and uncles home this past winter. That being said, I've since discovered there are many marks not included or variations missing, i.e. Nippon marks and Frankoma. The dates on some are too broad. The color photos are nice to have but some marks or the coresponding piece did not photo well. I understand no guide is ever complete, and if you were to compile every single mark and variation this would probably be a multi-volume set. For me, this book is a good starting point, but I usually have to use other sources to narrow down dates.



5. I have been using this book faithfully for over a year. I enjoy that it features actual photographs of the marks as well as examples of the pottery. It is easy to use and until this week I have found it to be reliable.
   
   The Moorcroft marks do not have entirely accurate dates. This is why I am giving it only 4 out of 5 stars. If I had done this last week, it would have been 5!

5 comments about Southwestern Pottery: Anasazi to Zuni.

1. I love this book. When I was interested in learning about the pottery of the southwest, I bought this book and have not been disappointed. It shows the different designs and styles of the different tribes of the southwest. Definitely a book to purchase if you are thinking of purchasing southwest pottery.



2. a beautiful coffee-table book on old and modern Southwestern Pottery. I would have liked a little more on the old stuff and a little less by modern potters, but it is a minor quibble.



3. this is a beautiful book the the pictures in the book are so vivid and colorful, it would make a wonderful addition to any library or it would make a great coffee table book!



4. I was impressed with the display groupings presented and the journey of the authors beginnings of his collections and the knowledge he aquired along the way. He gave good advice to new collectors. I open it daily and alway see something I missed. It's a great book to add to your collection.



5. I'd been looking for a book like this for ages. It goes through every pueblo's pottery, describing the special characteristics of each, and talks about the important potters in each pueblo.
   
   This is very well written in an easy going, non-snobish style, instantly increasing your depth of knowledge in southwestern pottery. The photographs are excellent and plentiful, giving many diverse examples from each pueblo/region/era.
   
   Highly recommended for those new to collecting. I gave a copy to my parents in New Mexico, and even though they had been doing a bit of collecting for years, they have a much better understanding of the history of some of the pottery sitting on their shelves. They love this book.

5 comments about Collectors Encyclopedia of Limoges Porcelain (Collector's Encyclopedia of Limoges Porcelain).

1. This is a very thorough history of Limoges. I did not find the pattern that I inherited, but after reading the book, I now understand why there are an amazing number of patterns.



2. Purchased this book as a gift for my wife, who has some Limoges dinnerware. She loved the book and has been able to identify much of her collection with its help.



3. If you collect Limoges Porcelain this is an excellent reference book, with a large section on marks and their dates. The colour pictures identify many patterns, along with a detailed section on manufacturers and a history of Limoges porcelain.



4. I purchase books online based on the reviews so lets be honest. Debby DuBay's book Antique Limoges at Home is the book to purchase. Gaston's book has terrible photographs & just can not compare to DuBay's books.



5. Mary Frank Gaston wrote the foreword to Debby Dubay's Antique Limoges at Home and the introduction to Collecting Hand Painted Limoges Porcelain and I'm thrilled. Two experts collaborating to give collectors all of the info they require to collect successfully. Please write a book together.

5 comments about Fifth Chinese Daughter.

1. I first read The Fifth Chinese Daughter in about 1963 when I was 13 and living 30 miles south of San Francisco. Visiting Chinatown was my first exposure to a foreign culture. It was mysterious and exotic, and I wondered what went on behind the building fronts lining the narrow bustling streets. This book gave me my first glimpse into this other world; very heady stuff for a 13 year old girl. Fast forward 45 years, and I'm looking for a book to recommend to my book club. I had never forgotten The Fifth Chinese Daughter but assumed it was out of print. Imagine my surprise when I found two copies on the shelf of our local bookstore. I snapped up both copies and jumped in. The Fifth Chinese Daughter was just as captivating and poignant to me at age 57. I can now appreciate it from a new perspective, viewing this work as a precursor to the wonderful Chinese American literature that followed. I could go on....but suffice to say, read this book.



2. I became interested in buying this book after reading the author's fascinating story in the L.A. Times last year. Since reading Fifth Chinese Daughter a few months ago, I have given it as a gift to three friends who also found this young woman's story as heartwarming and courageous as I did. Side benefit: I learned a great deal about Chinese-American culture and about American history, circa 1930s - 1950s.
   
   It's also a great book for teen girls. Reading about Jade Snow's sometimes difficult youth and teen years and how she met her goals will be very inspirational to that age group.



3. I usually don't write negative reviews, but I really was surprised by all the glowing reviews here. I truly think this is a terrible book and here is why.

   1). The characters are only skin deep. We never really get to know them beyond their attitudes toward Jade Snow. And Jade Snow herself is very opaque as well, we don't get to know more of her except that she is filial, hard-working and eager to please people. The insides of these characters are not alive and they resemble dull automatons carrying out the actions of a pre-determined script.

   2). The prose is very flat, so the end result reads like a very long summary of the plot rather than the book itself. The author crammed in many minutae of her life into the writing, with a emphasis on the details of food preparation. but most of the details are not evocative and fails to enrich the world she is trying to portray.

   3). A streak of very patronizing attitude to Asians Americans run through out the book. It culminate with a cringe-inducing climax of self-hate at the very end of the last chapter, in a scene meant to be the big emotional pay-off for the whole book. Jade Snow's father tearfully confess that he had done wrong by raising her under the backward Chinese culture, and that he should have raised her in the superior, freedom-loving Christian way.




4. "You must have confidence that I shall remain true to the spirit of your teachings. I shall bring back to you the knowledge of whatever I learn." Fifth Chinese Daughter is an inspiring autobiography that traces the life of Jade Snow Wong from childhood to adulthood in San Francisco's Chinatown. In her book, Jade Snow describes the numerous hardships and rewards that shaped her life. Through her vivid descriptions, the reader is immersed in the Asian culture of early twentieth-century America. Looking through Jade Snow's eyes, the reader is able to experience the conflicting cultural experiences of the middle daughter of a large family of Chinese immigrants.
   Conforming to Chinese tradition, Jade Snow felt that her worth as an individual was dictated by her family. Although Jade Snow's father took pride in educating his daughters in both Chinese and American customs, he valued the future potential of his sons over that of his daughters. Jade Snow's childhood is tainted by unjust punishment and suppressed emotion. Such experiences led her to pursue independence and acknowledgment in a country that offered numerous opportunities for well-educated young woman. However, from her difficult childhood, Jade Snow learned discipline and respect, qualities that allowed her to succeed and gain respect from her family. It is fascinating to witness her transformation from a submissive child to a woman of integrity and perseverance.
   As Jade Snow tirelessly worked her way through college, she came to understand the injustices of Chinese tradition. Ironically, at this time, she also developed a greater appreciation for her Chinese heritage and through it discovered her life's passions. Despite the heavy skepticism and criticism of her family, Jade Snow pursued her dreams with optimistic determination, suffering many hardships along the way. In each of her life's stories she proves to us that great rewards come from hard work and unfailing belief in one's self. If you ever feel hopeless or just want to be inspired, Jade Snow's story will lift you out of your darkness.



5. In the book Fifth Chinese Daughter by Jade Snow Wong, the author tells readers about her childhood as a Chinese girl living in San Francisco. Ms. Wong gives readers a chance to see what life was like growing up during the early 1900�s as a Chinese girl. Throughout the book, you learn many things Chinese-Americans do which are different from American customs. Readers are given an idea of how Chinese-American�s raised their families during that time. The author shows in vivid detail what happened to her and what she had to work for in her childhood.
   Jade Snow was brought up in a household that made sure their children knew their native culture as well as the culture around them. Since an early age, Jade was given Chinese lessons by her father until she was old enough to attend Chinese school everyday after her American classes were over. The book chronicles Jade�s life from her early childhood to when she becomes a young woman living on her own. Throughout the book, you see Jade learn to do the shopping for the family, cope with problems in school like discrimination, get into college on her own, and find jobs for herself.
   There were many things I liked about this book. Even though, this book isn�t like the books I normally read, it was very hard to put down. The author writes her story in
   graphic details, which pulled me into the book. I loved how she talked about her father in many ways, how some days he believed in her and others, he had no confidence in her. Also, I believe that Jade was a strong girl throughout her childhood. This is because she had to live with such strict rules in her household like respecting her elders, and how if she or her siblings did anything wrong, they would get punished by getting whipped.
   If I were to compare this novel with others I have read, I would have to say that this novel is in my top 50 books I have ever read. I found that every page I turned in this book, I was wondering what would happen next. This novel was very fun to read because I liked learning about what life was like for a young Chinese-American Women growing up during the early 1900�s.
   I would most likely recommend this novel to another, unless the person did not like autobiographies. I would recommend this book to people who like reading about people of different cultures. Jade Snow�s book is geared more to people who like to read about people�s cultures, but I think many would find this book very interesting.

5 comments about Collector's Encyclopedia of Fiesta.

1. I purchased this book, as I am just starting to collect Fiestaware and I love it. I put it on the shelf where my Fiestaware is displayed. It is a great reference tool, as well as very informative.



2. The "Encyclopedia of Fiesta" is very informative and helpful while looking for vintage pieces to help us determine fair prices. This book, and also one just like it, that I borrowed from the local library have pages that came loose from the binding.
   Would buy the book again and may have to use a loose leaf folder for continued use, but will continue to use the book.



3. I am brand new at collecting Fiesta Ware. I really enjoyed this book. Great pics. It has been a wealth of info for someone new like me.



4. This is the third book in this series I have purchased by these authors. I like the book a lot.



5. One of worst of the newer "collector" books out there. There isn't even a color chart with the names, you need to deduce them by flipping through all the pages and guessing at collections of variuos colors and doing a process of elimination. Fakes are mentioned, and the author says "you'll know them when you see them". Thanks alot! All the marks aren't even listed. What about newer peices versus old?
   
   Some Encyclopedia, more like ramblings of a collector. The medium green issue is already covered by others, the book mentions it everywhere but gives very little evidence of it (maybe the author has medium green envy?).
   
   Not worth the bargain price spent on it. Certainly not a reference book.
   
   p.s. I give other collector books 5 stars, so I'm not just a grump.