1 comments about Collector's Encyclopedia of Salt Glaze Stoneware: Identification & Value Guide.

1. Book illustrates good pictorial examples of molded utilitarian stoneware (pitchers, butter crocks, pie plates, etc.) made between 1880-1920. Artwork, flowers, birds, etc. decorations are usually molded into these pieces. Most illustrated stoneware is first covered with white glaze and then with additional diffuse colored glaze usually blue. Some pieces use various solid colored glazes. A few illustrated pieces use stamped blue decoration over white glaze. This book, however, does not really deal with true salt glaze, hand decorated pottery prior to 1900. For this reason the title could be somewhat misleading to some collectors.

2 comments about Warman's English & Continental Pottery & Porcelain (Warman's English and Continental Pottery and Porcelain).

1. This is a great book! A must have!! All the books by authors Susan and Al Bagdade are excellent.



2. This is an excellent reference book! It is in black and white with some pictures and a decent price list. The best thing about this book is the broad range of porcelain manufacturers listed and the histories, other references and collecting hints. Items are listed with good descriptions and price list. It also contains marks. It lists individual manufacturers and also gives histories on manufactureing areas. Altogether a very good book and valuable to porcelain collectors!

1 comments about Collecting Modern: A Guide to Midcentury Studio Furniture and Ceramics.

1. Despite the appearance of the Eames Lounge on the dust jacket for this book it offers precious little information on this type of classic mid-century modern furniture. More than half of the book is devoted to ceramics and the furniture portion is primarily devoted to designers and designs that you may never have heard of. There is a very brief section in the back of the book that pertains to "Other Designers". These "others" include Charles Eames and George Nelson!
   Perhaps the glass and ceramic items and the odd and rare furniture in this book are your cup of tea. Then this book is perfect for you. The format is nice and the photography is well done. However, if, like me, you are into collecting more mainstream "mid-century" modern furniture (by such little noted designers as Eames or Nelson) you might want to put your money towards a different book because this volume contains little information you will find useful.

5 comments about American Art Tile.

1. Superb photos and beautifully written and researched text make this a must for any serious collector of American Art Tiles! Karlson pushes the information envelope with regard to many American tile artisans. For example, he includes a photograph of perhaps the only known example of a glazed Matt Morgan art tile. If you are a serious Art Tile collector this book should be in your library!



2. This bountiful volume conatains gorgeous photos and detailed information on tile manufacturers from the turn of the century to WWII. Some famous ones, and a lot of obscure ones that I was thrilled to learn about. Besides being pleasing to the eye, it really did broaden my understanding of the different tile manufacturers and the influences that shaped the work and heritage. I rarely spend this much on a book, but I found it to be well worth the money.



3. Well, okay, maybe you would place in on the coffee table if your book shelves aren't high enough, but this is a practical book. "American Art Tile" covers the period from 1876-1941. Why does it stop in 1941? Because sadly, many tile making firms shut down for WWII and never reopened.

   The book shows photographs of hundreds of tiles made by more than 100 American firms (probably every one Mr. Karlson could identify). Included are the Dedham Pottery in Dedham Massachusetts with it's famous blue and white scenes of rabbits running around the edge of the tile; the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in Doylestown, Pennsylvania with it's fantastic Eastern European images; The Weller Pottery in Zanesville Ohio with it's "Sicardo" works; Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati, Ohio which produced the matte glazed architectural tile used in the New York Subway system such as Fulton's Steamboat at the Fulton Street Station; and the wonderful Pewabic Pottery in Detroit Michigan from the Chippawa word for copper colored clay.

   These tiles are not all individually labled, so if you're trying to identify a particular item, the book will provide only limited information. On the other hand, it will probably help you determine the origin of the manufacturing company, if not the name of the specific design. According to Karlson, many of the companies are out of business, so this may be as good as it gets since catalogues are impossible to obtain.

   Mr. Karlson includes many photographs of individual tiles, but few are show 'in situ' so the pages can become overwhelming in their detail. However, the book is probably destined to be something antique tile dealers keep in their reference desk. If you're a serious tile collector or fancier, you will probably find the book worth the cost.




4. This is a must for anyone interested in the history of tiles and tile makers.

   The book gives a history of every tile making outfit in America from 1876-1941, and shows as many color samples of the tiles they produced as the author seems to have gotten his hands on, many from his own collection. It was sobering to notice, when reading about all the tile companies, how many went under during the depression or just afterwards. This country lost a wonderful heritage, as many never came back after the depression lifted. Too bad, really. There are currently some companies making copies or remakes of some designs (what with the renewed interest in all things Arts and Crafts). Maybe this book and the Neo Arts and Crafts movement will spark some new American tile making shops? I hope so.

   The book is beautifully laid out and would be a nice coffee table addition for those who are not tile collectors, but who just enjoy looking at tiles.




5. For the pragmatic who truly needs to see "slide-show" type arrangements of tiles and short descriptions of tile makers and their beginnings...this is for you! Practical and absolutely beautiful.

5 comments about American Art Pottery.

1. This guy knows his stuff...Photography is excellent, as well as the descriptions.
   IMPORTANT NOTE Aug 2006: I don't know why only one star appears for my review. I rate it FIVE STARS but can't seem to change the on-line rating.



2. I might be biased because I think everything Rago touches is genius but you just can't beat this art pottery expert. This man knows his stuff in a way no one else at this time can touch. His extensive auction and appraisal experience give him light on a subject that is still quite murky. Most of the examples in the book are from his collection or auctions so the reader gets a vicarious view of these masterpieces through Rago.
   This is the one book to own if you love art pottery. I have spent years waiting and wanting a book like this. Apart from Kovels (written years ago), you cannot come close to this book. Miller's Treasure or Not Art Pottery is also excellent but Rago pours his all into this one. The photos are outstanding-they make you drool. Nearly all notable potters are represented. This is a great book for the expert and novice collector.

   Get it now...it'll be relevent for decades!




3. Yet another book on American Art Pottery? Give me a break!
   
   And thatÕs exactly what the authors here have done. TheyÕve given us a break. Given us entree to insights and opinions formed from their handling and viewing more than 100,000 pots and tiles over some 30 years. And theyÕve done it in a refreshingly readable, yet authoritative style.

   This work is aimed at the less experienced collector as well as those of us who will admit to still having a few things to learn. Whether new to the game or an old hand, if you love pottery, but your experience doesnÕt quite stack up to that of the authors, we think youÕll find this a helpful -- and very enjoyable -- addition to your antiques library.

   Longtime art pottery aficionados, dealers, auctioneers and, for the past five years, appraisers for the "Antiques Road Show," authors David Rago and Suzanne Perrault have taken a leaf from Albert SackÕs popular "Fine Points of American Furniture" to give us a look at "Good" and "Better" pieces from 43 American art potteries, from the popular and ubiquitous Ð like Roseville -- to the relatively obscure Ð like Walley.

   Using a reader-friendly format, they present, for each pottery, a Good and Better example on facing pages, together with a value range for each -- 60 such combinations in all. Then, for each piece, they highlight and analyze the key features that distinguish it from its neighbor and tell us why they value one more highly than the other.

   You may argue with some of the cited pricesÐ which they readily admit reflect their own biases, to wit, "I like Grueby more than WheatleyÉand I like Weller less than Roseville" Ð but youÕll find the careful and thoughtful analyses nonetheless interesting and helpful. The prevailing biases of other collectors as regards their attitudes toward the effect on value of damage, one pottery vs. another, are but one example.

   Encompassing 124 pages, this comparison section alone is more than well worth the price of admission. But the sections on Understanding the Market and An American Art Potteries Primer are equally helpful, as a learning experience for newer collectors, and a thoughtful refresher for those whoÕve been to Zanesville more times than they care to tell.

   Few antiques authors manage the authoritative and colloquial with such ease and aplomb, and to such enjoyable effect. It is in these sections where that effect is most evident.

   Here weÕre helped to understand and make sense of a market where, from 1975 to 2000, an 8" Rookwood Standard glaze, floral decorated vase increased in value by 450%, while a similarly sized and decorated Iris glaze vase soared by more than 1600%. And here weÕre provided a thoughtful analysis (though not without bias) of the essential elements which serve to distinguish the producers and the products of the Ohio Valley, New England, the South and California.

   The one fault we found is in the brief section on How to Clean a Pot. Recommended is soaking "for at least 24 hours in a bucket of very hot tap water to which is added a cup of sudsing ammonia and at least a half a cup of Spic and Span. After the soak, remove the pot and soak for at least another 24 hours in clean hot tap water." Perhaps inadvertently deleted in editing is any caveat restricting this approach, at best, to non-porous pots. DO NOT try this on porous pots Ð like Peters & Reed Moss Aztec -- or cracked or crazed pots.

   With only slight and otherwise forgivable puffery, the book jacket heralds this as "a master class in appraising art pottery." And a "master class" it may be. But as anyone whoÕs earned and gone forward with a "masterÕs" will attest, you have to get your hands dirty before it pays off. "The best you can do," say the authors, "is to learn enough about pottery to form your own biasesÉ learn to appreciate the beauty of the objects, and integrate the history that fueled the kilnsÉ(and) Allow the works of these great potteries to enter your life and delight your soulÉ" as they have quite obviously done for the authors.

   And take this book along.




4. David Rago knows his subject to the point of having no need for reference books or any other source for information. This title reflects years of knowledge accrued through ongoing study. Thank you David Rago for sharing your knowledge with us!



5. This book is not only a great source for reference, it also details the most important aspects of the art pottery movement (with great photographs as examples!).

No comments about Early New England pottery, (Old Sturbridge Village booklet series).

No comments about Meiji Ceramics: The Art of Japanese Export Porcelain and Satsuma Ware 1868-1912.

No comments about The Beauty of Fired Clay: Ceramics from Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.

No comments about Collecting Sylvac Pottery.

4 comments about American Limoges: Identification & Value Guide.

1. I found this book after I went to a appraisal in Dallas Texas where author Debby DuBay was speaking on antique Limoges porcelain. I purchased DuBay's book Antique Limoges at Home and then purchased American Limoges by Ms. Limoges to help me with my American Limoges pottery. I found out by reading these reference books every thing I needed to know about my grandmothers "Limoges" Thank you to two wonderful authors who have published two very useful and valuable reference guides on the subject.



2. I found American Limoges after reading Debby Dubay's "Antique Limoges at Home". If you want to know the difference between antique Limoges and American Limoges I highly recommend Antique Limoges at Home! For more info on American Limoges recommend this book.



3. Full-color photos on every page and current price values for each item are the pluses in this book. Many items are not actually identified, however, and names given to the pieces have been coined by the author. Even so, this one serves as a handy reference and guide to those wishing more information on American Limoges, the history and major pieces. I wish there'd been more examples of Viktor Schreckengost's connection to the company and designs made by him for American Limoges but that is a personal preference.



4. Do not purchase any Limoges China, (american) without this book. It is a priceless resource to be carried with you as you explore antique shops. I wish that I had it with me before I gave away my American Limoges China, thinking that it was worthless. Raymonde Limoges has done a great job in assembling this book.