2 comments about Treasure Craft-Pottery Craft: California & Hawaii's Last Major Pottery.

1. The book's focus is the pottery of two California-based companies, Treasure Craft and Pottery Craft, throughout the second half of the 20th century. Higby is intimately acquainted with his topic: he grew up on the West Coast with the pottery, he did business with its manufacturers, he has actively collected and traded in their wares for much of his adult life. He had personal access to the eyewitnesses, for reasons other than simply being an author or collector, and it shows.
   
   My first impression of _Treasure Craft Pottery & Pottery Craft Stoneware_ came when I opened it to the middle: "Whoa! This is gorgeous!" I refer to the consistent flow of excellent photography throughout the volume: clear, near, well-cropped images in vivid colour and great quantity. Two typical facing pages will have six photos, occupying the bulk of the space but not all. All are clearly captioned as to era, value and size; somehow, the author (or publisher) worked in enough white space to avoid overwhelming the reader. Looks like 650 photos for 176 pages including the index: pretty impressive.
   
   For someone who collects the pottery, it's hard to imagine a more definitive work. Bazillions of captioned, priced photos, who collects it and why, a pricing guide, condition, care, even how the stuff was made. If you're serious about collecting it, you're going to want it. But even if you're not, there are a number of reasons you might.
   
   As the author says of himself, if you were born before 1990 this pottery was probably a part of your life whether you realized it or not. These companies must have done thousands of designs: hula dancers, salt shakers, cookie jars, condiment jars, little gnome creatures, fish trays, anything that could be made of pottery. In this timeframe, too, Hawaii went from "Place of bombed-out aero-naval base we will avenge" to "New state and national jungle gym." As Hawaii rose in the national awareness, so did interest in Hawaiian-themed images, and so on. If you just like to look at pictures, as many of us do but few will cop to, you can enjoy the book as a visual journey.
   
   If you have a deeper interest, you'll appreciate that Higby has gone much farther: he places each pottery era in the broader context of its time, describing how the pottery was meant to mesh with popular wants, issues and mores. I have always loved to see history, any history, written well and without wonkiness. Rarely is it this well researched and broad-minded, free of the infuriatingly buzzwordy affectations that paralyze much business historical writing. The broader historical overlay is the theme of American-made crafts as a dying breed: Treasure Craft's long, tenacious rearguard action to remain an American company making American products to sell to Americans.
   
   _Treasure Craft Pottery & Pottery Craft Stoneware_ also has much to interest potters: anyone who works in clay and cooks their stuff in a big hairy kiln at temperatures that scare me. "How'd they make this stuff, anyway?" The author has included a lot of technical detail on this score. My wife has been after me to get a pottery wheel for years, and when I lose that struggle--as surely I must--I know she will load up on ideas from this book.
   
   It's kind of ironic that a book about items that used to sit on coffee tables now qualifies as a coffee-table book, one perfect for the collector but of interest to nearly anyone else who remembers the popular pottery of the 1950-2000 era--or who lived through it and would enjoy the nostalgia.
   
   The number of parents and grandparents who would love this as a gift must reach into the tens of millions, and I bet most neither have it nor know where to find it. Wife and I are going to have an easy Christmas this year.



2. George has done a great job of covering the history and the products of this great California and Hawaii institution. A very good read.

No comments about Price Guide to Nineteenth and Twentieth Century British Pottery.

No comments about English Delftware (Ashmolean Handbooks).

1 comments about American Pottery and Porcelain: Identification and Price Guide (American Pottery and Porcelain).

1. This book was a complete waste of time and money for me. Poorly organized and cross referenced. For the novice, such as myself, it provided no explanation as to the types of marks to identify the makers. It did not display any marks either. There are no color photos, and what photos are found are dark and useless. I was very unhappy with this purchase.

No comments about European pottery;: A handbook for the collector, 5780 marks on maiolica, faience, and stoneware.

No comments about Gonder Ceramic Arts a Comprehensive Guide (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

2 comments about Ceramic Coin Banks: Identification & Value Guide.

1. This 200 page softbound book contains over 1,000 full color, large, sharp photos of every type of ceramic coin bank. Each entry includes the description, size, dates and value (1997). Although essentially an I.D. and value guide, there is a considerable amount of information of value and interest to the collector. Included are: Ceramic Manufacturing Processes, Dating, Condition, Rarity Ratings, Geographical Ceramic Manufacturing Centers, and Photo Notes. Chapters range from Human heads, Humans, Cats, Dogs and Elephants, to Squirrel, Fish, Monkeys, Lions, Vegetables, Pots, Books, Vehicles and Ships and Purses. A complete glossary and bibliography are provided. Very useful for collectors of this popular topic.



2. This is a great book for the established or beginning coin bank collector! It really has a great variety for any type of specialized ceramic bank afficianado. As a long time collector & seller I recommend this book to any one!

No comments about Pottery From Certain Caves In Eastern Santo Domingo, West Indies.

1 comments about Pottery & Porcelain Ceramics Price Guide (Antique Trader's Pottery & Porcelain Ceramics Price Guide).

1. I found Limoges Antiques Shop Andover, MA, her web site www. limogesantiques .com and Debby DuBay, the author of Antique Limoges at Home and Living With Limoges thanks to this fabulous 2004 Value Guide. Wonderful book and I highly recommend the 2004 Antique Trader books!

No comments about Pueblo Pottery Figurines: The Expression of Cultural Perceptions in Clay.