5 comments about Mauser Military Rifles of the World.

1. While it has a few errors and can't go into as much depth as one would like on any given rifle, this is still the most complete overview of military Mausers available, and a must have for any collector's library. No one book can do it all, but for general info and quick identification, this one is hard to beat.



2. I enjoy the information this book gives. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is I wish some of the info was a little more detailed. All in all a great reference book.



3. This, the Fourth Edition, is the best yet. All-colour, with additional features such as tables of production runs by manufacturers within countries enhances the value of this book to the student of system Mauser.
   
   The photographs are in the main of high quality and the crests and markings have been enhanced by skilful techniques which show off the (sometimes) faint markings.
   
   A worthy reference to supplement the works by Olson and Smith.
   
   C Forsyth



4. I had hesitation to buy this book reading other reviews; but I am positively surprised when I received the book 4 days ago, and just be really happy with it. It is NOT a book to cover the technical details of mauser rifle design; that one should refer to the book by Olson. Robert Ball did a wonderful job to cover so many mauser rifle versions and its derivatives across the world, and cross-referenced as much as he could. Of course, if any one focuse on the mauser rifles in a particular country, he would probably find this book lacking the depth. With so many countries/models, it is no surprise that the situation can be very confusing; and Ball did a damn good job sorting through; and every single page is for color pictures!



5. This is the most comprehensive work on Mauser style rifles I have seen.
   It covers rifles made from all over the world. If you are into Mauser Rifle history, this is the book for you.

No comments about Russian Silversmiths' Hallmarks 1700 to 1917.

2 comments about Arrowheads of the Central Great Plains: Identification & Value Guide.

1. This book is very finely done! The pictures are excellent, the information is very educational.



2. Danial Fox has written a very informative book that I would highly recommend to anyone intrested in Great Plains arrowheads.I found the section on lithic materials very helpful and the pictures of artifacts fantastic. It's packed cover to cover with good information.

3 comments about Dale Earnhardt Collector's Value Guide (Collector's Value Guides).

1. Dale Earnhardt Collector's Value Guide (Collector's Value Guides) GREAT BOOK,and fast shipping. This is what I have been looking for to put a dollar value on my Dale Earnhardt diecast collection.



2. This was a fine guide at the time of purchase in 2000.
   It is now 2002 and most of the values are very much out of date. If you are buying or selling be very careful...consult a current edition of Die Cast Digest. Hope CheckerBee Publishing puts out a current edition.



3. This book is great for a Dale Earnhardt fan or a race car fan. The book is mostly about him and his career, but it also features Steve Park, Dale Jr.,Michael Waltrip, the 3rd base coach of the Atlanta Braves Ned Yost, and many other former and active drivers, like Richard Petty or Bill Elliot.There is also a track guide for all the race tracks.It also talks about the crash at Daytona.There is much more. #3 is still the best!

2 comments about Collecting Shelley Pottery.

1. This book is a rare find! It is hard to find books on porcelain collectibles and this is an excellent one. It has beautiful color pictures, an excellent history and a value guide that is right on! I collect cups and saucers and the Shelley's are amoung my favorites. This book shows the various styles and patterns that Shelley made and is a very informative reference book.



2. Given their popularity and relative longevity in the market place, it is remarkable that this recent issue is not of just a small handful of books devoted exclusively to the productions of the Wileman & Co. Pottery - the Staffordshire factory which brought us two household names of the 20th century ceramics. Wileman & Co. had two successful periods of production: first as the Foley China Works (the period from 1896 when one Percy Shelly took control of the factory and employed a number of talented Art potters, painters and modellers) and then as the Shelly Factory (the inter-War years marked by the birth of a new backstamp which saw the factory embrace a number of new styles and media). The history of the Shelly factory lines are as much a history of fashion and taste prevalent in the first half of the 20th century. This book charts in detail Wileman & Co., as it rode the tides of economic fortune and misfortune with a series of varied factory lines. Lavishly illustrated are Intarsio, Urbato and Pastello designs produced under the aegis of a talented new Art Director Frederick Rhead at the turn of the century; the diversification into the lucrative business of crested china. - a market made popular by W.H. Goss - the introduction of wares by the well-known children's book illustrator Mabel Lucie-Atwell and the production of a series of wares which (as much as any factory in the UK) embraced the new design known as the At Deco. The format of the book is very much what one has come to expect from these publishers: various sections of the book deal with backstamps, restoration and fakes and - seemingly a must for all collectable ceramics publications - each of the many colour plates a price guide to the object illustrated.

4 comments about Standard Catalog of Stocks & Bonds (Standard Catalog of Stocks and Bonds).

1. This book contains many stocks and bonds that no one would collect. I sold many of these to the author for $1.00. There are many good references out there. Try George LaBarre's Books. They're out of Print but can be found on here and Ebay. The Author should stick with his other subject matter we writes about and Shame on Krause Publishers. They should have used a established dealer or the IBSS.



2. This is the most complete catalog of scripophily items I have found. (It is the only one I have been able to locate.) The book is organized well, and is fairly complete. I find at least two thirds of the issues I have been looking for in it. As for the listed pricing, the prices seem to be fair compared with what I have encounterd in the market. There are plenty of photographs, though most are blabk and white.

   The book would be improved if they added details on how to adjust pricing for the condition of the document. In addition, if they added more general information on the field it would be helpful. Of course for later additions, I hope that they will add more items to it.

   In general though, it is a good book.




3. This is a nice try but the prices are way off the mark. They are for the most part way too low and not in touch with reality. The book provides a good basic overview of the Scripophily hobby, but the reader should totally disregard the prices. A search of Scripophily websites on the Internet will give someone a much more realistic view of pricing and availability. I have heard a lot of complaints about this book from dealers and collectors alike.



4. This book provides a decent overview of inexpensive stocks and bonds from around the world. About 60%-70% of the items listed are from the United States. A large number of photos are provided and the type is very large. The authors clearly focused on the low end of the hobby. That's not bad, just not very helpful for mid level or high-end collectors. The quality of the photos is mediocre at best. They are black and white except for the covers and an eight-page insert. Even in this section, common material dominates, with only 9 of the 61 color photos shown being valued at more than ten dollars. Of those, only two are valued more than one hundred dollars. Many of the photos are fuzzy, taken at angles, or trimmed, giving the appearance that they've been lifted from online auctions. The values given seemed way off in my opinion. The authors note that the values were generally derived by reviewing online auctions and not by reviewing dealer price lists. I have to wonder if this approach makes sense since it doesn't consider shipping charges and the discount the buyers apply for the additional risk of buying an item in an online auction. Comparing my collection with the listed items left me with a feeling of incompleteness. Less than 10% of my collection was listed. In general, the book may provide a good overview of material available to the novice collector but advanced collectors should avoid it.

5 comments about Painted Porcelain Jewelry and Buttons: Identification & Value Guide.

1. Wow, what an informative, helpful book if you have any interest in vintage jewelry or hand-painted porcelain. Wish I had some of the pieces featured here....



2. I read the reviews on this book prior to purchasing it. I also noted the reference to another book: LIVING WITH LIMOGES and I purchased it. Of course I compared the two. LIVING WITH LIMOGES is FANTASTIC and has an entire section on WEARING YOUR LIMOGES that is informative, professional and has fabulous photographs of thousands of hand painted pieces. The quality of Living With Limoges is much better than this book Painted Porcelain. I personally don't like paperback books and Painted Porcelain is a paperback. I thought I would enjoy both but my recommendation - don't bother spending the money on paperback reference books -- put your money toward the better book.



3. I love this book!! I also love Debby DuBay's book: LIVING WITH LIMOGES! Both authors "brooch" the subject of hand painted jewelry, buttons, brooches, hat pins, etc.!! A must for the collector.



4. The author has a wealth of information! (Too bad the publishing company made this a poor quality product, and a soft cover book. No justice to the content!)I love hand painted buttons and brooches and received this book and LIVING WITH LIMOGES which has a section on such, over the holidays. The two books have provided me with much information.



5. Dorothy Kamm's Painted Porcelain Jewelry And Buttons pairs gorgeous large color photos with a value guide to painted buttons and jewelry. The primarily-floral designs are gorgeous and are accompanied by the latest values.

5 comments about Westmoreland Glass: Identification and Value Guide.

1. This is an excellent book that details the history of Westmoreland Glass as no other book has provided before this one. Wilson makes the strong and persuasive argument that Westmoreland was THE leader of decorated glass production in the 1920s and 1930s in the United States, was the first company to produce carnvial glass, and was the leader in the design and production of candy containers. This book details the family history of the author's grandfather, Chas West, and great uncle, George West, in the founding of Westmoreland in the late 1880s till the changing of the guard in the late 1930s to the Brainard family. It is well organized in content and photographs. However, if you are looking for a milk glass book or a book on paneled grape, then do not buy this book. If you are looking for a book that will surprise you about Westmoreland to the point that you did not understand the depth of Westmoreland's contribution to Americana and the U.S. glass making history, then you will be purchasing the correct book.



2. This is a difficult book to rate because it is strong on a few points, but extremely weak on others. It provides the most detailed history of Westmoreland Glass that I have ever seen, and some of the facts are fascinating. However, it is very, very, very poorly organized. Photos are not always identified. Many items are discussed but not depicted in photo or sketch. The price guide in the back uses different names/descriptions than what is used in the text of the book, so you can never be sure if you are checking value on the correct item. I enjoyed the book, but if you want to learn more about various pieces of Westmoreland glass, you will need to buy other books. Unfortunately, I cannot offer advice on what others because I have not found a good one yet. Lorainne Kovar's books are GROSSLY OVERPRICED and still do not do the job they should. I would NOT recommend Kovar's books on any subject.



3. Great history of the company, but I was disappointed in the little milk glass content. The author talks about how important the opal (milk) glass line was for business, but does not offer much samples of it in the book.



4. I was very disappointed in this book. I collect Westmoreland Milk Glass - primarily the grape panel pattern. There was very little in this book on milk glass. A true Westmoreland Glass book would have a great bit of it in there.



5. Glass collectors take note and make time to check out this resource book! It is a valuable tool rich with history and wonderful illustrations that you will pick up again and again. The author repeats history in various sections on purpose so that the user can read it as a casual reference guide or cover to cover like a history book. Westmoreland Glass: Identification and Value Guide by Charles West Wilson, is a must have whether one collects Westmoreland glassware or not! Excellent.

No comments about Harry Northwood: The Wheeling Years, 1901-1925.

5 comments about The Official Price Guide to The Beatles Records and Memorabilia: 2nd Edition (Official Price Guide to the Beatles).

1. This book is absolutely terrible, I don't know why they use the word memorabilia as there is hardly anything in it except records, I paid over $50 for this and I wouldn't give you a dime for it if I had to do it over again
   TOTAL dissapointment on my end



2. I'm not knocking this entire book; there's a lot of good info in here. What bothers me is that the supposed 'gospel' and 'official' price guide failed to accurately describe the availability of a certain Beatles Collection - BC 13 - Limited Edition box set released in the United States during the Christmas Holiday /December 1978.
   As the facts still stand, this "retail release" was available to the general public, in stark contrast to Perry's statement of being only available to Capitol Record executives and industry affiliates. This type of sloppy journalism results in the creation of false perceptions in the market place...



3. The book is awesome. And a must if you are a collector.
   I cant wait until Perry finaly releases his new book!



4. If you want to learn anything about Beatles records, you are much better of getting copies of Bruce Spizers books,and tracking prices on Ebay. Forget about this overrated and out of date waste of money. I wish I found out before I blew a bunch of money on Ebay.



5. It doesn`t matter if you have been collecting the Beatles for years or a novice just starting out,this book has something for everyone.Chock full of details like label variations and year of release.What better way to find the value of your record collection than by the experts, and Mr. Cox certainly is that.He has been writing the only official guide to the Beatles records for years.Now,this book is in a handy size so you can take it along to yard sales where you`ll know if you`ve found that treasure or not.For ebayers,this book is a money saver.No more,"I sold it too cheap cause I didn`t know the value" Highly recomended.