5 comments about Collectible Fountain Pens : Parker Sheaffer Wahl-Eversharp Waterman(1018).

1. Excellent reference source for the beginning/intermediate collector. Good value.



2. Unlike most books on this subect, this edition has very few color photos and print quality is that of a copy machine. Its only redeming quality is its price listings that are already three years old.



3. GREAT HISTORY OF FOUR PEN COMPANIES AND THEIR PRODUCT DEVELOPMENTS. I FIND THE BOOK TO BE DIFFICULT IN TRYING TO FIND THE PRICE . PRICES ARE LISTED IN ABOUT FIVE DIFFERENT PLACES THROUGH OUT THE BOOK, SOME LISTED AFTER THE COMPANY SECTION. SOME BY PAGE, NOT NAME. THE COLOR SECTION IS BEAUTIFUL, BUT TRY TO FIND THE MANUFACTURE AND THE PRICE GUIDE--- IT TAKES ALOT OF FLIP-FLOPPIN' BACK AND FORWARD TO FIND ALL THE INFORMATION I NEED. ALOT OF OVER KILL ON ALL THOSE "OLD" ADDS. FROM A CONKLIN TO A EPENCO I RATE THIS A 66.



4. I find this book to be very helpful as one of serveral reference books for buying and selling pens. As with everything, you must learn to use information to your benefit. More color pictures would be nice.



5. Considering the size of this volume, it is amazingly devoid of substance or content. Althought the author has done a creditable job of collecting photos (mostly B&W), and reprinting vintage advertisements, no additional information, which might have added perspective or insight, is provided. How can you date a Parker Vacumatic? What years are indicated by three bands versus one? Which colors or model variations are most common or rarest? These are the types of information that would have made this book useful to both beginning and experienced collectors. Unfortunately, the author provides none of this, and what results is a virtually useless hodgepodge of recycled advertisements.

2 comments about Duck Calls of Illinois 1863-1963.

1. There is a typo on the last sentence of my review that I did last week for this book where it states I I've, please remove the I.

   Thanks Nate Richey




2. Although Duck Calls of Illinois, 1863-1963 by Robert D. Christensen is limited to Illinois calls made prior to 1964, it encompasses all of the early documented history of the modern duck call. This is because all of the documented history happened to occur in Illinois.

   This is a fascinating and very well done book that no duck call collector could possibly do without. Over 100 Illinois call makers are represented including Charlie and Haddon Perdew, Clifford, Grubbs, Martin, Trutone,Barto, Olt, Allen, Ditto, Leonard, the Glodo family, and the Roseberry family. The great photography will help in identifying many of your unknown calls.

   $65 might seem like a lot of money for a book, but considering the rather limited market it is a bargain. The best $65 I I've spent since I started collecting calls.

   Nate Richey

2 comments about Treasures of the Hopi (Treasures).

1. This is a wonderful book, full of valuable information about most of the Hopi arts and crafts--pottery, kachinas, jewelry, and the like. Full of great photos, this is a great reference for collectors, scholars or just folks that are interested in Native American arts. My only wish is that she would write a new edition, featuring artists who are more current.



2. i am to enjoy. very nice book.

1 comments about Miller's: Pottery: Antiques Checklist (Miller's Antiques Checklist).

1. This book is more than just a price book. It uses a series of questions to help you nail down just what you are looking at. In the BASICS section you find the different types of glazes as Lead glaze, Tin glaze, and Salt glaze. The book is small enough that I carry this with me.

   Some of the highlights are:

   Uses a unique question-and -answer approach to help you identify and date genuine antique glass

   Deals with fakes, copies, condition and other factors that may confuse even experienced collectors

   Analyses typical items that collectors can find in shops and auction houses

   Gives Guidelines to values

   Contains a wealth of background information, including an extensive glossary

   Is a thorough introductory course for the beginner and also a superb refresher for those with some collecting experience.

4 comments about Pinball Machines.

1. which is OK, if it's clearly labelled as such, which this book is not. The cover also implies that it's up to date to 1999. It's not. There are only a handful of machines from the 80's mentioned and absolutely none from the 90's (which is the peak era of pinball as far as playability goes.)



2. I was checking this book out at Borders. Its really acollection of artwork from pinball games organized by theme (cards, pool, "vacation" - which includes sports like skiing, etc). Not much info here and your not even sure if the prices are for the just the backglass or the whole game. The prices were way too low I thought compared the action Ebay's coin-op auctions. Ugly book with cheap feeling paper...



3. I was really let down by this one -- the title of the book is quite a misnomer.

   If you're expecting detailed pictures of backglasses, playfields, cabinets, and rulesheets, you're out of luck. This book contains only pictures of backglasses and partial backglasses. An occasional playfield shot is thrown in now and then, but there aren't enough to be useful.

   OH, and I should mention that more than half of the pages are in BLACK AND WHITE, making the pretty colorful backglass artwork boring to look at.

   The book gets two stars instead of one for the index in the back. It's nice to now have one place to look when I want to find out what year a particular pinball was made.

   In future editions, I would love to see the index in the back expanded to include rule cards and trivia. Maybe a current price guide also. But most importantly, I'd love to see a crisp top-down picture of the playfield for each machine as well as the backglass. All in full color, of course. This would be an invaluable tool for techies trying to piece together several old ratted out machines into one good one.

   Sorry, but as a pinball/video game collector, I can't recommend this book.




4. This book has alot of pictures and drawings of pinball machines, categorized by subject. There is also an excellent index in the back that lists pinball machines in alphabetical order by the name of the machine. Quite enjoyable.

2 comments about Tactical Knives.

1. I have started collecting tactical knives recently. I purchased this book to gain a better understanding of my subject, so that I could make well-informed purchasing decisions. I was not disappointed.
   
   I particularly enjoyed the chapter on Knives in Tactical Deloyment; if a knife is good enough for the special forces, it is good enough for me.
   
   I also enjoyed the Fixed-Blade Tactical Knives chapter, which covered a range of knives, including general purpose, maritime, survival, hatchet and concealed knives. I did not realise there are so many fixed-blade variants.
   
   The photos and the layout of the books is very good.
   
   The only downside is that I cannot import many of the knives discussed in the book into Australia because of our restrictive import regulations.



2. This books has some very good points regarding presentation and pictures of obscure knives from around the world, a good examination of german armed forces is a highlight, but unfortunately to me the book is quite regional (Germany and U.S.) when it could appeal to a greater range of professional users around the world, the book sometimes seems like a knife catalog (the author works at Boker's sales dept.), instead of a users guide that, in my opinion, would make the book a whole lot more "usable", and not only pretty a display of what is available in the aforementioned countries

5 comments about Greenberg's Guides Lionel Trains 2006 Pocket Price Guide (Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains).

1. When it comes to concise and easy to use price guides to Lionel Trains I have found Greenberg's Guides to be invaluable. It breaks the catalogue numbers down into eras or distinct ranges of years of production and lists price ranges based on condition in a very orderly fashion. If you sell or buy on eBay this is a valuable tool. Greenberg's Lionel Trains Guides and publications are all first rate and come highly recommended.



2. This is an indispensable, pocket guide for identifying Lionel Trains at train shows. It's easy to use and obviously handy because it slips easily into a back pocket. I use the pricing only as a way of identifying general area of value. Any one item could be worth more or less. Guide is great for keeping track of train items you own or are looking for.



3. Excellent book! Get resource! My last one was falling apart from all the times I used it.



4. A great book for the casual buyer or serius collector. A wealth of pricing information. Wouldn't buy without it. The only thing that keeps it from a 5 star rating is lack of pictures.



5. A must have for every collector, offered at a great price.

No comments about The Official Price Guide to Antiques and Collectibles: 18th Edition (Official Price Guide to Antiques and Collectibles).

No comments about Complete Book of Antiques and Collectibles.

1 comments about A Guide to Hp Handheld Calculators and Computers.

1. This book is the definitive guide for those collecting or just interested in older HP calculators. Wlodek is considered the "grand-master" of the history of HP handheld calcs (though he's modest enough to deny that) and he has written a great reference on models from the first -- the HP-35 to models current to about 2002. He even talks about the HP-01 calculator watch. Wlodek includes complete descriptions, function details, variations, color & black & white photos, and even background history of all the models. Over 140 pages with tightly written information, charts, and photos. Great book!