5 comments about Signed Beauties of Costume Jewelry: Indentification & Values (Signed Beauties of Costume Jewelry).

1. I was not overly impressed with this book.It did have a list of a dozen or so of what I'd call "THE MASTERS",well know and VERY EXPENSIVE pieces,but none of the lesser ones that you find every day in farmer's markets,auctions,flea markets,yard sales,garage sales,etc.ie NO mention of Sarah Coventry,AJC,JJ,and some others.Okay maybe for a beginners book but mine has been used twice.I've had it for years!



2. If you are thinking about collecting (a sick, sick hobby of mine) this is a starter book. Be careful that you don't let the costume jewelry bug bite you. It costs a fortune and breaks everytime you wear it. My jeweler and I now have lunch every week.



3. This is an excellent resource guide to have. There is so much vintage jewelry out there and details to know. Important for the collector.



4. This book is much thinner than the first volume and there is no table of contents so it is hard to find the companies covered. These are also the less expensive jewelry companies than the first volume. I wish the author had included more companies especially the less known more valuable marks. The author does a nice job with some basic information but this is not a useful for the advanced collector. Beautiful pictures.



5. This book has been a great help to me as a new beginner to Vintage Costume Jewelry. It has helped me to identify and appreciate the values on some pieces of jewelry. It has become an aid for me to value the jewelry I now collect and resell.
   I would reccomend this book to any beginner collector.

2 comments about Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars: 11th Edition (Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars).

1. When I tried to look up several models of Alvarez Yairi listed on EBay, none of them were in the book.
   When I wanted to determine the value of my Dauphin classical guitar (for which there are plenty of references on the Web), it wasn't there.
   Clearly, while it is good for what it is, its applications are limited



2. This is my first book on guitar prices. I bought it hoping that I would learn more about vintage prices and model availability.
   
   It is a thick and heavy book. Paper quality is average. Also there are little pictures considering the amount of models listed. For some models (which are very special) I would have liked to see a picture.
   I checked a few non-Martin brands and found that a lot is still missing. Gurian is only described very short, one price is given for all models (which is just nuts because they had simple mahogany models up to BRW models or very limited classical guitar models). Hanika (a very good German builder with a similar production size as Lowden) is not included.
   
   I noticed very quickly already that the suggested (Martin) prices are very related to the American market. So it makes it a little harder to use it for the European market. I think that assuming 1 USD = 1 Euro comes closer to European prices for the higher end models. For the lower end models (or models which are less collectable or not so interesting) I would say European prices are twice as high as indicated (so let's say 1 USD = 1.5 Euro). Just my thoughts.
   Back to the book itself: I have looked up numerous Martin models and found it very hard sometimes to find them. The Martin chapter has been divided into the usual series (like Special Edition or Golden Era), but that means for instance that the original OM-28 and the recent OM-28V are listed together but the OM-28 GE is listed under Golden Era section. I can partly understand why they did this, but I found it is typically the point of view from the manufacturer (think in series) opposite to the view of buyer/player (think in a specific model and its variations).
   
   A link to the internet providing updated information is not provided. I assume that if you buy the CD-ROM version there will be the possibility of updates.

2 comments about Classic 80s Home Video Games: Identification & Value Guide.

1. The one thing in this book's favor is its price, which renders criticism of it somewhat moot. At a glance, the guide offers relatively comprehensive coverage, but as one digs into the content offered, the beauty of the photo spreads is mostly skin deep. Although nearly all game titles presented within are documented with photographs, far too many items are only partially illustrated (e.g. only a cartridge, but not the accompanying manual or original packaging). Given that the authors could have reached out to the collecting community to obtain photos of the missing items, each absence adds up to an inexcusable shortcoming for a field guide. More troubling are entire product ranges that go unmentioned (e.g. the double-ended cartridges Xonox produced for the ColecoVision) and the rather slipshod presentation of non-game materials for each system, such as peripherals and third-party accessories. The latter are listed in bulk at the end of each section, often without photos, and in alphabetical order rather than categorized by item type. Much to-do is made of variants in packaging cataloged within its pages, but here, too, the information is scattered and incomplete, despite appearances that comprehensive research has been done. General layout of each section can at times be equally haphazard, but for the most part works.
   
   Perhaps the greatest weakness of this work is the effort made to assign valuations to items for collectors. In some cases, the information is accurate. However, by and large, the dollar values appear to be assigned with no attention paid to real-world transactions, instead being plucked from the imaginations of the authors or thinly-veiled formulae (e.g. manual prices are near exclusively assigned as a fraction of "complete" specimen prices, which is an altogether mistaken methodology). In some cases, prices are assigned for portions of games that go beyond reason (e.g. per-token pricing for Odyssey 2 board/video games). These are all common traps for collecting guides, and despite assurances that both authors have deep experience with the field, there is little evidence that either managed to overcome personal bias in assigning values. It would have been better to leave the book as an identification guide than to stretch its authority to (poorly) cover individual game pricing. Moreover, it doesn't help matters much that the book itself is littered with pleas from the authors to contact them to sell them your games. Absent independent research, this work should not be trusted as an authority on the valuation of video games of the era.
   
   As mentioned in another review, the guide is also plagued with authorial bias in its summaries of each system and their merits. It would have proved more profitable to devote more space to the history and nature of each system and less to editorializing about which is better than the other. There's a certain amount of hubris involved with the authors' undertaking here, evident from the front and back cover illustrations. What's on display are the gems of a collection, and not the games that would be familiar to someone who might have owned any of the systems covered back in the 80's. The desire to show off the holdings of the authors should have been tempered to broaden appeal of the work, but again, this is a pitfall common to the field.
   
   In sum, this is a fair first effort that tries to cover too much ground to its detriment. For the price, it's a somewhat useful identification guide. Beyond the photos, though, there isn't ample evidence that the book can be trusted as a value guide or comprehensive catalog. Perhaps a later edition will address these problems, but until the authors rein in the exuberance they have for their favorite systems and personal collections and draw upon the larger collecting community to both broaden and deepen coverage, I fear that one can only hope for the fiddling of a number here and there and not much else.



2. Classic 80's Home Video Games is a fantastic pictorial guide of all things the classic video game collector could ever want. Full color photos, prices for loose game, manual and box, along with descriptions of all known variations of said games. This guide doesn't bog down in text descriptions like other guides seem to do, rather, Jason and Robert let the large, beautiful, full-color photos speak for themselves.
   
   The guide also includes some items either glossed over or completely ignored by other guides. Peripherals, patches, posters, catalogs, they are all in there, and all in full color photographs.
   
   I highly recommend this guide, whether you are a new collector just starting out, or a longtime pack rat such as myself. For the price, it really can't be beat.

5 comments about Warman's Costume Jewelry Figurals: Identification and Price Guide (Warman's).

1. Before purchasing this book I had heard from others about its contents and it did not disappoint. There is a lot of information and a whole lot of wonderful costume jewelry ---- wide range of subjects and makers. All in all a very good book if you like figural jewelry.



2. If you love vintage costume jewelry, you are going to love this book. There are excellent pictures and descriptions not seen in prior jewelry books.



3. What you spend on this non-fiction work can come back to you a thousand fold because it is a great guide to making money in the big, broad world of costume jewelry. I see it as a must for anyone of any age who wants to collect or sell jewelry, especially figurals.



4. As a novice collector I really enjoyed this very well written and informative new book. The outstanding colored photographs are large enough to show details in the wonderful selection of jewelry represented.
   
   And now the hunt begins with this book as my invaluable guide.
   
   IT'S A WINNER *****



5. I knew this book would be good because the author is so knowledgeable about the stories behind the companies and designers. Her photos are great, with a large size that are perfect for checking out the detail in the jewelry. I have been a collector for over 20 years and yet I had never seen most of the pins in this book. The information and the jewelry are "fresh" and I really love this book. I can't recommend it highly enough, make sure you add it to your collection.

1 comments about The World Encyclopedia of Coins and Coin Collecting: The definitive illustrated reference to the world's greatest coins and a professional guide to building ... featuring over 3000 colour images.

1. This is a great book, beautifully illustrated. Bought it for my niece who has just started collecting foreign coins. It is easy to use, fully illustrated, and gives great background on foreign countries and their history as well as information regarding the coins themselves. Would highly recommend this book.

5 comments about Warman's Jewelry (3rd Edition).

1. As on online vintage jewelry dealer, Atlanta vintage jewelry dot com, Warman's book was one of the first in my reference library. Sure, it has some faults, but not to the degree to make the book 'useless'. I used to spend my evenings in bed reading through the pages, getting familiar with the vast array of information.
   
   The book includes excellent pictures with clarity, and lots of them. It covers jewelry designs from various eras, beginning in the mid-1700's through present day.
   
   Many people in the vintage jewelry circles may refer to Warman's as the 'bible' of vintage jewelry as it also covers both fine and costume.
   
   In spite of its somewhat unreliable index referred to by others, this hefty book is well worth the purchase price. I'm glad for mine.
   
   Gail Gupton, Author: The 31-Day Diet of Spiritual Enlightenment and Seekers of Truth.



2. Over the years, Warman's guides to antiques have established a reputation for reliability. This volume is the third (2002) edition of their jewelry guide. It's lavishly illustrated with examples from many styles, eras, and price ranges. It provides a feast for the eyes and a lot of useful information as well.
   
   Romero divides the material according to time period and, when appropriate, according to style and material and country of origin. She gives concise summaries of the essentials of each and links jewelry fashions to world events and clothing styles. Sometimes her discussions are a little too concise for this curious reader ( to be fair, the book is a guide, not an in-depth treatment), but she provides a full bibliography at the end for those who want to dig deeper. There's also a glossary of jewelry-related terminology and a section on marks.
   
   According to the introduction, this edition reflects the increasing globalization of the marketplace and the influence of internet buying. Romero has expanded coverage of Scandinavian jewelry and added discussions of Neo-Renaissance and Beaux-Arts jewelry. Every illustration is in color, and the captions are fully detailed. Several reviewers of earlier editions mentioned that there were problems with the index. These problems seem to have been corrected in this edition.
   
   Any problems I have with this book are mostly quibbles. The author makes a point of linking changes in jewelry fashions to changes in clothing and in social conditions. I wish that she had put in a few period illustrations showing the fashions and the jewelry worn with them. This is probably a little out of the reach of an identification and value guide, but it would have been a nice touch. Nonetheless, this is a wonderful resource for jewelry collectors and, in fact for anyone who thinks they might like to become one.



3. "Warman's Jewelry," 3rd edition, by Christie Romero, is subtitled "A Fully Illustrated Identification and Price Guide to 18th, 19th, & 20th Century Fine and Costume Jewelry." The book is full of fascinating and useful features, among them an extensive bibliography, glossary, index, and chronology. There are also a number of appendices, including a hallmark identification guide and a guide to the marks and names on Mexican silver jewelry and metalware.

   The 272-page book is full of hundreds of clear, beautiful full color photos of jewelry. Each photo is accompanied by essential information on each piece depicted. The items shown represent a huge price span; in this book you'll see a $336,000.00 gem-encrusted platinum bracelet, a $10.00 brooch shaped like a poodle, and lots in between. Many types of jewelry are pictured: necklaces, cufflinks, earrings, lockets, scarf pins, etc. Included are pieces representing a broad variety of artistic approaches: whimsical, elegant, gaudy, graceful, fierce, futuristic.

   Also fascinating is the broad range of materials covered: diamonds, emeralds, opals, turquoise, gold, coral, agate, wood, rhinestones, plastic, brass, porcelain, etc. The photography is accompanied by an interesting, well-written text. Jewelry production is placed in historical and cultural context. There are also special sections devoted to jewelry of particular cultures (Native American, Mexican, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, and Finnish). Interesting trends such as Victorian-era black jewelry and "eye miniatures" are also highlighted. Overall, this is an endlessly interesting and stunningly beautiful reference work.




4. AS AN OLDER PERSON, I HAVE 'LIVED THROUGH' MANY OF THE FADS WHICH JEWELRY MANUFACTURERS REFLECT. I STARTED COLLECTING JEWELRY, AND DECIDED TO WRITE A RESOURCE BOOK FOR THE NOVICE. WELL, WHEN I READ MS. ROMERO'S BOOK, I FOUND THAT IT WAS SO INCLUSIVE THAT IN ORDER TO FILL IN THE GAPS, AS IT WERE, MY WORK IS REALLY CUT OUT FOR ME. THIS BOOK IS A WONDERFUL ADDITION TO ANY JEWELRY COLLECTOR'S REFERENCE LIBRARY. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME THE SPACE TO REVIEW IT.



5. A great book, with lots of valuble information, but the index, is not accurate.this makes it very frustrating to look things up....warmans should issue partial refunds to the dedicated customers who purchased the book...

5 comments about Cameos: Old & New, 3rd Edition.

1. The book is very thorough and spotting every important and relevant issue concerning old and newer cameos. Very easy to read and remember, giving all that's good to know about cameos. Recommended for anyone interested in knowing them - collectors, dealers, teachers...
   
   The only thing is that almost all of the photographs are in black & white, and in a rather poor quality. If the photos were in good quality color, this would have just made the book perfect. I, for one, would be happy to pay for the difference.



2. I liked the book. It could of had alot more information in it because there was a few things that I did not get answered...like I had hoped. But I guess you can't expect one book to give you all the information that a person seeks.



3. If you love cameos and collect them this is a wonderful little book for you. Tells you the history, the types, the reasons for certain styles, how to tell the age, how to tell the value, and all the necessary terminology for discussing them. Good illustrations are also a plus.



4. When most people think of cameos, they think of the standard woman's profile carved from shell and mounted as a brooch or necklace. But the art of the cameo encompasses far more than that. Historically, it dates back to the ancient world, and over the centuries many materials have been used in making these works of art. Although female heads are probably the most common subject, mythological figures, animals, portraits of individuals, and many other things have found their way onto cameos. The quality can range all the way from cheap mass-produced modern items to fine hand-crafted pieces worthy of any museum.
   
   Anna Miller's "Cameos" is a wonderful introduction to cameos. She covers the history of the form, the subjects normally found and what each one looks like--very useful in an age where few people know their mythology. She describes the different materials that have been used in making cameos--including lava from Mt. Vesuvius, shell, agate, onyx, plastic, and glass. There's an extensive section on how cameos are made and on the people who made (and make) them. One particularly useful discussion describes the differences between traditional hand-carved works and those made by modern ultrasonic machines (vital for any modern buyer). The author also gives information on how to evaluate quality and condition and on market value. The book is illustrated throughout with black and white pictures, and there is an extensive color section in the middle. One of the best things about this book is that the author is able to convey her appreciation of the art of cameos to the reader. "Cameos" is an essential reference for anyone who wants to acquire a knowledge and understanding of this art. Highly recommended.



5. I am one of the small number of portrait cameo carvers on gemstone.

   I found this book to be excellent. There is a wealth of detail on all aspects of cameos. There are also good illustrations. There is valuable info for collectors on identifying and valuing Cameos.

   Information on how to distinguish Ultrasonic Cameos from the more valuable hand-carved cameos is given.

   You will gain a lot of knowledge on how Cameos are made and valued from reading this title.

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 Blue Book Dolls and Values, 16th Edition (Blue Book Dolls and Values).

1. Very helpful book - have really been enjoying this book as I have wanted this book for years, finally got it!



2. I bought this book to help me determine the value of a collection of high quality dolls that my aunt wants to help her sell. Our of five doll designers, only one of the designers was even listed in her book. This was a waste of my money, for sure!



3. I am formilair with this book. It is a great book IF you know the name of your doll. If you don't it is not a good one for you.



4. THE resource for all your doll questions on values and dolls.



5. Although the Blue Book is the avid doll collectors' favorite price guide, it contains numerous categories that have not been updated for quite a number of years. China, parian, papier mache, and wooden, some of the earliest dolls in existence, have been gaining in popularity for several years now and the market prices, both at auction and online have been rising considerably. The Blue Book has not caught up with this trend.
   
   Also, it would be extremely helpful if there were a comprehensive section that described the methods used in compiling the information as well as the sources of this information. Some of the prices are so far off the mark in actual market prices realized, that it makes the professional wonder if the numbers are merely picked out of blue sky.
   
   The book is well structured and is the easiest to use on a daily basis, of all the price guides, however, serious updating and a description of the price compilation process, would improve it immensely.

4 comments about The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins 2009 (Guide Book of United States Coins (Cloth Spiral)) (Guide Book of United States Coins (Cloth ... Book of United States Coins (Cloth Spiral)).

1. I purchased this book for my 11yr old son who has just started collecting coins. It is very easy for him to find what he is looking for and has so much information packed into it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone collecting coins.



2. This is the best book for rating your coins and finding the value, you cannot find better.



3. I buy the book every year. It's the corner stone to coin collecting. I couldn't do without it.



4. Old standby for getting a retailer's review of what you'd hope to sell your coin's for. A good benchmark and has been around for more than half a century. Blue book is more about whay the average person can hope to expect to get for a coin.