No comments about Warman's Bottles Field Guide: Values and Identification (Warman's Bottles Field Guide).

No comments about All About Collecting Girls' Series Books: Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton, Cherry Ames, Penny Parker, Kay Tracey, Beverly Gray, Connie Blair, Vicki Barr, Dana Girls & Others.

No comments about Fenton Art Glass Hobnail Patterns: Identification & Value Guide (Fenton Art Glass).

No comments about A-Z of Antiques and Collectibles.

No comments about Town - Country Old Tools.

No comments about Collecting Porcelain.

3 comments about Victorian & Edwardian Fashions for Women, 1840-1919.

1. I enjoy all of Kristina Haris' books on fashion, and I am so thankful that she has taken the time to show everyone actual pieces of fashion history. One poster remarked that it was hypocritical of Kristine to photograph women in these delicate vintage clothes that need to be preserved -- as a museum director, I understand that remark, yet I believe that sometimes it is good to show how the clothes would have actually looked on a real person, especially with accessories. I am just delighted Kristine shares pictures of these outfits with us, because good color photos of authentic historical dress are very hard to come by.



2. When I first began collecting antique clothing, I picked this book up. It has some beautiful pieces pictured, and seems to be competently written. I know that not all antique clothing is worth collecting and preserving. But it seemed that it was the intent of the writer to encourage people to care for antique clothing properly in her writing. However, the photos of modern women being skinned into fragile pieces of history, playing dress-up for a photographer is a bit hypocritical. I can not take this book seriously, and it makes me cringe when I try to flip through to reference the styles. It doesn't often come off of my bookshelf, and it's almost been donated to the book exchange a couple of times.



3. This book is a perfect companion to Alison Gernsheim's compilation of vintage B&W fashion photographs (for Dover). Schiffer, best known for its books aimed at antiques collectors, presents this survey by Kristina Harris (who herself models some of the outfits) of women's fashion decade-by-decade from 1840 to the edge of the Jazz Age. Most of the outfits presented here are reproductions, but perfect ones; as Harris explains, real vintage clothes dating back to the Victorian and Edwardian periods are often too fragile to wear and are better suited for display purposes. The photography is mostly full-color, of modern models wearing the clothes (mixed with an ample number of vintage photographs and illustrations) and excellent. The text is smoothly written and highly detailed, going over every detail of Victorian costume from hats to underwear. Put this in your vintage-fashion library!

5 comments about B. J. Summer's Guide to Coca-cola: Identifications, Current Values (B J Summer's Guide to Coca Cola Identification).

1. I recently had the opportunity to review another company's Coca Cola collectibles book, they too a well respected publisher of antique and collectibles books and there's no doubt about it, the B.J.Summers Sixth Edition guide has got that one beat hands down. This is a thoroughly beautiful book. Hardcover, thick, glossy stock pages, and fantastic photography highlight this book.
   
   The introduction provides legend keys to the condition as well as the source of the item's value which I think is very important. Summers lets the reader know if the value came from a collector, a completed auction, a dealer, or the author himself. The book then presents 46 different item categories, everything from signs, bottles, calendars and trays, to more eclectic items like Jewelry, no-drip protectors, and ashtrays. There's also a miscellaneous chapter for items that don't fit into one of the other 45 categories.
   
   I was absolutely fascinated by the number of items pictured in the book. With nearly 300 pages and as many as 10 items pictured per page, there are literally thousands of different Coke items pictured. The signage is simply fantastic, particularly those featuring celebrities such as Eddie Fisher and jazz musician Lionel Hampton. In all there are 82 pages of signs alone. Does it picture EVERY Coca Cola sign ever made? Of course not, but what book does? Still even if you have one that isn't pictured, you should be able to find one similar that you can use as a basis for value.
   
   I really enjoyed the section on coolers and those bright, red coolers of days gone by. I remembered the old Coke cooler we used to have back in the early 70's. Like a lot of people, I love the Coke Santa items, especially those great ads by Haddon Sundblom which look great framed and are still very affordable today.
   
   The problems are few and minor. The categories could have been laid out in alphabetical order but instead there seems to be little rhyme or reason to the order. That said, it's still a truly wonderful book that will delight collectors or just plain fans of nostalgia.
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson



2. This was a very helpful and informative guide to Coca-Cola collectibles. I would highly recommend it to any serious collector. Full of valuable information.



3. We have quite a few old Coke signs and none were in this guide. We were disappointed to say the least.



4. Pros: Extensive selection of signs and cardboard items with lots of nice colour photos throughout. Many items in this book aren't in Petrettis, so it makes a good companion. All up I am happy with this book and use it regularly to price and check items.
   
   Cons: The book is hoplessely laid out and it can be very hard to find items as it seems there is no logic to the order items are listed or displayed. It seems the entire book is largely made up from the collection of one or two private collections and as such prices can be inflated compared to market values, plus many items are missing simply because these collectors didn't feel they are important enough. As with most other Coca-cola collectors books this one is entirely US centric with very little information on foreign items.



5. *****April 2005 UPDATE: "Could be great" but after seeing the 5th edition, the publisher has taken a book with great potential and flushed that potential down the toilet. What they did was gloss up the paper and make it look old-fashioned (it doesn't work for me, but maybe it will for others), but the huge mistake is that they actually dropped a significant number of items from the book and went overboard hiking up the price values! If you are a serious collector, browse through the 5th edition at a bookstore, before buying it. END UPDATE*****
   
   This guide has great potential, but somebody should do some usability studies on it to make it better. It's a chore finding a specific item. For example, collector trays: I still can't figure out what logic was used to arrange/order them in the book. By title? By name? The index at the back of the book is incomplete and often worthless. For example, there's a whole section on blotters in the front index, but try finding "blotter" in the back index.
   
   Prices are conservative. Unrealistically low in many cases.
   
   There are items that aren't found in other guides, and the color pix are exceptional. I really like this guide, but it has design flaws that need to be fixed.

2 comments about Civil War Collector's Encyclopedia: Arms, Uniforms and Equipment of the Union and Confederacy.

1. An absolutely pioneering ground breaking book on Civil War equipment when it was originally published. I literally wore the covers off mine a thirty years ago! It is nice to see it reprinted. Dr. Lord put extensive research into this work, and to my knowledge it was the first book on Civil War equipment. Historian or collector alike will enjoy this book, and it has stood up to the test of time, despite shelves of books on the subject of Civil War equipment since then. If you don't have one, get one. If you already have one, buy another. It is that good.



2. Any serious collector of Civil War arms, uniforms and equipment should consider the Civil War Collector's Encyclopedia: Arms, Uniforms And Equipment Of The Union And Confederacy as an indispensable reference and core guide in this specialized are of military antiques and collectibles with noted authority Francis A. Lord covering almost everything to do with Civil War memorabilia, from equipment to uniforms on all sides. Over three hundred photos and drawings - many from Lord's own holdings - accent a guide organized by memorabilia categories for quick browsing. If it sounds familiar, the Civil War Collector's Encyclopedia comes with a history: it's a reprint of an original 1963 work - and has lost none of its importance or relevance over time, as it's packed with history and collectibility insights more than values.

1 comments about Scouting Dolls Through the Years: Identification and Value Guide.

1. This is a comprehensive book about Girl Scout dolls that even has sections on paper dolls, stuffed animals, figurines and pins, all relating to the Girl Scouts organization. Included are doll sections on Camp Fire Girls and Blue Birds, International Girls Guides, as well as Girl Scout doll clothing. Even though I bought this book because I thought it was about looking ("scouting") for old dolls, and I don't really have a special interest in Girl Scout dolls, I found it interesting. It includes a history of the Girls Scouts and many beautiful photographs of different manufacturer's Girl Scout dedicated dolls and products from 1917 to 2002 with current values.