1 comments about Japanese Toys: Amusing Playthings from the Past (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. One of the best books ever written on Post war toys from Japan. Beautiful color photos of toys and their boxes, along with production dates and quantities, dimensions, description of actions, scarcity ratings and values. Patent drawings and illustrations are included for many toys. This book contains the most extensive listing of Japanese toy trademarks I have ever seen. I have been collecting Japanese tin toys for 35 years and this listing alone makes this book invaluable.

No comments about BRITISH TIN TOYS.

No comments about Tinplate Toys: From Schuco, Bing, & Other Companies.

No comments about Modelcars Made in Italy 1900-1990.

2 comments about Pedal Cars.

1. Pedal Cars is literally "mind candy"An inescribably delicious feast for the eyes and the mind,(and the lover of the unique within us all)!The photographs, renederings,and adverts are par excellence. The printing is lavishly well done in extremely clean and magical colours.The photographs of children proudly seated in their autos are priceless.I f you wish to enter the realm of the authentic pedal car, and also a tour of American Childhood Nostalgia,I urge you to purchase this book immediately!



2. Mr. Bloemker's journalistic approach favors detail and context over mindless hype. It's refreshing to see Pedal Cars -- largely ignored by many antique buffs -- covered in such a comprehensive manner. Highlights include the pre-world World War II era, with excellent detail on American National, Garton, Steelcraft and other top manufacturers. AMF's 1960s era heyday is explored thoroughly as well.

   This book is a fine resource for the seasoned collector and beginner alike. There are excellent illustrations and photographs, with plenty of personal insights from some of the genere's most prominent collectors.

5 comments about Lionel: A Century of Timeless Toy Trains.

1. This book is for everyone who always wanted a Lionel set, and never got one. The photographs accurately capture the marketing appeal of the sets and take you back to when you were eight years old and a Lionel train set was what you wanted for Christmas. The book commemorates 100 years of Lionel trains.

   For those who know Lionel as a company and as a product well, this volume will probably prove to be disappointing. It is an "overview of the company's development and the way its products reflect the eras in which they were produced." Now, there's nothing wrong with that, but those who know Lionel well already have that perspective. So if you are an expert, I suggest that you avoid this book.

   The strength of of this book lies in the photographs by Bill Milne. He has done a fine job of capturing the child's eye view of the cars and accessories. You can almost feel the rug pressing against your cheek as you remember lying sideways to get a closer look at ground level of someone else's new set.

   Many of the pieces I had not seen before, especially from the 70s and on. If I had a place to put a set, I'd almost be tempted to make a belated start.

   I was pretty familiar with Lionel over the last 50 years, so it was the early years that added to my knowledge. The founder, Joshua Lionel Cohen (later changed to Cowen), was interesting to me. He had a good technical background for toy trains, having been educated at Cooper Union and partially completing degree work in engineering at Columbia. His first job was for Acme Electric Light Company, which made many small electric appliances. He developed a way to ignite magnesium more evenly, and used that to found his own company to make fuses for the military. This led to a light for illuminating plants, a fan, and finally a battery-powered train. The rest is history.

   The text comes across like something out of a fan magazine more than as a legitimate history. As an "authorized" version, undoubtedly the people at Lionel had some influence. I graded the book down one star for lack of insight into what all of this history means.

   Think about how toys create aspirations and lives. What toys created what aspirations in you? Did an erector set cause you to take engineering courses? Did a microscope help establish a career in biology? If you had a toy train, how did that influence you?

   What gifts should you give your children and grandchildren this holiday season to make for the best aspirations in their lives for the years ahead?




2. This "licensed" Lionel book has been corporately washed and shoved out the door. The photography is stylish, but hardly informative. Lionel buffs want the real story of Lionel's rise and fall, rise and fall with real people behind the pictures. For a Lionel fan, this book is a big disappointment. A better book just came out entitled "Lionel: America's Favorite Toy Trains" by MBI Publishers. It is everything this book isn't - and cheaper.



3. This is the best book I have ever read about Lionel trains. It is complete with pictures, history, and popularity. This is a must for all train collectors young and old. I'm a model train expert and I learned some things I didn't even know from this book! My hat is off to this auther because he did such a wonderul job.



4. I thought that this is an excellent book about the standard train company of the world called Lionel. I thought the book gave a good prospective of the company, but unbenonst to all, Lionel is not quality. If you want high quality railroading, you should look at a company called Mike's Train House and I think they should make a book about them. Overall, I would like to say, Happy 100th Birthday Lionel!



5. The Lionel toy company celebrates its one hundredth year of supply the children (and adults!) of the country with toy trains, settings and accessories. Lionel trains are famous world-wide and the favored collectibles of legions of fans and collectors of all ages. In Lionel: A Century Of Classic Toy Trains, ardent and knowledgeable collector Dan Ponzol provides a wealth of detailed information on specific sets, rare models, a history of the company, wonderfully illustrated throughout with reproduced images from legendary catalogs and Lionel train ads, as well as representative models from his own expansive collection. This coffee table showcase book is a "must" for all true Lionel train fans.

1 comments about Africa on the Move: Toys from West Africa.

1. 
   Arnoldsche, a leading German art publisher put this book out in 2004 and I wonder how long it will be before these scrap toys are considered folk art? They come from Ghana, Togo, Benin but mostly Burkina Faso, all dirt poor countries in West Africa. Re-cycled waste is probably made into toys in other parts of Africa and Asia but I wonder if they are as ingenious or colorful as the models in the book. Forty-two of them were made by Robert Compaore of Burkina Faso and he reveals in a short interview that some of the raw materials are actually bought from scrap markets.
   
   All the photos feature vehicles of some kind: bicycles, scooters, tractors, cars, tanks, trucks, jets, helicopters, space ships and boats. Many of the vehicles have wheels made from the cut-off tops of aerosols which will give you an idea of their size. Some are really quite simple: a spark plug as the body of a motorbike with some bent wiring as the forks, handlebars, chassis and wheels made of blue painted wood.
   
   I thought the best models were ones that used cut up metal packaging so that the logos, text and bar-codes were mixed together. On page 118-119 there is a stunning fifty-five inch long cargo ship from Ghana which is hard to consider as a toy. The models that don't feature commercial packaging do seem to look like potential art forms.
   
   The almost square book is nicely produced (in 175dpi) with all the model photos as cutouts with an added drop shadow. Strangely the contents page is the last in the book and preceding that are some short text pieces (in three languages) and a sixteen page photo section of the toymakers. Overall I thought it was an intriguing book about the clever and creative uses of waste to produce some simple but fascinating toys.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

3 comments about Contemporary Hopi Kachina Dolls (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. the kachina dolls and photography were well done and could hardly be improved upon. however, the commentary is terrible; it is replete with errors; so much so that the reader is misled by unreliable information; this book should be withdrawn from the market until the errors have been corrected.



2. The pictures in this book were quite good. I would have liked the captions to match the Kachinas. Some of the errors were so blatant that I find it hard to believe the book was proofed.



3. Like many collectors of Hopi kachina/katsina dolls, I eagerly await the release of another book on the subject. I have several books by Schiffer Publishing in my library and have enjoyed each of them. Auhor Nancy Schiffer (a part of the company?) claims to be an avid collector of katsinam for the past 15 years. Her knowledge of the subject and research are some of the worst I have ever seen. There are at least three dozen ERRORS in this book. Any writer who misspells the names of two of today's MASTER carvers, Cecil Calnimptewa and Ronald Honyouti, should not have a book in print. Only one piece by Ronald is shown, but his brothers' last names are misspelled in several places. Various katsinam are wrongly named and the list of errors goes on and on. There are a number of quality books re: Hopi katsinam, but this is not one of them. Many average to below-average carvers are represented, while excellent carvers are excluded. A PLUS for this book is the number of katsinam which are included. It is the only book which has both front and back photos of every katsina. For an introduction to contemporary katsinam and reliable information, I would certainly NOT recommend this book. My suggestion is that Schiffer Publishing cease publication on this edition, rework it and REISSUE a quality product in a year or two.

1 comments about 2nd Muffy Identification & Price Guide (Muffy Vanderbear Identification & Price Guide).

1. This is an excellent source for Muffy bear collectors of all ages. The pictures and tips provide excellent resources to determine edition, completion, and price status. Ann offers a modest price guide in the back of the book that sets reasonable expectations for today's value of the bears. I would like to have seen documentation of all of the accessories. Most bears have pictures, but there are a few that do not--and many of the accessories and club pieces are not pictured or priced. Overall, a great source of information. Well-written!

No comments about Collector's Guide to Raphael Tuck & Sons: Paper Dolls, Paper Toys & Children's Books.