1 comments about The Collector's Guide to Transport Toys: An International Survey of Tinplate and Diecast Commercial Vehicles from 1900 to the Present Day.

1. If you love tin toy and diecast toys then you will love this book.Most double pages feature toys catering for such things as buses,trucks,emergency vehicles and so much more.You will love looking back through the past of toys you probably had and I bet you say:"I had that one!".
   The photos are clear,in color and the text to describe each one is exceptional.
   This book is a must.

No comments about Collecting Toys: Identification and Value Guide (O'Brien's Collecting Toys).

5 comments about Treasures from the Misty Mountains.

1. For the money (I paid $3.84 plus S&H), a great deal. However, The Lord of the Rings box set (?1988) and an animated hardback book that I own were not pictured in this guide. I also expected more information about the different printings. I did not see anything about collector First Day Covers, stamps or coins but I haven't read the whole book. Maybe they are in there but not pictured. Again, for the money, I think it is an enjoyable guide for the amature collector or Tolkien fan like myself but a serious collector may find this guide to be lacking.



2. I had originally purchased this book to assist me with my new hobby of collecting Tolkien books. It seemed to me that the book was hastily researched and quickly assembled to capitalize on the momentum that the movie trilogy had provided. There seemed to be too little detail for the various books out there and way too many errors in their description. It is now in the possession of my 9-yr old son who enjoys thumbing through the pages and looking at the pictures (probably the best part of this book). If you want a book that will truly help you with collecting Tolkien books, I would suggest Wayne Hammond's "JRR Tolkien, A Descriptive Bibliography" published by Oak Knoll Press, 1993.



3. I found this book to be an exstensive resource for Tolkien's writings, the many publishers and cover artists, the first editions and the latest available, and the writings you may never heard of. Seeing the covers of some of the early paperbacks was like finding long lost friends, the editions I grew up reading. I also found the sections on the merchandise spawned by the previous animation features and the new movie trilogy to be very detailed. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the visual history of Tolkien's works and the art inspired by them.



4. As the first attempt that anyone has made at a Tolkien guide this is a great effort. Not all of us have the money to buy all the stuff that's out there but at least this book gives us a heads-up on a lot of it. Frankly to make a book comprehensive would be all but impossible and I don't think that was the author's intention. He has done a laudable job just compiling this much and presenting it so well. If you have that collecting itch, buy it.



5. I was disappointed in the level of detail that is presented in this book. The majority of the book covers various editions of the books that JRRT has published, for the most part they do not have pictures for all of the versions. For those that they do, they have a simple "front view" of the cover, with minimal details on the edition itself.

   In addition, I found the sections on the remainder of the merchandise very lacking, considering I had a number of items not even mentioned, and I am a very entry-level collector. For example, I have numerous pewter figures based on Tolkien's works made by the Tudor Mint, and I was hoping to see a large description and possibly even some pictures about the ones that I do not have, for there are many. However, the only section that even mentioned the Tudor figures was a small paragraph, with no pictures, and only 4 figures were mentioned! I have 10 myself.

   Additionally, they included a very large and detailed section on the figures and toys based on the New Line Cinema films of this year, which to me are not considered rare of collectible yet, since they are still available at most toy stores. It seems that these were the easiest things to find information on, since they are new, and therefore they put a good portion of that in there. The book should have focused more on things that are no longer in production, hard to find, and had more pictures of these types of items.

   There's more I could mention, but this sums up my opinion of it. This book is a good starting point for knowledge of this sort, but it falls far short of the mark.

No comments about Toys That Shoot: With Values (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1 comments about Plastic Novelties And Toys of the '40s, '50s, And '60s (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. Jean Rossi's book is a very fun book to read. All of the Schiffer Publishing books are wonderful. It's loaded with large color photographs of very good examples of each collectible. I have many reference books. This is one of my favorites. Rossi puts the item's maker, year, size (in inches), and price range directly next to the photo. There's no flipping pages and searching for the price! Every single example has a large photo with it. Her chapters include information on polystyrene, caring for hard plastic novelties, Rosbro, Irwin Cohn, the Knickerbocker Plastic Co., Union Products, and manuf. of electrical novelties. This book is definitely one I'd recommend to collectors of holiday related plastic novelties (Christmas, Halloween, Easter, and some Valentine).

1 comments about The Mini Rubber Duckie Kit (Mega Mini Kits).

1. Not what I ordered! I did not receive what was pictured! When asked for a refund they didn't respond.

1 comments about The Dolls of Jules Nicolas Steiner.

1. A beautiful book and a very well documented study with lots of photos to compare the different types of dolls made by this important maker. The thorough research that's gone into this project is what makes this book much much more than just another "coffee table book". In my opinion, this book is an absolute must for every serious collector of French antique dolls.

No comments about Corgi Toys (Shire Library).

1 comments about The American Toy Train.

1. The Souters have set a new standard for books about American toy trains.

   The photographs in this oversize publication are magnificent. They include prototypes and models, catalogs and layouts, and portraits of the industry giants. Most of the photographs are in spectacular color--enhanced by the coated paper.

   The text is authoritative and a pleasure to read.

   Most toy train books focus on one manufacturer. Hollander's All Aboard--The History of Joshua Lionel Cowen and His Lionel Train Company-- is a good example. The Souters seem to have used Hollander's excellent blend of text and photos as a template. Their chronological history starts in 1830 and 160 pages later ends in the late 1990s. Along the way they cover every major manufacturer including Lionel, American Flyer, Ives, and Marx as well as many of the lessor known companies. Their up to date treatment includes MTH, Williams, Weaver, and New Marx Trains.

   Surprisingly, they didn't include a bibliography, although they refer to several of the classics in the text.

   Every toy train collector and enthusiast should have Souter's The American Toy Train on their bookshelf.

No comments about The Story of German Doll Making, 1530-2000.