Antiques Collectibles Books

Vintage L.A. is like a magical treasure trove - filled with historic gems from Tinseltown past, endearing & insightful interviews with sparkling locals, dazzling photographs and endless riches to behold! It is apparent that the author, Jennifer Brandt-Taylor, is a true fan of Hollywood history and the City of Angels. She takes the reader on a whimsical "insider" tour, with many surprise stops along the way. Jennifer Brandt-Taylor does a wonderful job at inspiring the reader to look closer, to find divinely decadent inspiration in something that most pedestrians would pass by without a glance. I read this book in one sitting, and then placed it on my art-deco bookshelf alongside other favorites, "Eve's Hollywood" and "Weetzie Bat." I will make sure to leave enough room on that shelf for Jennifer Brandt-Taylor's next book...

Knowing a good deal about book design and something about near-history, I can say that this book is a perfect package. From the gorgeous full-color pages saturated with great photography and vintage postcards to the colorful language used to illustrate this opulent city of dreams, Vintage LA is the magnum opus to Los Angeles. Anyone I know who has read this book recalls sitting down in the evening to crack the spine, and a few hours later they were finished, and ready to buy plane tickets to LA. It's a beautiful book!

This book covers just about everything I like about LA -- the good old-timey stuff! It's beautifully photographed, typeset and laid out from cover to cover, looking and reading like a Disneyland brochure from the '60s. The author leads you to historic walking & shopping destinations in every neighborhood in and around LA, with a special focus on all things glam and baroque. The photos are spectacular and the descriptions are fun, first-person, non-snooty and truly evocative of the wonder of visiting these groovy underappreciated relics. You'll want to visit each and every spot, and the more of them you experience, the more your view of LA will change from the unfair stereotype of a dumb, violent, smoggy wasteland to a true love of this lovely, historic fantasyland left behind by dreamers of the past.

Hats off to Jennifer Brandt-Taylor, the vintage queen! Her new book VINTAGE L.A. is a well-crafted homage to the delightful assortment of styles and flavors which comprise the identity of Los Angeles.

It is an extremely well balanced and thoughtfully compiled collection of reviews, photos, tidbits of trivia, and other ephemera which sparked my interest in revisiting the town in which I live.

Collecting vintage is one of my true passions. Finer men's attire of bygone eras is my own calling, so when Jennifer referred to the boutique Playclothes I was obliged to investigate. What a treat! I left with 2 deadstock silk scarves from the Edwardian era and some other treasures for well below market value. Thanks, Jennifer!

The love which the author has for her hometown is apparent in her features of the magical haunts and classic splendor of old Hollywood. Two of my absolute favorite places to soak up some genuine Tinseltown are the Magic Castle and the Beverly Hills Hotel. Hands down the finest establishments in which to imbibe.

It was a true inspiration flipping through the expertly layed out pages. My eyes were led along from page to page as if a kid in a candy store had been turned loose on a shopping spree. A plethora of colors and styles was arranged like a bouquet, enticing the reader to dive in and experience the finest this American epicenter of culture has to offer.

One thing I absolutely loved was her interspersed features of vintage lovers from all walks of fame in their respective environments. Catching a glimpse of how these zany characters live and reading their own reflections on the things which keep them inspired was a fascinating allusion to the eclecticism of Los Angeles.

If at all you are interested in planning a trip to Los Angeles, please do yourself a favor and let Jennifer Brandt-Taylor be your guide to the stars!

I saw this in the bookstore yesterday and read the whole thing in one sitting. It's perfect for anyone who isn't typical, and likes the cooler things in life.
I grew up in LA and while I knew MOST of the haunts in the area, I still discovered a couple new facts in this great book.
You won't be disappointed. Trust me.

This a wonderful book. The illustrations are beautiful, vibrant, and an excellent example of Mexican art. This is very nice coffee table book.

This book was a beautiful insight to the 30's art of Mexico. Also through it one can understand much of the culture of ancient mexico and what was going on in the era. I loved it. I have always been fascinated in the calendars of this time. Great! KCT

What a marvelous book! I grew up in a bicultural home in Monterrey, N.L. Mexico, so I am familiar with these Mexican calendars. Although I do not remember having one of these calendars at home, I remember visiting homes that had them. It was fascinating to learn about the talented artists that created them. However, it was sad to see how early on the commercial world was trying to set standards of what a "beautiful woman" should look like. Never the less, these calendars are an important part of the Mexican culture and history. I hope these unrealistic standards are changing - in both Mexico and the USA! (PS - Although there were a few mistakes, the Spanish translation was well done.)

Nice texts abouth the authors, and a lot of good images about the mexican pinups, very influenced by the american ones, but dressed in traditional mexican outfit.
I'm interested in the pinups subjet and that's what I loved from this book. Another good feature is that is bilingual!

very well written. interesting historical account of artists and their methods and subjects. have never seen a greater accumulation of beautiful images, colorful-exiting-romantic portraits. full of 'old time' detail and glamour. hard to put down.

I found this book to be helpful in determining the values of most of the pieces in an Avon collection that was inherited. Unfortunately some were not but they were minor items. All in all a very informative book for the serious collector.

I bought this book with the idea that it would be a valuable resource for me when I sell some of my collectibles. While I did find most of my items and the current market value is there for me to sell or get insurance, the one thing I needed most was the issue price. I have no clue as to what I paid 25 years ago. No one thought to keep receipts back then. Since these items are considered collectible, IRS regulations require that it be reported on Schedule D and you pay tax on the gain. If you have no idea as to the cost, you end up paying tax on 100% of the sale price! Who wants to do that!!! If this book contained the issue price, that could be used as a cost basis.

I am an Avon rep and have always used this book. I ordered the current edition for myself and another person who collects Avon items

Both specialty collector libraries catering to neo-pro collectors and general-interest public libraries will find AVON COLLECTOR'S ENCYCLOPEDIA: AVON AND CALIFORNIA PERFUME COMPANY PRODUCTS 1886 TO PRESENT an invaluable acquisition, appearing in its 18th updated edition to provide the latest prices and details. Here are thousands of products, paired with the latest prices, black and white and color photos throughout, making for an invaluable at-a-glance reference.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I BOUGHT THIS BOOK HOPING TO IDENTIFY ALOT OF OLDER AVON I HAD FOUND..THE BOOK IS GREAT..GOOD DESCRIPTION OF OLDER AVON PRODUCTS AND EASY TO USE ..THANKS

I thought the patterns in this book were beautiful and I've knitted the lacy sweater twice for my daughter and a friend's daughter. She loved it so much she wants an identical one for her other daughter. I knitted the heart jacket and the mary-janes (although I'm still to sew those together and I've nearly finished the pirate sweater for my son. They have all turned out adorable and although the patterns are challenging they have been really fun to knit. I love the styles that she's used and think that they are beautifully modern and very wearable. I've found a couple of errors but they haven't been a huge problem to me. I am an english woman knitting in America and wonder if the instructions may be a little different. I've had a lot of difficulty finding knitting projects in craft stores that aren't just blankets and throws.
In my opintion I think it's a stylish book with beautiful knits.

...Unless I'm convinced they've gotten their act together. I am currently about to begin the Lacy Sweater for the third time due to a giant errata. This was not a matter of a single missing stitch, but of a rep instruction that specified half as many as were actually needed (as in said 7, needed 14). This is just plain sloppy.

Because neither the author nor the publisher had an errata page, I assumed I was doing something weird. After the second start, I became suspicious enough to go digging, and found the errata posted by a knit blogger who'd pegged away at the publisher.

For what they charge for these books, I expect better QA. And ZM, would an errata page kill you?

I love the patterns, but the number of mistakes is frustrating. You should probably only buy this book if you are an experienced knitter and can pre-read patterns to figure out where errors might be. If you are planning to knit one of the cabled patterns, you should be prepared to waste a ball of yarn before you find out where all the errors are. I've knitted for ten years, and I've never encountered so many mistakes in a published pattern book before. Proceed with caution.

If there is a toddler in your life, you are going to love this book of knitting patterns. The sweaters are adorable! And the patterns are not terribly difficult. Have fun!

I just wanted to mention that editors are not the designers. Yes, people make mistakes, including editors/publishers of designer's books, and this one is no exception. Easily solved in this case, just call the number on the book( back cover) and they will speedily( less than a fifteen minutes for me) e-mail you the errata page. They will also continue to be there for help if you find another problem that was not addressed yet. Perhaps they are in contact with the authors and can do that, better than we could.
I've done that with another book as well, "Little Badger Knits" and got an immediate reply and help from the publishers.
I would not write off a book because of mistakes that can easily be solved.
I am looking forward to knitting from this book and it certainly does have "adorable knits" in it!

There's something inherently funny about saying the words "Pool Noodle." Go ahead. Give it a try. Say: pool noodle, pool noodle, pool noodle. See what I mean? Even thinking about a pool noodle, a noodle in a pool, a pool full of pool noodles is kind of fun. And playing with a pool noodle, in a pool, of course, sitting on one, lying on one, lying on several...fun, all fun.

Well, what Chris Cavert and Sam Sikes tell you what you can do with pool noodles, on the land, even, is every bit as fun, and even more inventive than that. They've written two noodle books, as a matter of fact: 50 Ways to Use Your Noodle and 50 More Ways to Use Your Noodle.

Now, before I go any further, I want to warn you. Page through these books, and you're going to want to invest heavily in pool noodles. At about $3/noodle, we're not talking junk. Though you could purchase Tubular Polyethylene Foam Pipe Insulation, Pre-Slit, 3/8" Wall Thickness, For Use On 1/2" Copper Pipe Or 1/4" Iron Pipe, for maybe $3 for 4 3-foot sections. Which is more junk-like, but not much cheaper. Not only are you going to want to buy many, many pool noodles (at least one for each player), but you're going to want to (dare I mention this? yes, yes, I must) cut some of your noodles into 3-foot "Midaronis," 3-inch "Minironis," and 1-1/4-inch "Meatballs."

OK, by now you get a good sense of the tone of the whole thing: fun, funny, creative, inventive. So you're ready for at least one game. Like, for example, Balloon Volleyball, played with Midaronis. Do I need to explain this any more? Everyone with their own Midaroni. Trying to hit a large balloon over a volleyball net. Do you need me to tell you what fun this can be? Or how about the baseball-like "Bustin Burgers" game - where one player sails pool noodle Meatballs to the Midaroni-swinging batter?

You might not expect the more creative activities, like the semi-self-explanatory "Noodle Doodles." And in all likelihood, you wouldn't have begun to anticipate the group team-building, problem-solving aspect of the whole thing, with exercises like seeing how many Meatballs or Minironis two people can hold between them. And yes, in the 50 More Ways book you'll even find pool noodle games you can play in the - can you believe it - pool.

Together, the Noodle books are a treasure of creative, playful, problem-solving fun that should prove an invaluable resource to any youth leader, team builder, or provocateur of playfulness.


RE: Noodle Economics

Chris comments: "we found that the foam pipe insulation is okay for some of the noodle book activities, however, it doesn't have the rigidity for most games. Also, you lose the "visual" pull the colors have. Even though you might pay $3.50 (or so) for a noodle, you'll cut the long ones in half - thus cutting your cost in half. And, as long as the participants don't pick on or chew the noodles they last a very long time - the return on investment is great. Bonus: if you buy in the fall they are really cheap - stores don't like to warehouse them because they take up so much space (some stores give them away to educational programs just to get rid of them before the winter months)."

Bernie DeKoven, author, Junkyard Sports, the Well-Played Game, from Deepfun.com

I have used many of these games with my students at school and they have loved them! This is a must have for any teacher who wants a fun and active gym class on a low budget!

50 Ways to Use Your Noodle offers fun activities to use with groups of people, build teams, and have a great time. I've used the activities with various age groups from junior high through adults and all enjoyed the activities. The follow-up discussions really helped open participants' eyes to new situations or ways of approaching challenges. Easy to follow instructions and fun reading. The biggest challenges faced with using these materials are deciding which of the fun activities to use and finding space to keep all of the noodle supplies between trainings! :-)

This book is full of games and activities for small or large groups using pool noodles. I plan to use several of the games with my students for team building. The pictures are slightly out-dated but the games are not. Looking forward to trying them out on my students this Fall!

Our children at our child care center loved the activities in this book. I not sure who laughed the most the children or the adults. The games in this book need teamwork and cooperation.... We will also use the activities at our family reunion. Grade A+

If you are curious about polymer and want in depth reading then you will enjoy this book. I like projects and applications. I have read parts of this book but it didn't tell me what I didn't all ready know or didn't much care about.

I bought three books on Polymer Clay, and this is the only one with all the techniques there that I want to learn.
Looks a little difficult for a beginner, but at least I know I have a true encyclopedia of knowledge here. I don't have to go out and buy a whole list of other products to make the items presented in the book.
Thank you , Nan Roche for making a true classic!

Everyone starting out in polymer clay should have this book in their library. Many newer techniques have been developed since this book came out but this book contains everything you need in order to develop your own original work. If you're looking for a "projects" book skip this, but if you want the basics this is the book for you. I only wish Nan Roche would write another! I still find myself refering to it and I've been working in polymer clay for over 15 years.

Sarah hit the nail on the head, so to speak. I made exactly that mistake (looking at the pictures when it arrived from Amazon) and since I wanted to make jewelry, boxed it up to send it back. It said "Jewelry Making" on the cover but had pictures of everything but jewelry. I was very disappointed.

But I procrasinated. I had waited too long to send it back so I sat down with it and began to read. Praise be!

Nan Roche completely explained her choice of photographs and just about everything else I need to know about polymer clay. She is clear, concise and has a way of commenting on her personal life that makes you think of her has a friend or well-loved teacher. This book was the first and best.

What a great how-to book! Perfect for beginners! Polymer clay can be quite addictive and you will want to make everything! Although this book was published in '92, do not let mislead you into thinking that there are newer better books now....this is a classic! Very clear instructions for the newbie! enjoy!

WOW! this hold all your quarters. Its great. I bought it today and its so fun to save your quarters and display them. Its a good investment! §§§Thanks§§§

A great way to keep your collection of change in a handy thin book.Your coins stay in place, and are not easily lost. Most have dates and mint marks, that way you can see what you have or still need. Some books even give a little information on the coins you have. Great for the beginner or exp. person.

I was born in early 1953 so many of the fashions still mean something to me. I have to admit that I'm still drawn to the femininity of the period but I have my dreams and you have yours and we'll leave it at that. This is a good book for the money. Not too detailed, the reproductions can get a little bit fuzzy and there is no color; but this what you get for $15 these days. If you like what you see here, there are other resources to persue. It's a pretty good starting point.

I truly enjoyed reading the old advertising copy while looking at the old ads. Some of the fashions I remember my grandmother and mother wearing. Lots of fun reading.

This is a primary source book that tells the prices and materials, which are very helpful to a costume designer. I also enjoy the book Fifties Forever, which is similar except it's color photos of actual vintage stuff (the color does help, but the Sears catalogue is still great without it).

I thouroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was packed from start to finish with pictures. The book gives an excellent overview of what the average woman was wearing in the 1950's, unlike many similar books which focus on important designers.
While it is very light on text I still feel that it is a must for anyone interested in this period.

Whenever I take this book out, people fight over a peek into its glossy pages. It covers everything in fashion from the fifties, though mostly focusing on women. The pictures depict fashions, from dresses to shoes, hats and gloves to maternity wear; the women's hairstyles, makeup, and overall looks give the reader the most authentic possible view of fashion and the aesthetic ideals of the time. The catalogue also shows the prices and features descriptions that include fabric, color, and price. There are some pictures of teenage, male, and children's fashions. This book is thorough and unbelievably beautiful.

The best book I have read in a while. A must read. Dont waist time reading this review, just get it and read it. Enjoy. I did!

This desire to hang on to history and heritage is noble and necessary. Bravo to the author and his colleagues. There are things that can be expressed in Yiddish, that when translated, need twice as many English words to convey their meaning. Unfortunately, this book is incorrectly marketed as an adventure---we expect to encounter Indiana Jones! With so much built up anticipation, the reader is left with a "hmmm" instead of a "WOW!" at the end.

Aaron Lansky tells us about a lot more than just his efforts (and those of his many, many supporters) to rescue Yiddish books. He interweaves his stories with a history of Yiddish language, culture, and literature. Although these brief history lessons are not nearly as entertaining as his anecdotes of traveling around the globe (although mostly to New York) to collect the books, put together they make for an engaging, even enlightening read.

Seller sent book in excellent shape and the story is a great read on preserving history.

This book is the last present I bought my grandfather before he died. I walked into a small bookstore and the owner recommended it to me (you simply cannot get this kind of service from the major book chains). I must have read half the book in a day, before I sent it to him, and got to finish it only after he passed away.

I'm glad I bought this book, he loved it and so did I.

The book tells the story of a graduate student trying to rescue Yiddish books from elimination, and all the characters he meets along the way. The book is easy to read, funny, inspiring, well writing and a page turner. A story of how one man's passion triumph over the odds.

* This is not a common book explaining on ways to make money but the tips and strategies it used really has help me on how to find a really cheap product and sell it high.
* After reading this ebook, I make lots of profit from my eBay business.
* I wish I had read this book earlier so that I make money at home when I was young.
* Trading is a good business in nature. The best thing of all you may not need your own product at the beginning. This book will help you where to get that cheap product to sell.

It is a practical book. Useful tips. If the pictures in color would be better.

Reviewed by Josef F. Buenker for Reader Views (2/08)

I don't know if I'll actually ever do it, but this book made me want to buy things in order to sell them on eBay. Daren and Nancy Baughman, the authors, are in the auction, resale and eBay business. Nancy's (she seems to be the primary author) interest and enthusiasm for her business clearly shows.

Although in certain parts the book had some spelling and grammatical errors, the author/editor's apparent reliance on spellcheck does not detract from the book. "Buy It, Sell It, Make Money" does a nice job of explaining the business of buying and selling "luxury" goods - the term "luxury" being determined by the reader's own lifestyle. Whether one is interested in trading up an item he or she already owns by selling it and buying a better model or one wants to acquire something new, this book could be of great assistance in the process.

After a general explanation of the best venues to acquire and sell various types of items (buying and selling furniture is somewhat different than dealing in modern art), the authors give the reader a very handy guide to the best brand names in a number of common "luxury" item categories, ranging from art to clothing to jewelry to toys.

This book was an interesting read. Anyone who has ever had aspirations of being in the resale or retail business will probably find "Buy It, Sell It, Make Money" interesting.

This is a great book that I recommend. I purchased the book for the guide but it provided so much more. I have been selling on eBay part time but was always in need of things to sell - NO MORE. Thanks to this book, my husband and I went to our first storage shed auction (recommended by the authors) and we purchased one full of great things. Inside the shed we purchased are some great antiques, some very nice china, some English porcelain figurines, tools but the best was a jewelry box. The jewelry box had 2 14kt gold necklaces and a 14kt gold ring with a beautiful ruby. It also was filled with tons of very nice costume jewelry! We are going to make a ton of money off this one purchase - thank you Daren and Nancy for this wonderful book - I Bought it - I'm selling it - and I am MAKING MONEY -- YA

My husband and I have been selling on ebay for about three years now, and we're always looking for new information to help improve our business. This book gave us a lot of great ideas which we put into action the first week after reading. It's an easy book to read and understand, and we both couldn't put it down until we were finished reading. If you're not into ebay, it also gives great advise on other avenues for selling your goods. Buy this book, you'll be pleased!