Antiques Collectibles Books

This book is going to take some studying for me to really "get it". Fabrics from eras before 1900 all tend to look similar to me because of the different dyes that were used then, compared to later. The prints look the same to me. I was hoping to get more of a sense of each distinct era but while studying this book could give me that, it seems to be more of a resource for looking up fabrics one finds on old quilts. And it couldn't possibly be complete enough for that. I haven't spent a lot of time with the book yet but this is my impression at this point. Nothing else like it for sale though!

This is a great book and took a lot of time and research to put together, although it did not help me. It seemed to have more northern than southern information.

Excellent. It's a keeper and is now on my reference shelf. It was hard reading but the best book by far with the pictures and text for dating my fabrics. It really helped in dating my quilts.

This book is a great addition to my historical fabrics/quilt collection. I really appreciate the hardback cover and the spiral binding!! It has
excellent photographs.

When paging through this colorful book, Dating Fabrics: A Color Guide 1800-1960, imagine my tremendous joy when I found THE yellow flowered fabric featured in my most prized quilt, dating it between 1830-1860!

This very well researched and comprehensive collection introduces each time period from "Pre-1830 'A New Nation' with a thorough introduction of the era and the history of quilts and fabrics. Following are 1-inch x 1-inch photo swatches of the fabrics arranged by print style and colors.

A wonderful reference book for those who make, collect or simply appreciate this art form.

I gave this book to my husband, the Roseville collector of the family, for Christmas. He spent several happy hours looking through it. The pictures are great, but there are not enough of them. This is not the be all, end all book for Roseville, but so far it's the best one I have seen.

I was very satisfied with the book I received. I received it in a few days as promised and I really liked that.

Book was very helpful in finding out about Roseville pottery, I would recommend, pictures are very good also. Gives lots of info.

July 5th 2007. Another "overview" book from Warman's. It states updated prices, but there are only prices for what is shown. I'm not sure how useful updated prices would be when you need a price on a piece not included in the book. There are some Roseville lines that are not included.

On the other hand, the photography is the best. The colors and details are amazing, which would make it a great coffee table book or gift.

For collectors; The Bomm book (2004), Mollring's 11th edition book (2006)(B&W pics only), Bassett's Prices book, Bassett's Introducing book and Bassett's Understanding book are the most comprehensive.

Collectible Costume Jewelry: Identification & Values
I highly recommend this book for the novice collector. This is the first book that I purchased when I began my collection and I still refer back to it. The photographs are vibrant and detailed. The book also has an easy reference guide of jewelry designers and their time frames. A brief history is provided on the costume jewelry industry along with copies of old advertisements. This book helps make collecting fun and exciting.

After years of selling on eBay and teaching eBay selling skills for my community's adult education program, I decided to try my hand at buying vintage jewelry on eBay. Armed only with my personal taste in what looked pretty, a few name brands I recognized, and what was affordable, I started buying. When I saw a book on vintage jewelry collecting up for auction on eBay, I decided to research the book on Amazon before bidding. While the reviews were negative, Amazon displayed an array of similar books and voila! I chose this one to begin my education in jewelry collecting. What a great choice for my needs! Special features of this book include a charming introduction about author Cherri Simond's own collecting history, hundreds of beautifully sharp color photos of jewelry with approximate dollar value as of 2005, jewelry designer/maker brand logos, jewelry terminology, and history of major jewelry designers and companies. With prices of everything fluctuating so dramatically today, the 2005 prices in this book are still a good ballpark for suggested comparative value. I learned about major designers whose pieces I now seek, the delicacies of storing and cleaning vintage pieces, and how glamorous high-end costume can be! I keep the book on my computer table and refer to it daily when checking eBay auctions. I recommend this book for other newbies like me - as well as anyone who enjoys "pretty picture books". We can dream, can't we!

This is a really good book from Cherri Simonds who knows good vintage jewelry, and shares her wealth of knowledge with the rest of us. The photos are very clear, and there are some excellent examples of the very best in vintage and costume collectibles. In addition, she has a section on identifications of designers and manufacturers which is always helpful if you are in the business of buying and selling. There are many examples of the old advertisements, which are great to learn what was popular during the past decades. The only thing missing in this great work is the flip side photos of all of the works, which I suppose would have made the book far to bulky and expensive. If you are a collector, this is a great addition to your reference library.

I bought this book for my grandmother who is a serious pin collector. She has hundreds, if not thousands, of pins! She loves this book and references it often in identifying pins, etc.

Wonderful photographs wide range of designers as well as some unsigned pieces. The only issue I have with the book is the value guide is a bit out dated. (book released in 1997! Almost vintage it self!)
But it will give you a good idea of a value range. The market goes up and down and I am certian this was written when it was up, with today's gas issue the same pieces do and will sell for much less, as I have seen on eBay. The Florenza pieces in the book have a low value and I've seen the prices so much higher than what is marked this book. It does give you a good idea though.
There is a great varity of types from rhinestone necklaces to bakelite clips to compacts and a few copper pieces. Demis, full parures, broochs, bracelets.. Very well done book.
Apparently I got a "Library" copy that was dog eared and marked up inside, but all in all I am happy with this book and suggest it to all collectors.

I bought this book because of my interest in Colt firearms, and particularly my interest in Colt automatic pistols, of which I am a collecter. The book is excellent. It begins with a history of Samuel Colt and the Colt Firearms Company. Then it progresses through the earliest inventions and products of Colt firearms from the earliest days to the present. It includes both short guns and long guns. The photographs and illustrations are excellent, and the suggested values (indexed by grade and condition) are reasonably accurate and reliable. The book itself is printed on a very nice grade of heavy slick paper and is well-bound in a durable, illustrated, hard-cover. The price makes this compendium on Colt Firearms a real value. My hat is off to the author and contributors.

this hardback is now one of my favorite books. the photography is the best of any colt work i have ever owned.this is the most complete source for information on the colt single action army i have read.

Finally a Standard catalog of Colt Firearms. The last good resource for Colt Firearms was the BOCFA by Wilson. A lot has happened since in Hartford, Connecticut. It was about time somebody would try to capture that timespan. But oh boy, did the author made a mess out of things. It's a feast for Colt collector's indeed, trying to find all the errors, it's almost laughable and at the same time sad. This standard catalog cannot in any way compete with the issues about S & W or Winchester. Errors in pictures, discribtions, etc. The Colt pricing is a complete joke: Colt prices are rising almost as fast as a barrel of oil. Sorry to say: if you want a picturebook on Colt's buy it. If you want a good and correct Standard catalog, wait for the revised edition!

It is difficult for me to believe that this waste of time and money is in the same list with the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson. That book is thorough and detailed; this thing is just a rush job and a crude one at that.
While there may be a room in any gun library for a comprehensive and MODERN Colt catalog (the old Sutherland & Wilson/Wilson is too flawed and dated) this thing isn't it!

In my opinion, this book is a major let-down. To be fair, with a book of this kind the author is more apt to be blamed for omissions and errors than credited for what he includes. But whether or not Mr. Sapp put time, work, and enthusiasm into the book, the result of his work simply falls short. Compare the Standard Catalog of Colt Firearms with, say, even the first edition of the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson. The authors of the S&W book clearly exerted due diligence in their research and made every effort to be thorough. In contrast, the author of the Colt book needed to do another two years of research and, as it seems, set a higher standard for what he would accomplish. For example, a "standard catalog" ought to round up and impose order on special production runs about which little is generally known. The S&W book essays this very thing. However, in the Colt book, although commemoratives are represented, what about non-commemorative, limited production items like the Super Lite Commander, Super Commander, Custom Carry Commander, 1911 Recon, etc.? They are not here. What about the run of 9mm Government Models produced in the 1991A1 series? I'd like to know how many 9mm 1991A1 GM's were made and why they were produced, and I look to a book like this to do the research and tell me. But the information is absent. In what calibers has Colt produced the 1991A1 series? Not here. What is the difference between the old and new 1991A1 rollmarks? Every Colt newbie wants to know, and this book should have included an illustrated comparison, but did not. And so it goes: omissions, mixed-up captions, confusing organization (like putting ordinary MK IV Series 80 GMs and Commanders under the Gunsite heading). Too bad! It's a pity to write, edit, and publish a book of this kind without a greater effort to be thorough. I suggest that anyone considering the purchase of this book save his or her money. And--with respect--I suggest the author study the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson as an example to aspire to for the next and hopefully better edition.

The book is beautiful and the patterns are great inspiration but be aware of the following:
- The images in the book are black and white
- The CD-ROM includes images only in TIF, GIF, and PCT only (no .ai)
- The license in the book notes that any commercial use is not allowed unless Pepin Press is contacted (buying the book only allows personal usage).

I guess I shouldn't have assumed that the patterns in the book were printed in color, even though the cover of the book sure is colorful. This book is fine if you are looking for black and white images. But, be warned, there's no color in the book other than on its cover.

This book is a wonderful resource for graphic designers. It has an incredible array of different black and white designs and comes with a cd-rom for using them on the computer. Yes, it has no color, but with just about any graphics program you can change that. I've even used a few for background elements in artwork or for the inspiration for the designs of kimonos I've drawn. This is not a picture book, but a look into japanese graphic patterns. Very lovely.

The best thing about all the books from Agile Rabbit Press are the CD-ROMs. They come with full 1200 dpi scans (huge) of the images in the books! This is an excellent source of quality art!

Anyone 12 and older who has a copy of something like photoshop can use the magic of "click+alt+shift+backspace" to magically change the black and white images to whatever colour your heart desires.

With this book you could make your own designs without having to recreate an old fashioned Japanese pattern by hand!

magnifying glass! thats what you will need to use this worthless book. no insert listings , micro print adds up to garbage. i tossed it as soon as i checked it ouy.

This 2007 edition has been updated very nicely. Lots more information than previously. A few illustrations could be updated to match current knowledge of the product. This shortcoming is unavoidable as the information might not have been known at time of publishing. We look forward to such updates being included in its next printing. Overall, the book has been greatly improved in appearance and "readability." It's a MUST HAVE for all who are interested in historical firearms.

Very useful and full of information. We buy a new book every year to keep up with the pricing, but also to see how our investments have done!!

I have purchased this book since they started publishing it. I collect guns and this is a great pricing guide. This issue is a little below the standards of previous years. They seem to have changed some subtle things that won't affect the first time buyer but for the perpetual purchaser are disappointing.

Not as updated as it would have you believe but still a good reference if you don't already own an earlier version and it does have a lot of photos.

While not the end all of reference guides, when used in combination with other reference guides the book is very useful. The pictures have proven to be invaluable for identifying a certain model or type of firearm.

This publication has the "potential" for being great. However, everything seems a little incomplete. Many watches lack prices. Many of the brands are missing models of great importance. Several big companies are missing. The good thing is the brief description offered of each brand including facts and history.

For a beginner, who knows nothing of buttons, I'm impressed with the depth of knowledge in this book. It's a must for collectors, or for those wanting to learn more about buttons.

This was a great book for photos and history, price guide would have been extremly useful, learned a bit about buttons, yet having the prices laid out in front of me would have been a great benefit.

I bought this for my mother who started collecting buttons that she was finding at yard sales and flea markets. She absolutely loved the book. It is very complete in terms of providing information on all sorts of materials and subject matters. There are lots of examples, great pictures, so you can compare your buttons with the ones shown to get an idea ofthewir history/origins as well s some pricing info. Definitely the best book I've come across for buttons as I was looking for this gift for my mom and she's gotten great use of it. (Now I get to hear from her about "oh and this button..... and that button..." It's fun :)

I have always been drawn to buttons, but didn't know very much about them. This book has very clear photos and descriptions. There are many "museum quality" buttons that are wonderful to see, but I was especially excited to see everyday buttons that I am more likely to find.

I needed to price and identify over 100 pounds of vintage buttons with very little background in the subject. This book taught me everything I need to know in a very short time. Excellent photos and examples. Highly recommended.

What a beautiful book. One of the best I have seen. I live in Mexico and will be using many ideas.

Excellent photo's to plan off of. They give ideas to maintain a modern design and still keeep the traditional flow of true Mexican and Spanish feel

This is definately a well layed out book, with really nice high quality pictures, my only question is why are at least half of the picture in this book of houses in the United States? Granted they are in the Southwest where there is a obvious Mexican influence, but I refuse to believe the best examples of Mexican interiors are found in Tucson Arizona! And of the interiors in this book most of the ones from Mexico are from San Miguel de Allende, or Guanajuato which are two towns a hour apart from each other. There are extraordinary colonial gems in Zacatecas, Oaxaca, Puebla, México City, ect, ect, that could have easily been included in this book instead of some American's house in the Southwest... I would have liked to have seen a book on Mexican interiors that were 100% Mexican. The book MEXICOLOR, though not entirely consisting of interiors is a far more authentic book.

We were looking for ideas for our outside patio area, especially colors, and this book is great for various decors with vibrant colors. You will find yourself looking through it again and again.

I was looking for a reference book to guide my Mexican-style remodeling and redecorating efforts, and this is the best I've found yet. (I have about a dozen!) Gorgeous pictures, and plenty of them. Each section discusses a particular room type (kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms etc.) and each room type gets a good amount of attention. Something I dislike about other books is their tendency to look only at the courtyards or living rooms of Mexican or adobe-style houses -- not so useful if you're considering how to tackle your kitchen. This one covers it all, including touching on gardens and indoor-outdoor spaces that are such an integral part of Mexican living.

Definitely pick up the companion volume, "Traditional Mexican Style Exteriors", while you're shopping. Together they paint a vivid picture of the colorful and vibrant style of Mexico.