Antiques Collectibles Books

Since the local craft store carries the Arnold Grummer supplies for papermaking, I decided to buy his book - Arnold Grummer's Complete Guide to Easy Papermaking. (Mr. Grummer also has a website.) The instructions in the book are very clearly illustrated by photographs. Many variations in colors and textures are shown. You'll need a frame set and cotton linter both available at the craft store, a blender and paper scraps. Easy to recycle old envelopes or paper (discard the black print which will turn the paper grey). Variations: Colored paper tints the pulp. Add dried flowers and leaves. Emboss wet pulp with brass stencil. Hot tip: When pressing out the excess water from the wet pulp, use a rolling pin!

I love this book. Arnold Grummer is fantastic. This book explains everything you need to know about paper, and making paper, in a very simple way. I especially love the beginning of the book where he gets into the technical aspects of what IS paper and why we can make our own. There are also many full-color samples of handmade paper that I found very inspiring. This book will keep you busy trying all the embellishment and inclusion techniques, too, including botanicals, pin drawing, and coloring. I'll be using this book for a long time, and I recommenend it to everyone.

There's an old adage that says, "Never judge a book by its cover."

That was certainly true for me when I first looked at Arnold Grummer's Complete Guide To Paper Casting. My initial reaction to the cover (& many of the 'projects' was--How 70s can you get?

Fortunately, I followed the adage's advice and read a few chapters. Result? I found a valuable addition to my how-to library.

The authors (Arnold & Mabel Grummer) have created a work which is rich with detail. They offer techniques, tips, history, ideas & more in such an easy to read manner that whatever your interest &/or skill level, you will find yourself casting pulp before you know it.

Saavy enough to recognize that many crafty types want to get started without reading 'War & Peace', the authors provide readers with a quick start-up in Chapter 2. I made my first paper cast within thirty minutes of reading the instructions--(took me twelve minutes to find the blender!)

From that point on, I found myself enjoying (& learning) so much. I picked up a vocabulary without needing to consult a dictionary; began exploring additives & molds & generally having FUN with paper casting in ways I had not considered.

With the current trend in paper crafts/arts, I heartily recommend this book to scrapbookers, altered-bookers & collagists. I also recommend it to anyone who has ever asked 'What If?'

The day I recieved this book I could not put it down, I had to read the entire book! From the start, it is an encouraging and creative book to be used in every aspect of the papermaking process. Unfortunately the only parts I felt were weak would be for paper artists who want a totally acid free paper. His comments on that though, do need to be believed because He is the curator of the Dard Hunter paper museum and a paper chemist. He feels that the best way to make that type of paper is to start with recycled paper that is already acid free. Those artists who create from plants alone may not find enough information to please them,yet many of His techniques can still be applied with their experience to create very artistic paper. Even beginners can tackle the most professional results with this book in hand. I feel even children could achieve surprising results with the processes he shows, step by step, using mostly home supplies. He shows you how to make your own mold and deckle too! The "moon paper" recipe he shows you how to create is worth the price of the book alone! Out of my entire library of paper books, this does stand on its own for the most part and for that reason, I recommend it for all beginner and intermediate artists and every papermaking teacher.Your creative juices will flow with this book!

This book is great. It has many great places to look for treasure in every state. The author has done years of research to find many old ghost towns, buried treasure stories, and many other places. It gives tips on metal detecting, but seems to have been paid by Garrett Metal Detectors to advertise and show their detectors in this book. It also informs you how to find good places to look. This book is a masterpiece and very interesting even if you are not going out to look for lost treasures of yesterday.

But this writer simply tried to cut too wide a swath. I'd have preferred fewer lost treasures and more information on those.

it listing a lot of tips 7500---however since it list so many tips--- needless to say it can only give a brief bit on each one----its a good starting point of "local treasure stories /tales" in your state & area that you then must go and do the "leg work" to flesh out the rest of the story. if you are a research based type hunter its a good starting point--- "tips" to get you started ---if you expect ---"well go the the corner of elm and jones street in zippytown,florida and walk seven feet east --dig five feet down and you'll be set for life ---well get real --if it was that easy the bookwriter would do it. good hunting to all.

Great book. I have found two forts and an old gold mining town close to me to hunt in thanks to this book. It really is a good book.

This book contains a few interesting and potentially helpful tidbits of information for the treasure hunter. However, most of the information about the "7500 locations" is often little more than can be had from reading the "Welcome to..." signs found as you drive into town. If you expect to have a handy collection of ideas to keep you and your metal detector busy, then this book will be a disappointment.

My two sons have spent hours pouring over these pages, and working very hard to make their planes look like the originals. First coloring book my 10 y/o has ever wanted to use!

The book is very well done. The aircraft depicted are done so realistically. My grandkids love coloring in this book. It's great for kids of all ages.

This is a very easy book to color and a lot of fun. Although the author gives detailed coloring instructions in the captions, they may be a bit challenging if one is not familiar with parts of the plane. I found an excellent site on the internet which provided me with small color images of many of the planes, which helped a lot. The site is: www.aviation-central.com
The book is a "must" for any military aviation enthusiast who also likes to color.

mr. yumoto's work is very descriptive and pictures fill the pages more than text does.

"Samurai Sword a Handbook" lacks an analytic quality that would bring togheter the social, historical, technical and martial dimensions of the nihonto.

last but not least, such an important - and relatively undocumented - subject as care and maintenance of japanese blades is simply and vaguely evoked in two pages that make up a ridiculous chapter.

all in all, yumoto's work is too old to be satisfying to comtemporary readers in search of a meaningful, concise handbook which would explain rather than describe.

A PERFECT SOURCE WHO WANTS TO LEARN ABAUT JAPANESE SWORDS AND THEIR HISTORY

This is a good, short overview of the basics of Japanese Swords. Recommended.

This is an awesome book for anyone wnating to know more about samurai swords and speaking as a beginner myself, I found that this book explained everything clearly and concisely - I now know a lot more about swords than i did before :)

I finished reading it yesterday. It is too much for beginner and not enough for intermediate or even expert...

It is definitely usefull for future reference in terms of finding more about your sword or swords you want to buy and using some of the criterias. Photos are B&W and crappy and references text-to-drawings are badly organized.

What is strongly missing is types of sword damage, how to eveluate type of damage and find it on blades etc...

I dont know when book was written but some information also seems bit obsolete...

If the book was hardcover, had two times more pages, colored photos to go with drawings, better organized and have more information, I would give 5. Now I give 3 of 5.

For the builders of dollhouses as hobby, it's a must to read this book and to discover what can be done.

I must tell the reader that I have never seen the actual doll house, nor have I seen the other catalogs, so I cannot compare them, but this is a fascinating book. It is hard to believe that one is actually looking at miniatures, the detail is so fantastic! In some ways, this is probably better than, or at least a wonderful supplement to seeing the original. Tiny things are photographed in a detail that may not be possible in viewing it, and one can linger as I imagine one cannot at the real exhibit. The text explains that one views the actual dollhouse in cross-section, one side at a time. This book is organized more as if one was walking through the house, beginning with the Entrance Hall on the Ground floor and then climbing to the top.

The book has close to 90 photographs, almost all of them in color. The ones not in color are mostly historic. There is a floor plan, and a lengthy introduction explaining the history of creating the house.

A marvelous book that should interest anyone who likes dollhouses and home decor.

I was so enchanted by this book that I ordered Queen Mary's Dolls' House by Mary Stewart-Wilson simply because the cover shot isn't in this book, and I figured (correctly) that there would be other unique pictures. A very few of the shots are in both, but not enough to make them redundant for the person who wants all the information they can get. To compare and contrast the two, the Mary Stewart-Wilson book, with photographs by David Cripps, is longer, has more pictures, particularly more closeups of the tiny furnishings, etc., and is a hardcover. I am charmed by Cripp's method of showing scale: he poses the tiny cricket bat next to a regulation cricket ball, and the little golf clubs next to a real golf ball. Without considering price and availability (the S-W book is currently out of print) I would say that it is the better book. If you just want something to jog your memory or give you an idea of what the house is like, either would be adequate. If you are really interested, I'd recommend both: I think the Royal Collection book is a pretty good buy. I'm certainly not considering giving up my RC book now that I have the S-W. This book frequently shoots the rooms at an angle, giving one another view. I actually think the angled shot maintain the illusion better. To compare the shots of the Queen's bedroom, the Stewart-Wilson shot shows the entire bedroom. The Royal Collection shot, at an angle , reveals some additional details such as the fire screen and the chinoiserie cabinet, but cuts off the exteme left-hand side of the room. (Her Majesty has apparently been rearranging her decorative items since the S-W book.) Parts of many of the other rooms are cut off as well, but at times the view of what is shown is better. The S-W detail of the 18th century pietre-dure table concentrates on showing the design on the top. The RC detail shows more of the table and the objects normally on it. The historical sections, revealing how the house came to be built are the most different, and the RC book has more pictures of people who participated in creating the doll house and of the room in which it now sits with the Phillip Connard mural. The captions are overlapping, but not identical, and so one gains more information by having both.

Overpriced. Most of the information in this book can be found on the web with little effort. I think a .99 price point is appropriate.

I absolutely love this book. The pictures in it are all so beautiful and so reflective of traditional Mexican culture. I even went to the lengths of cutting the binding of the book and cutting out the pictures that I most loved and pasted them on my wall. That would be my only suggestion to the author, make the pictures where they can be pulled out and framed. They are just that stunning!

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!

This book is very well for inform on bills in a world! Pictures, year, price...Very complete!

I use this book only, I don't know better source for basic informations for collectors.

It was a pleasure for me to order from you. The catalog is great and I got it delivered in no time. The service was GREAT!!!

An excellent catalogue. The only disturbing problem is that there are several mismatchs between pictures and descriptions. Unfortunately more frequent than in earlier issues.

The new edition of this catalogue is an extremely disappointing effort in terms of keeping up to date with price developments. A majority of the countries covered in this update have not been reviewed at all, resulting in a very misleading guide to collectors. If you have the previous edition, there is little incentive for you to buy this new edition. Editors should really put much much more effort in updating prices, or simply stop printing updates of the catalogue altogether. Changing the cover picture does not justify a new edition.

The Russian born fashion and costume designer Romaine de Tirtoff was known as Erte for the simple reason that was the French pronunciation of his initials "R.T." Erte was one of the most prodigious designers of the twentieth century, known for his colorful and audacious Art Deco designs. Even if you do not recall his name, I bet your remember having seen his work before. "Erte's Theatrical Costumes in Full Color" offers 49 plates from 1911 to 1975, with captions, of the work Erte did for theatrical productions, where his imagination was most unfettered and where his popularity lasted considerably longer than it did in the real world of high fashion. Erte was designing costumes for Mata Hari way back in 1913 and was still designing costumes and sets for a production of the opera "Der Rosenkavalier" in 1980. From a worshipper of Horus and the wife of Russian boyar to Aladdin and Faust, Erte displayed a wide array of exotic and historical styles in his dazzling costumes. The only real complaint with this collection is that there are only 49 gorgeous plates of some of his most stunning creations.