Antiques Collectibles Books

Great Resource for Toy Collectors. Got this as a gift for a family member who collects toys. He said it was very informative, especially for antique toys.

O'Brien's Collecting Toys covers an awful lot of ground and does it well. Whether you are a collector or a dealer you MUST have this book to be on the same page everyone else is when evaluating the values of most antique and vintage toys. While the book does cover many of the popular toys and manufacturers, it does have many ommissions, at least in the area of tin windups. In the future I'd like to see more toys added, and other manufacturers included..most notably Guntherman, Marklin, Martin, Arnold. A more intuitive listing of the toys would also help as it can sometimes be difficult to find the toy you're looking for.

10th edition, year 2001 very comprehensive collectible toys guide featuring more than 51,000 values for its 17,000 listings. There are more than 3,700 black and white pictures and a 16-page color section. A complete table of contents makes item location easy. Its items range from Action Jackson, Buck Rogers, Charlie's Angels and Evel Knievel, to Addams Family, Howdy Doody, Munsters and Pez and Matchbox, Renwal, Tootisetoy and wooden toys. Each major topic covers a nice introduction to the area. Very useful reference for toy collectors and enthusiasts.

I would rate this comprehensive guide to collecting toys as a basic necessity for the beginning toy collector as well as the veteran toy collector. Not only is this new reference exciting, but the information is extremely helpful, reader friendly, accurate, and up-to-date with contributions by many leading authorities in the toy-collecting field. If you are seriously interested in toy collecting, then this fine book is a MUST for your toy-reference library!

Elizabeth Stephan's O'Brien's Collecting Toys, 10th Edition is a weighty price guide which could well be used as a price 'bible' for toy collectibles. Anticipate only a handful of color photos mid-book: the meat of the title lies in its black and white photos throughout and more particularly its over 50,000 items categorized for quick reference and provided with the latest values.

This book was laid out in a way that you could follow and understand. Very informative.

This was a good book except there were no real ideas except to break out your coins from the already sealed and graded plastic cartridges and resend them back to have them graded again hoping they will upgrade their already graded grade. Hopefully, in breaking the protective case, you don't scratch them getting them out. To me, that was expensive and taking a chance on their judgement. There were no real hints that I could use other than what I was already doing.

I bought this book with the idea of picking up some investment coins, salting them away for a few years, and cashing out. While that may indeed work, it's not the essential theme of this book. After reading and thinking through some of the strategies, I became fascinated with the grading arbitrage game that is covered in great detail. Despite Travers' warnings about doing this online (and ebay specifically) I was able to parlay $600 into $1200 in about two months using ebay coin auctions. There is some risk involved and you absolutely must do your homework, but pretty much everything you need is discussed in this book. You can make your own price guide by using the resources on ebay; you will also need the self-discipline to not over-bid!

While well-written, this book comprises of one theme throughout: cracking older PCGS graded coins and re-submitting them in the hope of a higher rating and a higher value. The book is very well detailed in this respect, but many of the older holders have long ago been cracked and re-submitted. Very little in other advice as far as making a profit.

When you buy these kinds of books, you tend to expect some secret techniques of making money. Many books even manage to create the impression of telling you something previously undisclosed, until you try it and realise that it does not work.

This book is written by the professional in this field. Making money in coins is a business, and not such an exciting one, after all. There are a few ways of making a profit honestly (or almost honestly) in numismatics. And there is no guarantee of being succesful. Very sobering message, and this book gets it across well.

I learned a lot from this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in this business.

This is an irresistible jewelry book! Once you grab it, you can never let go of it! Having it is just like owning the whole world of jewelry! (You need to visualize that in your mind). You gonna be captivated by the fabulous jewelry pictures from front cover to back cover. It's a "must-have" for all jewelry lovers!

Hugh Shull's book on Southern Currency is an excellent addition to reference material relating to the Civil War period. His knowledge of this subject is very helpful to anyone collecting or studying currrency of this time. He has compiled an excellent guide of photos and estimated values covering this field. This book is a positive addition to anyones currency reference collection.

Hugh Shull has done a superb job in assembling vast information on Southern States currency. This high quality book has excellent descriptions and photos and is an essential reference book for all collectors of Southern States obsolete currency. Especially helpful are the rarity ratings and the estimated values.

For info for obsolete currency, this is your book to turn to! With great detailed pictures and descriptions, you can't go wrong with this as a reference guide to collecting. I find myself looking back to it often for reference, info and to look for my next purchase for my collection!

Once again, Herb Houze hit a homerun with his efforts to discuss the history of the Winchester Model 52, and the detail all of the technical specifications. I highly recommend superbly written reference book to anyone who owns or collects the Model 52 Rifle.

Excellent reference with a heavy emphasis on the VERY early development of the Winchester 52. If you want to see copies of internal Winchester correspondence, history, marketing and competitive issues, this is the source.

Additional information is spread chronologicaly throughout the book, and sometimes not easy to retrieve. The index could be a bit more comprehensive.

My biggest recommendation for improvement would be to include a couple of simple tables, with side-by-side photographs. As follows:
1. The different styles of stocks used in the various models.
2. Better illustrations of the various barrel types.
3. Listings and photos of all the various sight options available on the 52. There were SO many options it will blow your mind.
4. Common "extras" such as contemporary slings, etc.

All in all, I don't want to cast a negative shadow on the book. I highly recommend it. If you're interested in buying a 52, or you have one and you're trying to figure out what you have... it's a must buy.

The book is a wonderful read on how the rifle was developed and changed over the years. I found it excellent reading (because I own several 52s). I do wish the author would have researched more on serial numbers...the current info only gives you a guess on when a certain rifle was made. For example, I own #88265 NIB and can not figure out from the book when it was made. 1955? 1956? Overall, the book is a great reference and would like to see another 52 book that focused on repair, modification, and values. If you own a 52, you'll want this one on your coffee table!

a great book w/ many pitchers and detailed dwgs. of the greatest .22 ever designed, my only complainte would be that there isn't enough on the year made vs. ser. number. but a great book worth every cent for the information provided.

I acquired a Model 52 with a 2** serial number minus the receiver sight. The gunshops I spoke to didn't have a clue. I found this book on the internet, bought it and not only found out what I needed to know about the sight and where to get one, but learned a great deal about the 52. If you have a 52, this is the information to learn why it was developed and why it established a niche in 22 history.

This book may be the best one I have purchased in over a year, on any subject.I am so happy to have it in my collection. Photography is excellent,and if you are an artist/dollmaker, the inspirational element is fantastic. Historically, the book is loaded with info that is fascinating.I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in dollmaking as I am,and who finds Asian artifacts refreshingly different on an artistic basis.What a great book! If you love dolls,this is a must have,You will not be dissappointed!

Alan Pate's second book on Japanese dolls gives the occidental reader a real understanding of the Japanese doll within the context of Japanese culture. The work would be cheap at 2X the price. The photographs are stunning and worth the price of admission. For the collector serious or casual this (and his earlier work, Ningyo) are all one needs.
Most highly recommended.

There must be millions of readers out there who don't really care about guns, per se, but run into various types of weaponry when reading historical or crime fiction.
I know a little about guns -- grew up in a southern family, first .22 rifle when I was 13 years old, etc. -- but when I'm reading a World War I novel and the hero pulls out a huge Austro-Hungarian Empire military revolver, I may be a little lost.
Hogg's book fulfills a useful function for those who want to doublecheck and see what some weapon in a story actually looks like.
(Oh, so that's how a Webley Fosberry automatic revolver worked, huh?)
(A DeLisle carbine is a silenced Enfield rifle in .45 caliber? What the heck would that look like?)
Gun nuts (like me) can get a little picky about details in far-ranging reference books. But if you're starting from scratch, books like this are invaluable.

I have had this book for a number of years and, although the research is excellent, it does indeed have substantial typo's and reference errors as if the material was compiled by a staff editor who knows nothing about firearms and has not taken the trouble to make simple corrections. Many firearms are omitted and some included, however revolutionary and ground-breaking they are not always representative of the whole. Furthermore, the entire category of combat shotguns has not even been addressed but anti-materiel rifles have, which are undeniably interesting but only a small part of the whole. The organization is good as are the photographs but I would have made a number of editing corrections as a previous reviewer has noted (I have written in the corrections in my own volume). I rely upon this volume for information but often double check the facts through other sources as the glaring errors reduces my confidence in this as a comprehensive reference. As a reference book writer myself, I have written to the publisher offering to edit an 8th edition should such a thing be in the works but of course there is no profit margin for a slightly corrected version of a popular volume. My edition is so heavily thumbed and used that I will likely acquire another and not balk at the price but would gladly pay more for an accurate reference.

Actually I was being lenient with 3 stars... It is an incomplete work with HUGE gaps on vital basics, leaving out prominent manufacturers and models manufactured, and above all, grossly wrong on stats on some items. Mr Hogg needs to do a lot of further work before he can claim it to be a quality reference work of note.

This book lives up to its name. It provides an overview of the 20th Century. Lots of photos for reference. Exactly what I thought it would be.

This is truly the first and last book when it comes to 20th century small arms. Ian Hogg does it again as he categorizes weapons by type then country. Every gun is included from WWI to 1990.

This book is black and white but the photos are good, and he has some for some very rare guns.

Each gun is accompanied by a photo and a chart laying out the facts. Each gun also contains a few paragraphs of history and review as to how it should be placed in history. For example the MG42 is rightfully hailed as the best machine gun of WWII, while the M16 is ridiculed as reason we lost Vietnam.

I'm read a lot of gun books and this one is the best because of Hogg's writing, and the fact that it is the most comprehensive I've ever seen. He doesn't just include his favorite guns but every gun ever used in 20th century combat.

The HK G11 cover is also impressive.

Excellent book on the workings of antique telephones, many drawings of circuit designs and history. Amazon had the best price.

If you don't want just to collect antique telephones but also understand how they work, this book is the source for almost all your answers. Very detailed descriptions, very nice schematics and pictures.

I have worked with old telephones for more than 40 years, and the repair and restoration of them is part of my livelihood. I can state, with authority, that Ralph Meyer has brought together everything a person needs to know about old telephone theory, repair, restoration, and history. I highly recommend Old Time Telephones! to beginners and seasoned collectors or technicians who need an indispensable reference source. Dr. Meyer's book sets the standard for old telephone reference material.

Very informative book: for the collector, restorer and even the technician. Probably the best technical information widely available on the development of the US Public Telephone system subscriber instruments from turn-of-the-century local battery-magneto to the Princess and Trimlines. Covers development, design and even touches on the corporate thinking which influenced this. Keeps the interest of the engineer but not so technical that the amateur shouldn't be able to follow it too. While the emphasis is on Bell phones, the other major competitor's equivalents are covered as well.

I fell in love with old telephones when I bought my first oak wall telephone at an uncle's farm sale in S/E Minnesota way back in 1967. It didn't make any difference to me that it didn't work ... I just liked oak. I bought more wall phones, oak, then walnut and even one with a cherrywood case. The house got filled up with phones that were as much as 5 feet tall. I started collecting desk telephones and candlestick telephones instead. Very few of them worked but that didn't make any difference ... it was a history thing. Besides, I had no training in telephony and there weren't any books on the subject anyway.
And back then most folks, including me, were scared to death of Ma Bell's "Telephone Police."
But now Dr. Meyer's book is out ... I already knew the history of most of my phones but now with the information in Dr. Meyer's book I can actually make some of those old timers work again. If you are a newcomer to the telephone collecting hobby, you have a tremendous advantage over me ... it took me 40 years to learn the history of the telephone. You can buy Dr. Meyer's book, learn the history of the telephone in one weekend and at the same time have the technical information provided to you that will enable you to put grandpa's phone back on line again. The telephones from the 40s, 50s and 60s were the best ever made.
Put your offshore throwaway phone in the drawer ... use Old-Time Telephones as a guide to hook up grandpa's Western Electric 302 or 500 set, or a comparable A/E, Stromberg or Kellogg phone ... put a good phone in service in your house.
BTW ... I don't recall that Dr. Meyer's book gives instructions on the use of a rotary dial. You and your kids will have to figure out on your own how to do that.

The book was just what I had hoped it would be. Now I can make gun belts and holsters like they would have been made in the time of the old west for my cowboy events.

I saw this book several years ago in a book catalogue, I put off buying it because there really didn't seem to be enough subject matter to justify such a book. I could not have been more wrong. When I finally had one in hand I realized there really was a rich wealth of interesting material especially historically. This book shows the colorful evolution of holsters in the American West tradition. This is a fascinating collection of color and detail that leaves the reader in awe concerning this little known facet of traditional Western Americana. Well worth the price. Hours will be spent studing the beautiful illustrations and carefully researched text. You don't have to own a Colt sixshooter to apprecicate this beautiful book that faithfully follows and matches the tradition of the R.L. Wilson publications on the art of firearms.

This has rapidly become a favorite book of mine and, judging from the constant references to it from holster makers, has become a widely-used reference source. The quality of the book itself is excellent, with lots of crisp, large pictures and good accompanying text. The "frontier" period covered is pretty wide, really the colonial period into the pre-WW2 era. The emphasis, however, is on the 1800s. The first section of the book mostly covers military gunleather and its transition into civilian forms and usage. The bulk of part two is on California and Mexican Loop pattern holsters of the 1800's and early 20th century, although there is good material on a number of other subjects (all gun-related). The holster photo captions in part two tend to be very repetitious as there are numerous style variations presented, but ultimately don't detract from the pictures themselves or the text. This is not a book to buy if you are interested in costume or accoutrements other than gunleather, and you should pass it by if your primary interest is Western film and TV versions of gunleather - the buscadero, or drop-loop style is barely mentioned.

If you're into Cowboy Action Shooting or even history of the Old West, this is a must have book. The pictures are fantastic and the way the book was put together gives the reader an extremely great view of what they wore in the old days. Plus, there are some great pictures from the cowboy movie and television era. Great Book!

I received the book quickly, in great condition. I would definitely use this vendor again.

The book is in excellent condition and I received it well packaged and quickly.

This book's extensive guide to collectible book pricing is fascinating and valuable in itself, but what I enjoyed even more was the numerous interviews with longtime book dealers. These interviews, sprinkled throughout the book, provide a keen insight into today's out-of-print bookselling and collectibles market. Of course, the experts disagree on some points, but that is all part of the fun -- you get to decide what makes the best sense for you, and apply those ideas to your own book-hunting adventures.

This guide also thoroughly covers genre collecting, the care and repair of books, and includes a glossary and references to many additional sources of information.

So whether you're a book auctioneer, bookshop owner, an online dealer, or simply a lover of collectible fiction or nonfiction treasures, I'd recommend that you read this book from cover to cover and put it on your shelf for future reference. When I read this book a few months ago, I found myself underlining a few paragraphs on nearly every page. It will give you a finer appreciation of how the Internet has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for book collectors and dealers alike.

I sell used books on eBay and bought this to bring with me when I go to estate and garage sales. I tend to find and make more money with Non-fiction and this book is heavily weighted to fiction. But it's a pretty good resource none the less.

As a book collector I was disappointed with this book. The text was generally informative but I found the collectible book listing unreliable vis;
The author Patrick O'Brian was spelt O'Brien and his first book "Master and Commander" (the most valueable in the series) not even listed.Also a number of collectible authors of modern 1st's were not listed.

Little things like this jaundiced my view of the efficacy of the publication.

A much better book is "Guide to First Edition Prices 2008/9 R.B Russell.

Honestly, I was a little disappointed with this book. I thought it would go more into depth about how to recognize an older valuable book. It was just a list of "valuable books, and what they sold for on the Internet."
I thought the book would explain how to recognize a valuable book.