Antiques Collectibles Books

Medieval Costume in England and France provides a great overview of the different styles of garb during the specified periods. It is divided by century, and further grouped by Royal/Religeous/Common styles. The line drawings are helpful in giving a general idea of how the different styles look. There are some general layout illustrations that would be helpful to an experienced sewer, but a beginner would need additional information to create the look, not provided by this book. ("The Medieval Tailor's Assistant" is perfect for this additional sewing information) I'm not a historian, so I can't comment on the reliability of the sources, but as a newcomer to the SCA I found this book very helpful in finding garb that would fit chosen personna. There are excellent historical descriptions, and frequent reference to sources. For what it intends to offer, this is an excellent book.

I use this book as a refrence for all of my hopelades and Surcotes, and several of my men's things. I love this book!!

Very informative. Excellent historical reference. Describes the hows and whys of fashion evolution the 13th through the 15th centuries, very well. An informative and interesting resource.

Absolutely love this book. Though it is simple, I feel it's one of the essential clothing books if you're doing recreations. The layouts are great, the explanations well-done, and there are easy-to-follow diagrams for patterns. Documentation in the form of illuminated manuscripts and rubbings from funerary monuments, etc, also are VERY helpful. Personally, I don't make a single thing without consulting this book at least once!

I bought this book because I needed a read and was busted at the time. This book reminds me of my 10th grade reasearch paper. Short clips, pictures second hand. It contained very little actual information on the period,reasons or construction. I give it one point for effort and another because it has pictures. It might be good for an elementary school or junior high library to do a short paper with. Otherwise save your pennies.

This book is not for the novice collector. It does provide very detailed descriptions of antique jewelry. The photogrpahs are clear and vibrant, but not all pieces had a matching photograph. It is a very handy size that you can take along and refer to during shopping. I recommend this to those who are familiar with antique jewelry and would like a quick refernce guide to take shopping.

This book has alot of printed information in it. A great deal of history. If you are looking for a book to teach you how to make head wear and hats then this isn't the book you need. However for a historical aspect I reccomend it, as long as you can visualise the written word. Its an ok book, not great but not the worst either. I bought it expecting it to contain more practical information, so from that point of view I was disapointed.

This book may give some overwiev of the history of hats but it is not to be recomended for serious studies of costume history.
The illustrations are drawn after works of art and other sources. In the cases where I'm quite certain which work of art it is drawn from I must say that the drawings are often more or less inaccurate. As for the text, I'm from Scandinavia and familliar with the custom "Lucia" on the 13th of december. Reading Amphletts explanation accompanying the illustration of a Lucia crown from Norway I'm amased as it's total nonsense! Belive me, fertility rituals and witches was not the explanation given when i read cultural history at university! [It is a mix of seweral older customs among them serwing an extra breakfast as this was belived to bee the longest and darkest night of the year,and youngsters dressing up and going around singing and begging for food contributions to either their studies or a party. One of the dress up costumes being the christ child with a halo of candlelight around the head. Nowadays (and since about a 100 years ago) the lucia crown on a girl or woman serving ginger snaps and saffron bread together with coffee as she and her followers sings!} If the rest of the text has some more faults as big as this i don't know but it certainly makes me very suspicuios.

This is a rather scholarly work on the history of hats covering the past two thousand years. The arrangement is chronological, by century. If one's interest is identifying or organizing headdress by country of origin, this book is particularly useful as the illustrations include the country where the hat was worn along with the drawing. I am always impressed when the same author does a book's text and illustrations, as is the case with this work (see Sibley's bird book if you really want to be blown away).

I wanted this book to inspire me, not necessary be an historical reference book. It did what I wanted, and so this is a happy customer. It is an oversize book, and the photos are nothing short of stunning.

Magnificent photos of ethnic jewelry. On a par with The Splender of Ethnic Jewelry, but the text is not as detailed.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked the projects on beading around freeform crystals and seaglass. The beaded eyeglass and small bottles were also great. There are a few other quirky beaded items, but the rest of the book is useless. I should say I am an advanced beader, so the many projects on beading around a simple bezel don't interest me. So, if you're a mid to advanced beader, there isn't that much new.

I was very pleased to find this book! Basic instructions for right angle weave that are easy to follow, Ladder Stitch, Even Number Flat Peyote, Vertical Netting (or Lattice Weave,) Back Stitching and Couching.
Good Chapter for Straps, Necklaces and Fringe WITH PICTURE INSTRUCTIONS. Lots of ideas for odd ball beads and not beads that you can use in your beadwork.

It has a Wonderful Chapter (4) on Beading cabochons with some fresh Unique ideas for beaded straps and the stones. One is done with a Amethyst crystal wedge. Very clear instructions. She has some pictures of beaded brooches made with doughnuts and disks embellished with with beads that start in the center and work their way to the edges that I find inspiring. SHe even beaded a Magnifying Glass Necklace!

I found this book by accident while searching for beadwork books on Amazon.com and I'm soooooo glad I did! It includes many techniques for incorporating a variety of things into your beadwork and rather than offering only one design solution it gives lots of options. For example, I especially appreciated the inclusion of techniques for incorporating cabochons and larger found objects such as rocks and slabs without using the technique of gluing the object to a backing and couching around it but rather using beadwork exclusively to capture the object. Lots of eye-candy and interesting suggestions. This turned out to be a better all-around book of techniques than I expected it to be and I know I will refer to it often. It does have lots of projects in it if you want to just follow along and more or less copy them, but it also gives different techniques for straps, focals, etc. so you can mix and match them. I wish more beading books were like this one -- it really helps to expand a beader's design options!

This book is a keeper. The projects are delightful and instructions are clear. With Carole's pointers in mind, there are so many places to look other than bead shops for findings and inspiration. In addition, the book describes new ways of using old stitches that leave the reader with ideas of her own to pursue. Included are pictures of what other bead artists have done using the instructions from this book as a springboard for their ideas. "Beaded Jewelry with Found Objects" is a treasure for anyone who loves beading, and just looking through it is fun. Warning: looking through this book will leave you twitching to start a new beady project ... okay, okay, it'll leave you twitching to start A LOT of new beady projects.

I passed by this book a few times but I needed a bead book fix so I ordered and I'm happy I did. The designs are imaginative and there is a wealth of techniques to try. They are explained well with excellent diagrams. Lots of eye candy to boot.

Bought the book in anticipation of being out in that area soon, and after reading the great historical info and seeing the beautiful photos, I can't wait to get out there and see some of the places for myself!

I only wish the maps had been a little more detailed, and that the author could have provided coordinates of the sites from a GPS, to make it easier to get to the locations.

I am a native Californian, although I have lived in Boston for many years. One of the most intriguing parts of California for me has been visiting abandoned and restored pioneer towns in the Golden State. About 70 miles from my first home in San Bernardino, is located an old mining town, Calico, in the middle of the Mojave desert. That town has set my expectations for visiting pioneer towns.

For my 49th birthday, my father and wife arranged for me to have a 49er vacation that included attending a San Francisco 49er football game and then heading off into the gold country to revisit the sites where the great gold rush first began.

From knowing a lot about California history, I knew of many towns and sites that I wanted to see. But along the way, I was intrigued by signs and notes about many sites that I had never heard about before. I wished that I had had along a source as fine as Ghost Towns of Northern California.

Although his book will seem like a coffee table book to some, I found it to be an essential exploration guide. More than 50 towns and sites are described and pictured. Mr. Varney does a fine job of giving you the local history (which often includes how much gold was mined locally and how it was mined) while the photographs give you a sense of what there is to see. You also get maps that can easily be used to find each of these locations. Most are concentrated in the gold areas (such as near the Oregon border, near route 49, and in the high Sierras), but others have different backgrounds and locations such as Alcatraz and China Camp in the San Francisco Bay area.

The author defines a "ghost town" as being a town that has had a large slide in its permanent population, even if it is still populated. So few of these "ghost towns" are uninhabited like Calico was when I was a youngster.

I double checked the accuracy of the information by comparing my experiences on my 49er vacation to what the book says, and the information and views tallied perfectly. Nice job!

The photographs are more realistic than artistic. That is not to say that they are not beautiful in many cases, but they give you a realistic view of what you will see rather than a "sunset at Sedona" feeling.

You probably won't want to visit all of these ghost towns, but the book will help you decide when and where you will want to visit. I strongly urge you to decide to visit the sites that interest you and to use this valuable guide to help you plan and follow through on your plans.

I thought the book is an exceptional value. I would have gladly paid more than twice the asking price for this great resource!

After you finish enjoying the photographs and text, spend some time rereading Mark Twain's stories about the gold camps. It will help you get in the mood for planning a wonderful trip!

I have been waiting for a book about F-Series tractors since I have started restoring these machines. This book has exceeded all my expectations. The authors extensive research is represented in this organized book of factual, well written information backed up by many discriptive quality photographs.

Chris Allen

Top notch. Excellent pictures, informative text. If you have an F series Farmall, you need this book.

well written and researched. accurate details. a must for the restorer wanting an acurate restoration or a collector looking to buy an original.