Antiques Collectibles Books

THE AMERICAN KRAG RIFLE AND CARBINE by Joe Poyer is one North Cape Publication's FOR COLLECTORS ONLY series. This book is edited by Craig Riesch and is essential for those who shoot and/or collect .30-40 Krag Rifles and Carbines.

It's also the only source available unless you can find a copy of Colonel William S. Brophy's classic book on the Krag. It'll set you back about $200, or so, but is worth it to dedicated collectors and shooters.

I'm not quite that dedicated and am quite content with Poyer's book. Like all books in this series, it includes part-by-part descriptions of the various Krags which served our armed forces in Cuba, the Philippines and China (during the Boxer Rebellion). Despite its relatively short service life of 15 years, the Krag is an interesting and eminently shootable piece of American history.

It's the first bolt-action repeater chambered for modern
smokeless" powder and it replaced the obsolete "Trapdoor Springfield" which was a breech-loading single shot chambered for the .45-70 cartride, a black powder round.

Poyer includes descriptions of the ammunition, accoutrments, etc. issued with the Krag and he has the best, most coherent discussion of the US Army's preference for cartridge cut-offs enabling the rifle to be operated as a single shot, thus preserving the five rounds in the magazine for close quarters. This tactical doctrine has always puzzled me, but Poyer's concise, coherent explanation of it finally caused the scales to fall from my eyes.

This book would be even more useful if it had an index, but I guess you can't always have eggs in your beer. I was very impressed by this book and I gave it five stars.

If you need to know the in's and out's of the Krag firearm systems, this is the place to go. Perhaps not everything but pretty close to it. A good book for a good price.

This book has great visuals, from all different countries, and is a perfect gift for the skier you know who likes old-school stuff. I actually bought this for someone who doesn't understand English, but the artwork stands on its own.

Wow, this is a great one. Nice profiles of some of the best artists in the genre during the 1950's.
Excellent pictorials and the added treat of the unpublished Bill Elder Christmas tale!

Por muy buen precio me he conseguido esta belleza de la historia comiquera norteamericana (y mundial, como no). Incluye muchos dibujos y un comic inéditos. Resulta muy educativo ver la evolución que han tenido las historietas y el lenguaje tan básico y redundante que se usaba en aquel entonces.

Super book!! Brings back memories of buying those (great, dirty, violent, perverted, notorious---choose your adjective)comics.

I was and still am a fan of science-fiction and loved the art of Wally Wood in Weird Science and Weird Fantasy and their reincarnations. I never bought Superman, Batman, Archie, et al.

Everyday I mourn the fact that my mother tossed out the magazines when I was in the service. And reading these comics apparently never hurt me as I went on to garner four academic degrees.

So buy this book and relive the golden days of EC comic books.

In the 1950s, while the other kids were ooohing-and-ahhhing over Superman and the Green Lantern, we few proto-geeks were absorbed in MAD Magazine and the equally lunatic E.C. monthlies, especially Tales from the Crypt, Creepy, Haunt of Fear, Weird Science, and the SuspenStories series. Nobody could keep your eyes glued silently to the page like Jack Davis, Bill Gaines, Al Feldstein, and their cohorts. Some of the stories were original, some were adaptations of authors we also doted on. (Ray Bradbury was a favorite source, and you'll find his classic story "Touch and Go!" here, which I clearly remember reading when it appear in 1953.) This lavish volume is partly a history of that genre and partly a collection of full-length, photoreproduced stories -- plus an original, "Wanted for Murder!," written by Johnny Craig for E.C.'s "picto-fiction" magazine, Crime Illustrated! (which was actual typeset text -- no balloons -- overlaid on the black-and-white artwork). This is a great book for fans of the days when they published real comic books!

Hugely disappointed with the over-design of this book, and consider it a magnificent book criminally ruined by overly decorative backdrops to the pages of original EC stories. The biographies and text here by Geissman is simply terrific; providing a cogent, articulate, evocative context for these iconic 1950s artists - from Wally Wood, Joe Orlando, Graham "Ghastly" Ingels, to the incredibly talented cover-art genius of Johnny Craig - not to mention the epochal Krigstein and the whole range of science fiction art in this justly remembered EC period. BUT... the clutter of coloured backgrounds placed behind the reproduced pages of stories by these artists made me want to immediately consign this book to an Ingels watery grave in the bayou! It is a travesty. Unbelievably congested, busy, "wriggling amoebae" multi-coloured backgrounds to the reproduced 1950s art visually compete with it throughout. It provides the WORST "visual noise" that totally distracts and competes with the well-reproduced art; the backgrounds COMPETE for attention like trying to read a comic-book in a vast tub of spaghetti, or enlarged coloured slides of dissected innards under a microscope. It becomes visually unbearable, and TOTALLY UNDERMINES the EC art. It is one of the very worst examples of appallingly over-designed books I can think of, where some faddish photo-shop graphics moron has been allowed to run their rampantly stupid techno-boots ALL OVER the crisp, stark integrity of the original artists. Wally Wood will be rolling in his grave. Geissman should be shot for having this desecrating, congested muddle of coloured vomit over-design and compromise the VISUAL CLARITY of these great artists. A TRULY APPALLING DESIGN/BOOK LAYOUT DECISION. ALL THE EDITORS ON THIS PROJECT SHOULD ALSO BE LINED UP FOR THESE TECHNI-COLOUR CRIMES AND GIVEN A BLOODY HIDING. A great book by Grant Geissman that has become a grievous, unredeemable INSULT to the original 1950s artists it is supposed to be honouring.

This guide is a must for beginning hobbyist to get an overview of why coins are exciting to collect. It belongs in every public library and is a must gift for the new, young, or more advanced collector.

I got his for my grandson. It is really a nice way to begin to learn about coins. My brother, which is a long time coin collector said he would like to have one. So this coin book is good for the beginners and the seasoned collectors.

Covers a lot of topics, but not at all in depth. This wasn't written as a book, it is just a bunch of reprints from Model Railroader magazine.

An example of something I was hoping to find: info on how to lay flex-track. It says to lay it out, cut it, nail it down. I knew that! I was looking for tips on HOW to cut it so the rail joints make properly.

I really wouldn't recommend this book. You would be better off to go to a library and review back issues of Model Railroader.

Good book for anyone to that is just starting on model railroading, even a the more advanced railroader would find some of the topics covered usefull

It is one thing to be interested in getting started on a model railroad and it is quite a different thing to actually know what to do. Anyone can take a basic train set and add some more track to it but such an unorganized approach soon leads to an unwieldy and expensive mess that will probably not be very enjoyable. This book goes a long way in remedying that problem.

It just covers the basics but it covers a lot of them. That includes track, running gear, wiring, scenery, model building, foliage and much else... even photography. It covers none of these things in any depth but it does provide a starting place and allow a novice to ask intelligent questions. It is a needed resource for a beginner.

This book has just about everything a beginner need to become familiar with the hobby of model railroading. It has everything from choosing the correct scale and gague, to how to maintain a well-tuned railroad, to the scenery of your layout. I am sure that as I grow in the hobby, this book will be used time and again as a wonderful quick reference of how to do just about everything in the hobby.

This book appears to be a very helpful source for determining hot prospects to watch for when searching coin shops and shows. It gives details needed to learn what to look for when hunting for great deals. My main focus is Morgan Silver Dollars and this book should be a valuable source for my 'cherry picking' ventures.

Error and variety collecting is a relatively new form of collecting. Since the discovery of the 1955 Lincoln Cent Double Die Obverse, collectors have been looking at coins differently. From double dies, repunched mint marks, and off-center strikes to difference in die varieties for the same series--even within the same year--the hobby of error collecting can be as satisfying and profitable.

While other books can discuss the profitability, the Cherrypickers' Guide teaches what to look for. With fantastic illustrations and a solid, usable binding, experts Bill Fivaz and J.T. Stanton show collectors what to look for while looking for errors and varieties. The book covers nearly every series of coins including dollars, commemorative, gold.

One caveat I will give is that those who are interested in varieties of Morgan and Peace Dollars, you may want to also buy Comprehensive Catalog and Encyclopedia of Morgan and Peace Dollars. This book is out of print, but some Amazon Marketplace sellers do have copies.

Happy Hunting!

I have had this about a month, and have used it extensively for 20th century silver issues. Just learning the angles of identifying doubles, recut dies, repunched mint marks, etc. makes this book worth it. I found some sections of no use - such as the extremely rare coins (gold, seated dollars) but the 20th century silver (Dimes, Quarters and Halves) very interesting and enlightening as well as the section on Morgan dollars. If you have a few rolls of Washington Quarters or Mercury Dimes (even circulated) you can probably pay for this book by just going through them for varieties.

I gave this book to my Dad and he loved it. Great info and pictures.

It's a nice book for prices and such (I'm no expert on coin books) does have some great photos (in color) and some information that's helpfull. But i find myself all ways turing to "Strike it Rich With Pocket Change".

"TR"

On coffee table books such as this I usually borrow a copy from my local library before I lay down 30-plus dollars at my high street stockist (hobby shop, Yank). It's a good thing that I followed my usual pattern with "Remembering Revell..." since the book covers only US-based operations during the period 1952-1979. Revell's sizeable, more profitable and argueably more interesting UK, West German, Mexican (Lodela) and Japanese design and manufaturing operations are virtually ignored. The UK shop does get some ink but it is primarily spent criticizing the British tool and die makers. To be accurate the book should have been titled something like "US Revell Models 1952-1979".
The author has given the reader a well organized, smoothly written and beautifully illustrated book, albeit, one of limited scope. The text's limitation goes beyond the time and geography. The end of Revell as an independent, closely-held firm is dismissively summarized in less than half a page. All that the reader is told is that "costs rose" and "Profit margins had always been slim",...oh. What does that mean? If margins had always been minimal how had Revell survived, no, prospered as the world's largest model manufacturer? The author does tell the reader about changing liesure time options for US children and teenage boys, Revell's traditional market, that cut into US sales but nothing else. The effects of Revell's always more proftable foreign operations and the emergence of fine scale modeling as an adult hobby in the US go undicussed as do the oil shocks of 1973-74 and 1979 as they effected the cost of Revell's raw materials. Similiarly, the place of Revell in the stagnant N. American and W. European econonies of the late 1970's is ignored. This is not a tome aimed at MBA's but I'd like the full story about why my favorite boyhood model company folded. I suspect it is rapped up in the early death of the founder and the presence of a fuzzy undefined corporated hierarchy with ill-defined authority, responsiblity and accountablity.
Additionally, be advised that the introduction and much of the first chapter are lifted from this same author's earlier book about Aurora models.

This book takes a look at the history of Revell in its heyday of the 1950s to the 1970s. The book looks at the development of everything from the kit itself to the artists who drew the box tops which drove me nuts because I could never even come close to making the model like what was on the box top.

I was born in the 70s when Revell was starting to go through the turmoil that consolidated the plastic model industry so all this history is new to me. This book makes me want to go back in time and build most of these kits with only my trusty tube of glue as and a powerful exhaust fan as my companions.

Although I generally build the Tamigawa kits when I get the chance, I still have many happy memories of building assembled models from Revell even though they were poorly painted and badly built (fault of the builder, not the company.)

My only quibble is I wished the author would have spent more detail in describing how a kit goes from idea to market.

If you are a modeller who enjoyed building the planes, vehicles and ships of Revell, you will find this an enjoyable history into the company that helped millions (including me) find things to do on a rainy day.

It was very informative. I like the color photographs and the descriptions of the stamps. It make it easy to identify the country and stamps.

as a collector and wearer of gem stone jewelry, this book caught my attention. the photographs of the collectors and their jewels did not disappint. i would recommend this to any serious jewelry lover.

...for everybody who loves great jewellery.

The books provides both, interesting information about jewellery and gorgeous pictures. It shows the treasure chests of collectors from the aristocracy, society as well as from stars of the stage (both movie and opera). Although I'm particularly interested in noble jewels, it's the mix of collections in this book I really appreciate.

It's always a pleasure to read and look. My book hasn't found yet the way to the bookshelf - it's still right to my hand on the table...

An entertaining book with memorable personalities and their world famous baubles. The section on socialities and the nobility is fun to read; especially countess Mona von Bismarck. The incredible story of Poor Little Rich Girl, Barbara Hutton and socialite Daisy Fellowes (she must have been an incredible woman, reading her self-improvement on her nose!). Some of the gems are world famous, like the bejewelled menagerie of the Duchess of Windsor, her cats, her flamingo, her tiger lorgnette etc. All in all, a fun book to read, but not only for lovers of jewellery, but also for people who are interested in royalty, fashion and high society. In short, a nice coffeetable book!

I really enjoyed this book, the images are crisp and the text is fascinating. The people in this book live for their jewels and many of them, particularly the Duchess of Windsor, had impeccable taste. Some of the pieces are just stunning, and the background on the collectors is most interesting. I highly recommend this book to anyone with any interest in beautiful jewelry.

This book is wonderfull, the jewelry is wonderfull. It renews my faith that at one time people with money DID have some taste. This book is well worth the money spent.

I came into the Mego world a bit late as a wee lad in the early 1980s. But I still remember having the Batman, Stretch Spidey, Dukes of Hazzard, and Incredible Hulk Mego action figures. This book really takes me back to those glory days!

This book is a Mego collector's dream guide! Full of charts, checklists, rare photos and more. Extremely thorough and well researched, if you are a Mego fan, THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU!

A good looking and very informative book full of great photos of the Mego super-hero figure toy line. It's a must for any Mego toy collector and well worth the price of admission!

Simply put this is a fantastic book. It is a walk down memory lane for Mego fans who had the pleasure to grow up with these wonderful action figures in the 1970s. The photographs are splendid and bring to life Mego's WGSH line. The author's attention to detail cannot be matched by any other book out there that purports to touch upon this fine line of Mego action figures. If you are debating between Mego books to buy, please don't pass this book up. It is a decision you will regret a year or so from now when you are trying to track down this book from online auction sites, etc. For anyone looking for a wonderful trip into the past, jump on and enjoy the ride!!!

I had all of the items shown in the book as a kid so paging through it was a big trip down memory lane. It reminded me of a lot of fun times.

This book does not cover everything Mego, but its a wonderful collection of photos and important information. I recommend the book for any Mego collector.