Antiques Collectibles Books

This book contains a great deal of helpful information for anyone wanting to know the clothing styles worn during the frontier period in the old west, whether for research purposes or just for the fun of it.

Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (6/06)

I had particular interest in reviewing "How the West Was Worn" because of doing family history research. We have many photos of family members and I often wondered about the clothing - how was it made? What fabrics did they use? How did the fashions come to be without television and glossy magazines? Enns answered many of my questions as I read her book with much interest, often looking at actual pictures to see if any of our ancestors were in there.

No different than now, the nineteenth century women were fashion conscious and often wore cumbersome and unrealistic clothing such a hoop skirts, bustles, and leg-o-mutton sleeves that required yards of costly fabric. Fabrics were cotton or linen for the summer, and wool during the winter. Children's clothing was not fashioned for play but as small replicas of their parents. Ruffles were often seen on boys.

The "clothes made the man" and a well dressed man was certainly the talk of the town. Depending on the status or type of work, men dressed accordingly. The type of work they did was easily recognized by the type of clothing they wore.

Did you know that Andrew Johnson, before he became the President of the United States, was a tailor in Raleigh, North Carolina? In 1827 he opened his own business where he designed a variation of the Prince Albert-style coat - double breasted and knee-length. A variation of his creation still exists today.

Enss gives an interesting account of all facets of fashion, from jewelry to hair styles, from under garments to military uniforms, from footwear to chevrons. Anyone with interest in the 19th century era would find "How the West Was Worn" a great book to go through. Although Enss only touches briefly on each item, she gives a list of suggested reading for further knowledge. Highly recommended!

For me, this book was an utter disappointment. I'm giving it two stars for its amusement value, as it's a quick and entertaining read, but for anyone with more than a superficial interest in the Old West or the history of fashion it's a complete waste. The book is more like a collection of facts and fact-like statements than a unified whole. Many photos and drawings are undated; information is incomplete; anecdotes are often unsourced; there's no index; and an unhelpful list of books for suggested reading. The newspaper excerpts are fascinating, and I'd like to read more of them, but I don't know where the author found them. There's a two-page spread about Annie Oakley's sewing skills, including a miniscule schematic of a pattern for sewing one of her costumes, but no picture of the "legendary trendsetter" herself. Was the editor out sick?

It's the kind of thing I might have enjoyed when I was much younger, and I'd recommend it to readers who aren't concerned with depth or complete factuality.

First, let me say that this book does say a lot of interesting things about the Old West, like how cowboys dressed in different states, how certain fashions, like bib-front shirts, came to be, and what different professions wore. However, with regards to women's fashion, it got a lot wrong.

A great deal of the information given is generalized--expansive statements that cover the entire Victorian period, but aren't necessarily true for any particular year, and might be outright false during some years. Fashions changed very rapidly during the late 1800s, and something that might've been all the rage in 1890 might have not have even existed in the 1860s or 1870s. And, some of what the book says is outright wrong. For example, at one point it tells us that women wore huge hoopskirts through the whole second half of the 1800s and then styles abruptly changed to the more practical bloomer. In fact, hoopskirts were only around for a decade or so, and bloomers were a type of trousers worn only by a few brave women who were gaped at and criticized.

At some points, the book actually contradicts itself. And, despite the title, it has very little to say about bustles. Some of what it said about men's fashions seemed odd, as well. I would say, buy it if you want to read about the Old West, but take everything it has to say with a grain of salt and verify the information elsewhere if you're interested in accuracy.

Shawnee Pottery: An Identification & Value Guide

THIS BOOK IS EXCELLENT, IN PROPERLY INDENTIFYING SHAWNEE PIECES OF POTTERY, WITH EACH PATTERN CLEARLY DEFINED AND IN COLOR. GREAT BOOK

This is a very nice book for the Shawnee Pottery collector. Every collector should use every available resourse at there disposal prior to purchasing Shawnee Pottery because over 50% of the items listed as Shawnee on our favorite on line auction web site is a fake. The value guides are not much use in that they do change frequently, but the photos and descriptions are great. This is just one tool you can use prior to buying Shawnee Pottery.

Good pictures and descriptions and historical information, book was as new. Like most collector's guides, the values are somewhat inflated, but it is an excellent reference and well worth the price.

This is an excellent book. The Mangus' have put together an exhaustive reference on this collectible pottery. They cover everything! From planters to figurines, from bookends to cookie jars, from the design lines to the kitchenware, it's all here.

They include an extensive history of the pottery and its people (owners, designers, employees). They detail the various production methods used to produce the wide variety of wares. They include a wonderful section of photos of the various paper labels used by Shawnee (they used few, if any, backstamps or marks, other than the common "USA".)

My only quibble with this book (and it's a teeny tiny one) is that the prices shown are high in today's market. However, that's not the Mangus' fault, as it reflects the impact that online auctions have had on collectibles in all areas and markets. The bottom line is, if you're looking for a reference on this fun pottery, this is the book to buy!

There are not enough superlatives to describe this book. The photos leap from the page and are simply splendid. The author is knowledgabe and writes in a clear, understandable manner. Covered well are famous designers plus those designers who are relatively unheard of in America but who produce a quality portfolio of work.

This is one of my prized books and would be the last I would ever part with. If there was a 10 star rating, this book would have earned it!

Compendium of knowledge about designers of European jewelry. Very useful for the collectors and historians of art. Many (some hundreds!) of great pictures of jewelry.

I was very pleased with this book. It was just what I had expected and what I wanted. It was in excellent condition and arrived in good time.

I have a Cookie jar which isnt listed in the book.
Any way I can find out more about it?

This book helps price cookie jars before you buy, plus it gives you ideas on what you would like in your collection. Well worth the price of the book.

As of July 2007 cookie jar values have plummeted on Ebay. I would estimate people are willing to pay 50 % or less than in 1999 or 2000. The cookie jar collecting bubble burst. Examples-- A Hull Barefoot Boy did go for 200 easily. One recently started at 79 dollars and received no bids. A Shawnee Smily or Winnie dressed up in Shamrock or Chysanthemums (sic) etc was about 200-225 in 2000. I got each for about 100 DOLLARS this summer.
If you like cookie jars-- the time to buy is now. For folks that bought jars in the late 90s, your collection is worth 50-60% less.
Point-- this book's values are way out of date and using them will result in your paying way too much. Better to go on Ebay and watch for awhile or look at what jars you want went for recently via Searching History.
The pics are great-- but as i said in late 1999, the coverage is not comprehensive of all makers-- focusing mainly on McCoy and American Bisque

Now in its fourth edition, The Complete Cookie Jar Book by Mike Schneider is a 312-page catalogue and price guide of collectible and antique cookie jars. Filled from cover-to-cover with full color photographs illustrating each of the more than 2000 cookie jars featured, The Complete Cookie Jar Book is a superbly organized, expertly informative, and inherently fascinating resource for collectors and curiosity seekers with an interest in this traditional piece of kitchenware.

Just a few too many ads and could be organized a little clearer...its hard to find the different sections in that sea of ads...

Whether you're a collector or simply someone that wants to know what that pile of old comics is worth "Overstreet" is the place to look!

I ordered a new book and received a new book! Fast shipping and great service!

The Overstreet guide is the quintessential resource for both determining comic book values and providing information about specific books. As in any price guide, the values given to books tend to be somewhat inflated from actual prices books may fetch on the open market but it is nevertheless, close enough to be a valuable companion when buying and selling.

this book is pretty much perfect if you just want to know the price of your comic collection. it worked perfect for what i needed. I highly recommend it.

As a long time user of Robert Overstreets' Comic Book Price Guides, any version is an improvement. The 37th edition is excellent and will help any collector!

This book is one of the greatest books that I have ever read. The reason for saying this is that the book's genre, adventure, is one of my personal favorites, plus James Fennimore Cooper is my second favorite author. The book is loaded with imagery. It sparks your imagination into picturing just exactly where you are at and who is involved in the story that could possibly be around you.
When you first start reading you get caught in the elaborate setting. You are given a straight out setting of a hot summer day in July 1757. Immediately you're imagination is caught in the building of the stories plot.
I would strongly recommend this book to all ages. This book gives you some history and a lot of rising-falling action to keep you reading. There is no strong language but there is some death. It can be overcome, to read a great book. You will more than likely be stunned by the ending, because ... you'll have to read it to find out.
Once you pick up this book you won't be able to put it down. There are so many twists, surprises, and exciting spots in the book that you will want to read the rest of what is happening. Before you know what has happened you are lurched into another portion of the exciting plot. It is well written with several leads to each part of the book. You will end up wanting to read the story again to see what you missed the first time through.

Last of the Mohicans is one of the more accessible Deerslayer novels, I'll grant. But to call it unreadable and boring because no one can understand it is just plain unfair. I suggest if you find this book difficult then try acclimating yourself to more modern uses of the language at first. T.H. White is a wonderful place to start, then maybe some Patrick O'Brian, on to Dickens, maybe the Morte D'Arthur, etc... The main thing here is, of course, to get used to reading different (older) forms of the English language. Once you get into it, it's really a great experience. There's such a wealth of imagery and culture and history in this book that it'd be a shame to ignorantly toss it off as elitist or unnecessary. Just the opposite: it's mind expanding and greatly insightful. And a whole lot of fun!

The Last of the Mohicans is a great book. I read it 3 months ago. I saw the movie and that's cool too.
It's about two ladies and a guy are going to their father. Onthe way there attacked. Then Hawkeye and two other indians save them. They take them to their father,but are attacked many mor times on the way.
It's full of action and fighting. It's awsome.
You shoud read it. It's great!

Outlasting the Trail: The Story of a Woman's Journey West Excellent. So real that I felt like I was right there watching Mary and her family during each crisis and each small joy. Including and using Mary Rockwood Powers' own letters for this story created the sense of being there with Mary and her family. The story tells of what is required of Mary and the choices she must make to keep her family safe. These real letters to her mother reveals Mary's inner thoughts and factual happenings. Mary's faith in God and her mother's love keeps her moving forward regardless of her own fears and despair. I cared about this family as if they were my own ancestors.

This is book is great. It lists a lot of world high-end watches from 2007. Although I don't have money to buy them now. At least I can look at it as a gallary book.

I bought this just to see all the awesome watches out there. Some of these are in the hundred thousands. Wow. Great pictures and company info. If you enjoy watches in the least you must own this catalog its huge and has hundreds of pictures of watches you will never own, unless you have a few hundred thousand sitting around.

Great pictures, a must for any watch enthusiast. Side note. Some of the actual specifications are not accurate.

The photography alone of these world class timepieces brings out the male urge to splurge. It's like being a kid in a candy store, you want one of everything! I've read the '05 and '06 editions and this one does not disappoint. Nice feature: a guide to the pronunciation of all those Swiss, German and French names. Even if you don't speak any of those languages you can say the names like a native. Any watch aficionado will spend many delightful hours soaking up all the facts, figures and history presented here.

I really like the format, usually get the new one when it's released.