4 comments about Secret Lives of Frames: One Hundred Years of Art and Artistry.

1. I purchased this book to better understand and appreciate frames. I was not disappointed! The book starts with a general description of what is involved in making a gesso frame. With photographs to illustrate the process, it is a wonderful tutorial on how high quality picture frames are constructed. The remainder of the book is full of great pictures of antique picture frames and how they are used to enhance the art they surround. The book is a visual feast. I highly recommend it.



2. Not many people would see this as a great book, But if your into craftsmanship or framing you can not go wrong. This was a companion book to a frame ehibition that toured museums in the U S, I saw it in Norfolk Va. and immediately got the book. As Ferris says "If you have the means I highly recomend it"



3. As a long time furniture maker and also someone who is making frames, this book has a wealth of photographic history documenting frames from the beginnings of the art movements in Europe and is separated by the styles popularized in the different countries. As a novice carver and gilder, I can really appreciate the craftsmanship shown by the photographs. They're both inspiration and intimidation!



4. I bought this book as a gift for my husband, whose family has been in the picture frame business for over 40 years. I really bought it for the photographs, which are truly outstanding. They illustrate the beautiful, hand-carved frames of long ago, when gold truly meant genuine gold leaf. This book is almost a history of frame-making.

3 comments about Art of the Cigar Label.

1. How interesting can old American cigar labels be? Enough to fill up a full color 250 page coffee table book, at least.
   
   The book is more than just a compendium of old labels from deceased brands, but a history lesson, a seminar in the materials and processes used in generating the labels, and a discussion of the various themes explored in the artwork, i.e. patriotism, women, theater, sports and gambling, cowboys & indians, you name it. Finally, there is some very informative stuff on collecting cigar art, searching for historic labels and estimating value. The book is the most complete work on the subject of this type of collectable Americana, and as such is recommended to all interested in the field.



2. Any true collector will appreciate Davidson's initial edition, and followup version, "Smoker's Art". For those of us who pore over piles of stuff seaching for a winner, be it cigar labels or anything else, this book is a treasure trove of high quality art.



3. As a graphic designer this book has served me well on many projects. It is detailed with a large display of labels that are well reproduced for the viewer. The catagories add a variety subjects to the art of labels which is why many of us feel this book is like a bible. It is the most complete book so far on this subject.

2 comments about The Molecular Gaze: Art in the Genetic Age (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press Series on Genomics, Bioe).

1. Fantastic! Filled with images of artwork that actually relates to and is about science. (A lot of books and articles I have been reading for my thesis make broad gestures to famous paintings that have little to nothing to do with science.) As a biologist and an artists, this was the most informative, interesting and engaging book I have ever read.
   
   Besides - lots and lots of tasty pictures. I wish i had more time to write a better review - but I'll just say that every art student, scientist, and most importantly gallery curators and art historians must have.
   
   oh happy day, and actual interesting and beautiful to look at book about art and science. Not random "ideas" and babbling - but REAL SCIENCE and REAL ART.



2. This is a very inspiring book. An excellent and complete overview of how genetic research is permeating popular culture, of how the gene has become a powerful and pervasive icon with a social meaning that goes beyond its biological properties.
   This is an excellent volume for those who are interested in the regular shifts of boundaries between the domains of art and science. The authors explore the rise of an increasingly important new trend in contemporary art involving science by documenting the ideas and images that artists are using in association with the genetic view of life. They underline and provide insight into the social and cultural meaning of genetic research and of genetic essentialism through contemporary artists' interpretation of scientific process. In its well odered and relevantly different sections, Suzanne Anker and Dorothy Nelkin touch upon topics such as the sequencing of the genome and the reduction of humans to 'molecularl texts', the concept of identity, genetic engineering, the creation of transgenics and chimeras, assisted reproduction and cloning.
   It is thorough work and well written, with the necessary historical references. A continuous, witty, appropriate and precise account of the questions, concepts, ideas and images fluctuating between the realm of science and that of art. I highly recommend it. A very good buy.
   Giovanni Frazzetto (Molecular Biologist, Writer)

5 comments about The Irish Game: A True Story of Crime and Art.

1. Matthew Hart's The Irish Game : A True Story of Crime and Art is an excellent read about Ireland, art, art theft, and criminal investigation. This is a very intiguing non-fiction book about the theft of art by Johannes Vermeer in 1986 from a great house/museum known as Russborough in Ireland.
   
   Not only is this book a pleasure to read, I walked away learning quite a bit about art techniques, and art theft. Whereas non-fiction, if not done right, can tend to drag, this real story moves along at a brisk pace due in large part to the story, compelling characters, and smooth pace.
   
   I really enjoyed learning about the Irish police AKA the Garda and the techniques they employed to track the art theft's chief suspect Martin Cahill.
   
   I would encourage anyone interested in any of the aforementioned matters, inlcuding but not limited too: art theft, criminal investigative techniques, art techniques, and Ireland, to give this excellent book a try.



2. 
   I don't generally read mystery novels;for the simple reason that when I finish one,I don't really feel that I've learned anything.Sure,there is the suspense, of trying to figure out whodunit;in the final analysis,logic isn't the governing factor;and the author calls the shot.
   True crime is quite a different matter,and I find that getting into the real mind of a real person,is much more interesting.
   Reading this book, one gets a very real insight into crime in the art world. The way the mind of Cahill works is unveiled as well as the way that the Irish police operate. After all,Irish culture is the result of many centuries of the people fighting the establishment.
   The author beautifully sums it up with this paragraph;
   "But the roots of insurrection stretch much farther back in time,into an ancient tradition of secret,peasant societies formed by the dispossessed Gaels in the centuries following the Norman invasion,and persisting into later times. These small,clandestine bands had no chnce of reversing history. Their mission was to exact a steady taxation of terror from those in power over them. They depended on concealment on the complicity of their fellow Irishmen,who shared their language,race and fate. This old tradition of resistance to authority was too deeply engrained to evaporate with Irish independence,and the job of a policeman in Ireland is always at war with the past."
   Along with gaining a good insight into Irish crime; we get a real understanding of the nature of crime in the world of priceless art. I often wondered why criminals stole these items when they are so easily identifiable and therefore virtually impossible to fence. This book clearly explains what goes on here. When a great piece of art is stolen,we also see that it becomes an international crime.
   This book reads like fiction; but when you come to the end ;you are left with the satisfaction that you've really learned something.



3. A delightful book. If you like true stories about the almost perfect heist involving great works of art, then you'll enjoy this book. And like any good book, it is not only entertaining but teaches you something you didn't know...in this case about the world of crime and art.



4. This is the first true crime book I have ever read, and it won't be the last! Hart gives a history lesson of the Russborough Mansion and some of the paintings in it. You don't have to be familiar with art to really understand the heists and why the paintings were stolen. Hart gives you enough overall information; by the end of the book you will be an expert yourself. This book is packed to the max with great information. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants suspense, and historical information about the paintings.



5. Matthew Hart is a charming and engaging writer who can bring any subject to light, and yet THE IRISH GAME is all over the place. Its subtitle, "A True Story of Crime and Art," might as well have been "Nine or Ten True Stories of Crime and Art." You do the math--there are the two parallel sagas of the robberies at Russborough House, which apparently have nothingto do with each other and that's the point. Then there is the story of the world's love of Vermeer, and how he above all other painters is venerated today. Hart compounds the Vermeer story by showing how art restorers have come up with soome farfetched theories of how Vermeer painted, presenting them as newly-discovered facts rather than the wild speculations they are. We also get the robbery of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum here in the USA and the finally the team that made away with THE SCREAM in Norway.
   
   Any one of these storylines could have made a good book. I particularly liked the beginning chapters, which showed the political education of a British heiress and how she found herself deeper and deeper into the ideological clutches of the IRA; her story is worthy of Joseph Conrad, and Hart does it justice, even though he is forced to conclude it after only one or two chapters. The personality of Martin Cahill, whom I remember from the awesome John Boorman film of THE GENERAL, gets some new shadings here too. I imagine Hart had to be discreet in some places, both to protect his sources and to protect himself, as well, from libel suits, and the book is a splendid example of how to insinuate certain things without every having to come out and say them out loud. I still didn't get the title, "The Irish Game," might as well have called it, "The Norwegian Game."

2 comments about The Art of Collecting Photography (General).

1. If your looking for a fantastic collection of photographs, and insight into how and who collects as well as in depth descriptions on both these arts this is the book you need. Fantastically write, well presented and beautifully laid out in an easy to browse and study format.
   
   Its a stand out, I look forward to more by Laura Noble



2. If you were to choose just one book to learn on collecting photography, this one qualifies as the only reference needed. But be advised, the marketplace changes and this book doesn't substitutes being well informed on current trends.
   
   Excellently researched and very thorough.

No comments about The Crystal Palace Exhibition Illustrated Catalogue (Dover Pictorial Archive Series).

1 comments about Number and Logic Games for Preschoolers: 150 Brain-Boosting Activities (Hamlyn Health & Well Being S.).

1. The games in this book offer parents excellent alternatives to TV. For the child, it really depends on whether they are interested in any particular game. Some of them may work for your child, some of them won't. Many of these games are also quite familiar to parents or the kids may already be playing them in nursery school or kindergarten. I'm sure everyone has already played the coin rubbing or tracing game with his kid.
   
   The book may not score points for originality, but as a guide for parents who may not be able to think up so many games offhand, it is still a valuable reference book. I especially like the which floats and which sinks game.

No comments about Antique Phonograph Advertising: An Illustrated History.

5 comments about Metaphorical Journey.

1. The purchase of this book of art was a very easy process. The handling and shipping was done very fast and the cost was reasonable.



2. Book was received promptly and in excellent shape. The book itself is outstanding. Colored pictures and text makes it well with the money



3. Vladimir Kush is so incredibly talented! This book showcases his wild imagination and skills allowing us to take that journey with him.



4. All I can say is the art most illustriously envisioned by Vladimir Kush is pure fantastical enjoyment for one's eyes. You could come home from a busy day and just sit and be calmed by the warm, magical, imaginery, illustrious notions of each and every piece. You will find warm flows of the most majestic colours bounce off of each piece. A pure relaxation and most enjoyable feast for your eyes which is a form of entertainment matched by none.



5. What a beautiful book. I am an artist and love to collect books. I recently purchased this book at the artist's Las Vegas gallery. I am so glad I did. The paintings are beautifully reprinted and very true to color. I paid $100 for the book. No regrets!!!

No comments about Spongeware 1835-1935: Makers, Marks, and Patterns (Schiffer Book for Collectors.).