2 comments about Bud Hastin's Avon Collector's Encyclopedia: Avon and California Perfume Company Products-1886 to Present.

1. Both specialty collector libraries catering to neo-pro collectors and general-interest public libraries will find AVON COLLECTOR'S ENCYCLOPEDIA: AVON AND CALIFORNIA PERFUME COMPANY PRODUCTS 1886 TO PRESENT an invaluable acquisition, appearing in its 18th updated edition to provide the latest prices and details. Here are thousands of products, paired with the latest prices, black and white and color photos throughout, making for an invaluable at-a-glance reference.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. I BOUGHT THIS BOOK HOPING TO IDENTIFY ALOT OF OLDER AVON I HAD FOUND..THE BOOK IS GREAT..GOOD DESCRIPTION OF OLDER AVON PRODUCTS AND EASY TO USE ..THANKS

4 comments about 1000 Fruit Jars.

1. This book is just what I needed on my many excursions to garage/estate sales. I have been able to determine better purchases for my collection by referencing my book on my outings. The images are in alphabetical order and are drawn precicely as they are seen on the jars. Info on jar colors for each embossed design is available too. A MUST HAVE for the avid jar collector!!



2. This book, One Thousand Fruit Jars, was just what I needed to sort out a horde of old fruit jars from my aunt's estate. Wonderful drawings and values. Helped me 100%.



3. Great little book for identifying all those jars you buy at auctions for a buck a box. Alphabetized, clear images exactly as they appear on the jars, even comparative values for many choices per brand by color.
   It's not a coffee table book, it's a throw it in your bag and take to the sale book. Perfect!



4. This is a great little book to help identify all the differences in your fruit jar collection. All the different embossings are drawn out for you to identify - like all the different Ball fruit jar embossings. It helped us beginning jar collectors! Also has prices for all the different jars.

1 comments about Kovels' Bottles Price List, 13th edition (Kovel's Bottles Price List).

1. This did not help to identify the bottles that I have. You have know what you have to look up the possible prices in this book.

2 comments about Bottle Pricing Guide.

1. I just bought 4 different books on collecting bottles and the one thing this book has that the others do not, is lots of pictures. This REALLY helps especially when you are a beginning collector like myself. The descriptions are a bit short (for example, in other books they tell you size and color of the specific bottle) while this one usually does not go into that amount of detail. But for [price], this book really surprised me. I have to say that even though it does have its downfalls in lack of detail, it makes up for it by its pictures. And trust me, I have 3 other books and they probably contain an average of 20 pictures per book. This one has about 3-4 pictures every other page. I do not recommend this book if you are looking for just ONE reference to go by but if you are buying it as a companion reference, I highly recommmend it.



2. I was impressed with the almost 4,000 bottles listed in this book. I was disappointed, however, in the limited number of pictures the author used. Several were very difficult to see and the descriptions were rather vague. The book is small enough in size to be taken along when shopping for old bottles and I find this to be very helpful. In the front of the book there are very brief tips on identifying, buying and selling bottles. I found these tips to be short but informative. I am only a novice to bottle collecting but I think this book would be good for a beginner or a veteran collector. My favorite feature of this book is its compact size. I like the fact that I can easily take it with me when I go shopping for bottles.

3 comments about Antique Trader Bottles Identification & Price Guide.

1. I know bottles...I dig them and I sell them at all the bottle shows in NY,NJ,PA,CT area. I am a professional and am very knowlegable on bottle collecting and appraisals of all kinds. DON'T be fooled by the fancy pictures and the fact it is endorced by Antique Trader. They trusted that he knew what he was talking about when they printed 15,000 copies. They were wrong!
   THERE ARE SO MANY MISTAKEs IN THIS BOOK ON IDENTIFICATION AND PRICING THAT ANYONE IN THE BOTTLE COLLECTING SELLING BUSINESS WILL NOT BUY THE BOOK. I spoke with the author at a recent bottle show where he was selling his book and he refused to acknowlege his own blatent and foolist mistakes through the ENTIRE BOOK which is down right embarassing if you ask me. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!



2. I bought this book for my husband and if you have a generic looking bottle and want to find out information this is not the book for you. If you have visible writing on it, this would be a great find. I'm not the bottle collector in the family and although this was listed as the "bottle bible" I expected more out of it. My husband is pleased with the book. In other words, he gets to do more collecting and I get to run out of cabinet space!



3. Excellent resource with good photos in color! Antique Trader is always a good purchase decision.

5 comments about Warman's Bottles Field Guide: Values and Identification (Warman's Field Guides Bottles: Values & Identification).

1. I know bottles...I dig them and I sell them at all the bottle shows in NY,NJ,PA,CT area. I am a professional and am very knowlegable on bottle collecting and appraisals of all kinds. DON'T be fooled by the fancy pictures and the fact it is endorced by Antique Trader. They trusted that he knew what he was talking about when they printed 15,000 copies. They were wrong!
   THERE ARE SO MANY MISTAKEs IN THIS BOOK ON IDENTIFICATION AND PRICING THAT ANYONE IN THE BOTTLE COLLECTING SELLING BUSINESS WILL NOT BUY THE BOOK. I spoke with the author at a recent bottle show where he was selling his book and he refused to acknowlege his own blatent and foolist mistakes through the ENTIRE BOOK which is down right embarassing if you ask me. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!



2. Good general info about bottle basics & collecting. Lots of pics of bottles you will never see at fleas or garage sales & probably very rarely at antique shows or stores. Could do with more pricing examples and fewer full page pics.



3. This book was missing pages 65 to 96. Just noticed this when using it. Book itself was okay but the pages missing were of beer bottles of which I have a few and wanted to check know that I am retired and have the time to devote to this hobby.



4. Not very useful with superficial info. Not much value for the price.



5. This is a guide that you can take with you to antique shops, flea markets or yard sales as it will fit nicely in a large pocket or handbag. The book not only lists values of thousands of bottles, but also provides tips for bottle identification, advice on buying and selling and trademarks. This is an ideal book for beginners with great, detailed photographs.

5 comments about Bottles: Identification and Price Guide, 3e (Bottles: Identification and Price Guide).

1. A lot of good info for the beginning collector and a fair reference for all.



2. I've been an Antique Bottle Collector for approximately 10 years and have bought all of the previous editions of Bottles: Identification and Price Guide. While the other 3 editions have been excellent and a great help, the 4th Edition is by far the best of the group. The front part of the book with respect to how to understand bottle collecting,the history of bottles and glass, and digging for bottles (which I do) is an excellent update. In addition, the updated pricing sections along with the photographs, both black & white and color, are also extremely helpful. I find that the other area that provided a great deal of help is the back section of the book. The Trademark Section, Glossary, Clubs and Dealer Guide, and Bibliography. Overall, Mr. Polak has done a great job providing a super updated 4th Edition. The book makes mention that it has been called the "Bottle Bible" and I can understand why. It's been extremely helpful to myself and many of my fellow bottle colletors.



3. This book is a very difficult book to use. No index, bad alphabetizing of lists, no cross referencing. It lists mostly high-end bottles, and ignores others. It has pages of useless content. e.g. bottle club listings, bottle dealers, etc - all things that are out of date a month after publication and best found other ways. That space could have been used for something useful, like an index. I recommend this to no one.



4. I have a copy of this book, along with dozens of other books on antique bottles and collecting them. It is one of the least worthwhile of them all, and I am including books published in the 1960s with more listings, better photos, etc. The book shows mainly bottles that are more easily found in the West, and chances are that the bottles you want to find info on will NOT be listed. (Of course, no book can list them all, as there have been hundreds of thousands of different bottles made-just in the US alone). But Mr. Polak's book is a hyped mess of misinformation, fuzzy b&w photos (although he does include a lovely centerfold layout of several beautiful bottles in full color!!) and a "quick course" on identifying the age of bottles which is almost useless, as the problem of learning the true age of a bottle is not always as simple as he makes it sound. The list of glass factory marks has been copied from other writers who copied from Julian Toulouse's book on bottle makers' marks, and some of those are in error just as he first presented them in 1971. Production dates of bottles listed must be taken with some caution. Some of the bottle club information is very outdated, having been lifted from old magazines that are 20+ years old. Information is often vague, with little explanation of exact condition, damage, or the exact embossing variant being referred to, which can make a HUGE difference in the value of a bottle in some cases. I think every bottle collector should have a copy, but mainly as another checklist they can refer to, in order to help find out what all is out there in the field of antique bottles that they MIGHT eventually run into at antique malls, bottle shows, yard sales or by digging them themselves. Values are mostly overrated, some are too high, some are too low. Overall, this book is an example of the type of material that I find disheartening: Lots of HYPE, but not much solid, worthwhile information for the serious bottle collector/hobbyist/historian/digger/amateur archeologist out here!!



5. Don't buy this book. It is a waist of money and time. I have a lot of old bottles and can't find one of them in this book. It says it is the best book for bottle collectors. If it is, why can't I find even a Vicks Vapo Rub cobalt bottle in it?? I am very dissatisfied.

5 comments about Mountain Dew: Hillbilly Bottles.

1. Mountain Dew has always been my favorite drink. Collecting Dew items came naturally. Dick's first 2 books were a great resource for us Dewaholics. Now this third book in the trilogy is finally available, and it's fantastic! How great to have in one place, all this info about our favorite obsession! It's definitely a great value, when you realize all the labor that went into this massive work. YA-HOOO!
   Robb and Sherry Niebeling



2. Since I received this book a few days ago, I have not been able to put it down. As a collector of Dew bottles for over 30 years, I was like a "kid on Christmas" when the book arrived. Little did I know that it would be so detailed. It truely exceeded my expectations! I am going to buy more copies to give as gifts to family and friends.
   You have got to appreciate the effort that Mr. Bridgforth put in to writing this book and preserving a piece of history.
   It goes without saying that every collector, should have this book, but I would highly recommend it to anyone that is interested in history.
   Thank You Mr. Bridgforth, for all your work on saving a piece of the past.



3. I have collected Mt Dew bottles for over 40 years. This is the finest effort yet, to document all known variations. Unbelievable! Over 900 named bottles listed (with individual photos) plus many other non-name variations. The attempt to document the history (including personal photos) of each person listed on the bottles is amazing, and a great bonus to any reader or historian. Without Dick's efforts, the identity of these individuals would be lost forever. This book is a great follow-up to his two earlier books on Mt Dew and is required for any Mt Dew collector's library.



4. WOW ... this book is GREAT!!! I know I speak for all the Mountain Dew
   collectors when I say we have been looking for a complete list of the
   Hillbilly bottles for years and now I have it in my hot little hands.
   Having this book to reference as I go on eBay or to a flea market is
   invaluable.
   
   I kept having questions about this bottle or that bottle. A fellow
   collector told me that there was a FILLED BY DUDE AND ZAYDA but said
   there was no BOTTLE BY DUDE AND ZAYDA. Now I can look it up and actually see a picture of the bottle - and yes there is a BOTTLE BY DUDE AND ZAYDA. I heard that there were two FULMER BOTTLING bottles but no one could really explain the difference to me. Now I know. I have a FILLED BY GUMPY AND DENSEL and one of the lists on the web says there is also a FILLED BY GUMPY & DENSEL. Not so, it is simply GUMPY & DENSEL. This book has it all.
   
   If you collect Mountain Dew hillbilly bottles and don't have this book,
   then you don't really collect Mountain Dew bottles.



5. I can't believe this book is finally out!!! I have been waiting for years for an accurate list of the old named hillbilly bottles and this is beyond my expectations. This book contains everything I every wanted and even things I didn't know I wanted but I did:
   
   1) AN ALPHABETIC LIST of every single hillbilly bottle. The entire list is by name which makes it easy to tell that there are five different CLEM AND GERT bottles (four different FILLED BY and one PUT UP BY). The list has a place for me to check off if I have the bottle or don't.
   2) A DETAILED PICTURE of every single bottle (a close-up picture of the name, a picture of the front, back and basemark).
   3) A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION of every bottle.
   4) THE REAL PEOPLE: When the author was able to find out who the real GERT or JOHN or PETE was, they tell us more about that bottle and what area of the country it comes from. I always wondered why there are seven different variations of the MAW AND PAW bottle - now I know.
   5) A CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM so that with 3 characters "M-01" you can communicate every single detail about a bottle to another collector.
   6) A UNIQUE NUMBER so that you can tell another collector that you have #807.5 and you know instantly that you have the 5th of the 6 different WEST JEFFERSON bottles. That other collector will know that #807.5 is the one with the small font, doesn't have "WATER" in the frame description, etc.
   7) THE RARITY AND PRICE are listed for each bottle.
   8) AN INDEX BY NAME will point you to every bottle that contains any name. By looking for DON we know that there are 11 different bottles that say DON and one that says DONALD. How many Maryland bottles are there? How many North Carolina bottles? Now I know.
   
   This book is awesome .... the third in a series ..... THE TRILOGY IS COMPLETE. Long live the DEW !!!!

3 comments about A Collector's Handbook of Miniature Perfume Bottles: Minis, Mates and More.

1. This book has become my "Collector's bible" since purchase.
   The information is concise, informative and the photos are sharp and clear.An excellent book for beginners and established collectors alike because it deals with modern bottles available world wide.
   The launch dates are a great asset for those who catalogue and date their collection and the price guide enables buyers to keep perspective when bidding or buying.
   One small problem is the indexing which in places is incorrect.



2. This is a great book for all collectors of minis. It has good photographs and information. Best of all, the prices are next to the pictures. This saves a lot of time when looking up many bottles at once.



3. This book is more than a colledtor's handbook, it is my bible. It has brought great joy to my life, I don't know which is more fun-finding my miniatures to purchase or coming home and finding them in Jeri Lyn Ringblums' book. I would purchase any of her work!!!!The color,detail,information about each miniature perfume bottle is wonderful.I would suggest to anyone to buy 2 of her books at a time because the first one will get worn out. Such fun to wear out a Book.

2 comments about Bud Hastins Avon Collectors' Encyclopedia: The Official Guide for Avon Bottle & Cpc Collectors (Bud Hastin's Avon and Collector's Encyclopedia).

1. I AM VERY PLEASED WITH THE BOOK I PURCHASED FROM AMAZON.COM THIS BOOK DID GIVE ME ALL THE INFORMATION I WAS LOOKING FOR. AND DOING BUSINESS WITH AMAZON.COM WAS VERY GOOD, AND THE PRICES AND SHIPPING WERE VERY SATISFACTORY.



2. As a whole it is fantastic. But, by not listing the men's by name, such as "Leather"; it caused me a lot of time and trouble trying to find it.