No comments about The Wonder Of Perfume: Monsen & Baer Perfume Bottle Auction Xiv, April 30, 2004.

1 comments about Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles.

1. I found this book as an early collector of Chinese Snuff Bottles, and I certainly do not think there could be a better source book for either early or indeed continuing collectors. It gave me the insight, history and breadth of knowledge that I was looking for. This book should be a must in every Snuff Bottle collectors armament.

5 comments about Bud Hastin's Avon Collector's Encyclopedia: The Official Guide for Avon Bottle and Cpc Collectors (Bud Hastins Avon Collectors Encyclopedia, 16th ed).

1. I bought this book for several different reasons but mainly for Avon beer steins...most of which my husband has...and didn't get enough information from this book to really be able to price even one out of all that he has...My husband and I both agree that this book is short on information, details, and inventory. Really wish that I had not bought the book.



2. I just received this book and was very disappointed.I have an older avon book with color pages and handy guide.This book had unclear,black and white pictures.Hard to use.I definately would not recommend this book for a collector.



3. I was under the impression that the book had more of a variety of "collectibles" than shown. I have several items from the 60's to the late 80's that I could not find. The collectible I was most interested in finding was a set of 4 Birds from 1986. All 4 are stamped except one--the owl--does not have the year on the base.



4. This book proved very helpful to me, but, there were some Avon items I have that I believe should have been in the book (alongside similar items), but, were not. I would suggest people buy this book if they have Avon items, but, remember that the book is not inclusive.



5. This is a great book for collectors of AVON and Cape Cod Products. Recently used it to price a few items for sell on eBay.com. Only thing that would make the book better is if it where to contain color photos, rther than the black and white ones.

No comments about Chinese Snuff Bottles: A Guide to Addictive Miniatures.

No comments about Collecting Perfume Bottles (Wonderful World of Collecting Perfume Bottles).

1 comments about Antique Glass Bottles : Their History and Evolution (1500-1850) - A Comprehensive Illustrated Guide With a Worldwide Bibliography of Glass Bottles.

1. The publication of Willy's book marks a major milestone in the field of black-glass collecting. It is the first real effort at a comprehensive and authoritative guide on European bottles aimed at a broad English-reading audience worldwide. For years, collectors and others have waited for just such a book to appear. The numerous colour photos are outstanding. The text is clear, to the point, and easy to read. Any collector, no matter where he lives or what he collects, will, after reading the book, be able to pursue his passion in a much more informed way. I highly recommend the book, which should be on the book shelf of every serious bottle collector and student of historical glass containers.

No comments about Figural Whiskey Bottles: By Hoffman, Lionstone, Mccormick, Ski Country, And Others (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

5 comments about B.J. Summer's Guide To Coca-Cola (B J Summer's Guide to Coca Cola Identification).

1. I recently had the opportunity to review another company's Coca Cola collectibles book, they too a well respected publisher of antique and collectibles books and there's no doubt about it, the B.J.Summers Sixth Edition guide has got that one beat hands down. This is a thoroughly beautiful book. Hardcover, thick, glossy stock pages, and fantastic photography highlight this book.
   
   The introduction provides legend keys to the condition as well as the source of the item's value which I think is very important. Summers lets the reader know if the value came from a collector, a completed auction, a dealer, or the author himself. The book then presents 46 different item categories, everything from signs, bottles, calendars and trays, to more eclectic items like Jewelry, no-drip protectors, and ashtrays. There's also a miscellaneous chapter for items that don't fit into one of the other 45 categories.
   
   I was absolutely fascinated by the number of items pictured in the book. With nearly 300 pages and as many as 10 items pictured per page, there are literally thousands of different Coke items pictured. The signage is simply fantastic, particularly those featuring celebrities such as Eddie Fisher and jazz musician Lionel Hampton. In all there are 82 pages of signs alone. Does it picture EVERY Coca Cola sign ever made? Of course not, but what book does? Still even if you have one that isn't pictured, you should be able to find one similar that you can use as a basis for value.
   
   I really enjoyed the section on coolers and those bright, red coolers of days gone by. I remembered the old Coke cooler we used to have back in the early 70's. Like a lot of people, I love the Coke Santa items, especially those great ads by Haddon Sundblom which look great framed and are still very affordable today.
   
   The problems are few and minor. The categories could have been laid out in alphabetical order but instead there seems to be little rhyme or reason to the order. That said, it's still a truly wonderful book that will delight collectors or just plain fans of nostalgia.
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson



2. This was a very helpful and informative guide to Coca-Cola collectibles. I would highly recommend it to any serious collector. Full of valuable information.



3. We have quite a few old Coke signs and none were in this guide. We were disappointed to say the least.



4. Pros: Extensive selection of signs and cardboard items with lots of nice colour photos throughout. Many items in this book aren't in Petrettis, so it makes a good companion. All up I am happy with this book and use it regularly to price and check items.
   
   Cons: The book is hoplessely laid out and it can be very hard to find items as it seems there is no logic to the order items are listed or displayed. It seems the entire book is largely made up from the collection of one or two private collections and as such prices can be inflated compared to market values, plus many items are missing simply because these collectors didn't feel they are important enough. As with most other Coca-cola collectors books this one is entirely US centric with very little information on foreign items.



5. *****April 2005 UPDATE: "Could be great" but after seeing the 5th edition, the publisher has taken a book with great potential and flushed that potential down the toilet. What they did was gloss up the paper and make it look old-fashioned (it doesn't work for me, but maybe it will for others), but the huge mistake is that they actually dropped a significant number of items from the book and went overboard hiking up the price values! If you are a serious collector, browse through the 5th edition at a bookstore, before buying it. END UPDATE*****
   
   This guide has great potential, but somebody should do some usability studies on it to make it better. It's a chore finding a specific item. For example, collector trays: I still can't figure out what logic was used to arrange/order them in the book. By title? By name? The index at the back of the book is incomplete and often worthless. For example, there's a whole section on blotters in the front index, but try finding "blotter" in the back index.
   
   Prices are conservative. Unrealistically low in many cases.
   
   There are items that aren't found in other guides, and the color pix are exceptional. I really like this guide, but it has design flaws that need to be fixed.

No comments about Miller's Buyer's Guide: Kitchenware: What to Look For & What to Pay for Over 2,000 Items of Kitchenware (Miller's Buyer's Guide).

3 comments about Commercial Perfume Bottles.

1. This is the book to indulge in envy! Most of the collection pictured and written about is unavailable to the average collector, however it is a visual feast and the text about the perfumiers is informative. I do not regret having purchased this book and look upon the contents as my "wish list" or holy grail of perfume bottle collecting.



2. This book is a visual feast for the eyes. The photos of the perfume bottles are wonderful and can make perfume bottle collectors drool with the possibilities. This book can serve as a great educator to the types and eras of the bottles. I believe I have the earlier version of this book because I could not find a referenced photo (from the 1997 book) in my book. I found several bottles from my collection and I have selected a few bottles after finding them in the book. The section on patents of the various bottles has also helped me date several bottles. The price list section is helpful but I'm sure it is outdated. It has helped me when I bid on-line for a bottle to insure I have not drastically under or over bid. My only criticism would be that many of the bottles are very exclusive, rare and very expensive bottles that the beginning collector could not hope to possess. It would also be helpful to have a few more of the brand name perfumes from the past. Nevertheless, I have never regretted purchasing this book and I would recommend this to any collector.



3. The photographs in this book are outstanding. It is well written and has an excellent price guide. I thought too much space was taken up with vintage perfume ads. Some perfume collectors also collect vintage ads, but there was no price guide for these ads. I think without a price guide it was just filler.