5 comments about Beatrix Potter Collectibles: The Peter Rabbit Story Characters.

1. Especially for those who are passionate about Beatrix Potter. Sewall and Dubay do an excellent job in showcasing items often overlooked in other price guides. This is not to imply this book is simly a price guide. It is much more - a true delight!



2. Charming book documents Beswick, Royal Doulton, Royal Albert, Wedgwood, Crummles, Eden Plush, Giants, Pull Toys, Musical Toys Hand Puppets, Beanie Babies, etc., Schmid Music Boxes, Anri, Border Fine Arts Figurines, Steiff, Tins, R. John Wright, etc. by author Debby DuBay, foreword by Potter expert Judy Taylor, highlighting Kara and John Sewall's private collection. Fabulous colored photographs with complete descriptions and a value under each. This price guide is easy to read and the only one I could find on general B. Potter collectibles. Highly recommend this lovely yet inexpensive book.



3. Collecting is wonderful and documenting a collection is an honor that Ms. Dubay has bestowed on her friends the Sewall's. There are many books on the market that go into Ms. Potter's life like expert Judy Taylor who wrote the foreword for this book! As a novice collector, of many porcelain pieces, this is the first book I could find that has the values and is actually a useful price guide for the diverse Potter collector. I highly recommend.



4. This charming book opens with Debby DuBay chatting away on how she met the Miss Potter and collector of today - Kara Sewall. I love this book and highly recommend it to all collectors, Peter Rabbit and Potter fans. Thanks to Debby DuBay for another charming book; she has a unique way of inviting us into her life and the lives of her friends and then getting us addicted to whatever the subject is that she is documenting. I am now a Limoges and Potter collector.



5. I have collected Beatrix Potter for many years and finally a price guide is available on many of the pieces I have collected. I highly recommend this book to collectors of Beatrix Potter memorabilia from Wedgwood, Crummles, Schmid Music Boxes, etc., from the 1970s to today. LOVE this price guide!

3 comments about Collector's Encyclopedia of Nippon Porcelain w/ Price Guide : Updated, Series 5 (of 5 Series Set).

1. The pictures are exquisite, but as a new collector, I was somewhat lost. I guess the idea is to buy all 5 books. I really don't like the question and answer format. So much of the information there and elsewhere is irrelevant.



2. This is a wonderfully informative book on the popular collecting field of Nippon Porcelain. More than half the book is brilliant color photos of a wide variety of pieces with dimensions & estimated retail prices.

   What sets this book apart though is the wealth of information for collectors. There is a history of Nippon Porcelain & an insightful section of frequently asked questions. Themes including baseball, dogs & dolls are highlighted.

   I especially enjoyed the original documents reproduced here including early ads with items selling for pennies, design patents, beautiful hand painted salesman sample pages and complete selection of back-stamp marks.

   There is a well illustrated section on the dangerous reproductions now entering the market and many more tips to aid the new or experienced collector. This is a truly indispensable reference on Nippon.




3. The 5th series highlights moriage swans and enameling. Reproduction section is more extensive and updated. There is also a section depicting the style evolution of nippon to further help identify and date items. A MUST for all nippon collectors and dealers.

2 comments about Meissen's Blue And White Porcelain: Dining in Royal Splendor.

1. This is an invaluable book for the Meissen porcelain collector. It is very well written with excellent photos of Meissen Royal as well as other Meissen blue and white patterns. I highly recommend it to all appraisers and lovers of Meissen.



2. Nicholas Zumbulyadis's MEISSEN'S BLUE NAD WHITE PORCELAIN packs well over 300 color photos of dining services, vases and more created by the Meissen porcelain manufactory, displaying pieces from rare, early 19th century museum pieces to 19th century easily-found plates. A history of porcelain painting accompanies the values and survey of pieces available.

No comments about Moorcroft: A Guide to Moorcroft Pottery 1897-1993.

No comments about Vincennes and Sevres Porcelain: Catalogue of the Collections. The J. Paul Getty Museum.

1 comments about American Pottery & Porcelain (Antique Hunter's Guides).

1. Fold your standard sheet of paper in half and that's about the size of this book. -So, when I first saw it I thought I'd be disappointed... BUT I was pleasantly surprised! -It starts off with a brief intro to the different types of pottery (redware, stoneware, yellowware, ironstone,) and porcelain and a history of how they were/are made. It goes on to a visual key which has silhouette figures of items and is helpful to identify what item it is that you have. ...was that a coffeepot or a teapot? :o) After you've id'd your object, you can find the section in the book that corresponds and there you will find a color photo of one example and all sorts of helpful info. on your item. -A short description of what the typical physical size and shape would be, areas where the items were made, comments on typical uses, and hints on what you should avoid/look for. The price guide in the back gives you a ballpark figure of value.
   this book does not focus on any specific brands, rather highlights some of the big name makers and brands that you may want to watch for. For being a general guide, I think this is as good as it gets. I found it superior to any of the Millers, Kovels series. -It actually teaches you what to look for, as opposed to other books which just inform you of what you already have. It is a great reference for collectors and resellers. Small enough to take with you to every auction and yard sale!

5 comments about Blue Ridge China Today.

1. I found this very useful. I have seven different Blue Ridge Pottery books that I used to identify over 1000 pieces I owned. Now I have dispursed my collection and have no use for my books so I will sell them.



2. This book is a wonderful follow-up to their first book! The pictures are clear; as are the names, descriptions and prices. What more could you ask for to assist you in making knowledgeable decisions about Blue Ridge Pottery? We have used this book and their previous book to help us price new pieces for our collection and have found them both to be invaluable! This book is especially good at showing some of the harder-to-find Blue Ridge pieces! Another "must-have" for any serious collector!



3. This book has been extremely helpful to me. I couldnt find half of the patterns in the other Blue Ridge book written by Betty and Bill Newbound. I buy and sell Blue Ridge so I am constantly looking for the names of patterns. Frances and John Ruffin are WONDERFUL people. When I cant find a pattern in their book, I email them with a picture and they tell me the pattern name. It cant get better than that! :))



4. I have every book published on the subject of Blue Ridge china & Southern Potteries. This is the one that my friends and I use on a daily basis, rarely looking at the others. This book is the first one that we pick up and the one we find the easiest to use and the most beneficial. The authors show hundreds of samples of Blue Ridge in an organized fashion that offers assistance with pattern names, shapes and pricing. The authors obviously used their own collection as well as photos from the collections of others. They have shown Blue Ridge as it is found today (many times with defects). It is a tremendous help to me and I could not do without it! I highly recommend that anyone interested in Blue Ridge dinnerware or china pieces purchase this book. You will not be sorry.



5. You would have thought that these authors with the resources at their disposal (collections they visited and chances to take picures of real good pieces)would not have used so many bad pictures. Teapots, candy boxes etc. with mismatched lids. Pattern names placed with wrong plates etc. Would not recommend this book!!!!!

5 comments about If These Pots Could Talk: Collecting 2,000 Years of British Household Pottery.

1. One of the better overviews of everyday household pottery I've come across. The author makes it like taking a lively personable tour of pieces from 2000 years ago to the present. Great ideas for potters and a nice presentation for pottery lovers as well



2. This is the largest, heaviest book I own. Really! I thought it would take years to get through, but the pages are quite thick, and it's well-written. A fun book for the pottery enthusiast who is already familiar with the basics, it gives numerous insights into the detective work employed in the course of archeological research. Refreshingly personal on the part of the author. Each chapter is an appitizer that stimulates the reader's interest in another facet of (unfortunately) rarely encountered pottery. The charming cover adds to the book's appeal as a coffee-table selection, but make sure the table has sturdy legs!



3. Noel Hume compiled this wonderful treasury of ceramics mostly from his personal collection. This book is invaluable in my Colonial Archaeology class. Even if you are midly interested in ceramics, this beautifully illustrated book is an easy read, and very informative.



4. This is a comprehensive review of British pottery and ceramics written by eminent retired archeologist of Colonial Williamsburg and writer Ivor Noel-Hume. It reviews British ceramics for a period covering the past 2000 years and is particularly interesting to Americans because most of the ceramics recovered in American colonial sites were of British origin or European origin associated with the British colonial trade and were therefore exported to the colonies. Noel-Hume is an excellent and entertaining writer and he make the book interesting with personal accounts of how he and his wife Audrey,also an eminent archeologist,collected or recovered many of the examples shown. I would recomend this book to anyone interested archeaology or pottery/ceramics.



5. When I look for a good book on pottery and Porcelain, I always look for something that will not "lull me to sleep" with drole monotone type sentences, but rather something that presents not only important details, facts and descriptions but does so in a interesting manner. With "If these Pots Could Talk" you get everything! From enjoyable "in the field stories" to truly illuminating facts that ever increases ones appreciation of the "pots and dishes" that so many are hasty to overlook once they hear that they hold no "intristic market value".
   This book makes the studying of pottery and porcelain not only interesting but also something that is rarely heard of in the "sophisticated collecting field" FUN!

5 comments about Head Vases, Identification and Values (Identification & Values (Collector Books)).

1. The pictures were very nice but it is not easy to find your head vase by maker or number; you have to look through entire book. Not all makers represented. Disappointed overall.



2. Although this headvase book is not as comprehensive as some of its peers, the collection is vast, displaying a wide variety of headvases, particularly some rare finds which you would not see elsewhere. Excellent companion to the Barron collection !



3. Great book..Swift and smooth transaction and packed well.



4. There is no other way to find out about head vases except to refer to Kathleen Cole's book. This outstanding book is a MUST for collectors, (buyers and sellers) of head vases. It clearly presents information and pictures about unique and collectible head vases. As a buyer of head vases, I would not be without my Kathleen Cole book. Highly recommended source of valuable information!



5. I own this book and with having over 500 headvases it sure is handy! Strictly a pictorial book and a handy check-off list to see which head vases you're missing and need to acquire. With price guide in back you are able to judge what the piece is worth or what you are willing to pay. :) Enjoy!

No comments about Sunken Treasures: Fifteenth Century Chinese Ceramics from the Lena Cargo.