5 comments about Murder in Clichy (Aimee Leduc Investigations, No. 5).

1. Like Paris, the newest novel in the Aimee Leduc series is complicated, elegant, and lush with pleasures. I've ardently followed this series from the start. As always, Paris herself is a leading character (and the history of France is too); unlike other popular writers Black draws a Paris very much like the real one, of wealthy aristos and struggling immigrants, refinement and poverty, where past and present mingle with comfortable familiarity. We also are given more and richer insights into Aimee and, in particular, her partner Ren. I am loving the way Aimee, and Black, are developing. This is the best Leduc Detective yet.



2. One of the problems with reading a novel that is part of a series is not reading until the fifth. Black's descriptions of Paris and the ambience of the neighborhoods reads like a well written travelogue on Lonely Planet. But I got tired of the number of times people drummed their nails or their finger or rattled their cups on a "zinc counter". Or how many time's Aimee had to changed torn fishnet stockings. Sometimes I got the feeling that the story was secondary to Black's knowledge about different areas of Paris.
   
   As to the story...it gets in it's own way from time to time, and sometime just meanders along, "like the Seine on an amber autumn morning, lit by sun filtering through the clouds and fallen chestnut tree leaves, as lovers wandered hand in hand among the book stalls". Sorry got carried away...
   
   Hard to tell whether she was trying to flesh out the story or had condensed it! Bottom line, the mystery was good and kept you guessing, but much of the time that may have been because we were "darkly looking through a nineteenth century, dappled window, which are so reminicent of the 14th arrondisement".



3. This is the best in the Aimee Leduc series I've read yet! Not only does Cara Black show you Paris, she shows that it's not all the Louvre and the Champs-Elysees. She takes you where the tourists seldom go, to the arrondissements that the guidebooks never even mention. She shows you Paris from all sides, the Jewish, Muslim, North African, and Asian sides. She shows what it's like for former French colonials who returned, and former colonial subjects that relocated to France. In this book, she explores the Vietnamese community in Paris and seems to have done a lot of research. Most of us know something about the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, but not much is said about what went on before that. This book at least opens the door to the history of that country and France's involvement as a colonial power. It makes you want to read further. She also explores other items of interest, such as the French legal system, the art world, the symbolic properties of jade in East Asian cultures, and the area of Clichy itself, which is not even listed in the index of the DK Eyewitness Guide. If you really want to get to know Paris, this is a good place to start. The one thing I dont understand is that she always sets her books in the early 1990s rather than the present. This means areas may have changed radically by now. The plot is nonstop action, and while sometimes not quite realistic, it's fun to read. I love the scene where Aimee escapes down a garbage chute. If Aimee had pet rats like me, she wouldnt find them quite so horrifying. They'd prefer a nice clean home, too. The character I'm liking more and more is Aimee's partner Rene. I'm glad the author gave him an expanded role in this story, and I hope she continues to do so. He's really amazing; they should do more mystery solving as a team. Don't pay too much attention to negative comments, this series is a winner and I can't wait for the next one.



4. I just love this series. Paris is our favorite city in the world and even after 10 or 12 trips we don't feel we know it well enough. This series is great and Aimee is a great charater. Each series provides neat insight into a different neighborhood.



5. I read this book twice, not because I liked it so much but because I couldn't remember whether I'd read it before or not. Usually if I've already read a book, I'll remember that by the time I've read ten or twenty pages. But this time, I picked the book up in the bookstore, read the beginning, looked at a random assortment of other pages, checked the copyright date: 2006, surely I had read it, because I read all Cara Black's books. But there just wasn't anything that sounded familiar. So I went ahead and bought it.
   
   In fact, I was about a third of the way through by the time I knew for sure that I had read it before. But since I had forgotten it so thoroughly, I figured at might as well keep reading.
   
   Then at about the half-way point, I had a thought which I remembered having had the first time I read it. Namely: Why am I reading this? There's no real story here except for the standard hard-boiled detective plot, where the only thing that really happens is that the hero (heroine in this case) keeps getting threatened and beat up.
   
   The McGuffin in the story is a bunch of jade figurines. Aimee is given them by a Vietnamese Buddhist nun who she doesn't know, and as a favor promises to deliver them somewhere. But they are stolen from her. Suddenly everybody wants them. But why should Aimee care, and why should the reader? Maybe they are very old, maybe valuable, but so what? It's only toward the end of the book that a justification is given for why these pieces of jade should be so important, but even then it doesn't sound very convincing.
   
   There are many too many characters in this book, and they are very thin. Except for the heroine Aimee and her sidekick, I found it very hard to keep track of them. Along the way, for a while Aimee is considering having sex with one of the main villains (who she doesn't yet realize is a villain), an arrogant rich older man. Vaguely reptilian, perhaps. Here's a hint for women novelists: Your heroine will be judged by the men they are attracted to. There is nothing whatsoever that makes this guy attractive, and my reaction at this point is: WTF is going on here?
   
   I finally decided that maybe I have just got tired of Cara Black. But I went ahead and bought her latest (at least latest in paperback), Murder in the Rue du Paradis. And it's great! She's hitting her stride again.

5 comments about Antiques Roadshow Primer : The Introductory Guide to Antiques and Collectibles from the Most-Watched Series on PBS.

1. Antiques Roadshow is an enigma. It is at the same time one of the most informative shows on television and one of the most misleading. This book is quite similar. The information presented to help identify styles is very good overall, although there are some serious shortcomings in certain sections. However, this book also includes the ubiquitous "Find" featured on the show which gives the reader an unrealistic expectation of the value of what they may own.

   Also featured in the book are sections on items which are "out." In many of those sections I found items which sell quite well in our local market as well as online. It seemed that the decision to call something "out" was made solely on price issues. Invariably in this work the items which bring sums over $1000 were mentioned while hot collectibles & antiques that can be had between $50-$500 were either left out or barely touched upon in the text.

   I use this book as a reference for styles, periods, and such, but I do not trust their market research any more in print than I do on TV. ....and I'm a professional appraiser.




2. Really a fun read, on a very unique show. Frankly, what I love most about the show is when somebody thinks they have something so valuable and it's fake, they are so smug, then shocked, it's priceless to watch them recoil. They should get this book and they might learn how to spot a fake. Honestly, those two weird twins on the show freak me out, they are so bizarre looking, but those two ecentric fops really know american antique furniture and their expertise is honed in this book. But seriously, if you enjoy the roadshow or just want to know more about antiques then I do recommend this book



3. If you love the Antiques Road show you will love this book! It's packed with Beautiful full color pictures of the antiques that made the show such a hit, and the stories that go with them.
   
   There's even profiles of all the antique dealers that have been in the show since the beginning.



4. An excellent book for the collector, both new or experienced. Newcomers will get most from this book, but there were useful tips even for old hands like myself. Covers major categories of antiques and collectibles in a very readable and informative way. Has useful tips on telling good from bad, old from new and which categories to avoid until you become more experienced. There are better books if you are looking to learn the history of a particular area of collecting, but as a primer to give you an appreciation of antiquing and helping you avoid the sometimes costly and simple (yet common) mistakes it cannot be beaten in my view.



5. This book had an easy and well organized format. It would be a helpful guide, especially for the beginning collector.

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

1. 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



2. 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



3. I am an Avon rep and have always used this book. I ordered the current edition for myself and another person who collects Avon items



4. I bought this book with the idea that it would be a valuable resource for me when I sell some of my collectibles. While I did find most of my items and the current market value is there for me to sell or get insurance, the one thing I needed most was the issue price. I have no clue as to what I paid 25 years ago. No one thought to keep receipts back then. Since these items are considered collectible, IRS regulations require that it be reported on Schedule D and you pay tax on the gain. If you have no idea as to the cost, you end up paying tax on 100% of the sale price! Who wants to do that!!! If this book contained the issue price, that could be used as a cost basis.



5. I found this book to be helpful in determining the values of most of the pieces in an Avon collection that was inherited. Unfortunately some were not but they were minor items. All in all a very informative book for the serious collector.

5 comments about Rogues' Gallery: The Secret History of the Moguls and the Money that Made the Metropolitan Museum.

1. I enjoyed the content of the book, but the Kindle edition is badly formatted and was clearly never proofread before release. Important information to the story, like amounts of money given or spent, come out garbled clumps of letters and numbers because the dollar sign threw off the Optical Chracter Recognition conversion program they were using. Other annoyances were the loss of footnote numbers, so that many of the footnotes were identified only as .'; this is critical since the footnotes are not at the bottom of the page, but at the end of the main text. Minor irritations, but indicative of a lack of proofreading, are all the German names whose umlaut became an apostrophe over empty space and other foreign words whose accent or circumflex caused them to come out as a string of cartoon profanity.



2. I am truly fascinated by who would find this book interesting or useful. I've worked with hundreds of museums for over 40 years (including The Met) and I'm finding the book very interesting but I can't figure out who the book's target audience is (if it in fact has one). New Yorkers? The reviews giving this book 4 and 5 stars seem to be primarily from New Yorkers. People who work/have worked/have worked with/for The Met?
   
   I'm reading this book on the Kindle which I find makes reading a book seem much shorter than reading the print version. Yes, there are formatting errors but that's true of just about all of the books I've read on the Kindle. I really can't imagine reading this in print as the first couple of hundred pages (as other reviewers have noted) are endless lists of donors, new trustees, dead trustees, prices paid for things, annual budgets, etc.
   
   If you're interested in reading this book, I strongly recommend reading it on a Kindle. Or, if you don't have a Kindle, get this through your local library.



3. This is a fascinating glimpse into an amazing museum and into a life that most of us would have no chance to ever be a part of. What strikes me most is not the incredible amount of money and privilege but the owning of paintings that I know and have seen at The Met- the stories behind many of them having once been hung in someone's apartment. It's just hard to take in. The fact that someone needs generations of connections to be part of this world. The politicking makes politics look like nothing.
   
   The details and stories are so rich. I can't imagine how long it took to research this book. Having just finished reading it last night I am dying to take a trip to NYC now.
   
   Now, the Kindle version is very disappointing. There are countless typos and information left out. A painting sold for "%&@"... what does that mean?? How much did it sell for? Or someone is worth "si^*%^^" million dollars. Huh? Or a name will appear as characters I can't even find here on my keyboard. Or the new wing cost "-*^^" million dollars. It was incredibly frustrating.



4. I found this well-researched book an interesting look into the history and workings of the Metropolitan Museum, so I'm grateful I read this book and therefore learned a lot about the world of art and art museums.
   
   And yet I'm disappointed with ROGUES' GALLERY. Here's why: So many characters come and go I couldn't bond with any of them, even though Mr. Gross fills his book with many short, interesting biographies; so I suspect I didn't bond partly because the characters are, for the most part, depicted coldly and unfavorably. I got the strong feeling that Mr. Gross is biased against the wealthy and wrote his book - though certainly not a hatchet-job - with a clear agenda.
   
   (I've worked as a chauffeur so I've had a lot of first-hand experience with the wealthy of New York.)
   
   I'm sure many of the people who helped make the Metropolitan Museum what it is today were decent people with a strong love of art, some of whom donated their collections so the public - the non-rich - could enjoy them. I would have liked to have met those generous people. If I had this book would be a fairer, more-accurate history, and therefore a better one.



5. The Kindle version of "Rogues' Gallery:..." HAS AN ERROR ON EVERY PAGE. Missing punctuation, horrific misspellings of foreign words and proper names, typos on every monetary symbol and amount. I started making my own footnotes, but gave up because the process is so encumbered, not user friendly, and pointless since there is no way to directly contact Amazon, get a replacement copy that is properly edited or a credit for my purchase!
   
   Just prior to reading this, I purchased and read "THe Man Who Outshone The Sun King" and it was missing all its illustrations.
   
   I won't be buying any more ebooks from Amazon, but will try other suppliers, and wait for the 2nd generation of IPad and a back lit touchscreen.

5 comments about I Sold Andy Warhol (Too Soon).

1. This is a chatty, informative and even, at times, humorous look at the comings and goings in the world of selling and buying fine art. The author had one of the Andy Warhol "Fright Wig" paintings and he sold it at an auction for a price that completely satisfied him. Of course, in two years the painting was sold again for triple the price. Now it is worth in the millions. Hence the book's title.
   
   If you are not much interested in art I don't think you would enjoy this book. I liked it myself, but I teach Art History. Students often are amazed at the price of fine art and this books gives some very good background.



2. Art has become a multimillion dollar business. "I Sold Andy Warhol (Too Soon)" is one man's reflections on the world of art and how it has quickly departed from admiring artistic expression to being all about the art on green paper we call money. Jaded, surprised, and disappointed, Richard Polsky tells what can be a sad tale of the commercialization of human creativity. "I Sold Andy Warhol:(Too Soon)" is a fine and recommended read that is well worth considering for art fans critical of the direction of the modern world of art.



3. Terrific follow up to 'I Bought Andy Warhol.' Sad sack art dealer Richard Polsky proves the ineptitude of the so-called secondary market dealer. Hilarious. Well written. A real page turner.



4. I'm admittedly ignorant when it comes to the art world. While I enjoy looking at art, I haven't the least clue as to what makes one painting more valuable than another. Surprisingly, this ignorance didn't keep me from enjoying this hysterical art world expose.
   
   Polsky relates the tempestuous, oft-times greedy, heady business of high-end art collection. From the artists themselves to the dealers to the famous auction houses, Polsky chronicles the premature sale of his beloved Andy Warhol painting at auction (he needed the money to fund his wife's obscene shopping habit).
   
   One forgives the occasional over-the-top, Chandler-esque metaphor ("....festered like a piece of rotting fruit") because Polsky is just so damned entertainingly informative. The art world reads like a soap opera run amok. Ever wonder how a piece of art comes to sell for millions and millions of dollars? What makes it "worth" that amount? Polsky explains it all and I thoroughly enjoyed it.



5. In i sold Andy Warhol. (too soon), Richard Polsky takes the reader on a tour of high priced art and the dealer world of artists, buyers, sellers, galleries, auction houses, and of course, the deal. Polsky is well suited to this task as he has been involved in most of these roles. As a former galley owner and collector, he purchased art and sold it. He is intimately familiar with the big auction houses and the inside manuverings that characterize the transfer of great art from one collector to another.
   
   The book is loosely organized around Polsky's quest to find an Andy Warhol painting for one of his clients. They work the network, approaching known Warhol collectors, quizzing galleries, and attending auctions. All of this brings angst to Polsky. He had had a Warhol and sold it years ago, before the meteoric rise of art prices. Seeing what a Warhol brought at today's prices (a million or more) made his selling that much more painful.
   
   I found the discussion about how the art world is changing quite interesting. Polsky sees a decline in galleries and more and more attention shifting to the big auctions. He redefines himself in this world, changing his role to an art purchasing advisor rather than a gallery owner, and believes this is where many who want to stay in this world will end up as a career choice. I also found the world of the super-rich and their concerns interesting.
   
   This book is recommended for anyone interested in art, how artists work, and especially the finance of great art.

5 comments about Knives 2010: The World's Greatest Knife Book.

1. I get the Knives each year for my husband who makes knives. He keeps each issue and I know enjoys looking through them. If you like or make knives, I highly recomend the yearly Knives books.



2. Knives 2010 is a great addition to any knife enthusiast or collector. The chapters are well written and include quite a bit of information concerning trends and this volume includes a knife making dvd. A good buy for sure.



3. All the knives knifemakers want collectors to buy and very few you can actually use. The feature stories are also no where near the quality of writing that editor Ken Warner once found for the book.



4. All of these series books have nice great pictures in the first half or so of the pages then page after useless page of phone book style listings of maker after maker. This info would be better put on a single "source" web page and be more up to date as well! BUT then this book would look more like a magazine than a book. You see this black and white w/little to no photos in the back of the book is cheap filler to make your magazine look like a book, we all did it in school, you know triple spacing, redundant verbage, etc. I still like these books simply because I buy them a year old and get them for magazine prices. To see one new knife design makes it worth the price.



5. Not sure I would have bought one with prices in it, but think my son, 19 will still enjoy it. He loves knives and guns.

5 comments about Mr. Wilson's Cabinet Of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Techno logy.

1. Splendid little read, profound in its own way, and outright devilish. Absolutely in keeping with its subject matter; anything shy of devilish would have been cheating.
   
   The Museum of Jurassic Technology, to trim descriptions to the bare minimum in the interests of time and of not spoiling the fun, is a museum that may or may not be entirely a joke on the part of its owner. If it is a joke, it is the most ornately gilded, realistically depicted, and intellectually rewarding joke yet perpetrated on the good citizens of California.
   
   Lawrence Weschler may or may not, himself, be in on the joke. The whole thing, if it is not a joke, is a delicious insight into what the modern world has gained and lost, and an attempt to restore some of what's disappeared.
   
   Well worth the two hours of reading. If I had more time, I would certainly recreate the research that Weschler did when he started to get obsessed with the MJT.



2. I love this book! It is fascinating! and well written! You will want to visit the museum after reading this book; if you've been there, it will enrich your visit! Unique.



3. This odd little book celebrates the odd little Museum of Jurassic Technology (MJT) in Los Angeles. Really, the book celebrates wonder itself.
   
   I have not been to the MJT, but this book has certainly put it on the itinerary of my next trip to LA. Presenting itself as a natural history museum, the MJT features meticulously detailed exhibits that may or may not pertain to "real" phenomena. The pronged ant of the title, for example, may be unknown to science under the name Megolaponera Foetens but, as Wechsler discovers, its odd life history is perfectly plausible: a large ant, and the only one that produces a cry audible to humans, normally forages on the forest floor; however, after ingesting the spore of a fungus, it climbs upward and then waits to die as the fungus consumes its body from the inside, finally generating a spike about an inch long from the place where the ant's head was, which distributes spores downward, to be breathed by other Megolaponera Foetens.
   
   The book (and, presumably, the MJT) makes you think about the purpose of museums, and whether the relative "truth" of things that astonish you matters.
   
   In other words, since reality routinely trumps imagination, why quibble?



4. I share the disappointment of other reviewers who found MWCoW a little smug and scattershot and who thought it did poor service to an otherwise fascinating topic. Before reading this book, I had never heard of David Wilson or the MJT. Since my knowledge of both is mediated entirely by this book, I hesitate to extend my judgment beyond the book, save to say: I find it puzzling that anyone would take much interest either in faking museum exhibits or in viewing/contemplating fake exhibits. I appreciate that the MJT is at once a kind of museum and a kind of commentary on the idea of museums. The idea behind the MJT is an interesting one, but I hardly see the point of building an actual institution around it (with rental space, membership fees, and all). If Wilson's purpose is to reinvigorate the notion of wonder and/or people's sense of it, and to teach them something about how that sense was tapped into at different times in history, then why the mix of the real and the confabulated? Isn't there wonder enough in the real? The more I read through MWCoW, the more I found myself questioning whether anything Weschler was writing about was real, including his quotes of putative primary and secondary source materials and photographs of alleged exhibits. Rather than provoke my curiosity, as I assume Weschler (speaking for(?) Wilson) intended to do, Wechsler simply left me wondering why I'd bothered to read his suspect account at all. For similar reasons, I have yet to grasp why I should bother paying the MJT a visit. But perhaps I have Wechsler, not Wilson, to blame for that. I reserve final judgment (and may pay a visit just yet). 2 stars for the generally solid writing in MWCoW; for some interesting reflections along the way; and for the very interesting subject matter at the root of this book: Wunderkammern, wonder, museums, the collecting impulse, etc. Less 3 stars for the far from satisfying brew. Pulitzer and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist? Seriously?



5. Wonder.
   
   Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder by Lawrence Weschler revolves around the concept of wonder. It's an abstract thing. It's said that wonder was what instigated the outpour of creativity called the Renaissance.
   
   Mr. Wilson's Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles looks like a run-down storefront from the outside. From the inside, it looks like a junkyard: glass cases with veiny cracks, dusty shelves. There is a wide variety of strange exhibits, like carvings on pits of fruits or horns that have grown out of women's foreheads.
   
   Lawrence Weschler stumbles upon this place. Maybe it was his writer's intuition that told him there was a story here, but he went inside and looked around. He talked to the museum's owner and founder--a man named David Wilson.
   
   Half the things in Mr. Wilson's Museum of Jurassic Technology do not seem possible. There is a fine line between realism and fiction. With Mr. Wilson, that line becomes blurred.
   
   Weschler not only learns about the museum itself. He digs deeper. "I asked him what had first attracted him to museums, and he replied, `Well, their museumness. How dark and hushed they were inside, the oak-and-glass cases, the sense of being in these repositories amongst all those old things...'"(42).
   
   Mr. Wilson is the one aspect about Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder that is memorable. He is the quintessence of a dreamer. He used to made documentaries. Then, he started the museum. The pure wonder of the museum pulled him in.
   
   His wife, Diana, is as much an integral part of the museum as David is. She's even gone as far as mortgaging the house to pay for her husband's eccentric desire. She complements him perfectly. They fit like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
   
   "He passed her a slip of paper upon which he'd scrawled the simple phrase, `Museum of Jurassic Technology.'
   
   "`What's this?' Diana asked him. `Your life's work?'
   
   "And he just smiled" (51).
   
   It's little pieces like this that capture David Wilson in a perfect orb of wonder. Weschler does a fantastic job of inserting little snapshots of Mr. Wilson's life into his story. Here, his writing becomes something different. It's lively and vivid. It takes the small things and puts them into the spotlight so they receive the attention they deserve.
   
   But even David Wilson can't rescue this book. It's hard to pinpoint the exact reason why. In theory, this sort of bizarre museum would make great fodder for a story. That makes Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder an even bigger disappointment. Perhaps it's the absence of a story or any sort of suspense or curiosity whatsoever. Great anecdotes are spurious and inconsistent. Then there's this looming shadow of falsity. For reasons unknown to the reader, scientists mentioned don't exist and pearl bracelets of a famous singer actually belong to Mr. Wilson's daughter. If I wanted to read about make-believe, I would have read Alice in Wonderland. I wouldn't have read this. It's written like a reference book.

5 comments about Collecting Costume Jewelry 303.

1. Wow, Julia Carroll has done it again. I wish I could give this book 10 stars instead of 5! Like her other two books this new costume jewelry book is a great reference chocked full of interesting and useful information. I especially love the chapter on Takahashi birds which includes tips on how to identify the unmarked ones. I sat down and read this book cover-to-cover as soon as it arrived. Well worth the price!



2. The jewelry books by Julia Carroll just keep getting better and better! She features examples & topics never seen before in other books. I loved seeing all the old stone catalog pages with examples, the chapter on learning how important it is to study the back of the jewelry as well as the front, and all the beautiful jewelry featured in the Jewelry Album. She also tops it off with wonderful articles on Sandor and Takahashi bird pins that will delight any collector. I could not put the book down! I have been collecting for many years but it goes to show that the learning process never ends. Keep it up, Julia!



3. As with her two previous books, Julia Carroll has created a work packed with information. Books in the collecting costume jewelry genre are too frequently simply filled with photographs where a blue rhinestone brooch...is described as " BLUE RHINESTONE BROOCH".
   Ms. Carroll's books apply scholarship and research to a subject that has seen little of that, particularly in the widely available mass market jewelry most of us see regularly. Filled with informative text, it's also lavishly illustrated.
   I highly recommend this book as well as her first two books as indispensible to a dealer or collector of costume jewelry.



4. Julie's book are always a delight to receive!Just like getting an early Christmas present,and one that I will enjoy using for years to come. Her dedication to the history of costume jewelry shows in each of her publications. Costume Jewelry 303 concentrates on such topics as stones, findings, and manufacturing techniques and how they were used by various jewelry companies. I found the information on different stone types particularly fascinating. She has also included two spotlight articles on Sandor jewelry and Takahashi bird jewelry. Julie has done more than most authors to preserve the history of costume jewelry manufacturing in the U.S.A. that might otherwise have been lost. Her research in tracking down the few remaining people who were involved in the actual manufacturing is amazing. This book goes right on the shelf next to Julie's other books that I refer to practically daily.
   I am in the costume jewelry business and rely on her writings for essential (and accurate) information about my inventory.



5. "Collecting Costume Jewelry 303", Julia Carroll's third book, is a wonderful successor to her first two volumes. Once again, Mrs. Carroll has produced a book that both informs and delights. From the in-depth study of Sandor Goldberger jewelry in Chapter 1 to the Jewelry Album in Chapter 6, this book is a joyous ride through the fascinating world of collectible costume jewelry. As in her other two volumes, "Collecting Costume Jewelry 101" and "Collecting Costume Jewelry 202", the information here is heavily-researched, sorted, organized and presented in an easy-to-use manner. The photos are, once again, all about the jewelry. Crystal-clear and clean, with no distracting backgrounds, the lovely pieces are presented in all their glory. The catalog pages shown throughout the book are so well-photographed that one can read every word, right down to the pricing. The chapter on Takahashi Bird Pins gives these lovely creations the attention they have long deserved, while the chapter on Craft Jewelry of the 1960's and 70's illustrates the danger of judging on surface looks alone whether or not a piece is designer-made. The chapters on Stones and Findings are highly detailed and packed full of information, conveniently collected here in one place. Like her first two volumes, this book works on many levels and for all collectors, whether they are just getting started or have years of experience. I have all three of Mrs. Carroll's books, and they are always the volumes I consult first. If you are building a library on collectible costume jewelry, Julia Carroll's books are a must-have. Definitely worth purchasing!

5 comments about Collecting Costume Jewelry 101.

1. "Collecting Costume Jewellery 101" is essentially a beginners' guide to the main makers of (American) designer costume jewellery. Other information is also given, such as how to repair and clean costume jewellery and what to do with unwanted jewellery, all of which would be useful to a person starting a costume jewellery collection. However, the vast majority of this book are devoted to summaries of the main jewellery making companies.
   
   For most designers, the summary given is brief, comprising the dates of operation of the company; a brief history of the company; the signature look of the product; and buying recommendations. Nevertheless, this is more than enough for a beginning collector. Greater detail is given about Coro, Kramer, Trifari and Weiss, however, four designers whom Carroll recommends for beginning collectors. Numerous color photographs are also provided for each designer, with values given for each piece of jewellery.
   
   For people seeking a more detailed discussion of designer costume jewellery, I recommend the sequel to this book, "Collecting Costume Jewellery 202", although both books are well worth investing in.



2. I read the reviews before I decided to purchase this book... and everyone was right! It is fantastic. You can obtain a wealth of knowledge about costume jewelry within a day or two. Julia C. Carroll leaves nothing out of this colorful, practical and FUN resource. Answers to questions will be right at your fingertips. It is like having your own personal guide as you scroll through eBay or prepare to go to the antique malls. If you or someone you know is new to collecting costume jewelry from the 40's, 50's, 60's and beyond, this is the book to get! I am already excited to order 202.



3. I'm learning the business which includes vintage jewelry and this is a very valuable resource, packed with wonderful and interesting information



4. Fabulous book for the beginner or seasoned collector. Deserves highest rating. Well worth every penny and more.



5. This is a useful book to have for a vintage jewelry collector or seller. It gives lots of helpful advice and lists many manufacturers with info and dates, which I find helpful. The advice section of each jewelry is a little repetitive.

5 comments about Kovels' Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide 2010: America's Bestselling and Most Up to Date Antiques Annual - 42nd Edition (Kovels' Antiques and Collectibles Price List).

1. This price guide is incredibly thorough! There are thousands of prices crammed into this book that cover a huge variety of items. All the prices in the book are actual prices rather than estimates so I feel confident that these prices are giving me an accurate reading of the market.
   
   Besides the prices, I also found the information on the sidebars to be very helpful and enjoyed the many color pictures included. There are a huge variety of items here, but the Kovels do a great job of organizing them so you can easily find what you're looking for. All in all, it's a spectacular companion to anyone interested in antiques and the kinds of prices you should be paying for them. Many thanks to the Kovels for saving me time and money!!!!



2. I love the Kovels knowledge base, but as my research usually includes finding out what the item is called, I can't always find what I'm looking for. More pictures would help.



3. Such a pleasure to see the value in recovered family treasures that would normally be lost or put in a garage sale. This book is so very informative to the average person who has no knowledge of the valur of forgotten things. It has colorful pictures that give you a very good idea of what you are looking for and up to date values. It is a valuable addition to anyones book shelf.



4. Bought this product for my boyfriend who had a cold when he got it. He loved it. His daily shower turned into therapy and helped perk him up too. The value on the multipack is well worth it. A great buy!



5. If you know what you have and it's easily identified such as a name brand or specific logo, date, size etc. then this book may help. Far more of the book should have been devoted to descriptions and photo I.D. such as the side bars throuhout the book show. The one line descriptions and price that fill most of the pages are a waste in my opinion. If you know exactly what you have and want a value then this book may be for you. If you are trying to identify what you have then look elsewhere for help.