5 comments about Mego Action Figure Toys.

1. Here is the second edition of John Bonavita's Mego action figure guide. The book's cover, which was questionably plain in the first edition, is repeated here with a different background color. This new guide is supposed to be revised and updated, but the only thing I see different are the enormously inflated values on many of these figures. I can count a handful of pictures that are actually new to this edition. I was looking forward to this book as I am an avid Mego collector, but I cannot express to you how disappointed I was in this revised edition. Everything is virtually the same. Some figures are curiously overpriced. (Example: a prototype that is valued at 6000.00, yet it is the only one and has never been sold - where does that value come from?)If you have the first edition of this book, it is enough for you to have some good reference, but this second edition is a total waste of money.



2. When I opened up this book, it spoke to me. It said "This book is for you." I took one look at it and suddenly my childhood came flooding back all over again. Back to when Christmas was magical and there were two mego boxes waiting for me under the tree. By far, this is the most comprehensive mego book on the market. Trust me, I've bought them all. The day this book arrived in the mail changed my life. No serious mego collector should be without one. Use it as a personal checklist, or as a book to remind you of when toys were "cool". Not only does it have all the toys I remembered, but everything I always hoped would have made. Crammed full of an entire museum worth of mego toys, this book has everything from foreign exclusives to unproduced prototypes and production artwork. All the informative stories within are just priceless. I dare anyone to find a more comprehensive mego guide anywhere. There just isn't anything that compares to it. I only wish it could be longer. I just couldn't get enough. If it could be twice the size, I would gladly pay whatever price necessary. This is the book I see people using at all the toy shows. All over the world, this is the book Mego collectors and sellers use. Every up to date Mego discovery is there. When I think Mego, John Bonavita is the man. I have bought every edition and John has never let me down. There's always something amazing. All I can say is keep it coming! I hope Schiffer goes into FOURTH printing, just so I can see what new discoveries John has turned up! Go get'em John, "COLLECT'EM ALL!"



3. If you are into Mego this is the book for you! Between this full color book and the authors toy collection web site (listed in the book at WWW.MEGOHEADTOYS.COM) the world of Mego is 100% covered! A must have especially if you are into Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, The Wizard of Oz and Super Heroes!



4. I enjoyed this book quite a bit (couldn't put it down until I read it cover to cover as a mater of fact). It provides a lot of useful information, and I would consider this book a MUST for any Mego collector (though I'm not sure the latest edition is necessary). If I could make one change to this book, I would make it more of an "action figure archive" or "reference guide" and less of a price guide. It would have been very useful if the book spent more time telling us everything about each figure, including variations and accessories (kind of like the Mego Museum does), that would have made this a GREAT book. Also, this book seems to slight the WGSH figures a bit (i.e., not as much information or pictures about them as about the other figures). Don't get me wrong, I still found this book to be very useful and well worth the money (i.e., it did a lot of what I hoped, just not everything). In short, knowing what I know now, I still still buy this book, and I would encourage anyone interested in Mego figures to do the same.



5. Nice overview of Mego's product lines. Not much commentary, detail or background information on the company or the toys it produced. Photographs could have been larger and cleaner. I would point out that if you are a fan of Mego's World's Greatest Super-Heroes Line, in particular, I would suggest you look to Benajmin Holcomb's book ("World's Greatest Toys"), which has much better coverage and incredible photography.

No comments about Interpreting Objects and Collections (Leicester Readers in Museum Studies).

5 comments about Collector's Guide to Switchblade Knives: An Illustrated Historical and Price Reference.

1. Richard Langston's book is best summed up by the title of this review. His historical and informational references are effused
   with his personality and wit. I enjoyed reading the beginning of this book so much, it left me wanting for more. The early days
   of the cutlery industry in the United States, and Upstate New York in particular, were a fascinating time. To read about this
   history from the perspective of someone who has been an enthusiastic student for most of his life, is a gift not often discovered.



2. Richard Langston is an acknowledged expert in this field and a well known avid collector of automatic knives. He does not disappoint in the "Collector's Guide to Switchblade Knives" . While the book is a little heavily oriented to towards the early twentieth century companies of Pressbutton, Schrade Walden, and their derivatives, this is in keeping with the spirit of the hobby as these are generally the most sought after knives. His insights on the histories of these companies is invaluable from the standpoint of determining age of these products. On the down side, I would have liked to have seen a little more historical and dating information about other companies products and imported knives, but you can only get so much in one book.



3. The most comprehensive book on collectible early switchblades on the market
   Well layed out easy to understand, very good book.



4. Some pictures and grading info, has a wide array of types and years of knifes. "Antique American Switchblades" is ten times a better source.



5. This book has great information on American switchblade history. There is very little information on italian switchblades. All pictures are black and white. If your into American switchblades, this is your book. If your looking for information on Italian switchblades, pass on this book.

2 comments about Rookwood: A Price Guide.

1. This book is not organized, except loosely by types. Pieces are organized poorly or not at all by shapes, not year or number. The authors are not named and their bases for prices are unstated. Its best quality is the quantity of photos. Someone should now take this "first draft" and make it into a book.



2. I picked this book up shortly after it first came out but was ultimately disappointed with it. Yeah, there were illustrations of some pretty pieces, but the values listed didn't seem to have much relation to the real prices Rookwood was being sold for at the time. One normally expects a certain amount of inaccuracy in a price guide when compared to actual market values. But the differences here were just so large that the book was useless. The pictures were nice, but you can find other books on Rookwood with more substance and equally nice pictures. Take a pass on this one.

2 comments about Life Is Short, Art Is Long: Maximizing Estate Planning Strategies for Collectors of Art, Antiques, and Collectibles.

1. The cover illustration appears to be of a wooden doll hanging upside down. My copy doesn't contain any explanation of this, except to give the designer of that cover a name: Sarah Martin.
   
   The author apparently collects folk art, including wooden dolls (a particular set of dolls is prominently mentioned in the text -- although I have no ideal whether this is one of those).
   
   There are lots of loose threads in this book -- estate planning for people in possession of valuable collections and eager to minimize tax losses is a topic worthy of books. In time, I hope, it will prove worthy of a better book than this.



2. I truly believe that this book is a must-read for anyone interested in art. The book is divided into two sections, the first for collectors and the second for financial advisors.
   
   In the first section, Mendelsohn (named one of the top 100 collectors by Art + Antiques Magazine) tells the reader about his own journey collecting art. He provides incredibly valuable tips for other aspiring collectors--such as why you need to get to the auction house early, how to be the first one a dealer calls when a new piece comes on the market, and how to strategically plan a collection's growth. These insider tips make any art lover feel confident about stepping foot into a gallery or auction house to build a world-class collection.
   
   The second section is devoted to planning for the future of a collection. While almost all of us have financial planners, insurance agents, and lawyers to help us plan for our lives, our investments, and our estates, few have someone helping them plan for their art and antique assets. Mendelsohn points out that failing to plan for these pieces can result in losses of over 70%! Therefore, this second half of the book is devoted to helping collectors and their financial advisors plan for their art more effectively.
   
   It's a great resource and I highly recommend it to anyone with a substantial amount of time and money invested in art and antiques.

2 comments about Ohio Art: The World of Toys.

1. Since my mother was Fern Bisel Peat, I was most interested in finding out about this publication, but, unfortunately, I only saw a couple of pages of it. I'd like to know if there are many of her designs included in this publication.



2. I bought this book as I collect the metal farm playsets made by the Ohio Art Co. I was quite disappointed as they had very little information on them. They made many more sets that what is covered in this book. However, if you are interested in their children's watering cans or dish sets, you'll be in heaven as they must show just about everything they ever made. Quite impressive!

1 comments about Cartoon Figural Toys (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. You can buy and read all the other cartoon collectible toy books ever published, but you won't find as many characters or as many figural toys represented in this guide. It is an excellent collection of so many obscure characters, as well as all the major ones. If you collect cartoon toys, especially figural ones, don't pass this one up. It also includes nearly every vinyl figure the company Dakin has every produced. A must for the Dakin collector.

2 comments about Dolls and Accessories of the 1930s and 1940s (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. This is a wonderful compilation of Dolls and Accessories from the 1930s and 1940s...lots of photos, vintage advertisements,great descriptions, and explanations. Easy to read and thorough. Good job!



2. Another wonderfully done book on composition dolls; photography is excellent and many 'minty' dolls are pictured. I would liked to have seen a few more accessories,but the beauty and variety of the dolls makes up for it. This is definitely a keeper and is an outstanding addition to any compo, or American doll, collectors' library.

2 comments about Fashionable Clothing from the Sears Catalogs: Late 1940's.

1. A significant period for fashion; going from the austerities of rationing to the flamboyance of Dior's "New Look". As usual, Tina Skinner (who seems to be doing so many of these books from Schiffer) has done a good job choosing which fashions to show us and Schiffer did a good job with the color and reproduction. There are a couple of pages that seem a bit dark but considering that 60 year old Sears catalogs are not so common, they (Schiffer) might have had to take what they could get. Ah, so many of these clothes I'd love to wear for myself!



2. Much like the other books in this series I was impressed. The pictures are great, many of them are in color which i find very useful. It covers everything that men, women and children were wearing during this era. There is not a lot of text, so if you're looking for a book on fashion to read, this one is certainly not what you'll want. However, if you need pictures to reference, there are tons of great examples and variations on the late 40s. (i.e. Christian Dior's 'New Look').

1 comments about Collectible Drinking Glasses: Identification & Values.

1. This 136 page volume, with prices updated for 1999 features THOUSANDS of glasses, in full color photos. A nice overview and brief history of the hobby is included. Some major topics cover from: Artists and Producers, Characters and Personalities, Fast-Food Restaurants and Food Containers, to Americana, Space Related, Superheros and Sports. Each group of glasses includes photos, a description of the glasses along with a value range. Its completely indexed for ease of use. A must have for collectors of this topic. It carries a list price of $ 17.95.