1 comments about Lorenzo de'Medici, Collector of Antiquities: Collector and Antiquarian.

1. What were the collecting habits and passions of a grand fifteenth century Italian ruler named de'Medici?
   
   This year one volume answers that question and outshines all others on the subject of de'Medici collecting. Lorenzo de'Medici, Collector of Antiquities is that single work. A vast and painstakingly researched volume by Laurie Fusco and Gino Corti, it covers Lorenzo de'Medici's passions as a collector of objects from antiquity and the post-antiquity period, like no other before it.
   
   This groundbreaking work details de'Medici as an important patron of the arts in fifteenth century Florence. The monograph is one any serious collector of the period and of antiquities must have in their library. I call it a groundbreaking work yet it is much more than that, it is the first detailed and highly documented account of a great man of power and wealth satisfying his desires for collecting and preserving history. The volume contains a range broken down as follows: 1. The first period of collecting: 1465 1483; 2. The second period of collecting and Lorenzo's sources: 1484 1492; 3. Behavior in the art market; 4. The objects collected; 5. Contemplating the objects; 6. The image of Lorenzo as a collector and antiquarian; 7. The fate of Lorenzo's collection following the French invasion of Florence in 1494; 8. Lorenzo in the context of collecting.
   
   This out of the ordinary art book is a significant and wise investment. All educated Italian art collectors, collectors of antiquities, as well as serious book collectors of the period and subject matter will find it not only educational but also a reference tool of collecting habits because for the first time Lorenzo de'Medici's collecting activities are under the microscope. Fusco and Corti meticulously document in 173 previously unknown letters (included in this work) and reveal for the first time via those letters how such a grand ruler of the day thought and acquired personal objects. We also learn for the first time that Lorenzo de'Medici had a preference for intimate items - small objects: coins, hard stone vases, and gems. Fusco and Corti's incredible work reveals how such objects were studied, displayed, selected, and valued by de'Medici and other collectors during this period.

5 comments about Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars.

1. My Friend has an addiction to guitars so I purchased this book as a birthday gift three days ago and he hasn't put it down. Great book, very informative and apparently addictive too.



2. Some prices are above what they actually sell for (priced too high) well some prices are below market on EBAY anyway.
   Also they need to expand some area's such as Harmony,Yamaha,Taylor and Blueridge,excellent overall guide to Acoustic Guitars aand there prices.
   Blue book has set the standard for all.
   They do an excellent job on Gibson and Martin both but too little info on small names.
   Maybe i should write a book of Yamaha Acoustic Guitars?
   These are very popular on EBAY and are considered the poor man's Martin,which includes me by the way.
   Good amount on the history of companies that Manufacture Guitars which i find interesting,facts most people do not know or realize.
   Gives buyer's the uphand on what price to pay for what condition,as well as an very good examples shown in pictures.
   I would rate this a 5 but there is too much info missing in there guide which forces me to use several.I wish some day they could make this more complete so i only need to buy one.But otherwise i depend on it.
   If you do not own this you are either a genius with one of the best memories on this planet or you are operating in the dark ages.



3. This is an excellent guide for serious buyers & sellers of musical instruments, and gives a fair appraisal of their market's value (in this case, electric guitars) together with historical information & background.



4. Needed reference if you have anything to do with guitars. Well done and helps to peg odd guitars.



5. I've used this book for years for all my guitar buying and selling needs along with the Vintage Guitar Guide. My only complaint is that they have yet to add many of the smaller niche guitar makers over the years and the burgeoning market in house brands is not well covered ( Airline, Supro, etc). Otherwise it has most of the information you'll ever need. Don't take the pricing as the absolute word though, the market fluctuates a lot and prices can be dramatically above or below what is quoted in this book. Use it as a baseline and you're fine, at least you'll always know if that guitar your friend or neighbor wants to sell you is junk or of some value.

No comments about The Newcomb style: Newcomb College arts & crafts and art pottery collector's guide.

2 comments about Fashionable Clothing from the Sears Catalogs: Late 1960s (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. This book is grea! The layout is perfect and as I work with a Costume Designer it helped me do my job so well. It captures the 60's in it's escense and also it's a beautiful book.



2. Here are pictures of all the clothes I used to wear to junior high school back in the good old days! We didn't have shopping malls yet where I grew up, and this is how I got my clothes for school. It brings back many memories. Now the Sears catalog is gone, too.

No comments about The Gwen John Sculpture: Tim Simpson art mysteries #2 (Tim Simpson Art Mysteries).

No comments about Pot-Lids & Other Coloured Printed Staffordshire (Ref & Price Guide).

No comments about Fashionable Clothing from the Sears Catalogs: Mid-1970s (Schiffer Book for Collectors and Designers).

No comments about The Scramble for Art in Central Africa.

2 comments about Miller's: Paperweights of the 19th and 20th Centuries: A Collector's Guide (Miller's Collector's Guides).

1. This was a fine book in its day, but has been overshadowed by larger books with both better research and finer photography.



2. 
   Glass paperweights, particularly those of the millefiori style are fascinating and in real terms are a recent addition to the glass making art. In fact they really only started to be made in any numbers in the mid 19th century, making their product span only a little more than a 150 years. When one considers that the ancient Romans and Egyptians had solved the problem of making glass over 2,000 years ago, it puts the time scale of glass paperweights into perspective.
   
   A book on the subject is a must for the novice, or any other collector for that matter, as many of the earlier paperweights have nothing to aid the collector in establishing which factory they come from. How does one tell an old paperweight from a relatively new one. Well, experience and looking at as many different weights as possible, either in the flesh, so to speak or good quality photographs is the only way to get a `feel' for the different factories.
   
   Some paperweights do in fact have `signatures.' Later Perthshire paperweights usually have a cane, normally in the centre of the weight with a P on it. Some of John Deacons weights have a cane with a thistle emblem and so on. The canes are the small coloured pieces of glass that are set into the base of millefiori paperweights.
   
   This particular book covers the main factories of France, Scotland and the US. Some of the makers marks or the labels they place on their products are shown and full colour photographs of more than 150 weights are shown. The book also tells the beginner what to look out for when purchasing paperweights. If I may throw my own two penny worth here, like many things condition is everything. Small surface marks can be polished out but bruises (where the weight has been knocked, or dropped are difficult and sometimes impossible to remove). If you simply want the weight as a decorative piece of glass, these things are acceptable, but if you are trying to get a worthwhile collection together leave these pieces alone.

No comments about Micarelli Identification Guide to U S Stamps: Regular Issues, 1847-1934.