5 comments about Aloha Shirt, The: Spirit Of The Islands.

1. The Aloha Shirt: Spirit of the Islands is unique, as a historical and artistic book documenting the Aloha shirt, from its historic beginnings as a cottage industry, to the multi-billion dollar industry it is today. This definitive text has been extensively researched, with textile artists, designers, garment manufacturers and their families and friends all contributing to the consistency of the history as researched by Dale Hope. An educational and artistic book bringing over 500 aloha shirts with their Hawaiian inspired origins paralleled with the history and times of Hawaii. For those who have memories of Hawaii, and for those who share their memories to others, this elegant coffee table book is a "must have" for all!



2. Dale Hope grew up in the Hawaiian garment industry, taking over his father's clothing business at the age of 26. As the art director of Kahala Sportswear, Hope oversees the creation and manufacturing of 150 new Aloha shirt designs annual. In The Aloha Shirt: Spirit Of The Islands, Hope collaborates with writer Gregory Tozian to offer a magnificent, coffee-table artbook dedicated to the history of the unique and famous Hawaiian shirt style. This impressive treatise covers the history of Hawaiian clothing, the evolution of the tailor shop into the modern clothing factories, the designers, textiles, printmakers, and retailers that made the Hawaiian "aloha shirt" famous around the world. There are chapters focusing on Duke Kahanamoku, celebrities, shirt makers of the 60s, labels and buttons, and aloha shirt collectors. Profusely and beautiful illustrated, the text is informative, at times fascinating, and highly recommended for students of American clothing history and fads in general, and Hawaii's contributions to the garment industry and American popular culture in particular.



3. If Hawaii or the aloha shirt has ever gladdened your heart, you'll want to own THE ALOHA SHIRT. Dale Hope conveys the TRUE SPIRIT (colorful, soft, peaceful, flowing) of the Hawaiian Islands by presenting both the fascinating history of the aloha shirt and 500 or so beautiful illustrations. These illustrations are so varied and exquisite that you'll get high just by perusing them. They also help you see how the aloha shirt can be an art form in and of itself. Hopefully, this book will inspire people to wear their aloha shirts more often -- not just when they visit Hawaii -- and to buy the new ones that are being created by the best artist designers.



4. Wow, what a book!! Having been previously lightly infected by the `Aloha Shirt' bug, after having read this beautiful book, I became incurably and terminally struck down. Profusely illustrated from the collections of many well-known and extremely lucky collectors, this book has become my bedside bible. The research is also first-class, following the development of the Aloha shirt from a fun thing, to a full-blown industry. I now live and breath THE shirt. Buy this book and like me, change your life.



5. I loved this book, it is helpful to my collecting and my selling. It has wonderful pictures, and I love the section on '60's makers and just the way it is arranged in general is helpful and makes for fascinating reading. The only thing I would like to see with this book is a name index; this would make it so much more helpful as a reference. I do highly recommend it though, as a reference or just as a coffee table book.

No comments about Japanese Textiles (Va).

5 comments about Colored Gemstones, 2nd Edition: The Antoinette Matlins Buying Guide: How to Select, Buy, Care for & Enjoy Sapphires, Emeralds, Rubies and Other Colored Gemstones.

1. Quite enlightening. Particularly liked the guide for prices of gemstones as well as the uses of stones. Had I purchased this book before, I would have made more informed choices when buying gemstones. Would recommend to anyone buying any type of gemstone.



2. If you buy Jewellery and gem buying guide from the same author, you find it is a lot of repetition. However, to me this book is giving more information than the other one as the discussion of more focus on gemstone.



3. "Colored Gemstones" is a beginners' guide to gemstones that aims to help consumers understand what types of gems are available, what to look for in determining value, and how to go about doing that. This book does not oversimplify the subject as some guides for beginners do. Author and gemologist Antoinette Matlins gives readers some preliminary guidance on how to familiarize yourself with a gemstone using a loupe and how to determine if it is well-cut. Then it is on to Part 2, which constitutes the bulk of the book and is a fount of essential and fascinating information.
   
   First, the "4 C's" of color, clarity, cut, and carat, with particular emphasis on color and cut and how they relate to one another. Sample laboratory reports on gems are provided, so we see what a lab report can tell the consumer. The chapter on synthetic gems and enhancement treatments is particularly informative. The author describes common treatments and provides a very useful chart of treatments by gemstone. The chart lists treatments for 34 gem groups and indicates which treatments are typically used, seldom used, whether they are stable, and whether the treated gemstones require any special care, including which should avoid ultrasonic cleaners. Information on color enhancement spans several chapters.
   
   A chapter on fraud and misrepresentation lists which gemstone treatments are acceptable practice and which are dishonest, with descriptions of the treatments, and a list of deceptive names often used to mislead customers. So we will know what our options are, the author lists gems by color, provides a list of gems not routinely enhanced for those who prefer natural stones, and a table of how much treated vs a natural stones differ in price. There is a detailed price guide for 21 groups of (faceted) gems, indicating what you may expect to pay for good to extra fine quality stones, wearability, and availability. Opal and synthetic price guides are separate. One chapter is dedicated to descriptions of about 40 gems, with data on hardness, chemical composition, wearability, and brilliance for each. Ms. Matlins concludes with specific advice on what to ask and look for when buying stones, what facts to make sure appear on your receipt, and tips for cleaning and caring for gems.
   
   Having read Renee Newman's Gemstone Buying Guide, I find that Ms. Matlins' "Colored Gemstones" is more complete. This is primarily because the coverage of enhancements, synthetics, and price are more extensive in this book. Its discussions of how cut affects color are also better. That said, the "Gemstone Buying Guide" treats star and cat's eye stones more thoroughly and has a slight advantage in coverage of opal and jade. It provides more vital statistics, including refractive index, cleavage, and specific gravity. "Colored Gemstones" biggest shortcoming is the scarcity of photographs. There is a 16-page insert of color photos, but most of the gems discussed are not pictured. The "Gemstone Buying Guide" has far more photos, but if you have to choose one book, I think you'll be happier with "Colored Gemstones" unless your interest is in cat's eye or star gems.



4. There is a lot of good information in this book. However, it is not for someone new to the trade. Not many pictures to use while reading. makes it hard to follow certain parts of the text.



5. I FOUND THIS BOOK TO BE VERY EDUCATIONAL, SINCE I AM STARTING TO PURCHASE JEWELRY ITEMS FROM JTV.COM WHICH OFFERS AN ARRAY OF THINGS THAT I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF, AND THIS BOOK IS A GREAT TOOL TO SMARTER GEM SHOPPING. I RECOMMEND PEOPLE READ THIS BEFORE MAKING A BIG JEWELRY PURCHASE.

5 comments about 2006 US Specialized Catalogue (Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps) (Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps).

1. This is an excellent resource for collectors of U. S. Materials. The color illustrations are very helpful.



2. Purchase process was excellent, product new and received rapidly, so experience (seller + Amazon) for this purchase was overall a 5. [Note: Unfortunately, the printers had to give a corrective insert because they couldn't print the catalog correctly.]



3. Well presented and easy to use. Well done, highly recommend



4. Outstanding guide for US stamps- a must have. An Index would be helpful, though.
   
   Richard



5. Bought this for the love of my life
   She is checking out some stamps that I inherited
   She says it rates four stars, so I won't argue with her
   She says that it was worth the money that I spent but that it needed more pictures

1 comments about Children's Fashions 1900-1950 As Pictured in Sears Catalogs.

1. I've truly enjoyed this book as I'm in the process of writing my own novel and needed a good source for period clothing. This book gave me some great ideas on how styles were designed for one of America's most famous catalogs, Sears. Also has great pictures of hats/bonnets. What's even more fun is how much stylish clothing cost in those days! A definite recommendation!

3 comments about Collectors Encyclopedia of Roseville Pottery (Collector's Encyclopedia of Roseville Pottery).

1. I purchased both the first and the second of the Roseville series by Sharon and Bob Huxford, hoping that I would get a complete guide of all Roseville pottery with prices. Unfortunately the "encyclopedia" was not complete. I guess this is how the authors sell books by not putting together a definitive book on Roseville.



2. The Huxfords are wonderful authors that have offered, collectors of Roseville Art Pottery, a basic foundation for identifying various Roseville lines. No one author [I personally author a mid-year price guide]has all the answers, but each of us attempt to add to the ongoing data base. The Huxford volumes are an essential tool for Roseville collectors and Dealers.



3. This is a well organized reference to Bush-McCoy. It contains a history of Bush-McCoy; this added knowledge adds to the fun of collecting and allow you to sound more like you know what you are doing. Then there are pages on the different "marks" of the pottery. There is a dated value guide. But I find it easer to do my own comparing. The big plus is the color pictures that show what is available. For those discriminate people that do not just buy anything that says Bush-McCoy there is an index. It is also fun to see you Bush-McCoy pieces in the book.

1 comments about The Complete & Unauthorized Guide to Vintage Barbie Dolls: With Barbie & Skipper Fashions and the Whole Family of Barbie Dolls (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. There are many reasons why I disliked the book I will try to list them and be brief --- I stand by the books I recomend in my Listmanias & the How to Guide...
   
   1) All the items are listed, but MANY/MOST of them are NOT Pictured. THis is salvaged because you get a list of all the parts that come with that item. --- There are many pages with NO pictures.
   
   2) It has a price guide, I really dislike price guides as they usually never reflect the real market values; and tend to distort them.
   
   3) The pictures that it does have don't illustrate well the fashion - you see it on a doll - which would make a lovely picture book - but this is a reference, I want to see the details of the fashion and you can't see it if its dressed (ex. the Friday Night Date underdress).
   
   4) Not all dolls are pictured, the ones that are there have good shots, but I would also have explained how to tell all the PTs appart [including face close ups - there are no face close ups], also I would explain in a bit more detail Japanesse, European & Rare items [I mention them because they appear listed in the book]
   
   5) I was looking to have the 3 books I use the most in one tome -- but this is not it. [[1] Face of the American Dream: Barbie Doll 1959-1971 by Christopher Varaste , [2] Barbie Fashion: Vol. 1, 1959-1967 (Barbie Doll Fashion) by Sarah Sink Eames and [3] The Ultimate Barbie Doll Book by Marcie Melillo ]

No comments about Collecting Oyster Plates (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1 comments about Washington Quarter Folder 1932-1947 (Official Whitman Coin Folder).

1. The Washington quarter coin folder volume 2 (1948-1964 inclusive) by Whitman, is a superb way to collect and showcase your coins. By using the lock-in feature, the coins are kept in place to prevent coin loss. Each coin slot is designated with the year, mint mark (D,P,or S)and the mintage. I particularly like the mintage, since it lets me know just how many quarters were made in one year in relation to another. It's also nice to have a brief history lesson about the Washington quarter in order to give us some appreciation of its heritage.

2 comments about Dictionary of American Hand Tools: A Pictorial Synopsis (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. Bought this book for my father, he was impressed with the great illustrations and text. Nuff said.



2. Purchased this book for our local historical society. It is a great resource and easy to use.