5 comments about Vintage Rolex Sports Models: A Complete Visual Reference & Unauthorized History.

1. Great book for watch enhusiast. Although it only takes us up to 1997, so I was dispointed, The pictures are good, the history covers the basics. I would recommend to add to the collection



2. Pictures are of good quality. A good book to add to the collection, each watch has good description and on the watch movement.
   It is a limited market, you have to remember its a book on the vintage watches and not modern Rolex watches.
   Saying that I would not be without it, But I am a watch Nut.



3. A most impressively comprehensive and finely detailed reference that will prove to be of great usefulness and interest to me when handling Rolex watches, and when talking to and advising collectors and enthusiasts.



4. This book is completely stated sports models and really can help user when buying a vintage Rolex!



5. This book only has old watches in and not all of them at that. Some details are incorrect.
   However it is just a book on Rolex sports watches, but it has nothing new, the most modern watch it has is a 1975 GMT. So if you want to know something about Rolex wathes in the last 33 years, its not alot of good,

1 comments about Collector's Companion To Carnival Glass: Identification & Values (Collector's Companion to Carnival Glass).

1. According to the preface of this book, this second edition has some different and more rare items than the first edition. It is meant as a companion to the first edition, and is not simply an updated version--good to know before buying. The pictures generally, though not always, are good enough to help a beginning collector identify patterns. The book lists the manufacturer and dates produced, and tells if the patterns have been reproduced. However, for a beginner, a wider range of patterns, particularly all the most common ones, would be most helpful. As a novice collector, I'd start with a different book--probably Edwards' Encyclopedia of Carnival Glass.

1 comments about Striking Change.

1. Augustus Saint-Gaudens was a striking figure in 19th-century art and culture and Theodore Roosevelt was a new kind of president with a vision: together these two men would change American history through a partnership which influenced and re-invented the nation's numismatic art world. First-person accounts, biography and politics blend in an in-depth survey highly recommended Striking Change: The Great Artistic Collaboration of Theodore Roosevelt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens for any collection strong in either collecting or American history.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

5 comments about Bakelite Bangles: Price & Identification Guide.

1. This is by far the best book on Bakelite that I own. (I own every Bakelite book that is currently in print, and several that are out of print.) The hundreds of photographs of Bakelite and other plastic bracelets are colorfully crisp and clear, and the captions are informative and well-written. The text is intelligently organized, and covers quite a bit of information that has either never been addressed or has been incorrect in other books (a hot pin DOES penetrate genuine Bakelite, thank you Karima! ) The sections on Bakelite lexicon, including color names, are especially welcome. The author knows everything on this subject and has presented it wonderfully. If you will own only one Bakelite book, this is the one.



2. I gave this book as a gift to my sister (and fellow bakelite lover.) It was the hardest thing to do! I wanted to keep it for myself. Karima has filled a niche in the bakelite market with her web-site and book. Easy to read, great pictures and VERY imformative! I highly recommend this book to all bakelite lovers. You will refer to this book over and over in your quest for the next great bakelite treasure.



3. absolutely loved the huge volume of beautifully photographed bangles. wonderfully written, definitive guide. i was amazed at the loveliness of the photos considering this is a paperback book. i really couldn't expect better quality in a hardback book. a great buy and a must-have for collectors of all levels. karima parry really knows her stuff and it shows. and the price guide really helps. some of the other books i've looked at overinflate the value. she gives a realistic range, from what i've seen in buying vintage bakelite over the years.



4. I have recently amassed quite a collection of bakelite, having started collecting lucites, and branching out to the more sought after famed vintage phenolic plastic we all know and love as Bakelite, and all the other manufacturer sub-names it was produced under. I bought a few references recently, but none have compared to Karima Parry's wonderful "Bakelite Bangle Price and ID Guide".

   First thing you will do is eat up all the eye candy this nice large and attractive volume has to offer, and after you finish drooling and wishing, you can read all about the different types of plastics, their history, chronology, and how they differ. Ways to identify the difference between Bakelite, Celluloid, Lucite and how to spot newly worked "fakelite" as well. The author is very knowledgeable and is also willing to share her knowledge with other collectors of this engrossing hobby. I look through this book so often, and find myself reading a different section each time, and sometimes just admiring all the wonderful shots of some of the most gorgeous coveted pieces in the bakelite realm. Karima also shows a nice section on lucites as well as celluloid, so you can get a good idea of these pieces when you might be lucky enough to find one, or consider buying.

   I have had the personal pleasure of talking to this author, and she is a wonderful insightful person who took the time to answer all my questions and share her knowledge with me, and I am that much wiser for that, and buying her book. I currently have 3 plastic jewelry references, and hers is by far the best.

   For anyone interested in collecting bakelite bangles, other vintage plastics, and gaining a nice working knowledge of them as well as a chance to see the most gorgeous pieces as examples, this book is indispensible. The only thing I would change is the price guide, since it is unfortunately hard to use this to price. I would like to see the dimensions and all the other pertinent information, on the page with the items and not in appendix form at the back. Otherwise, I highly recommend it as a must have for your bakelite reference library.




5. This is absolutely the most comprehensive book about Bakelite bangles. The photographs are gorgeous and it tells you all about the history of Bakelite, how to test for authenticity, and care for your bangles. I just look at the pictures for pleasure. I feel I am a more informed consumer when I look at estate and antique sales.

2 comments about High Fashion Hats: 1950-1980.

1. VERY DISAPPOINTING...Schiffer's fashion books in the past have usually been very well written with rare examples of clothing and accessories, and I had high hopes when I purchased this on-line and sight unseen, but overall..I found this a Highly Disappointing book. Strictly for the beginner or amateur hat collector. From the book's wrong title (there are almost no true high fashion hats in here) to the poor and too small photos, to the sparse, stilted, poorly written and sometimes inaccurate text, the book is not for the serious or educated millinery reader. The authors admit in thier bios, that they have no background in millinery, or in hat collecting, which shows, and makes one wonder why they were chosen by the publisher to write this book? Written on what seems a grade school level, without any new information to offer the reader. From the title, one would expect to find some classic and beautiful examples of real High Fashion Hats; those unusual,unique millinery creations by coveted designers that make your mouth water, and I was expecting that, but I found none.. save for a few, but none really impressed me. The book has mostly small photos of common, run of the mill lower end hats that can still be found today in second hand shops and tag sales. The writers did not seem to go out of their way to find any truly special hats, and that is not hard to do if you know where to look and what a REAL high fashion hat IS. Mostly showing small photos of inexpensive ready-to-wear hats that originally sold in Pennsylvania and Pocono Mountain mid range department stores that catered to the middle classes and rual communities, and many photographed on styrofoam wig heads (YES!!) the book really disappoints anyone looking for examples of fine millinery. As a dealer in antique and vintage millinery in New York and Los Angeles for over 25 years, and a 35 year long collector of hats, I can say that the price guide is totally useless, and way off, with values placed much higher or lower than the hats are worth, which I feel would hurt and misguide a beginner dealer and or collector. As an example, a small cello straw pillbox with a smidge of veiling, no other trims, circa 1960's with NO label..priced at $45.00? Wool mass produced hats from the 1970's for $75.00 or more? And hand crocheted and hand knit home made caps (please.. these do not belong in this book) referred to as High Fashion Hats? You get the idea. There are some inaccuracies in the text (what little text there is) and glossary of terms as well. .....The 1950's was an exciting time for hats and millinery; from the New Look, the Romantic Post War Revival, The French influences, New York's millinery shops and milliners, Los Angeles and Hollywood milliners and costumers, American couture millinery, Chicago's fantastic millinery artists, St. Louis' hat centers...Southern shops, etc, etc....all very important influences in thier day, but most or all are sorely lacking or not found at all in this book...and any true collector of that time period's hats will surely find this book a complete waste of time and money. Sorry, but this, and other Schiffer fashion books have not been up to their usual high standards lately. It might be fun to leaf through the book, as it only took me 10 minutes to read the entire thing..but certainly not worth purchasing for any serious or seasoned millinery lover.



2. More than a fashion guide, this detailed and authoritative reference compendium focuses on collectible designer hats from 1950-80 and is very highly recommended for both fashion collections in art libraries and collector's reference libraries with its fine survey of the hairstyles, hats and history behind them. The millinery glossary pairs well with period photos of the hats in use and the fine color photos throughout, making for an excellent collection of images, price guides and history perfect for either art or collector's references.

No comments about 80 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards.

5 comments about Mountain Dew: Hillbilly Bottles.

1. I can't believe this book is finally out!!! I have been waiting for years for an accurate list of the old named hillbilly bottles and this is beyond my expectations. This book contains everything I every wanted and even things I didn't know I wanted but I did:
   
   1) AN ALPHABETIC LIST of every single hillbilly bottle. The entire list is by name which makes it easy to tell that there are five different CLEM AND GERT bottles (four different FILLED BY and one PUT UP BY). The list has a place for me to check off if I have the bottle or don't.
   2) A DETAILED PICTURE of every single bottle (a close-up picture of the name, a picture of the front, back and basemark).
   3) A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION of every bottle.
   4) THE REAL PEOPLE: When the author was able to find out who the real GERT or JOHN or PETE was, they tell us more about that bottle and what area of the country it comes from. I always wondered why there are seven different variations of the MAW AND PAW bottle - now I know.
   5) A CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM so that with 3 characters "M-01" you can communicate every single detail about a bottle to another collector.
   6) A UNIQUE NUMBER so that you can tell another collector that you have #807.5 and you know instantly that you have the 5th of the 6 different WEST JEFFERSON bottles. That other collector will know that #807.5 is the one with the small font, doesn't have "WATER" in the frame description, etc.
   7) THE RARITY AND PRICE are listed for each bottle.
   8) AN INDEX BY NAME will point you to every bottle that contains any name. By looking for DON we know that there are 11 different bottles that say DON and one that says DONALD. How many Maryland bottles are there? How many North Carolina bottles? Now I know.
   
   This book is awesome .... the third in a series ..... THE TRILOGY IS COMPLETE. Long live the DEW !!!!



2. WOW ... this book is GREAT!!! I know I speak for all the Mountain Dew
   collectors when I say we have been looking for a complete list of the
   Hillbilly bottles for years and now I have it in my hot little hands.
   Having this book to reference as I go on eBay or to a flea market is
   invaluable.
   
   I kept having questions about this bottle or that bottle. A fellow
   collector told me that there was a FILLED BY DUDE AND ZAYDA but said
   there was no BOTTLE BY DUDE AND ZAYDA. Now I can look it up and actually see a picture of the bottle - and yes there is a BOTTLE BY DUDE AND ZAYDA. I heard that there were two FULMER BOTTLING bottles but no one could really explain the difference to me. Now I know. I have a FILLED BY GUMPY AND DENSEL and one of the lists on the web says there is also a FILLED BY GUMPY & DENSEL. Not so, it is simply GUMPY & DENSEL. This book has it all.
   
   If you collect Mountain Dew hillbilly bottles and don't have this book,
   then you don't really collect Mountain Dew bottles.



3. I have collected Mt Dew bottles for over 40 years. This is the finest effort yet, to document all known variations. Unbelievable! Over 900 named bottles listed (with individual photos) plus many other non-name variations. The attempt to document the history (including personal photos) of each person listed on the bottles is amazing, and a great bonus to any reader or historian. Without Dick's efforts, the identity of these individuals would be lost forever. This book is a great follow-up to his two earlier books on Mt Dew and is required for any Mt Dew collector's library.



4. Since I received this book a few days ago, I have not been able to put it down. As a collector of Dew bottles for over 30 years, I was like a "kid on Christmas" when the book arrived. Little did I know that it would be so detailed. It truely exceeded my expectations! I am going to buy more copies to give as gifts to family and friends.
   You have got to appreciate the effort that Mr. Bridgforth put in to writing this book and preserving a piece of history.
   It goes without saying that every collector, should have this book, but I would highly recommend it to anyone that is interested in history.
   Thank You Mr. Bridgforth, for all your work on saving a piece of the past.



5. Mountain Dew has always been my favorite drink. Collecting Dew items came naturally. Dick's first 2 books were a great resource for us Dewaholics. Now this third book in the trilogy is finally available, and it's fantastic! How great to have in one place, all this info about our favorite obsession! It's definitely a great value, when you realize all the labor that went into this massive work. YA-HOOO!
   Robb and Sherry Niebeling

1 comments about The Button Book: With Miniature Button Attached (Miniature Editions).

1. This book may be tiny, but as a button collector, I found it to have some very interresting facts and beautiful buttons in an easy to read and fun format. It will make you want to collect buttons!!

No comments about Tomart's Price Guide to Saalfield and Merrill Paper Dolls (Tomart's Price Guides).

No comments about Light for Art's Sake: Lighting for Artworks and Museum Displays.