1 comments about The French Marble Clock: A Guide for Buyers, Collectors and Restorers with Hints on Dating and a List of Makers.

1. How many times have you seen one of those big old French marble clocks for sale at auction or in a shop? Were you intrigued by the craftsmanship, curious about the history, or just impressed by the size? Wonder no more, now that Nicolas Thorpe has written this useful guide to these relics of a past age.

   These clocks were made during the 1830 to 1930 period, and they fall into my definition of an investment antique. They were expensive when new, still useful, and won't be made again. Yet they seem undervalued in the market. Thorpe discusses the aesthetic, historical, and practical aspects of these behemoths. Much of the book is a simple, practical course in cleaning and restoring these cases and movements. It is directed at the LAYMAN, not the expert. If you have never repaired a clock, if you are reasonably handy you can follow Thorpe's directions and do it right.

   Even if you only own one French marble clock, you should have this book. Whether it's a petite boudoir timepiece or a fireplace mantel juggernaut, your understanding and enjoyment will be enhanced by this book.

2 comments about Marbles Illustrated (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. This book has fabulous marble illustrations, but absolutely no cross-referencing so a user can look up the description of the marble pictured. The author pre-supposes you are an expert and know what marble maker and type you are looking for. Illustrations are grouped together in one section of the book and each is identified only by the auction number and lot number it came from. Unfortunately, the descriptions of these marbles are not in the same order. Descriptions are ordered by marble manufacturer and type of marble. Even then, the auction numbers within the types are random. The book is only useful if you know what kind of marble you have and want to see what some similar marbles by the same manufacturer sold for. It bogles the imagination to understand why any sensible editor would not cross index this publication, so a person finding a marble they like in the illustrations, can then go read the description. It could take you a week to find the matching description. The sad thing is, that data was readily available to the author and the illustrations could have been keyed in a day! Worst example of editorship I have ever seen! Totally clueless! They never thought about, or cared, how a person might try to use the book. Save your money! I wish I had!



2. Book is totally disorganized. Beautiful pictures, but no way of researching values. The price list is in the back organized by lot no & auction no. NO reference to the illustration of the marbles in the front of the book, no way to look it up. Starts out promising, then becomes a total jumble. Totally impossible to locate anything. Too time consuming, and then still no resolve.

No comments about Greenberg's Guide to Marbles.

No comments about The Encyclopedia of MARBLE'S Knives & Sporting Collectibles.

1 comments about Everett Grist's Machine-Made and Contemporary Marbles (Grists, Everett//Machine-Made and Contemporary Marbles).

1. From the number of pages, I didn't expect this to be a book that would be very comprehensive. Yet even as a basic start I was disappointed. The entire book is a series of color plates, each showing many marbles. These photos are truly beautiful and show a nice range of marbles. However, I found it of little use in identifying marbles I had. It was much to incomplete. The book could have been grouped by manufacturer, which would have helped some. There is a price guide for each plate in the back of the book. However, there is no indication for what size marble the price applies, and as marble collectors know, size matters. For some plates only ranges were given for all the marbles pictured, instead of giving individual prices. These ranges were wide enough to not be of much help when trying to appraise a marble's value. The photos have little text to go with them, which would have been helpful to help novices learn the differences between types of marbles. Buy it for the pretty pictures, but don't expect much from it.

No comments about Antique Glass Swirl Marbles (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

2 comments about Collecting Early Machine-Made Marbles: The M. F. Christensen & Son Company and Christensen Agate Company.

1. All illustrations are exceptional and discriptions perfect. A must have for marble collectors.



2. This is my great great Grandfather's Marble Company! I had no idea folks were collecting his marbles.
   And a book with price guide, I am in total amazement.

2 comments about Collecting Antique Marbles: Identification & Price Guide.

1. 176 pages with 1,200 color pictures and many black and white plates. This book really provides a comprehensive history of marbles including how to classify and collect them. Details on clay and crockery, china, swirls, solids, opaques and sulphides. Transition and machine-mades, reproductions and toys are discussed. A comprehensive price guide is included, and a marble club listing. Add this book to your collection if you're a new marble collector or a long time collector. A great reference source.



2. As the wife of a train collector, I found this book very familiar territory -- but even better. Baumann's grasp of history, archeology, industrial technique and the esthetic of marble art is wonderful. This was a great read (and look--the color plates are a real asset), as well as an excellent reference.

1 comments about Contemporary Marbles and Related Art Glass (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. As a art glass collector and a marble collector, this was a great book to read! Excellent information, and beautiful pictures. A wealth of facts and well written, another work of art book by Mark Block! Looking forwards to more books!

1 comments about Aggies, Immies, Shooters, and Swirls: The Magical World of Marbles.

1. There are several things that make this book a stand-out. The first is the basic information about the types of marbles (antique, machine-made, modern) and the makers of the marbles. If you're looking for extensive historical information, this may not be the book for you. But if you collect marbles and are interested in good, basic information as well as tons of photos (most enlarged so you can see every detail) of a wide variety of marbles, this book fills the bill. While I'm no marble expert, I learned a grat deal from reading this one!