3 comments about The Charm of Charms.

1. This is simply a jewel of a book.
   
   For any of us with wistful memories of our mother's magical charm bracelets (and the romantic stories associated with each tiny carved golden object) the lovely CHARM OF CHARMS brings it all back.
   
   The stories are fascinating, the jewelers the best, and the history indispensable for those of us currently addicted to charms (and you'll find some of the best in these pages).
   
   The beautiful people, the stunning photographs, and the luscious color make this a PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT. They ship overnight!



2. This book is filled with interesting information and beautiful photographs. It's perfect as a coffee table book as you'll want to look at it again and again.



3. The Charm of Charms
   Beautiful, beautiful book. Perfect for the lover of charm bracelets.

5 comments about Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and the Playmakers Who Created Them.

1. As a toy inventor I was surprised when I first saw the book by how beautifully designed it was as well as the extraordinary quality of the photography. On further examination, it greatly surpassed my first impression with its fascinating stories and (truly astonishing), that it got its facts right!
   
   In addition to the fun of seeing all those cool looking toys and taking a nostalgic look back over the last century, it's an historical tribute to American and American immigrant's genius and hard work that has given us all so much pleasure.
   
   treat yourself and your friends to this fine book.



2. The author has created an excellent book covering the most popular toys of the 20th Century. As you go through this book, you are going to come across many toys you remember from your own lifetime. While some have faded with time, many are still popular and have entertained ever since they first appeared.
   The book takes a rather wide view of what a toy is; and includes many games,puzzles,and other things that have entertained young as well as those who are young at heart,if not in years.
   The first toy discussed was the Flexible Flyer sled.It brought back a memory to me ,since I had one as a kid.Mine had the straight-runner,and I ran into a gutter grate and punctured my thigh. It seems it happened enough that the runners were rounded.Then, there is the Big Wheel. The kid next door had one and he loved it so much ,he wore completely through the plastic wheels.
   Here, you will not only see great pictures of the toy or game ;but also the story behind its being invented and marketed. You will also learn about the person who invented it,details about patents,how many were sold;and lots of other interesting details. It's highly likely that you will find your favorite toy or game covered.
   At the back of the book you will find an extensive Bibliography. The book covers many games and puzzles.I have been a long time fan of puzzles and if you are interested in them ,I suggest a search under Jerry Slocum,[...]or The Slocum Puzzle Foundation,Beverly Hills,California.
   Overall,a wonderful book that would be interesting to just about anyone who enjoys toys,games or puzzles.



3. As someone interested in toys and collecting, I've read lots on the subject. But Tim Walsh still told me things I didn't know. The best part is that someone with no interest in the subject will still find this lavish, inviting coffee table book an enthralling read. The reason is the author, Tim Walsh. Most toy collecting books start with no criteria as to what goes in and what stays out of the book. Tim did. One criterion was that the toy had to be created or invented by an outsider. Thus, a lot of well- known toys already didn't make the cut.
   
   The ones that did have stories a lot better than the title, Timeless Toys, makes them sound. By that I mean that this isn't one of those nostalgic "see how much better these simple toys were than all your overdone gadgetry?" books that abound in collecting circles. You might come to that conclusion, but Tim started somewhere else. When he made his own games, he started asking questions about others. Why is the box like that? Why is this that color? Where did they get that name?
   
   Those are the same questions one asks playing with toys. The cynical answers are that marketing research showed that more people would pick up the package if it were blue, and a computer poll of all co-eds showed they liked the letter "Z". But Tim shows, thank heaven, that those cynical answers are wrong. Lots of great toys came from accidents, and many inventors began with a sense of wonder.
   
   Tim doesn't stop there. Those outsiders need insiders to make a toy. Tim covers all that, including the most famous toy designer, Marvin Glass. As with Andy Warhol, the Glass name covered a design team, and Tim introduces some of the faces behind the scenes. Many toys were inspired by other toys, and Tim traces the roots back. His findings usually don't jibe with the urban legends surrounding their creations, and when there are multiple tales, Tim tells them all.
   
   The most interesting parts to me are some that might be overlooked. They are small sidebars showing the origins of a toy and some of the companies that have made it. Often the company names change because the companies are bought by other firms. A decade ago Tyco was bringing back all the classic toys that ever existed, having bought those companies or their toy molds. Where's Tyco now? I wondered, until Tim revealed it was bought by Mattell.
   
   Tim also tells the origin of many toy companies, including one started by two guys named Matson and Elliot. I've read about Wham-O before, and even interviewed an animator who made Superball commercials, but Tim reveals the secret of how Wham-O made so many great toys. Tim also breaks it all down with by decade timelines. He often shows the box art of toys that were revived in various decades. Toy art in the '50s and '60s, much of it done by comic book artists, is a wonder to behold, while the overdone, throwaway art of today really does look like the result of committees on market research.
   
   The bad news is that this 300 page book is only about 75 toys. But that may be a good thing. Those interested might track down Bill Bruegman's Toys of the Sixties or related volumes to read on. Don't buy The Playmakers, though, because Timeless Toys is the new title of the same book. Tim Walsh convinced me that creative souls, even today, even if by accident, may still have a chance. If toys be the fruit of wonder, play on!



4. I happened upon this book browsing through a used book store. I sat down and started flipping through the pictures and descriptions of familiar, famous toys, and COULD NOT put the book down! I bought it that night, of course, and was even more spell-bound the more I read. I was astounded by Tim Walsh's research; the large, bright photographs; and the intimate history of the development of so many toys that are part of any American children's heritage. Learning that Mr. Potato Head originally came without the potato (children used a real one!), seeing all the variations of Candyland (found my own version: 1970's), and reading about what made the Cabbage Patch Doll craze (4th grade - I remember so clearly!) was fascinating. It was my treat to read every day coming home from work until sadly, I finished it! But, as a 5th grade teacher, I promptly took the book to school and watched with delight my students' reactions as they discovered interesting and arcane facts about toys they all knew about as well (how long some toys have been around got the biggest reactions). It was passed around the classroom for several weeks. I cannot recommend this book too highly!



5. I have nothing to add to all the other five star reviews, just that this book is amazing, a real labor of love, huge amount of illustrations and history, and impossible to put down. it's worth every penny of the list price as a fascinating coffee table book, and you can get it for ten percent of the list value, used,as well. apparently there were two publishers with two titles, 'timeless toys', and 'playmakers' seems to be the same book.

5 comments about Garage Sale America.

1. In Hawaii, HANA HOU is an expression you will hear often....it means, once more, do it again, encore, repeat, one more time...... and so it is with items found in garage sales, yard sales, church bazaars, tag sales, estate sales.....any kind of hana hou sale..... Just because someone is finished with that rocker, it doesn't mean that its life has to end right then.... There can still be one more round left to that old rocking chair!
   
   What your neighbor down the street considers trash can definitely be your treasure....and that is the message that Bruce Littlefield conveys in his newly published book, "Garage Sale America".
   
   From tips scattered throughout the book on how to plan your strategies for your hunt to how to use the treasures after you get them home, and ending with a useful (and amusing) Garage Sale Glossary, this little book can serve as a handy and entertaining manual on how to unashamedly romp through the detritus of other people's lives and score while you're at it!
   
   The perfect gift for those who love to hunt for treasures, whether they are the type who grab the newspaper every single weekend and mark all the sales down, planning their trips by neighborhood....or the occasional shopper who stops on a whim every time they see a "Yard Sale" sign along the road....or the ones such as myself who mark the annual church bazaars down on my calendar....for all of us to whom the thrill is as much in the hunt as in finding that special deal!
   
   There is no stigma attached to finding a bargain in someone else's discards....in fact, the feeling of satisfaction, the ... elation, if you will, when you find just the right item or that last piece of china that will complete the set you started years ago, is hard to describe.
   
   After spending one evening reading this fun and enjoyable book, I started looking around my own home to see what around me could be considered 'found treasures'....and have to admit that a bit less than half was either bought at yard, garage, church bazaar sales or, the best yet, items found through our local Freecycle network or even at the "transfer station" - the PC name for our local dump, ......completely free!
   
   If you love to go yard saling,....if you love to find a bargain,.... if you're looking for the thrill of the deal... you will definitely enjoy reading Bruce's book.
   
   A couple of personal notes: I loved the idea of the seller who invites his best customers (read: bigger spenders), to breakfast before his sales every year for, as Bruce puts it "cranking up the adrenalin while you wait for the unveiling".....and don't miss meeting Wini. I won't tell you where to find her. You will have to hunt through the book yourself!



2. I have a chronic case of disposophobia, or at least that's how Bruce Littlefield would diagnose it. I can't bear to part with old photographs, worn-out running shoes, and a frog collection I've had since college. My favorite store is Finders Keepers, or was, that is, until the local antique shop closed and I bought out half the inventory.
   
   So when my copy of Littlefield's Garage Sale America arrived in the mail, you can imagine where I put it--on top of a great big stack of books I have yet to read, some old, some new.
   
   It wasn't long before its cover cried out to me with its retro colors, Bakelite radio, and funky leopard hat.
   
   I scoured the photo-filled paperback for advice on everything from enamel-top tables to fishing lures and reeled in a lot more information than I bargained for, like tips on decorating, where to find some really hot wheels, and how to run a successful sale. I'm even learning to deal with my affliction, described in the book's glossary as "Disposophobia: the fear of getting rid of stuff, no matter how worthless or how valuable."
   
   Some books may come and go, but Garage Sale America is definitely a keeper.



3. If you feel you've exhausted every garage sale in your area and you realize you've visited the same sales four years in a row, then you might want to expand your usual boundaries and consider branching out to other states. If so, you can't do much better than this book, which includes a calendar of some of the more noteworthy sales across the country, as well as other major garage sales. You might consider bringing a U-haul along with you if you have a tendency to go overboard and buy everything in sight.
   If you like this one, you might also consider:
   
   Garage Sale & Flea Market Annual (Garage Sale and Flea Market Annual)



4. Littlefield hit the nail on the head for me. He gets the same joy, excitement and invigoration out of saling that I do. It's about the people, the atmosphere, the search for treasure, the negotiating, the win (or loss). These adventures are all wrapped up in wonderful little 5 to 20 minute nibbles of life. Almost 100% of my experiences are positive and I can recall many of them years later when I look at a vase, a painting or some other treasure I have acquired..
   
   Bottom line, for Christmas I made a list of those who share my passion, those who wonder about my passion and those few who think I am off my rocker. I went on line and bought a bunch. Christmas shopping over.
   
   Buying retail in this case was done with joy.
   
   All who have received the book from me have given it a great review too.



5. For all of us that enjoy the "hunt", this is a fun and interesting book. The pictures are enjoyable and the information is helpful. There is good information on yearly sales, along with how to locate, etc.

No comments about Warman's Political Collectibles: Identification and Price Guide (Warmans).

3 comments about The Jigsaw Puzzle: Piecing Together a History.

1. "On the face of it, a jigsaw puzzle is a ridiculous exercise in make-work and wasted time." This is the analysis of Anne D. Williams, and she ought to know. After all, she is in the opinion of puzzle-master Will Shortz "the world's foremost expert on jigsaw puzzles." She has built an academic career on jigsaws, and has one of the world's largest collections (around 8,000), and so can be counted to look at them as something more than ridiculous exercises. In _The Jigsaw Puzzle: Piecing Together a History_ (Berkley Books), she has assembled (ahem - the puns about puzzles, frequent in this work, are surprisingly numerous) an appealing collection of what must have been a pastime in almost everyone's life. The appeal of the subject is therefore universal, and its aspects are here told with humor and genuine delight. Though all of us have worked on jigsaws, much of the book has to do with those who work on manufacturing the puzzles and those obsessed with putting the puzzles together, or collecting them.
   
   American children almost all have put together maps of the United States, with each state being a separate piece (well, the little ones in the northeast often blended). In doing so, they participate in the earliest form of the jigsaw. The "dissected map" was the original jigsaw, and mapmakers were the original jigsaw manufacturers. The precise date of origin or identity of the inventor are not known, but there were jigsaw maps by 1760, and the children of King George III played with them, and maybe learned some geography. They were expensive, and so are the handmade wooden ones that are still made, maybe at $6 a piece. Such puzzles often have pieces that look like letters our silhouettes of bird, clowns, or infinite others; this was an innovation of Parker Brothers in 1908, the time of the first puzzle fad. A further fad occurred around the depression, when puzzles were taken up again by a new generation who could no longer afford the theater, who had time on their hands, and who might get some small mental lift by being able to succeed in completing a puzzle. Luxury puzzles best exemplified currently by Stave Puzzles, now patronized by the likes of Queen Elizabeth, Barbara Bush, and Bill Gates. The owner, Steve Richardson, is known as the "Chief Tormentor," and takes seriously his role in making harder puzzles, like the one of only 150 pieces that could fit together a million wrong ways and one right way. He admits he went too far in an April Fool's Day puzzle for 1989 called "5 Easy Pieces". It had only five pieces, and it was easy to put four together; the last one always proved too big to fit in. Thirty buyers took the puzzle on, at $89, and he sent refunds to them all: the puzzle wasn't too hard, it was impossible.
   
   There are computer programs now that take a photo and change it into pieces that can be shown on your monitor. You use the mouse to move and turn the pieces into the solution. Williams obviously values the older puzzles more, but admits that with a computer puzzle, one never risks losing a piece. There are computer programs used to solve puzzles, as the designer of the fiendish "Eternity" puzzle learned after he offered a prize of a million pounds to anyone who solved it within four years. Six months of full-time computing by two Cambridge mathematicians lost him his money and the ancestral mansion he had to sell. It is only one of the amazing stories here, in a well illustrated and funny book about a happy aspect of human ingenuity.



2. Just when I least expected it, a new book on Jigsaw Puzzles appears.I already had a good book on the subject,"The One,The Only,The Original Jigsaw Puzzle Book" by Francene and Louis Sabin,1977.It was and still is a very good book.While obviously,some of the same things are covered,there is still enough that ie different to make it worthwhile as a companion to this new jigsaw book.(see my review ).In just about every aspect, this book gives a lot more.There are 16 color pages showing about 50 collectible jigsaws;no way could black and white do them justice.History of jigsaws is covered from their inception in the mid-1700's and particulaly during the puzzle crazes of the 1920's.Also covered is how inovations took place over the years .There are details on construction and manufacture as well as complete instructions on various ways to make your own puzzles.We are also told of some of the famous people who indulge in puzzles;Bill Gates,Albert Einstein,Bing Crosby,Jean Harlow,George W. Bush,Stephen King,several US Presidents and even J.P.Morgan.Hard to believe all these people have something in common.We are also told of speed competitions to assemble puzzles as well as record size and complexity of puzzles.
   I also found out about a puzzle I've had for some time and never got around to working on. Namely, one put out by Christopher Mockton,in 1998 called Eternity.He was the son of a Vicount and advisor to Prime Minister Thatcher.The puzzle consisted of 209 geometrically shaped pieces which had to be placed in a frame.Somewhat like a 209 piece Tangram.The buyer had 4 years to complete it for a Million Pound prize.To great astonishment, 2 Cambridge students spent 6 months on a computer program and successfully solved it.Mockton had to sell his ancestral home in Scotland to pay off the prize.It is a great collector's item,and I found in a 'Thrift Store'for a dollar,but somehow I doubt I'll ever solve it.
   It kind of reminds me of Loyd's "Cyclopedia of Puzzles"This huge volume was hastily assembled by his son and privately published in 1914 and offered a large prize to the first person who submitted correct solutions to all the puzzles.Well,there were all kinds of errors,multiple solutions,impossible solutions and whatnot ,so that nobody won the prize.Dover Publishing and Martin Gardner put out a selection of these puzzles in 1959.
   Sorry for the digression.The Jigsaw book gives us some names for various shaped pieces,such as, ,turtles,loops,sockets,knobs,holes,tabs,slots,keys, locks and suggests you find some of your own names.I like tongues,mouths,lefties,righties,uppers,downers,straights,curves, to name a few more.
   Then to top it off, Williams gives hundreds of references,all the way from web sites,books,manufacturers,sellers,organizations and many,many references to articles in all sorts of publications.
   It's hard to imagine this being anything but the definitive book on Jigsaw Puzzles for a long time.Then again;maybe another new dog will appear on the block;but it'll have to be good to top this one.



3. If you like jigsaw puzzles as I do, you must read this book. If you really love wooden jigsaw puzzles, buy the book today.

1 comments about Celebrating PEZ (Collectibles).

1. I say this is quite a interesting little book.
   The PEZ pictures in this book was the reason I brought the book.
   It is very colourful, good photographs and the layout is well designed.

5 comments about Vintage Vavoom: Romantic Decorating with One-of-a-Kind Finds.

1. Got this book for my birthday, and I love it. Pictures are from the magazine, but they are so wonderful. Text is great, with wonderful ideas for making your home and life Vintage Vavoom.



2. Some pretty pictures, but not much else, and all of the pictures started to look the same to me after a while. The writing style is grating: "vavoom" really is kind of a ridiculous word and gets old fast. The advice is the same-old, same-old. I love a pretty book, but I didn't even finish looking through this one. Buy a magazine and use your savings to buy one of those one-of-a-kind treasures. I don't like to be negative, but I also don't like to spend my money on something that's just not that great.



3. Thank you so much for a wonderful book. I received it as a gift shortly before my wedding. When I went to my florist to check on the centerpieces I was devastated to find the shop suddenly went out of business. I had no idea what to do. My sister came over and together we looked through your fabulous book and were able to put together our own centerpieces using your ideas. This book is the best!!!!



4. This book is basically for the "beginner decorator" that wishes to decorate in the more "romantic style".
   
   Advanced decorators might find most of the information redundant.
   
   However, if a person is a "beginner" in this area of decorating, then they will find this book very inspiring.
   
   The photos are simply amazing---just as the photos in the magazine ROMANTIC HOMES are.... Colorful, large and bright!
   
   The book begins with an information chapter, explaining the purpose of this book.
   
   Basically, this book is like a mini-workshop because it shows the reader how to put together a "Decorating Journal", in order to organize their decorating style , from start to finish.
   Thus, each Chapter in this book covers an area that is linked to the decorators' journal.
   
   Most advanced decorators (of the romantic style) already know what they like, so this is why I state that this book is mainly for the beginning decorator.
   
   This book is quite expensive, so if you can find this book "on sale", I think it would be worth while, even for the advanced decorator...Why?----Answer: because of the amazing photographs.
   
   I think the photos in this book are what are truly amazing. The information itself, is slightly too basic though.



5. Even if you're not wealthy, you can still pick up used treasures, such as the ones shown in this book, and put them together to create a unique and pretty home.
   
   For example: An ancient, chipped flower box is set on an elegant dining table. Pink roses spill out of the flower box to create a really stunning visual statement. Vintage fabrics, many of them lovely with antique lace, can be put together with other fabrics to bring a sense of history to any room.
   
   There are tips on how to flea and how using treasures from your childhood can make your home special.

5 comments about Blue Book of Pool Cues.

1. It's amazing how much my old cue has appreciated in value. I almost sold it at my garage sale. Thanks to Simpson's BLUE BOOK, I got almost 10 times what I thought it was worth. This book is a goldmine.



2. This is a great value for content and price! I don't know how it could have been done much better for the cost. Some of the minor cuemakers don't have pictures of their work, but I suspect they didn't submit any to the publisher. It was a big help to me when I went to buy a cue.



3. As this is the 3rd edition of Blue Books, that tells you that people into pool cues have been buying them, with good reason.
   First off, the author, Brad Simpson, has been adding more and more info into each new edition, the 1st ed.(1996) had 465 pages, the 2nd, (1999) 600 pages, and this 3rd edition,(2005), a whopping 913.
   The number of color photos's showing the work of the more well known cuemakers, past and present, living and dead, has also increased with each new edition and, IMO, is the best feature of these books.
   The 3rd edition has a fairly extensive listing of cuemakers and a brief business bio of them. Their current cue offerings, as well as their older and one of a kind cues is provided. The pricing guidelines should be regarded in the most general of terms, as so much goes into the value of a pool cue.
   If your a collector or just someone looking to spend a few hundred dollars on a nice cue to play with, The Blue Book of Pool Cues, 3rd Ed., can provide both useful information and enjoyment at a reasonable cost.



4. If you enjoy playing pool and want to find out who makes the pool cues we use, this is the book for you.



5. Great reference material for anyone interested in collecting cues. Just wish the book was hardback.

No comments about Washington Quarter Folder 1948-1964 (Official Whitman Coin Folder).

5 comments about Tasha Tudor's Heirloom Crafts.

1. As with all of the books about Tasha Tudor this one is beautiful. The scenery and written text are enriching in their content. Once again I was inspired by her life and her creative abilities. The only flaw I could see was the fact that there was little explanation of HOW she did any of the things she mentioned. I'm not suggesting she give detailed instructions on spinning and weaving, woodworking and all the other things she is so wonderfully gifted with. But a few more details on how some of the simpler projects would have been fun.



2. When I was very young, my first book was "The Tasha Tudor Book of Fairy Tales". I loved the sweet watercolor illustrations of the classic fairy tale stories. It was obvious that Mrs. Tudor loved dogs and foxes and Puss in Boots, and the flower illustrations that surround the text are so perfect and true-to-life! As an older child, I was surprised to find that Tasha Tudor had also illustrated my editions of "The Secret Garden" and "A Little Princess". When, as an adult, I received the book "Tasha Tudor's Garden" as a gift from my mother, I realized that the illustrator lives just as wonderful a life as what she portrays in her illustrations. Now, in "Tasha Tudor's Heirloom Crafts" the reader can find out more about Mrs. Tudor's unique life, a re-creation of the simple and beautiful way of life of the 1800s. There are beautiful photos of Mrs. Tudor carding and weaving and making her own cosmecuticals from the products of her own plants and animals. This is not a how-to book, but a book of inspiration for those of us who love the idea of doing for ourselves and living closer to the land.



3. If you want a peaceful interlude at the end of a hectic day...if you want to step back into a simpler time (just for a while)....this is the book for you.
   Tasha Tudor lives in the world she wants to live in, the world she has created & kept. This book lets you get to know her & all about the arts & crafts that she loves & wants to keep alive. As a crafter of some of the dying arts, I love this book. Not only does the reading hold your interest, the photography is excellent. A very good read!



4. As a Tasha Tudor fan.... all I can say is that I loved the book. The photos are beautiful, and it takes us back to where we all should go... back to nature.



5. Tasha Tudor just passed away in the last month or so, and this is one tribute to her way of life. Wait until you read the chapter on how she dyes her own wool for her crafts- done the old fashioned way, but it's sort of gross how she gets the shade of blue. I really recommend it. We shall not see her like again.