5 comments about O'Brien's Collecting Toy Trains: Identification and Value Guide (O'Brien's Collecting Toy Trains).

1. This 5th edition, 448 page volume contains a wealth of information, updated with the latest prices. It contains over 6,000 listings and more than 2,200 photos, mostly black and white (plus a 16 page full color section containing very large, sharp photos). In addition to the complete listings, it provides background information on each manufacturer. Topics range from American Flyer to Lionel, to Marx and Tootsietoy. A number of pages cover "miscellaneous" makers. Every item bears prices for up to 3 grades of condition. A must for toy train collectors!



2. This book is worth 10 times the money,It has valuable pictures and price guides for various makes and models.It also has accessories with price guide. I would recomend this book to anyone who collects model trains.



3. For the first time in full color, the updated 6th edition of O'Brien's Collecting Toy Trains pairs photos of the leading brands with listings of collectible pieces and their values. Over a thousand such photos provide visual reference to updated prices of over 6,000 train listings, organized handily by maker name for quick reference. David Doyle is a renowned toy expert who has produced catalogs of Lionel trains before: O'Brien's Collecting Toy Trains expands to other makers, includes color sidebars of data and information, and is a 'must' for any avid train collector.



4. The 6th edition is much improved over previous editions, especially with more and clearer pictures. It does have two faults -- almost nothing on pre-war American Flyer accessories (neither did previous editions) and seems to have left out Marx 3/16 scale tinplate cars, a very popular catagory, and which was included in previous editions.



5. This book is very helpful tool to determine values and identification of collectible model trains. There are numerous good quality pictures and a very complete listing of models. Valuation of trains are in line with other publications. Very good reference for a collector or a model train dealer.

1 comments about Warman's Duck Decoys.

1. This is a very disappointing "catalogue" of no-so-recent aucton house catalogue photos and descriptions (some makers incorrectly identified) and a few batches of collections contributed from here and there. Anyone interested in St. Clair Flats, Ontario, Ohio and Michigan area decoys should definely save their money. Worse than Lucky's guides.

5 comments about Gorgeous Garden Railways.

1. Marc Horovitz has edited Garden Railways magazine forever. He has contributed to or cowritten several books on the subject as well. And despite Marc's ability to "get his hands dirty" with a gardening or railroading project, he never forgets that the best garden railroads are more than the sum of their parts.
   
   Marc and his cowriter Pat Hayward have put together the best "coffeetable book" on Garden Railroading ever. The emphasis is on the many dozens of "gorgeous" photographs, which range from the charming to the awe-inspiring.
   
   But nobody, even the newest beginner, should be intimidated by this book. Rather Marc and Pat hope the book will encourage more and more people to get involved when they see what is possible. When you take a close look, you'll see that to the authors, the word "gorgeous" doesn't mean "unattainable by normal people," but "well-conceived, balanced, and attractive."
   
   Marc's overall concern seems to be that each garden railroad should have integrity, that is, it should be designed, built, and planted in a way that is true, not only to the preferences of the gardener/railroader, but also to itself and to the land it occupies. In other words, Marc looks for a naturalistic setting and a consistent vision that is supported by the accessories and plantings.
   
   True, some of the railroads shown in the book border on spectacular, but majority of them are simply well-conceived and well-executed versions of the garden railroads that many thousands of folks have already put into their back yards. Marc includes the disclaimer: "The railways shown in this book were built by experienced, dedicated hobbyists. But don't let that stop you; they were all beginners once."
   In other words, nothing in this book has "Don't try this at home" stamped on it.
   
   The contribution of Marc's coauthor, Pat Hayward, is visible, not only in her descriptions of appropriate garden railroad plants, but also in the choice of photographs that show effective use of plantings for each garden railroad.
   
   Although Pat doesn't call out many of the species illustrated, the vast majority of plants shown in the book are readily available to most gardeners in North America. If you see something you like, chances are that if you take the book to a full-service nursery, they will be able to tell you the name of what you want, and whether it will survive in your region.
   
   In short, Gorgeous Garden Railways allows readers to see many entirely different kinds of railroads and to see what is possible. Again, nothing in this book is labeled "Don't try this at home." The inspirational value alone is worth the investment.
   
   By the way, the recently-added one-star review was by a person whose other reviews show that he hate almost everything but certain camera gadgets. If THAT reviewer would give the garden railroading community an even better book I would be glad to promote it. Sadly we'll have to comfort ourselves with the best book of this sort that has been published, well, ever. . ..
   
   Paul Race - Lead Editor for Family Garden Trains



2. Gorgeous Garden Railways is a new and different type of book about garden railways. This is not just another book on how to install track, or the story of scale and gauge. This is a table top photo book about some very good looking garden railroads.
   
   Gorgeous Garden Railways is like that photo book of whales or on sailing that you might already have sitting on the coffee table at home. There are 144 pages, about 10" x 10" in size, that include over 130 photographs on high quality paper.
   
   This book was compiled by Marc Horovitz who was the creator of Garden Railways magazine over 20 years ago and is still the editor of this magazine. Marc has written several books on the subject of garden railroads, spoken at most major Large Scale events, and is the one viable person that could compete with us for the "most garden railroads ever seen" award.
   
   Marc is not just another person that writes about garden railroads. He is someone that builds them and has a refined definition of what a garden railroad should be. All of his canons are based on many years of practical application in this hobby. Looking at the photographs in this book helps you see what the "text book" definition of a garden railroad is to Marc.
   
   Marc's co-author, Pat Hayward, is very easy to spot at the garden railroad conventions that we attend each year. When most other people are taking photographs of the trains, Pat is taking photographs of how people use plants. Don't just think that the photographs that were selected are here because they are pretty. They can teach you how to use plants on your railroad. Her thirty years experience in horticulture make her the perfect teammate for selecting photographs for this new type of garden railroad book.
   
   What I liked.
   
   I liked that two experts in the field of garden railroads took a long time and looked through thousands of photographs. They used their personal filters and picked a collection of photographs that flow through the pages. They had less than 150 pages for photographs and did not have the luxury we enjoy at LSOL.com to shoot 20 photographs of the same item and show it from a dozen different angles.
   
   I enjoyed the text that acts as the mortar that holds the photographs together. The photograph captions helped me understand a little bit about each photograph and gave me a little insight as to why it was selected for that section of the book.
   
   I really liked looking back on Garden Railroads from the 1930's. This is how the book starts off. I am sure there are many of us that did not even know that garden railroads are that old. The first couple of photographs are in black and white. My son and I spent a long time looking at those images wondering how they did it without Kadee couplers, Wireless Remote Control and sectional track.
   
   How did they get answers to questions when they could not just pop online ask a question at LSOL.com and get an answer the same day. It was like looking at photographs of the pioneers that traveled the Old West. You wonder how they made it and how exciting it must have been during this golden age of garden trains.
   
   I liked that most of the photographs looked like they were taken in a garden setting. I know that it is fun to try and take a photograph of our railroad so that people think they are real trains, but that is not for me. I always like to see a photograph of a garden railroad look like a garden railroad.
   
   There should be some recognizable element in the photograph that lets us know where we are. (My friend Marty is always excluded from this JDK tenet - he is as real as it gets. See if you can find his several photographs in the book. They are just great!)
   
   What I did not like.
   
   I wish this book was available as a hard bound book. It would have been great to have this as a hardcover, stitched bound book sitting on our coffee table for guests that come over. As a hardbound book it would have a level of credibility that it will not get as a paper back.
   
   Shame on the publishers for cheaping out. At least they could have printed some with a hardcover. Maybe in the next print run. They did add outer flaps on the cover to give the illusion, but it still is a softbound book.
   
   A few of the larger photographs were not as clear and a little dark . It is possible that these were 35mm photographs that had to be scanned and needed to have a higher resolution scan or more time in Photoshop.
   
   These two points do not take away from the overall uniqueness of this wonderful book.
   
   So is it worth it?
   
   Like Marc, we have had the opportunity to tour some of the world's best garden railroads. We have taken over 60,000 photographs of hundreds and hundreds of railroads across the United States and have them posted at LSOL.com.
   
   What we see in this book is what we have found across the United States. Each garden railroad is different.
   
   Each railroad offers a unique perspective. When you attend different National Conventions across the country you will find a wide diversity among the railroads that you visit in each region.
   
   There may be one or two that are similar, if they are designed by the same person, but the majority are as different as the people that created them. This book will let you see this diversity for a lot less than a road trip to the next National Convention.
   
   Gorgeous Garden Railways will make a fine addition to your collection of Large Scale Garden Train books.



3. Great book of past and present Garden Railways.
   excelent photos.



4. Not what I thought it would be. Like another reviewer said, this is a coffee table book without a hard cover. The contents make me think they had a bunch of left over photos from the magazine (Garden Railways) and the publisher told them to make a book out of them.



5. I bought this as part of a four book purchase including "Getting Started in Garden Railroading: Build the Railroad of Your Dreams... in Your Own Backyard" by Allan Miller (5 stars), "Garden Railroading: Getting Started in the Hobby" by Garden Railways Magazine (4 stars), and "Practical Garden Railways" by Peter Jones (2 stars).
   
   This is exactly as advertised. 140 pages of really nice pictures of garden railways. Don't look for it to provide any real practical suggestions on fixing problems but some of the photos may inspire layout ideas. It's also a good "coffee table" book as another reviewer mentioned.

1 comments about Tonka.

1. I enjoyed the large, clear photos of the toys and the historical information that is presented in this book. Mr. Laumann is a former Tonka employee and must have an impressive collection of toys and memoribilia given all the credits he receives in this book. This book was a "walk down memory lane" for me as my mother was employed by Tonka Toys for 24 years, only ending with the plant's closure in Mound MN. Baby Boomers, take a look at this book--I'm sure that the photos will bring back memories of a sunny afternoon outside with your favorite Tonka toy.

3 comments about Ray Gun.

1. This book is the bible for vintage rayguns.

   It was great to see the toys of my wonder years in full color. Inspires me to become a collector!

   Lots of fun!




2. It is amazing that enough material existed on this topic to constitute an entire book. The text reads like a labour of love. Who else would write such a thing?
   
   For science fiction fans, or children of the 50s to the 70s, you can revisit your youth. Some of the ray guns might be recognisable indeed.
   
   The text is nostalgic retrospective on an era with no digital electronics, as we know them now. As far as I can tell, every gun depicted here lacked a microprocessor. Everything was hardwired analog.



3. Though it was published some years ago its nice to see that this lovely book is still in print. The landscape format is ideal for showing off the streamline design that was a requirement for any gun of the future.
   
   Each model is shown in profile and a nice touch is the removal of the photos background so the guns are floating on the page. Another idea that gives the book a lift are several pages of period graphics: movie posters, ads and the original gun boxes. The first blaster is from 1935, a surprisingly good condition Buck Rogers pistol, made by Daisy. The models are shown in date order up to the mid-sixties and mostly from the US and Japan with several from Europe.
   
   Considering that this was a really tiny part of the toy market you might think it surprising that a book should be devoted to the subject but there is another equally beautiful title showing more: Zap! Ray Gun Classics. This is out of print but you'll easily be able to pick up a used copy. Both books will give you a nostalgic blast for the past.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

2 comments about Miniature Kitchens, and Shops from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center.

1. I consider this book to be one of the best dollhouse references out there. Every page has color photos. Many of the furniture pieces are photographed individually. Each photograph is clear and detailed. The author is careful to note when a piece is original, antique, or modern. Everything in this book is well-researched and documented. You could carve replica furniture pieces from the photographs in here, they are that good!

   Needless to say, the houses featured in here are gorgeous in their own right. My favorite part of this book are the great photos of the Grodnertal peg-wooden dolls. This book contains some of the best Grodnertal photos I've ever seen!




2. This book presents a charming look at some important historical dollhouses in the Rockefeller Folk Art Center. Good pictures and texts. Not useful if you are looking for realistic projects for your own dollhouse crafting hobby, but for the historian, this is a wonderful look at historical dolls, dollhouses, and furnishings that were used over generations as toys and learning devices for girls. For extravagant historical dollhouse rooms created by and for an adult collector (that you would perhaps want to emulate in your own hobby), see another book, Miniature Rooms, about the Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago.

2 comments about Invisible Ink Pen Kit (International Spy Museum Series).

1. My friends and I all bought this "Invisible Ink Pen Set." It came in a smaller box than expected and didn't have the quality product we were hoping for. It still worked quite well and served it's purpose. I guess that is what you get for five dollars!?!?



2. This pen barely works... and is much too small. Look for a better product.

5 comments about Mego 8" Super-Heroes: World's Greatest Toys!.

1. I had all of the items shown in the book as a kid so paging through it was a big trip down memory lane. It reminded me of a lot of fun times.



2. Simply put this is a fantastic book. It is a walk down memory lane for Mego fans who had the pleasure to grow up with these wonderful action figures in the 1970s. The photographs are splendid and bring to life Mego's WGSH line. The author's attention to detail cannot be matched by any other book out there that purports to touch upon this fine line of Mego action figures. If you are debating between Mego books to buy, please don't pass this book up. It is a decision you will regret a year or so from now when you are trying to track down this book from online auction sites, etc. For anyone looking for a wonderful trip into the past, jump on and enjoy the ride!!!



3. This book does not cover everything Mego, but its a wonderful collection of photos and important information. I recommend the book for any Mego collector.



4. A good looking and very informative book full of great photos of the Mego super-hero figure toy line. It's a must for any Mego toy collector and well worth the price of admission!



5. I came into the Mego world a bit late as a wee lad in the early 1980s. But I still remember having the Batman, Stretch Spidey, Dukes of Hazzard, and Incredible Hulk Mego action figures. This book really takes me back to those glory days!
   
   This book is a Mego collector's dream guide! Full of charts, checklists, rare photos and more. Extremely thorough and well researched, if you are a Mego fan, THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU!

5 comments about All Aboard : The Story of Joshua Lionel Cowen & His Lionel Train Company.

1. I have had several copies of the previous edition of this book but kept giving them away to neighbors of mine. It is a wonderful look at one of the oldest and most successful toy companies in the world: Lionel Trains. This book covers everything: humble beginnings, postwar boom, near destruction at the hands of famed veteran of the "Red Scare" Roy Cohn to it's present day owners. If you had Lionel trains as a child or have always loved them from afar I cannot tell you how much fun this book is. With stories on all of the most famous cars and the people behind the genius it's an engrossing read.



2. All Aboard! The Story Of Joshua Lionel Cowen & His Lionel Train Company is the fascinating story of the man who made the electric toy train one of the most popular toys for boys and hobbies for grown men in the last century. Published in part to celebrate the Lionel Train Company's 100th Anniversary, All Aboard! is also a testament to how this producer of toy trains dealt with the competition of electronic games at the end of the 20th century and is experiencing a surge of popularity at the beginning of the 21st Century. Original published in 1981, this new, revised and updated celebratory edition of All Aboard! is welcome and highly recommended reading for toy train enthusiasts in general, and Lionel Train collectors in particular!



3. This is one of my best books about Lionel trains. Profusely illustrated with photos of Joshua Lionel Cohen and the people that helped make Lionel a giagantic toy train builder. This is a book you're sure to read over and over.



4. Simply put, Hollander has written and compiled the highest quality, most comprehensive, and most readable book about the history of the Lionel electric train company that has ever been done. I make that claim while scanning my bookcase holding 45 books on electric toy trains, the majority of them dealing with Lionel, indisputably the penultimate brand name in America, at least where toy trains are concerned.

   Hollander writes of the origin and the evolution of Lionel trains from their beginning around 1900 through their status at the commencement of the 21st century, including their near death in 1969 and their miraculous resuscitation by the General Mills cereal company in 1970. Don't be alienated by the earlier statement that this is a history book. It is in no way a dry rehashing of facts, dates and dollars such as comprise boring histories. On the contrary, "All Aboard!" is more of a love story, for Hollander is truly in love with his subject, and his excitement in telling us about the Lionel legend carries the reader through the book on wings of delight.

   Highly descriptive text leaves us with a wonderful acquaintanceship with Lionel's parent, Joshua Lionel Cohen (who "Americanized" his name to Cowen), shows us the birth of his baby, draws us word pictures of that baby's successes and failures, its grand leaps of inventiveness and its faltering steps of failure in the changing business and economic climate of a century of American enterprise. Along the way, we are presented with copious visual reinforcement (both in color and in black and white) of the story that the text is weaving for us. We see photographs of the movers and shakers of this great company, some of the wondrous trains that they produced, and some of the expert art work that marketed those trains to the boys and fathers (and girls and mothers, too) of 20th century America. That art work, in annual catalogs and in magazine and newspaper advertisements, forged an emotional bond between American youth and the Lionel Corporation that endures today despite changing fortunes and changing ownership. Its effect on our culture has been phenomenal and is clearly addressed in Hollander's book.

   I can levy only two criticisms against "All Aboard!" The first is that I sometimes find the page layout annoying in that many sidebars and notes are included to give us insights into Lionel's executives, competitors, and plans. These are valuable and interesting, but they do interrupt the flow of the main text. The reader must either pause to read the sidebars or else ignore them at first and then return to them later. The second criticism is that the final chapter, which is the only "revised and updated" part of the book since its original release in 1981, lacks the intimate, revealing analysis that gives the rest of the book its finesse. The first eight chapters read as though Hollander had been an insider at the Lionel Corporation for its eighty-one years of birth, growth and turmoil, whereas the ninth chapter, which looks at the technological advances in toy trains from 1982 to 2000, is told by an outside observer who is no more privy to corporate thoughts than are the rest of us.

   If one has already enjoyed the 1981 edition of "All Aboard!", I cannot recommend purchasing the current edition just to have the new chapter. On the other hand, if one has never seen either edition of "All Aboard!", then, no matter what other books he may have read on Lionel trains, he has missed the most definitive and enjoyable book of all, and I cannot recommend Hollander's book too highly.




5. My grand-uncle, Mario Caruso, was the co-owner and co-founder of Lionel Trains along with Joshua "Lionel" Cohen.
   
   Frank Pettit, chief designer for Lionel Trains and my uncle, had over 100 patents for designs and innovations he created for toys, expecially trains, including the smoke tablet, cattle car, news-stand, a transformer, etc. Amazon lists his biography "It Comes From Within: The Frank Pettit Story." This is an accurate story of the Lionel Trains Corp.
   
   My entire family; mother, father, uncles, aunts, from the Caruso/Pagano family worked at Lionel Trains, located in Irvington, New Jersey during the 1950's, which was the largest toy company in the world. During World War II, Lionel Corp. developed and manufactured instruments for the navy.
   
   The company was bought by the lawyer, Roy Cohn, grandson of Lionel Trains founder Lionel Cowen (Cowen & Cohn are very similar names). Roy Cohn immediately fired everyone and stated that "We are out of the toy business." To this day, nobody knows where the pension fund went. All the money was taken out of the company. My mom and dad, my relatives and others never received a penny of their pension that they worked so hard for.
   
   Read this fascinating history of what was once the largest toy manufacturing company in the world.

2 comments about Schroeder's Collectible Toys Antique to Modern Price Guide (Schroeder's Collectible Toys).

1. Of all the books in our library ~ this one never gets 'recycled!' Wonderful souce book with excellent information. This book sells out fast in our area! Glad to know that we can now order it on line!



2. THIS BOOK IS HIGHLY INFORMATIVE AND UP TO DATE WITH ITS DESCRIPTIONS AND PRICES. I USE THIS BOOK AS MY BIBLE FOR TOYS BECAUSE IT CONTAINS NOT ONLY THE EASY TO GET PRICES, BUT ALSO THE HARD TO FIND TOY PRICES. THE ONLY DRAW BACK THAT I CAN SEE IS I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE PICTURES. THIS IS A MUST FOR YOUR TOY COLLECTIBLE LIBRARY OF PRICE BOOKS.