Softies—simple cloth characters to sew with basic tools—are popular worldwide for good reason: easy, fun designs give the successful results that inspire a new generation of kids to sew. This guide to the zenki way, from the founder of Sew a Softie, helps parents, teachers, community organizations, and kids make a good…
Almost 100 years ago, in 1896, Amedeo Obici bought a peanut roaster from his uncle and went into business for himself. After ten years of selling peanuts to other shopkeepers from a small store and a horse-drawn cart, in 1906 Obici teamed up with Mario Peruzzi, to expand business, and form Planters Peanuts. The rest is…
This popular tour of sumptuous glass colors, decorative treatments, and forms (from baskets and bowls to sandwich trays and vases) produced by the famous Fenton Arts Company is back in a new edition, complete with new values for collectors. More than 840 color images provide a visual feast of the company’s…
A lighthearted passport to 10 whimsical and elegant little scenes to make from paper and then display under cloches. A lush tropical jungle, a teepee at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and a lighthouse guiding a ship through choppy waves all come to life with simple directions and a relaxed approach. Paper designer…
This wonderful collector’s book features illustrations of over one hundred dollhouses from Europe and America, plus several hundred furniture items including some from Japan. The houses and furniture date from the 1880s to the 1980s and are displayed in over 750 color photographs. Houses shown fully furnished are…
With their softened camouflage, sun-faded stencils, and well-worn insignia patches, this collection of more than 100 iconic WWII American military jackets will wow even the most hardcore connoisseurs and collectors. The cult-status jackets come from the collections of the authors, who are natives of Rome. This “eternal…
Following the success of their first volume American Flight Jackets, Airmen & Aircraft: A History of U.S. Flyers’ Jackets from World War I to Desert Storm, Jon Maguire and John Conway focus solely on the painted leather jackets of the World War II years in this all new volume.
A new multi-volume series covering United States Naval patches from World War II to the present – each volume contains over 1000 patches in full color.
This new book is a classic study of Southwest Native American jewelry that documents the fascinating story of evolving designs and techniques from early traders and artists up to the present. The concise yet highly informative text accompanies over 500 color photographs of silver, turquoise, shell, and gold jewelry.…
Hundreds of handsome designs from the turn-of-the-century are presented in this, the most comprehensive collection of glowing oak furniture ever published. Pictured are many styles of tables, chairs, sofas, sideboards, clocks, bedroom suites, chests, and cupboards in more than 670 color photographs. The author explains…
In an endearing personal account, Doris Yeske shares her love and knowledge of Depression glass and knowledge accumulated through years of research. This is the perfect starter book for any would-be collector – a gentle and humorous introduction to the hobby starting with the origins of the glass, leading them…
An avid group of loyal collectors, spanning generations and races, cant get enough of these rare and quirky antiques. Now in its fourth edition, this indispensable field guide provides many additional objects and completely updated values for a culinary tour of popular kitchen collectibles featuring black…
Artist Linda MacNeil’s outstanding works in contemporary jewelry are shown in exquisite detail. Nearly 200 pendants, neck collars, and necklaces are shown, along with matching earrings in an exquisite exploration of MacNeil’s celebrated works in hand-fashioned glass gems and metalwork. An essay by Suzanne…
This book brings together 17 Sew a Softie designers from around the world. Each designer has come up with a delightful new hand-sewn project to inspire moms, dads, kids, grandparents, and teachers of all kinds. No expensive machines are required, and each project uses stitches and techniques that can easily be mastered…
240 double-sided full color flip panels allow you to create unique combinations for interior décor and provide useful information. Wallpaper and textile swatches illustrate tropical and exotic designs from palm trees to elephants to exotic birds. There are map motifs, animal prints, cork, and bamboo aplenty, acres of…
From the sweet simplicity of household linens to lacy confections of European origin, this essential reference will answer many questions about heirloom linens that may be tucked away in closets and attics. Whether you are a long-time collector or have recently inherited linens and simply want to know more about them,…
Whether you’re a collector, fashion historian, costume designer, or dancer, you’ll delight in this story of vintage clothing that swings to the beat of a blue note or eight-to-the-bar. Come on a pictorial tour of groovy threads from the 1930s through the 1950s. Jump into the mid-1930s, when swing was…
Breitling-one watch has made this name famous worldwide, the Navitimer. In 1952 this watch was a real sensation, for the chronograph along with the calculator made it possible for the pilot to carry out all necessary calculations during the flight. This made the Navitimer a valuable on-board instrument at that time,…
Elegant and utilitarian glasswares have been made for over thirty centuries. The manufacture of cut glass in America stems from a history that reaches back to ancient Egypt, while engraved glass was known in classical Rome. In this excellent new edition of a classic work, the author traces the American phases of this…
Bessie Pease Gutmann was a premier illustrator during the first half of the twentieth century. She embodies the feel and subject matter that has come to be associated with women illustrators of that period.
This visual masterpiece contains more full-color photography of Gutmann’s work than all other previous…
Revisit those family vacations of yore through these charming, colorful tablecloths and linens. These whimsical collectibles are fun ”snapshots” of America’s tourist industry from the 1920s through the 1960s, as captured by enthusiastic textile designers on boldly printed cloths. Over 300 color…
The dream of flight has been a rite of passage for more than three generations of boys, and model aviation continues to be one of the most wholesome and engaging activities in modern culture. This wonderful collector’s book explores and identifies hundreds of fantastic items related to model aviation. More than…
Here is an exciting new field of collecting! Anchor Hocking produced many unique glass bottles over the years to commemorate retirements, high school graduations, historical events, centennials, plant expansions, performance awards, and conventions. Over 150 beautiful color photos display unique examples of…
Mauzy’s Comprehensive Handbook of Depression Glass Prices is truly the all-inclusive portable identification and price guide available for collectors and dealers. This expanded second edition features more patterns of Depression Glass, more Fire-King, and now the addition of color photos to assist in pattern…
This book recreates the ambiance of the ocean liner era by showing the actual objects used on board. Each piece of ocean-liner memorabilia is like an Aladdin’s lamp, releasing wondrous memories of that grand style of travel. Beginning in the late 1890s, shipping lines forged their identities by commissioning…
Figural shoes are a delightful, long-collected art form, which especially flourished in Victorian times and after World War II. This ground-breaking book, the first authoritative work on shoes made of porcelain and pottery, illustrates over 1,200 from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They are accompanied…
The popularity of Japanese ceramics in the West caused a vast and delightful variety of wares to be made in the late nineteenth century for export. Colorful Imari porcelain in deep blue, orange-red, and gold, Fukagawa porcelain in imaginative designs, as well as the softly colored Satsuma earthenwares, are the best…
A fascinating and insightful look into the art glass of the 1950s, this revised second edition spans the range of 1950s art glass from common collectibles to those of museum quality, displaying the diversity and creativity of style, color, and shape. This book has served as an inspiration and valuable resource for…
The mellow tones of antique natural oak have become popular accents in a growing number of households in America today. Furniture made over the last hundred years in dense oak, which holds the crisp edges of fine carving detail and displays strong designs have come to be appreciated by the descendants of their first…
Take a detailed look at the exciting and highly collectible modern furniture of the 1950s–furniture created by renowned designers, including Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, Harry Bertoia, Isamu Noguchi, and Eero Saarinen, and produced by companies such as Herman Miller, Knoll, and Heywood-Wakefield.…
California-based Gladding, McBean & Co. began producing Franciscan dinnerware in the 1930s. Their introduction of Franciscan Apple in 1940 heralded a new product line featuring heavily sculpted, embossed dinnerware hand-decorated in brilliant colors. Desert Rose, introduced a year later, became the top selling…
With this valuable book, novices and connoisseurs alike will be able to correctly identify the most distinctive styles and purchase contemporary Oriental rugs in traditional designs of the highest quality. Over 270 beautiful color photos, including many close-up shots, display these fascinating carpets to their best…
Ever since 1897, when the first ”Delicious and Refreshing” glasses of Coca-Cola were poured, Coca-Cola trays have become magnificent pieces of advertising art. The evolution of American popular culture is found in their images. From ribbons-and-lace girls of the late Victorian era through Roaring Twenties…
The doors are wide open and you’re welcome to wander through. Don’t worry about the carpets as you enter through stately doorways, cozy up to colossal fireplaces, and climb poetic staircases.
For those who love the old homes of the New England area, this is a chance to enter and inspect the window sills and…
Following the success of her first book about neckties, Popular & Collectible Neckties: 1955 to the Present, Roseann Ettinger presents the new volume. Over 400 hundred color photographs illustrate the development of the necktie, from the turn of the century, through the Roaring Twenties, the Depression, and the…
One of the hottest fields in collecting, Tarzan memorabilia ranges from comic books at a dollar or two to first editions valued in the thousands! Part of our cultural heritage for nearly a century, the chest-beating ape man (what other fictional character can be described by a gesture?) has been a hero for generations…
James L. Dundas provides his readers with a sweeping survey of the shooting toys that gladdened the hearts of children from near the turn of the twentieth century to the 1990s. Concentrating heavily on the decades from the 1920s to the 1960s, over 420 color photographs display a dazzling array of BB guns, cap shooters,…
By the second half of the 1920s, old-fashioned Victorian morals had gone the way of starched collars and cruel corsets and a ”no holds barred” attitude reigned in their place. ”The Party of the Century” had begun in earnest and fashions responded by climbing to the knees! Using a combination of…
By the second half of the 1920s, old-fashioned Victorian morals had gone the way of starched collars and cruel corsets and a ”no holds barred” attitude reigned in their place. ”The Party of the Century” had begun in earnest and fashions responded by climbing to the knees! Using a combination of…
Just when it seems that Tom could not possibly have any more Santa patterns, here are 75 never before seen designs. They reflect Tom’s unquenchable creativity, his boundless sense of humor, and his keen eye for caricature. Each pattern is clearly drawn and reproduced at full size. A color gallery is included on…