Few things capture the charm of Christmas like the old-world Santa Claus. You might also know him as St. Nicholas or Father Christmas. What better way to say “Merry Christmas” to a friend or loved one than with one of these beautiful Santas you carved yourself. It is a timeless Christmas decoration that will be…
Electrical lighting fixtures from the 1920s through 1940s reflect the popular taste for Art Deco styling in public, commercial, and home interiors. Beautiful color photographs of dramatic lights from theaters, important houses, great architects, and interior designers fill this stunning book, showing the great flair…
The largest blanket manufacturer under one roof in the United States by 1920 was the Beacon Manufacturing Company, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and later of Swannanoa, North Carolina. Cotton, wool, and blended blankets came off their looms in plain, geometric, and Indian designs by the millions. They were sold at dry…
Since the mid-nineteenth century, the George Wade pottery in Burslem, England, has produced many forms of ceramic items. It is best known for their delightful series of tiny porcelain animals known as Whimsies®. Highly collectible, the Whimsies have been joined over the years by many equally charming miniatures, some…
Roseville pottery is introduced, explained, examined, and surveyed in this beautiful, sweeping guide. This revised and expanded edition includes new research on Roseville shape numbers and terminology, as published in Bassett’s Roseville Prices. Over 860 color photographs illustrate the many artistic products…
Over 1000 beautiful color photos display a wide spectrum of Elegant Glass patterns, colors, shapes, and etchings. The book’s listings are updated and over 100 patterns of elegant American glass are represented in this new 4th edition. Several patterns have additional listings. Each pattern includes a complete…
The proud history of one of America’s most prolific and best known dinnerware manufacturers is presented with over 500 color photographs and new research from the company archives. Today the popularity of Fiestar and many other Homer Laughlin dishes from the 1870s to the 1930s is well known to ceramics…
A fun guide to creating simple wooden jewelry. Craft pins, beads, pendants, and earrings evoke delightful desert art. With practical safety tips and a discussion of the best tools, anyone can get started. Design discussion and many project photographs will launch you in creating exquisite jewelry perfect for gifts.…
Presented for the first time in detail, this examination of German medal bars covers a subject long overlooked in reference books. Illustrating over one-hundred German medal bars in full color, both obverse and reverse views are shown, as well as close up images that highlight some of the finer details. Medal bars of…
A popular theme of collecting is kitchen glass: bowls, reamers, measuring cups, shakers, and more. During the 1930s McKee Glass Company created some of today’s most interesting and sought-after designs. This new book offers historical insight into the McKee Glass Company and vivid photography to present its diverse,…
In the dynamic first quarter of the 20th century, Louis Comfort Tiffany and his Tiffany Studios in New York City produced 24 distinctly different bronze desk-set patterns with nearly 1,000 different items sold separately, so that successful business leaders could decide which and how many they could arrange on their…
Through over 300 clear color photos and concise text, you can learn the materials, qualities, working styles, and decorating techniques of penknives. Learn the differences of carbon and alloyed steels, steel designations, and impressive damascene decoration. Knife blade types and steel polishes are featured as well as…
Give yourself a workshop with Chicago jewelry designer Ani Afshar who will teach you step-by-step to weave jewelry with beads, fishing line, and wire. Learn to make a 10-strand bead necklace with clusters of various beads, a beaded coil choker with memory wire and fishing line, and seed bead loop earrings. Introduce…
Chicago jewelry designer Ani Afshar invites you to a workshop in your own studio where you can learn her step-by-step methods for weaving jewelry with beads and sterling silver wire. She’ll help you create 5- and 3-strand necklaces and a 3-strand pearl bracelet, with beads of your choice or similar to those she…
Wire and glass beads are combined in this jewelry-making guide as equal partners, making the bending of wire more than just rings for attachments. Time, space, and affordability of the materials are kept minimal, so the jewelry-making process remains fun. Instructions and color photographs of 60 necklace, bracelet and…
Graceful okimono figures in many forms, dating from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, are the primary focus of this book, while scholar’s brush holders and wrist rests, cricket cages, card cases, match holders, sword hilts, and scabbards are also presented. Finely carved ivory from China and Japan is…
162 clear color photos and lively instructions teach readers to create imaginative and colorful Christmas ornaments made from hard-shelled, miniature gourds. The designs include birdhouses, snowmen, angels, tree balls, double tree balls, tree toppers, and wall hangings. Step-by-step instructions proceed from initial…
This swatch book is an inspiring visual tour of elegant fabric design using beautiful historic kimono remnants from Japan’s Showa Period (1926-1989). More than 400 photographs and detailed captions provide information on motif identification, Japanese history and cultural traditions. The book is organized around…
Experience warm wishes and happy remembrances of Christmas through postcards, rural carrier cards, and business trade cards organized chronologically from the 1880s through the 1920s. Over 740 beautiful and charming color images show how Christmas sentiments, card designs, and that right jolly old elf Santa himself…
As long as there have been doors there have been doorstops. Early on they may have been a convenient rock or piece of furniture, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, doorstops were manufactured as decorative items for the home. Generally cast in iron, they are avidly sought after by today’s collectors.…
Combining wonderful graphics with fascinating history, this book is a showcase of outstanding Chinese label, packaging, and advertising art created between 1900 and 1976. These stunning images came from cities in China such as Canton and Shanghai, as well as places beyond the border such as Hong Kong, Macau, and…
Making beautiful porcelain bead jewelry has never been simpler. Using over 100 color photos and straightforward instructions, readers are guided through all the steps necessary to create magnificent layered beads, beads with inclusions, millefiori beads, bead necklaces, earrings, and buttons.
Techniques are provided…
Three well-known books on miniature lamps are the progenitors of this informative and easy-to-use Price Guide. Up-to-date pricing covers the lamps shown in Miniature Lamps by Frank R. and Ruth E. Smith, Miniature Lamps II by Ruth Smith, and Miniature Victorian Lamps by Marjorie Hulsebus. The illustrations in each of…
This newly revised book presents the beautiful jewelry of the prolific Zuni Indians of New Mexico, who are known the world over for their distinctive designs. From stone, shell, inlay, and silver, Zuni craftsmen have been developing jewelry forms for more than 125 years. Contemporary makers both reflect the traditional…
Dinky toys, produced from 1933 to 1980, have become popular collectibles today. This book, now in its seventh edition, offers concise history, detailed listing of major variations, chronological list, and a newly-updated price guide. It includes all the Dinky toys made in Britain, France, Spain, and other parts of…
Marbles made in many materials other than glass. Minerals, stone, clay, crockery, pottery, china, porcelain, cloisonne, gutta-percha, scrimshaw, wood, metal, and more appear here in over 930 color photos of ! Featured are some of the most highly prized marbles of years-gone-by, including hand cut, milled, and polished…
Nowhere else will you find Elvis, John Wayne, and Richard Nixon standing proudly atop tiny transistor radios! Over 600 color photos display wildly varied novelty transistor radios, including those shaped as airplanes, beer bottles, bugs, cars, vending machines, weapons, famous people, and advertising characters. Some…
Welcome to Kitschmasland in a fun and nostalgic look at our infatuation with Christmas holiday decor from the 1950s and through the 1970s. This beautiful revised book covers the gamut of decorations – some whimsical, some beautiful – and a treasure trove of campy kitsch that the author calls ”Kitschmas!” …
Hello Kitty® goods have been delighting fans for over 30 years. First introduced in Japan by Sanrio, Hello Kitty’s popular image is licensed by over 900 companies internationally and avidly collected by fans young and old.
Celebrate all that is Hello Kitty® with this insider’s glimpse into her amazing world. Each…
Colorful patterns of English transferware have graced homes around the world for nearly 200 years. In the 20th century major manufacturers like Crown Ducal, Enoch Wood, Royal Staffordshire, Royal Crownford, Alfred Meakin, Spode, Johnson Brothers, and Mason’s produced a large variety of patterns, styles and colors that…
Here is the first book to highlight the gorgeous decorated satin glassware produced by Factories D, G, and K of the United States Glass Company during the 1920s. Bowls, candlesticks, candy boxes, dresser sets, vases, and table and novelty lamps are among the items shown for the first time here.
Over 230 beautifully…
Collecting toothpick holders is about to become easier and more rewarding than ever! Here is the only publication to focus exclusively on toothpick holders made of porcelain. Over 600 beautiful color photographs showcase toothpick holders from around the world, including major ceramics manufacturers from Austria,…
Over 760 beautiful color photographs display hundreds of canes & walking sticks that span centuries and a multitude of designs. Elegant formal styles include handles of gold, silver, and ivory. Innovative system sticks display a vast array of objects hidden within their shafts and handles (including a working…
This stunning new book, arranged alphabetically by subject areas, captures the essence of the successful Flint Faience Tile Company’s highly diversified production between 1921-33 in Flint, Michigan. The history of this ceramic tile company, its major designers, and the designs and styles of its products are…
The Illinois Watch Company has long had an honored place in the annals of horological history. From their founding in 1869, through their commitment to timekeeping excellence in the early 20th century, to their development of many wonderful Art Deco/Moderne-inspired wristwatches in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, Illinois…
The most complete listing of Fenton Milk Glass is now revised and expanded. The beautiful white and pastel Milk Glass made by Fenton Art Glass from 1940-1985 is described and displayed in over 470 striking color photographs. During this period, Fenton was the preeminent manufacturer of Milk Glass wares. One look at…
Now in its revised fifth edition, this popular volume combines recent and classic research with hundreds of all-color photographs to survey Flow Blue ceramics, the much sought after and highly prized table and kitchen ware items that graced so many Victorian tables. The values, conveniently located in the captions,…
This engaging book details the wide variety of model kits produced by Revell, Inc. of Venice, California, from the 1950s through the 1970s. Over 545 color photographs display many of the much sought after kits, ranging from automobiles and ships to aircraft and spaceships.
Also included are a fascinating history of the…
Attractive and versatile, Sarah Coventry® jewelry was produced from 1949 through 1984 and is extremely popular with today’s collectors. This carefully researched and stunningly photographed book provides detailed information about the items produced, including dates of manufacture and names furnished by the…
Collecting glass animal figures is a widespread hobby for people of all ages. This important reference book features over 950 beautiful color photographs of American glass animals, fish, birds, mammals, and people figurines dating from 1876 to the present. Major manufacturers shown include Cambridge, Fenton, Heisey,…