Antiques Books Sampling
Antique Trader Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide 2007 (Antique Trader Antiques and Collectibles Price Guide) by Kyle Husfloen (Paperback - October 8, 2006).
CatCopyII "Growing appeal - national collector shows like the Atlantique City, radio programs, and television series like Antiques Roadshow demonstrate increasing interest in collectibles.
Features more color photos than any other price guide on the market Only proven comprehensive antiques and collectibles guide - focuses on the evolving interests of collectors. Not just another price guide, Antique Trader Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide offers collectors new listings, updated prices, detailed color photos, for unmatched coverage of today's American collectibles market. This best-selling antiques and collectibles guide: *Provides more than 13,000 listings to help collectors assess their collections with ease *Features more than 5,000 spectacular color photos that aid in making accurate identifications, and spotting fakes *Includes updated descriptions and values to help collectors make smart decisions in today's ever-changing market.
This top seller is the one book every collector can afford, and can't afford to be without."
Antiquing for Dummies by Ron Zoglin (Paperback - April 27, 1999).
Whether you’re a beginner or you’ve already gotten your feet wet, this fun, friendly guide will give you the savvy you need to cruise, schmooze, bargain for, and care for antiques with confidence. In no time you’ll be able to:
Tell the difference between real antiques and stuff that’s just old
Develop an antique hunt plan of attack
Select antiques based on the 5 key points of the “RADAR Test”
Discover hidden treasures at garages, estate sales, auctions, and shops
Get the best deals when buying and selling antiques
Decorate with antique glass and porcelain from around the world
Clean and care for your precious finds
Work an auction—real-time and online
Miller's Antiques Price Guide 2007: Over 8,000 New Items Valued (Miller's Antiques Price Guide) by Elizabeth Norfolk (Hardcover - August 28, 2006).
For 28 years Miller’s™ Antiques Price Guide has been the benchmark for authority and accessibility, acknowledged as the most comprehensive illustrated guide to antiques from all over the world. The tradition continues in the newest version, which features an expert pool of more than 20 named experts from the UK, USA, and elsewhere who have contributed their expertise. That’s why no buyer or seller can afford to be without this valuable book: it includes 10,000 color items from antiquities to late 20th century. As well as traditional antiques such as furniture, pottery, porcelain, glass, and silver, there’s coverage of all the latest trends in the decorative arts—over 60 subject categories in all. Of special value are the “Miller’s Compares” features where two apparently similar items are analyzed to reveal why one is more valuable than the other. Other special sections give an in-depth look at American silver, Gothic revival furniture, creamware, parian wares, skeleton clocks, American clocks, and quilts (American and European). In addition, Miller’s is positively packed with informative background on price trends, makers to look out for, and historical detail, all presented in a clear, accessible style.
Antiques on the Cheap: A Savvy Dealer's Tips: Buying, Restoring, Selling by James W. McKenzie (Paperback - January 9, 1998).
This book is for wanna-be antiques dealers and folks who have more time than money. It is not about trends, collecting, and tips on antique shows and flea markets. In plain language, McKenzie surveys all the probable places to buy (e.g., auctions and estate sales), all the quick fixes, and all the selling ploys. Best among the wisdom collected here are the behavioral ruses--for example, how to capitalize on unwanted leftovers, as well as bidding strategies at auctions--and all the recipes, formulas, and instructions for repairs. To his credit, everything's done on the cheap; he gives tips on savings on furniture stripping and even no-rent merchandise displays. Sidebars, too, are generally valuable; in one, he explains the anatomy of a bottle, and in another, a fool-proof recipe for furniture juice (cleaning fluid, that is). Step-by-step instructions would profit by more illustrations, though. Barbara Jacobs
Antiques Roadshow Primer : The Introductory Guide to Antiques and Collectibles from the Most-Watched Series on PBS by Carol Prisant (Paperback - December 1999).
The simple but brilliant attraction of the popular PBS series is that deep down inside, everyone wonders if that family heirloom or flea-market antique in the corner of the living room has any real value. Antiques Roadshow Primer can help you answer that question. Carol Prisant, who writes about antiques and collectibles for Martha Stewart Living, House Beautiful, and New York, quickly notes in her introduction, however, that this is a primer--an introduction to the basics of antiques--and does not presume to make the reader an instant expert.
In that vein, the focus is on the bread and butter of the antique world: silver, glass, pottery, porcelain, books, paintings, jewelry, rugs, clocks, and furniture. These are the items that are not trendy (Barbie dolls, 1920s beaded bags) and subject to massive fluctuations in price and value. Instead, Prisant points out, they are the types of items that are good for the long haul and, she notes, the front hall. So how do you determine if an heirloom is worth something? The following tips are offered when inspecting furniture: run your fingers underneath or over the back of the piece--very sharp edges and corners indicate recent manufacture. Remove one screw in some inconspicuous spot. An old, handmade screw will have irregular widths between the spirals, running the whole length of the shaft. The slot in the head may be off-center. Look for the distinctive curved pattern left in sawn wood by the teeth of a circular saw--it is one important sign of manufacture after 1840.
Prisant also reveals tricks of the trade for inspecting diamonds: place the gem against your upper lip, she advises. If it's glass--the oldest imitator of a diamond--it will not feel cold at all, while a real diamond will. Definitions are also offered for "antique furniture" (any object 100 years old or older, according to the U.S. government), "used furniture" (secondhand furniture less than 100 years old), and "period furniture" (made when its design was first popular and new; generally the most valuable of antique furniture). At its best, Antiques Roadshow Primer instills a sense of genuine interest and enthusiasm, much like the PBS show, by making the antiques and collectibles world less of a stuffy discussion about an untouchable item behind lock and key and more about drawing connections to the heirloom in the corner. --John Russell
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