| Miller’s price guide offers antique collectors updated appraisal info |
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Miller’s Antiques Handbook & Price Guide 2010-2011 by Judith Miller, Mitchell Beazley/Octopus Books, 2010. Hardcover with dust jacket, 648 pages, color photos, values. List price: $45.
Miller’s Collectibles Handbook 2010-2011, 21st Edition by Judith Miller and Mark Hill, Mitchell Beazley/Octopus Books, 2010. Softcover, 432 pages, color photos, values. List price: $27.99.
It’s easy to get comfortable with a price guide. And, who can blame you? Find one you like, one that fits your needs, and you’ll likely stick with it for years.
That’s great, except it sometimes keeps us from examining other books on the market.
Despite their strong international brand name and stellar reputation, Miller’s price guides aren’t generally at the top of the list of most collectors I know. Instead, Kovel’s, Schroeder’s and Warman’s seem to get the most attention.
If you like any or all of those price guides, don’t switch. But, you owe it to yourself to check out Miller’s. Whether it makes you a convert is inconsequential. What’s more important might be that it opens your eyes to areas of the antiques and collectibles market not covered by the main-stream American presses. At the very least, Miller’s handles that material differently, often more extensively.
Based out of Great Britain, Miller’s has a decidedly English slant. That’s a good thing. After all, a price guide does you no good if it doesn’t include the Regency wine cooler you’re trying to find.
Miller’s Antiques Handbook & Price Guide and Miller’s Collectibles Handbook follow the same format. Each is a picture price guide. However, there’s plenty of added information about the items presented. Miller’s Antiques Handbook provides “Essential Reference” boxes, while Miller’s Collectibles Handbook has “Quick Reference” material. Each gives details about the subject matter being explored.
There’s plenty to see in each book. Miller’s Antiques Handbook boasts more than 8,000 photos, while Miller’s Collectibles Handbook has 4,000 images. The latter also has special sections devoted to paperweights, Wade ceramics and Pablo Picasso glass. One selling point for the Miller’s Antiques Handbook is its information on market trends, such as the recently renewed interest in Asian material.
Well designed and informative, these two titles are always worth a look.
Compass Chronicles by Kornelia Takacs, Schiffer Publishing, 2010. Hardcover with dust jacket, 176 pages, color photos, no values. List price: $39.99.
A decade of collecting and research led to this book, which explores pocket compasses made between the late 1700s and the early 1940s, but primarily covering the period from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. More than 500 photos illustrate a fair amount of text.
“The history of their development is explored, special uses for the U.S. Engineering Department and civilian groups are presented, and patented improvements are featured,” the book notes.
A Quilt Block Challenge: Vintage Revisited by Mary Kerr, Schiffer Publishing, 2010. Softcover, 128 pages, color photos, no values. List price: $24.99.
The challenge is simple – take a vintage quilt block and incorporate it into a finished product, being as traditional or as imaginative as one likes. That’s the premise of this book, which describes the process and shows the completed works. You’ll be amazed at what the quilters created.
The following books are updated editions.
Collecting Costume Jewelry 202: The Basics of Dating Jewelry 1935-1980, 2nd Edition by Julia C. Carroll, Collector Books, 2010. Softcover, 496 pages, color photos, values. List price: $24.95.
In this second edition, readers once again learn six methods for dating costume jewelry: by maker’s signature, patent information, vintage advertisements, style or design, books and Internet, and provenance. New to the book are more than 2,300 design patent drawings; expanded sections on Boucher, Adele Simpson and Regency Jewels; more than 200 new photos; additional vintage ads and updated values.
The Official Precious Moments Collector’s Guide to Figurines, 4th Edition by John and Malinda Bomm, Collector Books, 2010. Softcover, 336 pages, color photos, values. List price: $24.95.
When it comes to Precious Moments figurines, this book covers them all. Each item is illustrated within a box that provides basic information, including the name, model number, year issued, series, original price and values based on the production mark on each piece. |
| 6/30/2010 |
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