The cocktail shaker, once a symbol of elegance, is now eminently collectible. This reference, designed for collectors and admirers, celebrates a golden age when designers from the famous luxury goods houses had a ball with novelty cocktail shakers. It features over 150 photographs of shakers.
From prehistoric times we have used wood to make our houses, containers, vehicles and implements. This book offers an idea of what the basic woodworking tools were like in the main historical periods and shows something of the astonishing variety of forms which these basic tools have assumed at different times and in different places.
Including the marks of American and British metalwork, this book also includes coverage of ceramics and furniture. The ceramics include English and European marks, as well as Japanese date marks and Chinese reign marks. English, French and European furniture and tapestry marks are also included.
A guide to nearly 200 years of photographic invention and innovation. It showcases 500 cameras from the George Eastman House's collection that forever changed our perception of the world and of ourselves. Alongside the 35mm, it shows cameras like stereoscopic cameras, postcard cameras and spy cameras hidden in watches, buttons and fountain pens.
The production of portable decorative containers for matches began some time in the mid-19th century. They were known at first as fusee boxes or vesta boxes. This title gives practical advice to help the novice over any initial hurdles. It offers guidance on prices and over 100 illustrations to help with identification.
Illustrates the simple, rare, but often extremely beautiful traditional laundry aids - the glass calendars, washing bats, mangle boards and goffering stacks. This book also provides examples of the multitude of flat, box, solid fuel, spirit, gas and electric irons, washing machines and wringers.
Celebrates the camera and the art of the photograph. This title covers almost 200 years of progress, from the first image ever caught to the instantaneous pictures of today's digital cameras. It includes descriptions of more than 350 cameras as well as more than 100 photographs, adverts and drawings.
What is the value of Gandhi's glasses or a collection of Braille editions of "Playboy"? And how much is an artwork consisting of ten million $100 banknotes worth? This title presents an eclectic overview of 2009's most ownable objects. It presents a treasure trove of over 100 desirable things bought or offered for sale in 2009.
Peter Watson tells the story of his five year investigation into Sotheby's and his discovery of practices that include the facilitation of smuggling, the sale of antiquities known to have been stolen from tombs, and the rigging of the Art Index Market.
The oldest keys known to exist date from around 4, 000 BC in Ancient Egypt. These were simple wooden cylinders that were part of a mechanism to secure doors. By the time of the Roman Empire, metal keys were in common usage and had begun to adopt the recognizable pattern of keys today. This book tells the story of the key.
Although most of us have a corkscrew in the kitchen, we remain largely unaware of the many different types and designs of corkscrews that have been developed over the last three hundred years. This book reveals the diverse corkscrews that have been created over the years and aims to spur the reader on to collecting these useful items.
Corkscrews appeal to collectors who appreciate the functional beauty of an instrument designed for a specific purpose, namely to remove a cork from a wine bottle. This book traces the history of the corkscrew, illustrates many different ones and explains how they work and how they were made.
Shows you how to add style and glamour to your home by buying secondhand, vintage and antique furnishings. Companion to a new prime time series for BBC2, this book also shows you how to turn your back on bland, mass-produced flat-pack furniture and embrace secondhand treasures.
Rich in tradition yet with an eye on the contemporary and emerging, this title provides back-stories on key collecting areas to enhance the collecting experience. It sheds light on such hot areas as: Illustration Art; Vintage Video Games; Japanese Woodblock Prints; Industrial art/Steampunk; Mid-Century Modern Furniture; and, Autographs.
Focuses on the areas of collecting, identifying and determining the worth of rocks, minerals and gemstones; how and where collectors can acquire them; and, what they can do with them once excavated. This title includes 1, 000 color pictures, which provide the visual detail the readers need to identify their rocks.
Car values fluctuate wildly. Pricing information is a must for collectors, restorers, buyers, sellers, insurance agents and a myriad of others who rely on reliable authoritative data. This title features over 250, 000 listings for domestic cars and light trucks, and various import vehicles manufactured between 1899 and 2003.
Whether you're an art fan, aficionado, or collector, this book intends to teach you what you ever wanted to know about the contemporary art market. It explains the ABCs of buying art on the primary and secondary markets, at auction, and at art fairs and gives an overview of the world art scene and its social circles.
A guide to identifying trash, treasure or antiques. It provides information on things you need to know to collect and make a tidy profit - from coins to kitchenware, fashion to football memorabilia. It offers you advice, top tips and tricks of the trade.
Features 700 large colour photos and 2, 000 listings of tools from the late 18th century through the middle of the 20th century, with actual prices from tool auctions. This title covers advertising, displays, salesman's samples, ephemera, tool-related art, books, catalogues, magazines, manuals, and photos, braces, bits, drills, and edged tools.
Brings to life a world in which the most valuable antiques frequently turn up in the most unlikely places - and accompanied by the most unlikely people. This work presents stories of ordinary people with extraordinary possessions. It is written by the star of BBC TV's "Bargain Hunt".
From the huge, tumbling wigs of the wealthy during the mid-seventeenth century, to the razor sharp instruments required for tooth pulling, blood letting and even amputation, the barber's shop has historically housed a plethora of intriguing tools and accessories.
Horse brasses are flat, generally round, ornaments for decorating the harness of draught horses. This book traces the history of horse brasses, from the plain, simple early examples through to the more advanced brasses that were developed as our knowledge of brass casting improved. It includes 200 photographs of different horse brasses.
Includes chapters which explain what to look for when buying antiques - how to spot repairs and fakes, clues to dating and the history of factories and designers. This book provides information about antique furniture, ceramics, glass and silver. It also includes sections which cover Modern Design - from Eames furniture to Murano glass.
Follows the progression of knives from traditional pocketknives to custom bowies, autos, dirks, daggers and fast-opening, one-hand folders. This book documents the transition from carbon steel blades to damascus and from bone or stag handles to ancient ivory, pearl, titanium, and such exotics as giraffe bone and walrus tusk.
Offers a typology of buckles detailing the types of buckles from different historical periods and listings of museums where they can be found. This book offers guidance for period costumes, and provides the collector or enthusiast with the information needed to continue or begin to learning about this object.
Covers the history of tackle across two centuries. This book contains chapters each of which introduces fresh models including Allcock's, Farlow's Hardy Bros, and an Aerial Model Perfect. It also contains information on sidecasters, threadlines and Nottinghams.
Buttons have been made from almost every known material. Their study provides insight into fashion trends, the clothing industry and social history in general. This book introduces an array of these treasures from the past, to show the variety of materials and the intricate design and workmanship incorporated in the making of the button.
Begun as a catalogue of the collections of the National Museum of Australia, this work grew into an account of a little-known aspect of Australian social history, surveying material from collections in Australia. Each section of text is accompanied by apposite"es from a variety of written records from sites in Australia.
The 1950s was the first great age of the modern kitchen. Labour-saving appliances, bright colours and the novelty of fitted units moved the kitchen from dankness into light. This title is a feast of nostalgia and provides an inspiration for anyone wanting to recreate that '50s look in their own home.
Every year more than 8, 000 items are photographed to make "Miller's Antiques Price Guide" the most comprehensive and informative price guide on the market. Whether you're buying or selling, a dealer, collector or auctioneer, this is the book you need to help you keep track of the international market. Whenever you're buying or selling always take Judith with you.
Corn Dollies have played a significant part in rural folklore all over the world. This book explores some of the ancient myths behind the making of straw figures, such as the belief that making offerings to the gods would ensure a plentiful harvest. It explains and illustrates techniques of straw plaiting.
Dealing with the early development of electrical appliances, this book explains how they work and describes the problems encountered in their manufacture and operation. It is suitable for students, researchers and collectors seeking information about the way in which electrical appliances have evolved over the past hundred years or so.
Suitable for using at shops, carboot sales, and during online auctions, this edition contains fashion sets and nearly 50 years of the collectable Barbie dolls, including Barbie in her various careers, and dressed to the nines in designer garments from Mackie and Blass.
For centuries man has used the stick for many purposes, both decorative and practical. Later it became a symbol of authority, carried by tribal chiefs, army officers and policemen, and a costume accessory, an appendage of the swaggering dandy. This book examines the two main groups of walking sticks and canes: gadget sticks and decorative ones.
Some of the oldest implements in the world are those that have been used by land cultivation. Many garden tools are universal in use, like the rake, scythe, slasher, spade and saw, and much estate management of the past, before mechanization, was dependent upon them.
From plastic nativity scenes to aluminium trees, Christmas became a major marketing extravaganza in America in the mid-twentieth century. This book recalls the holiday between 1940 and 1970, courtesy of department stores, five and tens, toy manufacturers, publishing houses, and record companies.
Inspired by the Great Exhibition of 1851, the Festival of Britain followed soon after the austerity of the war years. The major events were focused around the twenty-seven-acre bomb site around Waterloo Station, although events happened throughout the UK. This book presents the story of the Festival of Britain, held in 1951, through its souvenirs.
Explores what happens when the often contradictory motivations behind style and survival strategies are brought together. Following the life stories of goods as they travel into and through second-hand sites, this book looks at the work of traders, as well as consumers' investments in second-hand merchandise.
A guide to spotting, buying and collecting antiques. It shows how to find a genuine antique piece from a fake. It includes expert advice on makers, questions to ask, tips for identifying the best examples in furniture, ceramics, glass, silver, dolls, teddy bears, and textiles.
Offers a survey of the different kinds of toy steam engines of the stationary type, and especially those produced during the heyday of steam toys between 1900 and 1930. This book explains how the engines work, gives advice about operating and maintaining them, and contains useful information about identifying and dating vintage models.
Part of the "Museum-in-a-Book" titles, this book focuses on the Dark Knight, from the history of the character, the many concurrent variations of his storyline to the development various ancillary products including the TV show, animated series, and two different movie verses.
One key to record collecting success is the ability to identify fakes, phonies and frauds. Dealing with 45 RPMs, this book contains 80, 000 listings with essential details for identifying 45s, including artist, record label, number, date of release, value, and variations and fakes. It features market reports and articles touting rare 45s.
A comprehensive reference source to all dealers of all new and old collectable items in the world. The format of this directory is similiar to other Sheppard's directories in that dealers are listed alphabetically by geographical location including, where supplied, their contact addresses.
There have always been afficianados who have purchased golfing items but since the early 1980s the market for golfing items has changed out of all recognition. Before then there had been little that was produced solely for the collectors' market. Everything had a purpose, whether it was a ticket to the Masters or a mashie niblick.
Miller's 20th Century Design is the perfect handbook for the new and established collector. It will explain who the key designers of the century were and feature over one thousand design icons: furniture, glass, ceramics, metalware, textiles and more, with wonderful photography, hints and tips, and price ranges.
From signed photographs of Oasis to the complete set of Natwest Pigs, from Swatch watches to Formica chairs, this is a guide to hundreds of modern household items that might now be worth a small fortune. It details over 300 objects - many of which are lurking in the average attic - that have, sometimes against all odds, become valuable.
A comprehensive price guide that helps you keep track of the international market. It reflects the collectibles market from cups and saucers to teddy bears, and Scandinavian glass to Pez dispensers. It not only gives you the prices but explains why one item is worth more than another.
Lured to an ancient lost Khmer city in the jungle, which contains a fantastic cache of ancient bronze and stone carvings, Harry and Aloysius devise a plan to smuggle the massive cultural treasures across international borders and into the lucrative world art market. But all does not go well as the smugglers encounter shady characters and violence.
Featuring more than 100 popular collectibles, this guide ranges from glassware and toys to jewellery and textiles. It highlights every item with colour photography, concise descriptions, and historical tidbits, helping you tackle antique stores, flea markets, and garden sales with confidence.
Features colour photos for ease of identification of about 900 collectible, antique and vintage buttons. This work includes prices, descriptions and brief, to-the-point history lessons, introductions and insights. Buttons are wonderful little works of art that come in all sizes, shapes, descriptions and values.
Showcases a selection of approximately 4, 000 individual objects sold in the United States at auction. This title features objects that date from the seventeenth century to the mid-1950s, and range from the relatively common to the rare, from clocks and watches to toys and textiles.
Outlines button history and describes the types of buttons that the average collector is likely to encounter. With illustrations of a range of button designs, this work is suitable for aspiring collectors and those interested in the history of fashion.
A collection of 75 classic cameras is inspired by Colin Harding's highly successful Classic Cameras feature in Black & White Photography magazine. It includes cameras, which are sourced from the National Media Museum in Bradford, that are arranged in chronological order, with a chapter for each era and a double-page spread devoted to each camera.
The ability to accurately identify and assess vinyl can make the difference between paying too much and selling albums for far too little. This guide contains listings and collector pricing for 70, 000 vinyl albums recorded since 1948 onwards. It also covers genres of record collecting, including rock 'n' roll, country, punk, jazz, and classical.
Presents facts, anecdotes and lore about some of the rarest and most desirable objects in the "Star Wars" universe. This book presents a different way of looking at the Star Wars experience, taking the reader on a journey through cool and kitsch, from toys to costumes to life-size statues.
Silversmiths created elegant silver tea services, bowls, wine and water ewers, beer mugs, and goblets to adorn the sideboard or mantelpiece in a British Raj home, creating European forms fulfilling European requirements. This title focuses on the remarkably ornamented silverware produced by Indian craftsmen during the period of the British Raj.
Provides coverage of the American antiques and collectibles market, as well as the popular foreign-made wares. This title also provides comprehensive information on affordable antiques and collectibles with color photos and accurate descriptions and prices from leading American auction houses.
Offers detailed information such as artist, record label, label number, formats such as mono, stereo, and promotional, full titles, date of release, value, cross references, and notes about artists, labels, variations and fakes. This title also offers readers tips on selling records, and a report on the conditions in the record marketplace.
Boxes are beguiling because they can have the double delight of an enticing exterior and the anticipation and satisfaction of a fully fitted interior. This guide to the decoration, style, use and contents of all types of boxes from diverse cultures covers both these aspects. It is illustrated with images of nearly 2, 000 boxes.
When recession takes hold, people traditionally think about their possessions and what they can sell. This manual about 20th century collectables provides the guidance needed. It covers various things from the obvious to the obscure, whether Action Man or action comics, Marilyn Monroe or Madonna, Hornby or horse brasses.
Examines the humble thimble and its many varieties, from the simple workaday type to the rarer and more exquisite examples that gave scope for artists and craftsmen. This work gives an introduction to the possibilities that exist, including the parallel subject of thimble cases.