Before plastic handles and asbestos oven mitts retrieving items from a hot oven was difficult and moving a hot kettle could be hazardous. What options were there? Pot holders! During the 1940s and 1950s, hand crocheted pot holders became an artistic staple in kitchens across America. From simple circles to recognizable…
Using hand tools and the lathe, a master furniture builder takes the readers step-by-step through the process of building a tavern table. Beginning with raw lumber, they will learn the techniques of joining, mortise and tenon construction, turning, and finishing in authentic early American fashion. Following this basic…
Working as a part time wood carver at the Dollywood Theme Park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, Larry Green often has the opportunity to demonstrate carving to visitors from around the nation. hardly a day goes by without at least one visitor asking, ”Why carve shoes?”
The main reason, according to Larry, is the…
Terrific Tablecloths from the ’40s & ’50s is a must have book for anyone interested in textiles. These tablecloths take you back to the colorful prints inspired by wartime victory gardens, mountain dogwood, and springtime bouquets. Enjoy colorful treatments of fruits, vegetables, and berries, and an…
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…
Vintage Bakelite jewelry is one of the hottest collectibles on the scene. When the author devoted an entire chapter in her recent book, Bakelite Pins, to Shultz pins, Bakelite fans clamored for more! Ron and Ester Shultz are modern artists who rework vintage Bakelite into startlingly beautiful contemporary Bakelite…
During his production years, Gustav Stickley made photographs of much of his work. Some were used in his Craftsman magazine, and some were used in a series of catalogs. Many of Stickley’s glass negatives are now in the collection of the Winterthur Museum in Delaware, and are reprinted here for the first time.…
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…
With over 800 stunning color photographs, this book displays ceramics once proclaimed to be the ”fastest-selling decorative art pottery,” Roseville’s Artcraft, Cherub Cameo, Donatello, Pine Cone Modern, and Wincraft lines.
The thorough text explores the history of the famous Roseville Pottery Company,…
Based on the strong response from carvers around the world, Al Streeman has drawn together a new book of Santa Claus patterns. 35 new patterns are presented along with helpful tips from Al’s many years of carving experience. This book is written more for the carver who has some level of experience, but just needs some…
For many people, decorating for Christmas includes wearing jewelry with seasonal designs. The range of Christmas tree pins, shown in over 1,200 beautiful color photographs, described, identified, and valued here, will astound you. Over 1,100 different pins, from the mid-20th century to the present, made by more than…
The delightful figural toothbrush holders that are so beloved by collectors today have their roots in the early 1800s. Here is the whole range of the holders, with hundreds of the most sought-after designs portrayed in full color. Compiled by some of America’s foremost collectors and dealers, this book has over 400…
The increasingly collectible categories of nursery rhymes and literary characters, including children’s stories and fables, provide the focus for this fourth book of salt and pepper shakers by experts Larry Carey and Sylvia Tompkins. This very popular area of salt and pepper shakers appeals to a wide range of…
A combination of original Blenko catalog pages and photographs, this book completes the Blenko “story,” covering the much sought after early designs and the later designs readily available to collectors. The first three color catalogs — designed by Wayne Husted in 1959, 1960, and 1961 — show some of the…
Finally, a full-color book on the most vibrant and fun furniture ever made in America. Over 350 photos take the appreciation of Heywood-Wakefield furniture to its zenith. Focusing exclusively on their sparkling, blond furniture produced from 1936–1966, this book, presented by America’s foremost vintage…
Vallona Starr Ceramics started in Los Angeles in the 1930s and later moved to El Monte, California where it manufactured ceramics until 1953. Known for their whimsical designs like the Winkies, the Up Family, and lower fairies, as well as Corn, Cosmos, Woodland, and Sweetheart designs, Vallona Starr pieces included…
Lampworked and millifiori paperweights have become recognized as little works of art, because their intricate designs challenge the most accomplished glassblowers to be inventive and in full control of molten colored glass. Successful pieces are beautiful and intriguing, displaying the best skills in the glass field.…
At last, the most complete book devoted exclusively to oil cans, containing over 750 color photographs of cans spanning 120 years, and over 90 brands. The cans are presented alphabetically by company, and a detailed description and estimated value are included for each. Helpful information for collectors includes…
This is the most comprehensive book written on Lefton China to date. What makes this book stand apart is the extensive price guide section containing company identification numbers, descriptions, and current prices for more than 7,600 different items made by the prolific Geo. Zoltan Lefton Company of Chicago, Illinois.…
Intended to be intriguing but not morbid, this book takes readers on an amazing journey through past, present, and evolving postmortem practices. The first of its kind, it deals with a topic that is rapidly becoming popular in the collectibles world. Tastefully and beautifully illustrated with many historical…
This comprehensive, illustrated survey explores the more common linens and fabrics once carefully stored in American linen closets and hope chests and proudly spread on tables and in neatly made up bedrooms. More than 500 color photographs illustrate these diverse and colorful areas of collecting, ranging from…
When the Ingersoll-Waterbury Company introduced the first Mickey Mouse™ comic character wristwatch in 1933, they inspired thousands of other comic character watches. Collectors are eager to find them because of their connection with pop culture. This book includes advertising and movie promotion watches, as well as…
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,…
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…
Here is an assortment of carving projects unlike any other! This book captures the magic and fun of a street-corner band, with eight different personalities jamming away, heart and soul, for passers-by. The whimsical characters are irresistable—you’ll want to clap your hands and sing along with them. Al guides the…
Over 1000 dazzling color images display the beauty and elegance in glassware produced by the Fenton Art Glass Company from 1985 to today. These highly collectible and much sought after wares are from Fenton’s General, Connoisseur, and Special Series lines. Along with Christmas and Easter items, here are the…
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…
The country store was a three dimensional collage of advertising, packaging, unique drugstore items, medical gadgets, and cure-alls that rural Americans held faith in for many years. This book examines the varied drugstore and advertising ephemera contained within the store’s packed shelves and walls. In almost 500…
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…
Charlot Byj created her famous redheaded children and other figures as greeting card illustrations. In the mid 1940s her work caught the attention of the Goebel Company, the makers of Hummel figurines. At Goebel her characters took on three dimensions, and now they are sought by collectors around the world.
The…
Information about mustache cups has been a well-kept Victorian secret, but this book brushes away the myths and the mystery. Here these Victorian oddities are displayed and explained, from dainty miniatures to hefty farmers’ cups. Whether made from ceramics, pottery, silver, or other metals, mustache cups and…
Fast food authors extraordinaire Joyce and Terry Losonsky continue their around-the-world McDonald’s odyssey with this expansive guide covering Happy Meal*r toys given out during the late 1990s in over 114 different countries. In addition to a complete listing of international Happy Meal*r toys, the book also…
Perfume atomizers are avidly collected today. In this exquisite, color-illustrated new book, hundreds of atomizers are displayed and identified. A well-documented text, descriptive captions and over 400 color photographs demonstrate the diverse and beautiful variety of bottles and dispensers which make up the atomizer…
Monsters of all shapes and sizes stalk the pages of this entertaining and informative ”creature-feature.” Over 600 color photos capture the incarnations of all the ghouls, mutants, and vampires that ever sent chills up your spine at the theater or in the den, from Alien r to Z-Ton r. Monstrous banks, board…
This book provides a comprehensive guide to the actual selling prices of marbles during the past year. Utilizing a database of prices realized from over 6,000 marbles at auction during the past year, the author provides catalogue descriptions, pictures and values. Listings are categorized by marble type, allowing for…
During the occupation of Japan between 1945 and 1952, a world market for small and inexpensive goods was correctly identified as a starting point for rebuilding the Japanese economy.
This new book is filled with thousands of once-familiar items of ceramic, paper, glass, celluloid, wood, and papier-mache which were…
Gale and Polden’s postcards of British uniforms are now widely collected but little is known about the artists and few of their original paintings have survived. Now over 130 of these rare works by artists such as Harry Payne, Edgar A. Holloway, John McNeill, and Ernest Ibbetson are reproduced here for the first time…
Blue Ridge China was produced by Southern Potteries in Erwin, Tennessee from 1938 through 1957. The individual items were hand painted by local women and production reached almost 25 million pieces a year, making it the largest producer of hand-decorated pottery in the country. Today Blue Ridge China is collected by…
This unique approach allows the collector to identify a piece of Noritake dinnerware by finding a matching pattern or by finding a similar shape that corresponds to a time line. Starting with the Nippon years and moving through to contemporary times, 2000 patterns produced by the Noritake Company are indexed by both…
Louis Comfort Tiffany’s blown art glass, made from 1891 to 1928, embodies the artist’s superior workmanship and satisfied his dream to introduce objects of both usefulness and beauty into the average household. These lovely objects, which he named ”Favrile” and made in his New York studio,…