Including 183 color and black-and-white images of vintage photos and packaging, plus values for American firecracker collectibles, this is the first book to focus on US firecrackers. Many pyrobilia guides cover Chinese firecrackers, but the US's history is just as colorful, from fireworks' inception into American celebrations as a replacement for dangerous celebratory gun and cannon fire, until the final federal ban with the Child Protection Act of 1966. Fireworks made the 4th of July the best holiday ever, for generations of boys especially. Beginning with a brief history of the firecracker and how it came to America, the book details the types the US produced-a wide array, from Cherry Bombs and Silver Salutes to Ash Cans and Torpedoes. Also covered are how the US Industrial Revolution impacted fireworks, as well as the innovations throughout the American industry, from its successes to the factory disasters.

This second book by Nick Snider presents the popular collectible military sweetheart jewelry and collectibles that were so important to the home front during World War I and II. Over 200 color photographs, most of full-page size, display thousands of items of jewelry, banners, pillow covers, paper items and compacts, as well as special sections on the Seabee(Construction Batallion) and WASP(Women's Airforce Service Pilot) items. Experience the human side of warfare through appreciation of the patriotic items displayed herein.

By the second half of the 1920s, old-fashioned Victorian morals had gone the way of starched collars and cruel corsets and a "no holds barred" attitude reigned in their place. "The Party of the Century" had begun in earnest and fashions responded by climbing to the knees! Using a combination of vintage images, professional photographs of existing garments, and period artists' illustrations, this comprehensive book presents a dazzling look at fashions from 1925 through 1929. Fashions for men, women, and children are featured, including evening andday wear, coats and jackets, lounge and resort wear, sports fashions, and lingerie. Whenever possible, styles are shown with their appropriate accessories, such as hats, shoes, purses, fans, parasols, and more. Fascinating timelines place the fashions in their proper settings describing each year's film, music, literary, and couture trends. Among the book's many highlights are rare French pochoir fashion plates and photos of an original haute couture Chanel evening gown. This in-depth look at one of our most exciting decades will appeal to fashion enthusiasts and history buffs alike. A companion volume covers the years 1920 to 1924.

Take a tour of nearly 150 dollhouses from Europe and America in this beautifully illustrated book. The houses and their furnishings are shown in over 700 color photographs provided with the help of nearly twenty individual collectors. Most of the houses are pictured fully furnished, complete with accessories. The houses range in size from one-room Converse models to very large handmade houses, and many are also shown with the dolls that lived inside. You'll enjoy several hundred pieces of furniture, all dating from the 1880s to the 1980s. Companies whose products are pictured include Arcade, Bliss, Christian Hacker, Converse, Schoenhut, Strombecker, Tootsietoy, Gottschalk, Deluxe Game Corp., Lines, Tri-Ang, Renwal, Ideal, Plasco, Marx, Reliable and others. Background information on over sixty-five companies is also provided. A must-have for anyone interested in dollhouses and their furnishings, this charming and informative book also includes prices with the captions.

222 different glass perfume bottles, 81 peg stoppers, and 91 various jars made 1910 to 1925 by Diamond Glass shown in clear drawings. Includes glass mould numbers, sizes available, weight per gross, and estimated prices without lables. Original labels on bottles will bring considerably more.

Over 350 vivid color photos and engaging text reveal that bookends have been a medium of art from the turn of the twentieth century to today. The photos illustrate 350 pairs of bookends from principal art styles, and the research places them in historical context. Accompanying the photos are identification of the production date, the foundry, sculptor, art style, commentary, and values. The bookends presented have documented American art fashions for the past one hundred years. This novel guide also organizes bookends by art style and historical period, rather than subject matter, which gives the reader new insight into the evolution of bookends in a dynamic culture. Readers will come to regard bookends as works of art and will be knowledgeable about their rightful place in the art world. This book is a must-have reference for art lovers everywhere.

Doll kitchens in Germany were originally a plaything for adults and evolved, toward the end of Eighteenth century, into toys for children. In this book, Eva Stille follows the evolution of the doll kitchen and shows how the social development of "big" real kitchens influenced doll kitchens in each new era. The manufacturers of the doll kitchens are listed as well as a wide variety of miniature furnishings, appliances and stoves that was once available to children. These items are now highly collectible and ironically have once again become the playthings of adults.

This handbook provides hundreds of clear color photographs and fascinating stories which reveal volumes about each fragrance, far beyond the size of the bottles. These miniature bottles are popular collectibles today and this useful book contains information to satisfy the most discriminating taste. Fragrance names, their creators, launch dates, bottle and package designs and dimensions are all here, as well as a price guide in the captions to reflect today's fragrance market.

Steeped in traditions and memories, holiday textiles have long been a part of the magical fabric of Christmas. Grandma's festive tablecloth or Mom's holiday apron are vivid reminders. Greeting cards in a special Santa Claus mailbag, or presents on a felt-trimmed tree skirt can bring glowing holiday memories flooding back. Illustrated with over 440 festive color photos, this book captures the beauty, charm, and whimsy of a wide-range of Christmas textiles, both mass-produced and handmade, from the 1920s to 1970s. Included are handkerchiefs, tablecloths, tree skirts, tea towels, table runners, and aprons. Some packaging is shown and values for each item are provided in the captions. If you love Christmas fabrics, as well as poinsettias, Santa Claus, candles, and Christmas trees, this book is for you!

In the 1950s and '60s, fine-quality Japanese-made toys flooded the market and sold popularly at five and dime stores worldwide. A top-notch Japanese manufacturer of these toys was Toplay Ltd., recognized by their T.P.S. trademark, who also made toys for importers like LINEMAR, Cragstan, Frankonia, Rosko, and Mego. Over 265 motorized, wind-up, battery-operated, tin, plastic, animal, and platform base toys are featured, including authorized editions based on Popeye and Walt Disney*r characters. Information on manufacturers, the trading and import companies, dates of production, patent drawings, dimensions, descriptions, and original packaging are included. A price guide and identification of over 200 Japanese trademarks complete this useful guide.

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 featured here, along with artist's signatures, in over 600 beautiful photos. An engaging text explores the history of the ivory trade from East to West, quoting nineteenth century European travelers' encounters with Japanese ivory carvers and merchants. Folk tales provide insight into many of the figural characters represented and beliefs they personify. This book will be treasured by all who enjoy finely crafted art.

Intended for the avid collector and the armchair enthusiast alike, this title provides details and photographs on a selection of the ceramic figures from Staffordshire. First made in the 18th century, they continue to attract attention and information provided here should aid building a collection.

Volume II of The Watch Book follows on the successful and comprehensive earlier volume with a magnificently illustrated book about the additional functions and refinements of wristwatches. For centuries, so-called "complications" - any feature of a mechanical timepiece beyond the display of hours, minutes and seconds - have embodied the crowning glory of fine mechanical watchmaking. Among the earliest of these are alarm clocks and calendar movements. Moon phase displays have also been known for several centuries. Striking movements can be considered among the most complex and technically elaborate additional functions, while finishing techniques such as skeletonising, which is mainly done by hand, also characterise the high art of watchmaking. This superbly illustrated volume by watch expert and historian Gisbert L. Brunner is dedicated to advanced functions of mechanical timepieces, their historical development and special technical features. Topics covered in this book include: Hands and numerals; Spring; Astronomical display (moon phases etc.); Tides; Double balance; Alarm clock; Altitude/depth measurement; Skeletonisation. Text in English and German.

An extravagant array of miniature perfume bottles fills these full-color pages, pure rapture for those who love scent, beautiful glasswork, and the mystique of the truly elegant. While collectors of full-sizes perfume bottles have always found a place for a few choice "minis" on their shelves, these are a growing trend to specialize in these little beauties in their own right. From the Victorian era through the beginning of the 20th century, from the world wars through the 1990s, this book has it all! Over 600 brilliant photographs show every detail and each bottle is identified by fragrance, perfumer, size, and era. Significant glassmakers are discussed, and their works are identified. This book has bottle-by-bottle guide to current market values.

There have been many top 100 books before, but rarely one like this. Here are the best of the early video games, shown in over 400 color photos and described in incredible detail in the entertaining and informative text. Each game's entry features production history, critical commentary, quotes from industry professionals, gameplay details, comparisons to other games, and more. This book celebrates the very best of the interactive entertainment industry's games from this highly crucial, fondly remembered decade. This pivotal period was marked by the introduction of the indispensable Atari 2600, Odyssey2, and Intellivision, the unleashing of the underrated Vectrex, the mind-blowing debut of the next-gen ColecoVision and Atari 5200, plus the rebirth of the industry through Nintendo's legendary juggernaut, the NES. Whether you're young or old, new to the hobby or a hardcore collector, this book will introduce you to or remind you of some of the greatest, most historically important games ever made.

The antique phonograph is the center of a beautiful, brilliant, and sometimes bizarre universe of accessories. The commercial development of the phonograph, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, inspired a host of adjunct technology, from fancifully-painted flower horns to record storage disguised as furniture. Here are gadgets any snake oil salesman would be proud of - objects that claimed to make the phonograph louder, softer, improve the "tone," or remove the scratching of the needle. There are dazzling horns that call attention to the phonograph, or imposing cabinets that hide it completely. Each element of the talking machine, from its whirring spring motor to its polished woodwork, inspired bursts of inventive genius as brilliant and colorful as the nighttime sky on the Fourth of July. To aid the collector there is a guide to current values. Award winning authors Timothy C. Fabrizio and George F. Paul, in their sixth Schiffer book, take the reader on a lively tour of these utterly entertaining objects. The 555 color illustrations and engrossing captions introduce a multitude of artifacts not documented in the authors' previous works.

This interesting and historical book is the first and only one to present an illustrated tour of the state of Maine through more than 350 vintage picture postcards. Chapter topics include the harbors and lighthouses, ships and boats, bridges and buildings, camping and RVing, lakes and forests, as well as the railroads, churches, and wildlife of The Pine Tree State. Every caption provides a detailed description of the view, as well as information about the card itself- its age, size, maker, and estimated value. This book is an invaluable source of good, old-fashioned entertainment and information about Maine in particular and postcards in general, making it a great resource for both residents of and visitors to Maine, as well as for postcard collectors and dealers. Be captivated by the fascinating story told by the impressive series of Maine images, and see why Maine remains a popular tourist destination.

Tour this winter playground rich in history and tropical allure. The resort city's amenities are illustrated in beautiful, hand-tinted picture postcards that date to the early 1900s. The city's history unfolds with images of the Sunken Gardens, home to hundreds of tropical plant species; the Coliseum, considered the finest ballroom in the South, and the luxurious Vinoy Park Hotel. Join the hordes as they relax on Central Avenue's famous green benches, eye the yachts along the waterfront, or feed pelicans at the pier. You'll even get a glimpse at the Sunshine City's famous Open Air Post Office, where many of the 340 vintage postcards started their journey to the 21st century.

The sleek lines of Danish Modern furniture took the design world by storm in the mid-twentieth century. Among the American companies that manufactured this style of furniture was the Heywood-Wakefield Co., based in Gardner, Massachusetts. Known widely today for their lines of blonde furniture, Heywood-Wakefield addressed the American family's desire for an informal yet sophisticated look through its Danish Modern and related lines produced in the 1950s and 1960s. Here are original Heywood-Wakefield catalog images of Danish inspired living room, dining room, and bedroom furniture, featuring original catalog descriptions, model numbers, and measurements for all pieces. A price guide showing current market values is included. Collectors, designers, and aficionados of vintage furniture will welcome this timeless presentation.

Breweries all over America have used character figurines and small shelf signs as highly effective point-of-purchase advertising to promote their brands of beer. Most commonly used from the end of Prohibition to the late 1960s, these now highly collectible items were generally made of plaster or chalk and are often referred to as statues. A wonderful array of such back bar advertising items is showcased here, including some of the rarest statues known. The description for each item includes the height, material(s) of construction, dates of use, and current value. Rare statues are identified. Also provided is a history of point-of-purchase advertising as related to the brewing industry, a review of the manufacturing process and the major manufacturers, plus valuable information on grading, pricing, repairing, reproductions, and more. This colorful and comprehensive book will serve as the reference of choice for all beer statue collectors and breweriana buffs.

A look at traditional Pueblo dance, illustrated with striking black and white photographs of dancers in traditional dress from the Pueblos of San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, San Juan, Jemez, Taos, Pecos, Acoma, and Tesuque. Nancy Hunter Warren took these sensitive images before the Pueblos created a ban on taking photographs of their ceremonies. Among the dances portrayed are Commanche, Deer, Buffalo and One-Horned Buffalo, Ram, Corn, and Matachine. The text is an in-depth explanation of Pueblo dancing, including discussions of the experiential, symbolic, and cyclical nature of Pueblo dances. Also explored are the continuity across the ages of Pueblo dances, changes over time, and the meaning of these powerful expressions. A rare look at Pueblo customs in New Mexico, this book will be a treasured resource for all who are fascinated with Native American history and customs.

This book focuses on the formative period of Church reform in the Middle Ages in Northern Europe, when the Church paved the way for the development of money economy on its own doorstep. Church archaeology provides evidence for patterns of monetary use related to liturgy, church architecture and devotional culture through the centuries. This volume encompasses Alpine European evidence, with emphasis on Gotland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland, which opens up a new field of research on religion and money for an international audience. Based on 100,000 single finds of coins from the 11th to 18th centuries from 650 Scandinavian churches, the volume offers an in-depth discussion of the concepts of ritual, liturgy and devotional uses of money, monetary space and spiritual economy within the framework of Christendom, the medieval church and church architecture. Written by international scholars, Coins in Churches will be a valuable resource for readers interested in the history of religion, money, the economy, and church architecture in Northern Europe in the Middle Ages.

See beautiful hammered copper vessels made long ago and today at Santa Clara del Cobre, Mexico, a small town in the southwest state of Michoacan. From nothing more than a chunk of copper or sheet metal, artists here have spent centuries creating both useful and decorative copper items, with specially made hand tools and machinery. The richness of the work has undergone a marked improvement in design, materials, and finish during the second half of the twentieth century. Hundreds of copper items from the Museo Nacional de Cobre illustrate the art's evolution. 393 colorful photographs, an historical perspective, list and introductions to 540 copper artists, and detailed descriptions combine in this impressive reference. Be inspired to visit Mexico's Michoacan state and Santa Clara del Cobre, to meet the artists in their workshops.