One person's trash is another's treasure!

In his newly revised classic, All the Best Rubbish, Ivor Noel Hume traces the fascinating history of collecting from its recorded beginnings and describes the remarkable detective work that goes into establishing the probable facts about uncovered and often underappreciated treasures. Now expanded with hints, tips, and helpful information about antique-hunting online, All the Best Rubbish is the ideal book for the antiquarian or amateur, the historian or professional collector--for anyone who knows that there's no such thing as "just junk."

Noel Hume, former head of the Department of Archaeology for Colonial Williamsburg, has pursued bottles, pottery, clocks, and coins through junk shops, street markets, attics, and cellars on two continents. He's unearthed the most fascinating--and valuable--rubbish from the most unlikely places: the shores of the Thames in London; the lagoons of the Caribbean; the bottom of Martha Washington's well. Hume knows everything that's worth knowing about collecting--why we do it, what we can find, where we can find it, and what we can learn from it.

From Kansas to Kenya: An Uncommon Road for Wine Lovers uses the over forty years of personal experiences and globetrotting travels of the author to suggest how the reader can become his or her own wine authority. He has traveled to more than one hundred countries, including every major and most minor wine-producing nations. Join him along old and new wine roads of the world to enjoy both the simple and exotic tastes of the vine and to share his appreciation of the history and foods that enhance the world's most renowned beverage. The wine world has much more to offer than Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Cabernet Sauvignon, and this book casually introduces the reader to surprisingly affordable yet equally discriminating wine alternatives. Consider the author's recommendations for wine-related travel and wine choices to broaden your own wine knowledge. This practical and equally humorous approach to wine appreciation will both educate and amuse. The reader will gain confidence that their personal wine tasting experiences are the best guide to sensible and pleasurable wine consumption.

The Kovels are the most trusted source for both the casual and expert collector. With 12,500 actual prices and 3,150 full-color photographs, the guide also features exceptionally well-organized, wide-ranging, and up-to-the-minute information, and includes more tips, marks, logos, and photographs than any other competitive title. Kovels' is the only guide with prices based on actual sales from the previous calendar year, never estimates. Unlike other guides, which focus almost exclusively on English or high-priced items, Kovels' covers all American and international items and includes reasonably-priced goods. The book is organized by categories most sought-after by collectors, including depression glass, dolls, jewelry, furniture, porcelain, and sports memorabilia. Indexes, cross-references, and expert commentary throughout empower readers to collect with confidence and price their own antiques.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

A comprehensive catalogue of American Antiques illustrated with text drawings. Invaluable to the amateur or professional antiquarian. Contents Include: Preface; Foreword by Charles Messer Stow; Seventeenth-Century Furniture; Seventeenth-Century Press and Court Cupboards; Seventeenth-Century Chests; William and Mary Furniture; Queen Anne Furniture; Chippendale Furniture in America, 1725-90; Block-Front Furniture; Adam Furniture; Hepplewhite Furniture; Pioneer and Cottage Furniture; Introduction to American Federal Furniture; Federal Furniture of Sheraton Influence; Federal Furniture of Directoire Influence; Federal Furniture of Greed-Revival Influence; Federal Furniture by Phyfe and His Peers; Post-Federal and Pre-Victorian American Furniture; Victorian Furniture; Dual-Purpose Furniture; Spool Furniture of 1815-65; Philadelphia, Stick, or Windsor Chairs; Fancy Chairs for the People; Rocking Chairs; Buffet or Corner Chairs; Mirrors; Cast-Iron Furniture; Children's Furniture and Toys; Scientific Antiques; Early American Silver; Sheffield Plate; American Pewter Ware; Painted Tin, Japanned Ware, and Tole; Woodenware; Early Blown Glass; Glass Bottles and Flasks; Sandwich Glass; Pressed Glass; Old Glass Paperweights; Lighting Fixtures and Lamps; Candlesticks and Candle Fixtures; Historic Staffordshire China and Pottery; Lowestoft or Oriental Export Porcelain; Liverpool Ware; Gaudy Dutch and Pennsylvania Tulip Pottery; American Samplers; Floor Coverings; Hooked Rugs; Engraved Prints and Pictures; Currier & Ives Lithographs; Other American Lithographers; Miniature, Profile, and Silhouette Portraits; Primitive or Pioneer Paintings; Art-Instruction Books and Drawing Books; Firebacks; Ten-Plate, Six-Plate, Five-Plate, and Franklin Stoves; American Victorian Period Stoves; Ironwork; Ship and Other Models; Clocks; Scrimshaw Work; Paper Cutwork; Paper Dolls; Weather Vanes; Jackknife Sculpture and Carving; Daguerreotype Cases; Illustrated Merchandise Catalogues; Trade Cards and Craftsmen's Labels; American and European Pottery and Porcelain; Early American Packages; Cast-Iron Mechanical Banks; Buttons; Theatrical and Circus Posters; Local Provisional, and Carrier's Postage Stamps; and Glossary and Index. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

This fascinating early work is a catalogue of furniture and decoration with hundreds of photographs detailing historical styles. Thoroughly recommended for the antiquarian's bookshelf. Contents Include: Part I - The Development of Decoration - Introductory; Italy; Spain; France; France: After Louis XIV; England; England: the Age of Walnut; England: The Age of Mahogany; England: The Age of Satinwood; The Nineteenth Century; Early American; The Federal Period and After; The Twentieth Century; Part II - The Elements of Decoration - Materials of Decoration; Fabrics; Wall Coverings; Floor Coverings; Decorative Objects; Color; Lighting; Windows and Window Treatment; Furniture and How to Buy It; Part III - The Principles of Decoration - Room Planning and Arrangement; Rooms; Seasonal Changes; Bibliography, and Index. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

This classic, historical book provides instruction on the facts necessary to enable the reader to identify any typical specimen of the better known classes of Oriental rugs. It gives diverse direction on classification with regard to their type, their age and their value. Despite its age this book contains much information that is still practical and useful today. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Originally published in early 1900's. A detailed and well illustrated guide dealing with every aspect of collecting portrait miniatures. The contents Include: Origins of the Art - Hans Holbein and the Earliest Painters - Nicholas and Lawrence Hilliard - The Olivers - John Hoskins and his son - Samuel Cooper - The Interregnum - Richard Cosway - Andrew and Nathaniel Plimer - George Engleheart - John Smart - Ozias Humphrey - William Wood - Painters in Enamel - Foreign Painters - Plumbag Drawings - The Collector - Collections - Forgeries - American Painters - Portrait Sitters etc. Many of the earliest art and antique books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Home Farm Books are republishing many of these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

This early work is a fascinating read for amateur and professional antiquarians, thoroughly recommended for use as a reference on all aspects of antique chairs. Extensively illustrated with text and full page drawings to accompany the text. Contents Include: The Historic Background of Chairs; Chairs of the Seventeenth Century from Tudor Gothic through William and Mary; Slat-back and Banister-back Chairs; American Windsor Chairs; Queen Anne and Georgian Chairs; Corner Chairs; Note on the Chair Styles of the Brothers Adam and the Louis XV Period; Chippendale Chairs; Hepplewhite Chairs; Directoire and Sheraton-style Chairs; Fancy Chairs; Empire and William IV Chairs; French Antique or Victorian Chairs; Rocking Chairs; Glossary; A Partial Exemplary List of Chairmakers 1660s to 1850s; and Directory Listings of Chairmakers. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

This early collection on Chester County Clocks is thoroughly recommended for inclusion on the bookshelf of all horologists. Extensively illustrated with text and full page photographs. Contents Include: Foreword; Acknowledgments; Introduction; The Parts of a Grandfather Clock; Individual Clockmakers and Clocks - David M. Anderson, Emmor Baily, Joel Baily, George Baldwin, Harlan Baldwin, Thomas F. H. Baldwin, Eli Bentley, John Boyd, John Breckwell, Butler & Bartlett, Canby & Nielson, Joseph Cave, Benjamin Chandlee, Sr, Benjamin Chandler, Jr, George Cochran, Abraham Corl, Thomas Crow, Benedict Darlington, Thomas Dring, Jacobn Fertig, Benjamin Garrett, Goshenville's Big Ben, John Hall, Jonathan N. Hatch, Caleb Hibbard, Joseph M. Hollis, Honey Brook's Community Clock, Joshua Humphrey, George Jackson, Jr, John Jackson, Isaac Jackson, Curtis Ferreris, Elisha Kirk, James Kinkead, A. Sydney Logan, J. Clemens McConnell, John Murphy, Abraham Olwine, Henry Olwine, William H. Price, Moses A. Regensburg, Thomas Scott, Samuel Sligh, James Starrett, mordecai Thomas, Isaac Thomas, David Underwood, Russell Vibber, John Way, West Chester's Town Clock, David Williams, Thomas Wolf (deWolf) Allan Yarnall; and a Bibliography. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.