Dee Hockenberry brings home some of the world's favorite storybook characters and cuddle partners in a pictorial review of teddy bears and dolls. Enjoy Raggedy Ann and Andy, Beatrix Potter's delightful creatures, the Golliwog, all the absurd characters from Alice in Wonderland, and Winnie-the-Pooh and his adventurous pals. Explore the bear's evolution since first made famous, and welcomed indoors, by Teddy Roosevelt. Punkinhead, Paddington, and storybook characters like The Three Bears and The Busy Bears are pictured and described. A collectors guide, this book provides current values for memorabilia about these lovable characters in their many incarnations.

Journey across the State of Michigan, rich in history, to read over 40 tales of the strange, the unusual, and the haunted of centuries past. Discover the spectral cries of the lost souls under a bridge, spirits who haunt a Westland school, the beloved Civil War horse whose spirit lives on, a wrongly accused town witch, UFOs that frighten those at a Michigan farm, and Michael Jackson's elaborate gravestone gift to entertainer Jackie Wilson. Listen to the waves that crash against the stony cliffs and catch a glimpse of a grisly murder or climb the steps of Joe Louis Arena and discover why Al the Octopus is so important to Detroit's sports fans. So settle into a comfortable chair, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and explore the depths of Michigan's Haunted Legends and Lore. And don't worry; we understand if you need to leave your lights on tonight.

With over 6000 items listed, this is the most comprehensive guide to Batman (R) collectibles ever assembled between two covers. Nearly 300 color photographs accompany the informative articles and detailed price guide listings. Highlights include a Comics section which lists every comic book in which Batman has appeared from his debut in 1939 through to the end of 1997, plus a Figures section which lists all of the various Batman action figures. Covering everything from Artwork to Videos, and price ranges from 15- to $150,000, this book is a must for any Batfan or student of popular culture.

Enter an ultra-patriotic era of "military mood" fashions, replete in red, white, and blue. One in a series of books from Schiffer Publishing documenting fashion trends in America, this is an invaluable resource for fashion designers looking to revive and rework retro styles, for costume designers working to recreate an era, and for collectors and historians wanting to document vintage clothing. A visual treasure chest, this book offers more than 400 full-color photographs, with thousands of items of clothing, shoes, and accessories pictured, along with detailed descriptions. A guide to retail values for these items on today's market is featured as well.

This volume presents the eclectic side of Valentine collecting, special categories, from party favors to paper dolls to brand-name advertising on hundreds of Valentine cards. The author discusses Novelties, OEAs (Other Ephemeral Artifacts), and Postcards in her usual enthusiastic style. Kreider offers hints on collecting for love and for value. If you want to know all about eclectic Valentines in the market place and in your collections, make sure you read the documentation carefully. All the photographs are in color; captions include price guides.

Collecting is a wide spread phenomenon within our society. Many of us are involved in the activity of collecting and many more of us are fascinated by others' collections. Yet surprisingly little is known about how and why we collect. On Collecting examines the nature of collecting both in Europe and among people living within the European tradition elsewhere.
Gathering objects together is a universal human custom, yet every society collects in different ways. Susan Pearce looks at the way we collect and what this tells us about ourselves and our society. She also explores the psychology of collecting: why do we bestow value on certain objects and how does this add meaning to our lives? Do men and women collect differently? How do we use objects to construct our identity?
On Collecting breaks new ground in its analysis of our relationship to the material world. It will be of value to museums professionals and students, cultural historians and anyone interested in the phenomenon of collecting.

Lledo is now over ten years old, and its wonderful products are numerous and interesting enough to fill a wonderful new book by America's foremost authority. Matchbox Toy co-founder Jack Odell founded the Lledo Company (his name spelled backwards) and produced the first models in 1983. Since then, the fleet of these miniature antique vehicles has grown to include thousands of examples, including basic models and great number that carry company advertising designed for promotions. Over 2000 examples photographed in full color document the production of Lledo. In addition, Ed Force gives an informative history, an extensive list of variations, and a price guide to current values. Included are Days Gone models, buses, emergency vehicles, newspaper vans, beer and soft drink trucks, food product vehicles...the list goes on and on. This new book will be a welcome and necessary part of any toy-related collection and will be enjoyed by all.

Bold and flashy, sweet and coquettish, stylish and elegant-plastic jewelry is all of these. In a comprehensive new study with over 400 beautiful color photographs of fabulous and original jewelry designs, explore the interesting and evolving history of plastics used to make jewelry. Meet the manufacturers, designers, and even salesmen who created the industry. See dazzling examples from Coro, Trifari, Lisner, Kramer, Selro, and more. Once considered "junk jewelry," Susan Maxine Klein shows that plastic jewelry is truly an art form.

This beautiful book showcases hundreds of figural silver items that were used for many purposes during the luxurious Gilded Age. These endearing and sometimes whimsical designs, shown in nearly 600 color photos, include accoutrements for the dining room, the writing desk, the sewing room, the nursery, and much more. Among the items shown and described are spoons, tea balls, napkin rings, inkwells, pens and pencils, matchsafes, cigar cutters, thimbles, chatelaines, belt buckles, and baby rattles. Historical background plus valuable information on manufacturing techniques and marks is also included. With values provided in the captions and an extensive bibliography, this is a wonderful book for new and experienced collectors of figural silver novelties.

Welcome to the exciting world of fast food toy collecting. Over the years fast food restaurants have distributed hundreds of toys based on Disney characters. This book contains a thorough listing and price guide for all of your favorite toys and over-the-counter promotions. Hundreds of color photographs give you a visual reference for fast food figures from around the world. There are listings for toys dating back to 1987, organized by year, country, and restaurant to help you pinpoint that missing or unknown toy, and to assemble your want list.

Christmas celebrations of the past forty years are shown through historical photographs, catalog pages, and over 530 photographs of artificial and real trees, Christmas ornaments, interior and exterior lights, candy containers, cards, tinsel garlands, and cheerful holiday figurines. Innovations in Christmas ornamentation, lighting, and display are presented--including artificial trees of the 1960s, country-style ornaments of the 1970s, 1980s chaser lights, and sophisticated 1990s European glass ornaments. Updated values are provided in the captions. With this wonderful book to inspire your search, you can carry the spirit of Christmas with you all year 'round!

Gambling, simply stated, is as American as baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie. Despite the best efforts of our Puritan forbearers, America has, throughout its history, been a country of rebels and gamblers. The games-pharo, poker, keno, hazard, roulette, and others-have produced objects that are highly collectible and valued by a growing number of aficionados. This wonderful new book explores the world of gambling collectibles in a way that will inform and amuse both the novice and the established collector. A myriad of gambling items are illustrated in over 400 full-color photographs. Included are some that are very rare and some that are not, but all of them are exceedingly attractive. They have about them an aura of romance and intrigue. In addition there is substantial text, helping the collector to put the items in a historical context as well as giving very practical information about building a collection.

California Raisins*t lovers no longer need rely on the grapevine for collector information. Here is the authoritative illustrated guide, complete with more than 500 color photographs of collectible items and their values. Born of popular advertising and projected to near stardom, the California Raisins*t held sway in the United States for nearly a decade. Begun as an advertising venture to promote a farm product, the Claymationr characters actually became their own industry. Starting with figural characters distributed in everything from fast food to fast car promotions, the California Raisins*t soon appeared on everything imaginable, from bed linens to wallets. They even starred in their own books, games, and, of course, videos. The entire range of Raisins collectibles is represented in this captivating and irresistible work.

The colorful earthenwares known as Majolica are popular once again, part of the nostalgic revival of Victorian taste in interior decoration. Majolica's long history begins with Italian Renaissance tin-glazed wares; over the centuries its styles and techniques spread to France and England. With the advent of mechanization, the wares could be mass produced. Majolica became popular among the rising middle class in England, Europe, and the United States. This book presents a new analysis of Majolica set against its cultural-historical background. Hundreds of forms in dozens of patterns, especially American and British ware with a sampling of European pieces, are displayed in over 550 color photographs. The text presents new research and the examples are individually identified by style, pattern, maker, size, and date. Short histories of the manufacturers are presented as they relate to Majolica wares. The up-to-date price guide will be a valuable tool for collectors and dealers.

Practical ideas and facts on the safe and efficient use of coal. Often forgotten as a alternative source of energy, coal has many positive attributes. This handbook discusses the types of coal and their use, the equipment, installation, maintenance and conversion of furnaces to coal.

Tape measures, those useful sewing tools in imaginative cases, are now becoming a collecting passion. Presented here are over 700 tape measures in brass, wood, celluloid and porcelain figural shapes, dating back to the 1820s and up to the present. Over 500 color photographs show tape measures in hundreds of variations from animals and birds to people and their houses, and the captions describe their particular winding mechanisms. Each measure is also given a value range

Even before its current zenith of popularity, coffee has been a favorite beverage worldwide for centuries. To prepare coffee beans for use, human ingenuity has created hundreds of versions of coffee grinders, and this book is devoted exclusively to them. With 600 quality color photographs, the authors direct a marvelous tour of the best and most sought after examples from around the world. Accurate information about the makers and the time and place of manufacture make this a valuable resource for collectors as well as a rich visual history of over 300 years of American and European coffee grinding devices. Each example is described with its current value. Joseph E. MacMillan, a leading authority on coffee grinders and author of the MacMillan Index, writes in his Foreword to this book, Knowing the quality of these authors, I am confident that this book will be an asset to the serious collector and will be enjoyed by all of its readers for years to come.

Hollywood Movie Songs is the fifth book in Marion Short's popular series about collectible sheet music, taking up where she left off in From Footlights to "The Flickers." This time she concentrates on movie music after sound took over. The golden years, from the dazzling Busby Berkeley movies of the 1930s to the present day, are presented in an exciting kaleidoscope of more than 700 colorful and dramatic sheet music covers from famous movies that feature photos of the world's most beloved film stars. The first section sets the stage for the new Hollywood that took on the challenge of adding sound to motion pictures, and follows significant trends from Al Jolson's first astounding declaration in The Jazz Singer, "You ain't heard nothing yet!" through each decade of increasingly sophisticated development. The second part features brief biographical sketches of 170 well-known film stars with a listing of their movies that yielded sheet music, and representative photos of each star on selected movie covers. This most requested book also includes extensive indexes of songs, stars, and movies, and a thoughtful price guide that will prove invaluable to movie buffs, nostalgia seekers, and dedicated sheet music collectors.

Heirloom household linens embody decades of culture and tradition to bring elegance and comfort into the home. From common domestic doilies to European tablecloths exquisitely adorned with hand embroidery and lace, Vintage White Linens helps explain why collectors passionately seek out these intimate linen treasures. To aid in identification, the book is organized alphabetically, so beginners, collectors, and discerning decorators can identify variations from handmade knit lace to machine-made eyelet embroidery, from fine linen sheets to factory made bureau scarves. Tips for finding linen treasures, caring for them, and using them around the house are included. Vintage White Linens is a visual treat and an essential price guide for anyone interested in household linens.

What would happen if sets of vintage quilt blocks were divided among a group of artists, and each was left to create new quilts from them in her own style? In answer, this book presents 117 quilts made from six sets of vintage blocks by 19 talented quilters across America. It is a collection of contemporary quilts with a vintage twist, shown in 301 color photos. Each new quilt is unique and reflects its maker's style and interests.You can be inspired to create your own quilt block challenge using the tips and guidelines provided. Curator/author Mary Kerr and her band of artists present the challenge to all, art quilters and traditionalists alike.

Pay tribute to your favorite show and transport yourself to the lovable northeastern town of Stars Hollow with this special kit. * SPECIFICATIONS: 3-1/2 x 3-inch light-up Stars Hollow sign with display stand * BOOK INCLUDED: 48-page book filled with essential information on Stars Hollow and featuring full-color photos from the show throughout * PERFECT GIFT: Must-have gift item for fans of the Gilmore Girls * FOR YOUR DESKTOP: Small size allows for fun anytime, anywhere and is perfect for a mantle or desktop * OFFICIALLY LICENSED: Authentic collectible

This book adds more than 750 color photos to the record of materials on Noritake collectibles presented in Spain's 1997 book on this subject-a work with more than 1,200 color photos. This book, like the previous one, is comprehensive. It covers non-dinnerware porcelains made by the Noritake Company between about 1908 and the 1970s. The emphasis, however, is on the 1920s and works with Art Deco characteristics. The backstamp materials have been expanded, updated, and made very user-friendly. In addition, there is a substantial and thought-provoking essay on the historical and cultural roots of Art Deco, in general, along with a thorough discussion of the distinguishing features of Art Deco Noritake fancy line porcelains of the 1920s.

With original documents discovered to build his story, Peter Blackman has eloquently explained the origins, artistic growth, and dissemination of Black Forest carved wooden furniture and fine decor now recognized worldwide. The style evolved in 1815 in Brienz, a small village in the Swiss Alps, and spread through the 19th century, with operations stretching to Paris and central Germany. Bears are the best known and prolific examples, but many other animals and human figures also comprise the style. The book presents in detail the development of the "Black Forest" woodcarving tradition, or Brienzerwares, through noteworthy carvers, schools, companies, and the Great Exhibitions worldwide. Artists, collectors, museum curators, and wood carvers will be instructed and inspired by Mr. Blackman's relentless research, fine analysis, and keen eye.

Gathered from Maine to California by veteran folk art enthusiasts, these antiques of country origin include kitchen furnishings, stoneware, baskets, toys, garden ornaments and even Christmas decorations. So many examples are included that it is easy to compare the items through over 500 color photos and the Price Guide. The book is informative and fun.

This new study of the Central Glass Company, Wheeling, West Virginia, and its beautiful glass is one of the most comprehensive books in the collecting field. Heavily illustrated with color images, historical documents, and catalog pages, it will satisfy both the collector and the glass historian. Each pattern is illustrated, most with beautiful color photos, and all are carefully described. A guide to current values is included. The pattern designs, collected from a variety of incomplete, partially destroyed, and randomly numbered catalogs, are placed in the correct order of the mold number, offering the first chronological overview of the company's growth. An easy identification guide compiles every known pattern made by the Central Glass Company from 1863 to 1893. The reader will discover many formerly unknown patterns with correct attributions to the Central Glass Company.