These endearing little emissaries personify and spread the spirit of the diverse native people from across North America and into the arctic reaches of Canada. Whether made for childrens' play or as tourists' souvenirs, their colorful dress, ornamentation, and materials are enjoyed by doll collectors and Indian buffs alike. Here more than a hundred different dolls are grouped according to their geographical origins, including Iroquios, Seminole, Cheyenne, Navajo, and Eskimo Indian dolls, shown along with early photographs of the people and places they represent. Also, Skookum dolls, which were made as commercial items, are presented. Together, the dolls make an inspiring group and display the diversity of mankind. Value references are provided for some of the dolls.

German Meissen porcelain figures made during the Kaendler Period are considered the best era in the Meissen factory's history. They are organized here by their subjects, depicting Street Traders, Court Life, Military and Hunting scenes, Italian Comedy, Children, Mythology, Artisans, and various nationalities. Many figures are matched to the original engravings that inspired them. By recognizing the colors used when the originals were made, one can date the figures; manufacturer marks alone are not reliable. This book guides and delights today's designers and collectors by presenting the figures in exquisite detail.

What exactly can we learn about America by examining its paper bills? This illuminating text answers that question by exploring the social, cultural and historical contexts of paper money. Predicated on the assumption that paper bills speak to us through the deliberate use of symbols - letters, verbal and visual elements, as well as symbols of civic values - this book examines what has been conveyed to Americans via their currency from Colonial times through the present day. Topics covered include origin, design, creative and subversive usages, and counterfeiting.

Avon's 1875 Cape Cod pattern glass dinnerware, made from 1975 to 1993, is one of the most beautiful deep ruby patterns. Over 130 photos show the shapes and the original mold drawings, and the captions relate the date each design was approved, the designers' names, and number of molds used.

Over 130 Roseville Pottery Company ceramic lines are listed and valued in this very inclusive guide. Arranged in easy-to-use alphabetical order, each line and its most common variations are listed and priced by line number. Values are also provided by glaze color when appropriate. Among the categories featured in this informative price guide are Early Velmoss, Experimental Pieces, Keynote, Lamps, Raymor Modern Artware, Rozane Royal, Trial Glaze Pieces, and additional products not typically found in guides to Roseville. This informative quick reference works well as a companion piece to Mark Bassett's Introducing Roseville Pottery (1997). Listings for shapes illustrated in the 1997 ppublication appear in boldface, with page references. The shape numbers have been authenticated by firsthand study of Rosevilld pottery pieces. Rounding out the presentation is an invaluable index to Roseville Shape Numbers, c. 1916--1946, produced with the assistance of veteran researcher Lou Haggis. The Index explains the factory's original shape numbering system, which will help collectors identify and date little-known Roseville shapes. Everyone interested in art pottery, American artware, or Eastern Ohio pottery will find this a valuable reference work.

Now there is finally a reference source for collector's of bisque and china children figurines! Whether you collect one type of figurine such as Snow Babies, Kewpies or Piano Babies or children figurines in general this book is for you. Lavishly illustrated with over 300 color photographs, this book offers a lot of practical information, illustrations of marks, the origins of each category, related collectibles and lists of manufacturers. In addition, the author provides you with guidelines on what to look for when purchasing figurines and a useful price guide! A reference source the children figurine collector will use over and over!

This mammoth catalog of American furniture manufacturers shows, for the first time in modern publication, the styles of furniture available at the height of the 1920's, a pivotal period between Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and the Depression as 1932 was the very worst year in the history of the furniture industry and most of the companies that failed did so in the four years between 1928 and 1932. Therefore, this catalog remains as the single sourcebook for the products of American furniture companies of this era. Room settings of the period are shown as well as color charts of wood showing the standard finishes of the period. These will be a great help to people restoring furniture to its original color. Thousands of furniture forms are displayed with descriptive commentary facts, and a few original prices. In this edition, a price guide is included for estimating values in the current marketplace. This exciting reference book should become a useful tool for interior decorators, furniture historians, collectors, dealers and restorers working with early twentieth-century designs.

Hula and surfing represent the quintessential Hawaiian experience. Over 270 original photographs and postcard images are presented chronologically from 1870 to 1940 to powerfully portray the evolving styles and popularity of these icons of Hawai`i. The Hula and surfing traditions both are deeply rooted in legend and myth and Hula dancing was actually outlawed for over 60 years. Surfboards were highly prized by the ancients and the sport became reserved for Hawai`i's kings. These enchanting images include famous personalities like Duke Kahanamoku, as well as unknown practitioners of their arts.

New and expanded edition that includes signatures studies of all hall of famers from the 19th century to the present day. Newly added studies of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the rest of the infamous black sox. Roger Maris, Gil Hodges, and the top 50 non hall of fame autographs are also explored in depth. Richly illustrated with nearly 1,000 examples of autographs and forgeries of the hall of famers and stars from yesteryear. Also found within is a new price guide examining values of various signed mediums. A market population grid of the rare and seldom seen signatures tops off the book. Collectors can compare signatures to the examples to determine the genuiness of autographs and assist them in the purchase of that cherished baseball treasure.

Kitsch for the kitchen is cool and this book covers a golden era for culinary design. Enter and enjoy gadgets and glasses, table accessories and textiles, furniture and fruit bowls, cookbooks, canisters, clocks, cookie jars...just about anything you can imagine and collect. This newly revised book will help you expand your knowledge of the era. Its color photographs of nearly 400 items will assist you in identifying your collectibles and will be invaluable in pricing them. This book will help you understand what all the fuss is about, and catch the spirit of fun and excitement.

This comprehensive volume is an essential and invaluable reference source for every glass enthusiast. It contains over 3,000 alphabetized definitions of glassware, colors, processes, materials, forms, decorative styles, pattern motifs, noted artisans, companies, and designers, from antiquity to the present. The glass world is overdue for a resource that is up-to-date and unique in its field. This clear, concise, and easily readable guide includes both highly technical jargon and common terminology. The thorough use of cross-referencing between related subjects provides an extensive overview of specific glass-related topics.

This book chronicles the development of canes throughout the ages, defines their parts, the staggering variety of materials employed in their construction, and the dazzling array of gadgetry and weaponry hidden in many. Integral to the text are engaging stories of the author's experiences in hunting for the often elusive and rare sticks he has found over decades of collecting. He also provides advice that will give new collectors a much needed edge when entering the marketplace. Accompanying the text are over 1200 color photographs and illustrations. Invaluable information on the repair of damaged canes is also presented. An exhaustive index listing over 1580 cane patents from the United States, Britain, and Germany is provided as well as a very complete bibliography. Two illustrated auctioneer's catalogues and the prices received are included.

A fascinating record of how London and Londoners were shaped by nearly 700 years of public executions. More frequent in London than in any other city or town in Britain, these morbid spectacles often attracted tens of thousands of onlookers at locations across the capital and were a major part of Londoners' lives for centuries. From Smithfield to Kennington, Tyburn to Newgate Prison, public executions became embedded in London's landscape and people's lives. Even today, hints of this dark chapter in London's history can still be seen across the city. Featuring the lives and legacies of those who died or who witnessed public executions first hand from 1196 to 1868, this book tells the rarely told and often tragic human stories behind these events. It includes a range of fascinating objects, paintings and documents, many from the Museum of London's collections, such as the vest said to have been worn by King Charles I when he was executed, portraits of 'celebrity criminals', and last letters of the condemned. From the sites of execution to the thriving 'gallows' economy, the book reveals the role that Londoners played as both spectators and participants in this most public demonstration of state power over the life and death of its citizens.

The classic diner is an icon of the American roadside. As cars were mass-produced, so were these aluminum gems, whose metal bodies and neon signs came to characterize modernity in the mid-twentieth century. From the 1920s to the 1950s, these eye-catching eateries promoted themselves on many giveaway matchcovers and postcards. Today, these highly collectible pieces of ephemera provide a colorful visual record of diners from all over the country. Nearly 450 examples are included here, along with a history of the diner and related information about postcards and matchcovers of the era. Enjoy a nostalgic, state-by-state tour of architecturally unique, vintage American diners.

Home, office, workshop and special use lubricating oils have been packaged in small containers of metal, glass and plastics since the early 20th century. Today, old examples can be found at flea markets and garage sales for the enthusiast to collect and enjoy. Here you see over 1200 examples in color photos with their identifying name, company, contents quantity and estimated value range.

Here is the comprehensive guide to forty years of collectible Swedish-made reels. It contains background information on every manufacturer and discusses every production model made between 1940 and 1980. It includes baitcasters, spinning, and fly reels. With over 675 color photographs, vintage advertisements, and patent drawings, plus a guide to current values, it is a must have reference book for the collector and dealer alike. Today Swedish-made fishing reels are collected all over the globe and are among the most prized. Names such as ABU, Arjon, River, Pebeco, W.D., Nordic, Rainbow, Radius, and Victory make nearly every reel collector perk up his ears. There are several international collector clubs dedicated to the Ambassadeur alone, and many models bring top dollar at the auction block.

Pinball games have long been regarded as the twentieth century's ultimate coin operated amusement, touching the lives of generations of players in numerous cultures. This visual chronicle, with examples from the game's beginnings to the present day, focuses in particular on the years from 1958 to 1998. It showcases fifty fascinating pinball games, each with its own chapter outlining the special features. Covered in detail are cultural influences, design and artistic trends, historical connections, collectibility, values, and unique game rules. Over 800 full color photographs display whole machine shots, close-ups of backglasses and playfields, and ball's-eye-view images. They put the pinball enthusiast right into the action! This beautiful book is an essential reference for the libraries of pinball collectors and aficionados everywhere.

DAILY MAIL BOOK OF THE WEEK 'A sparkling memoir... My hope is that Philip Serrell will do for the antiques trade what James Herriot did for cow's bottoms, as his memoir contains every ingredient for similar popular success... Serrell is laugh-out-loud funny.' Roger Lewis, Daily Mail *** When Philip Serrell gave up teaching to become a professional auctioneer, he thought he was embarking on a sensible and safe career... a quiet life in the country with no surprises. How wrong he was. In What Am I Bid? he tells of life after the events he described in his previous memoirs, An Auctioneer's Lot and Sold to the Man with the Tin Leg, to bring his story up to date. From dodgy cars to fakes in the saleroom; angry livestock, mangled silverware and tortuous - not to mention muddy - experiences in local markets and farm sales, Philip has been there, done that and got the hoofprints on his suit to prove it.

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 photographs and postcards, the book provides a pictorial review of the customs employed by mankind throughout the ages to deal with the final disposition of loved ones. Included in the remarkable array of collectible items are embalming products and instruments, photographs of funeral homes and funeral processions, promotional and advertising materials, and an outstanding collection of postmortem photographs taken in private homes and other locations. Cemetery monuments, sculptures, and mausoleums are shown, along with background material on caskets, floral arrangements, burial garments, mourning etiquette, and more. Values are included in the captions.

While You Were Sleeping was a graffiti and pop culture magazine started by graffiti supply business owner Roger Gastman when he was 19. Here are some of the greatest stories the magazine ever published-and many that are not so good. From stories on admirable serial killers and interviews with child stars to photos of graffiti and people's naked sisters, this book takes you into the dirty minds of Gastman and his team of juvenile delinquents. You've been warned.

A detailed history of the development of fishing reel technology and fascinating stories of the notable manufacturers who produced them are related here. Fly casting, bait casting, spinning, and spin casting reels produced in America and Europe during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are shown in over 180 fine photographs and drawings. Reels produced by famous manufacturers are shown, including J. C. Conroy and Company*TM, William Mills*TM, Julius Von Hofe*TM, and the Kentucky reel smiths B. F. Meek & Sons*TM and B.C. Milam*TM. Current market values are provided in tables. This book will be prized by anyone who has ever cast a line out over the water on a cool, still morning.