Books for Collectors

I love books, I love to get them, give them and to read them! Not much is better than sitting down with a book about a favorite collectible and wishing away! Check out some of my favorites.

General Price Guides

• Kovels' Index of Books
  Love to collect? Always looks for prices and values? Check out these price guides and value lists from the Kovels.
• Judith Miller's Books and Links
  From 1979 until 1988, Judith served as co-founder of the international best-seller Miller's Antiques Price Guide and has since written more than 80 books, many of which are held in high regard by collectors and dealers.
• Warman's Antiques and Collectibles
  If you want thousands of prices and lots of pictures, with a little history lesson thrown in -- Warman's Antiques & Collectibles will fit the bill. The 38th Edition lives up to its predecessors and won't disappoint.
• Saving Stuff
  I must admit it was the title that grabbed me first. Saving Stuff I'm always saving stuff and this book sounded like it was written by a kindred spirit. Author Don Williams is the senior conservator of the Smithsonian Institution, a bit of a stuffy title in itself, but the book is anything but stuffy. Williams, along with co-author Louisa Jaggar, comes across as very down-to-earth in the entertaining read.
• Buying and Selling Antiques/Collectibles on eBay
  Know someone who wants to test the eBay waters? Wiggins book is a great start!

Holiday

• Vintage Halloween Collectibles
  Ledenbach's book is not only a pictorial feast, the documentation provided will be invaluable for both the expert and novice collector of Halloween memorabilia.

Kitchen and Pottery

• Top Picks in Cookie Jar Books
  Here are my favorites in the cookie jar book world and most are still available.
• Pottery Book List
  Here are some book on the popular potteries, from Hull to Shawnee
• PY/Miyao Fun Kitchen Collectibles
  Finally a book that really explains who's behind the 'Made In Japan' stamp found on our vintage ceramic pieces. Lefton, E.S.D., NAPCO, Enesco, Mikasa -- if you're a collector of any of these company products, just go ahead and buy the book now.
• Collectors Guide to Antique Chocolate Molds
  For several years I've been interested in antique chocolate molds, I don't have any "yet" but I am always looking at them. Therefore, I was excited to get this new book from Hobby House Press, Inc. in the hopes of getting more information. A great deal of work went into this book. It was fun to sit down and take a break browsing through the pages of excellent pictures and numerous vintage ads. (And yes, I did get a huge craving for ANYTHING chocolate as I turned the pages).

Toys and Characters

• Official Price Guide to Dolls
  There are price guides and there are PRICE GUIDES.... clearly this is the latter. The huge 606 page book is what every collector likes to see. Prices and lots of them! Want to know what your Googlies or Frozen Charlottes are worth? Perhaps it's that Remco John Lennon in the back of your closet or maybe the Franklin Mint Dorothy of Oz doll you want more information on?
• Toys & Prices 2005
  Another excellent price guide recently arrived -- the 12th Edition of Toys & Prices 2005. Although there are hundreds of black and white pictures, along with a 16 page section of colored pictures, I consider this a no-frills book. This is definitely not a bad thing, as it lists prices and lots of them, in over 800 pages!
• Sabuda's Pop-Up Books
  Paper artist Robert Sabuda's books are an engineering feat that only an older child or adult can truly appreciate.
• John Deere Collectibles
  I'm always amazed at how many people love John Deere collectibles and memorabilia. I'm always hearing from people in my "other life" as a wife of John Deere Dealer, people LOVE Deere and they will all love this book!
• The Sand Pail Encyclopedia
  Growing up -- Mention sand pails and I remember summer days at Coney Island and Far Rockaway Beach. Memories come flooding back of Nathan's hotdogs, crowded beaches, Good Humor Ice Cream (usually melting) and trying to build sand castles before the waves knocked them down. Perhaps this is why this book was so fascinating to me -- a good, sturdy sand pail was needed for the castle and they were usually colorful, fun designs.
• The Definitive Guide to Betty Boop Memorabilia
  A very fun book exploring that every-popular gal, Betty Boop. Prices, great pictures and the real story (aka) history of Betty.
• Hopalong Cassidy Collectibles
  Take a ride back to the days of our youth, to the time when the values that Hoppy espoused were real and the good guys didn't always wear white!

Miscellaneous

• Hannan Swensen Mysteries
  You may wonder why a series of mystery books are reviewed on a Collectibles web site, but it's no mystery at all. Hannah is a collector's type of heroine. She shops the thrift stores, wears a shirt that says "Got Cookies" and feeds her beloved cat Moise from a Garfield bowl!