Book Review - Warman's Sterling Silver Flatware Value and Identification Guide

If you need information about the sterling silver flatware set that you inherited from Mom or Grandma, or that you scored at an auction or estate sale, Warman's Sterling Silver Flatware Value and Identification Guide is the book you've been looking for!

Antique expert Mark Moran lists thousands of sets of sterling using 1,200 identifying photos, including 16 color pages. He covers pieces from all the major American manufacturers, as well as selected English and European manufacturers. Here are just some that are included:

Alvin - Dominick & Haff - Durgin - Frank Smith
Georg Jensen - Gorham - International - Kirk Stieff
Lunt - Oneida/Heirloom - Reed & Barton - Tiffany & Co.
Towle - Wallace - Whiting

Each company section is broken down by pattern (with dates). Each pattern section includes a photo, and values and measurements for individual pieces within each pattern.

If you already know your maker and pattern name, finding it and looking up values will be a snap! If you know just the maker but not the pattern, you should be able to identify it with just a few minutes of browsing through the correct section.

The beginning of the book has much needed sections on identifying pieces by shape, decorative styles in British Silver, a resources list, and a guide on how to set your table - Mr. Moran really thought of everything his readers might need to know, making this guide a valuable addition to any reference book library!

Warman's Sterling Silver Flatware Value and Identification Guide
List Price: $24.99 - Our Price: $15.95 + FREE SHIPPING!

Book Review - The Collector's Guide to Antique Radios

The Collector's Guide to Antique Radios - 6th Edition is devoted to the golden age of radios - the 1920s through the 1950s - and gives descriptions and values for approximately 10,000 models of antique radios with over 600 full-color photographs!

The guide begins with an About The Author and Welcome section, followed by helpful sections explaining pricing and the terms and descriptive information used in the listings - very helpful for a newer collector who might not be familiar with all the terms used in the world of antique radios!

The rest of the book is divided up into sections alphabetically according to maker, making finding the radio you are looking up a snap! Here are just some of the brands that are included:

Admiral - Airline - American Bosch
Arvin - Atwater Kent - Crosley
Emerson - Fada - Firestone
GE General Electric - Lafayette - Majestic
Motorola - Philco - RCA
Scott - Silvertone - Stewart-Warner
Stromberg-Carlson - Westinghouse - Zenith

Each brand is then further broken down by model number, with a list of distinguishing features and estimated value.

The oversized paperback format of this book makes it easy to handle and store in your reference book library - and the information inside will satisfy the needs of everyone, from the beginning collector to the seasoned enthusiast or dealer!

The Collector's Guide to Antique Radios - 6th Edition
List Price: $24.95 - Our Price: $16.95 + FREE SHIPPING!

BooksFYI.com New Additions

Vintage Fabrics Identification & Value Guide
Our Price: $29.95 + FREE SHIPPING!

Vintage Fabrics is an identification and pictorial guide to common vintage fabrics of all fibers from 1880 to 1959, with emphasis on history and origins of fabrics, construction, and how fabrics were used for home and fashion. Including vintage advertisements and more than 450 photographs, this handbook fills a void in fabric information. Charts, glossaries, and photos are extended to include a wider range of cotton, silks, and wools, plus early rayons and nylons, with their specific names, which are not featured in most general books on old fabrics.

Further identification covers weave construction, with enlarged surface views of most fabrics, burn tests, microscope views of fibers including rayon and nylon, and information on distinguishing certain look-alike fabrics from dotted Swiss. Secondary history includes cross sections and synopses of mill histories, brand names, and finishes, plus a photo story of the textile process. Also included is a price guide, possibly the first time in print, for yardage of old fabrics. This quick reference handbook will benefit textile collectors in all fields, appraisers, dealers, costumers and re-enactors, textile and fashion students, and seamstresses.

Hot Wheels Warman's Companion Price Guide
List Price: $18.99 - Our Price: $17.95 + FREE SHIPPING!

This new edition of the colorful and compact collector’s guide to Hot Wheels not only provides you with identifying details for these miniature marvels, but it features 500 close-up photos of these legendary pocket-sized racers and collector pricing for Redlines, Blackwalls and Numbered Packs. In addition, there’s an extensive chapter on Hot Wheels hall of fame designers, including the legendary Larry Wood.

Michael Zarnock has been collecting Hot Wheels cars since the late 1960s. He is a leading authority on Hot Wheels, having authored Warman's Hot Wheels Field Guide and the previous edition of Hot Wheels A Warman's Companion. In 2008, he was awarded the Guinness world record for having 8,128 different Hot Wheels car models. The old record was 3,711. His personal collection includes more than 15,000.

Warman's Antiques & Collectibles 2010 Price Guide
List Price: $27.99 - Our Price: $21.95 + FREE SHIPPING!

Most of us have at least one “old” item that looks like it could be an antique, and most certainly collectible. But, we don’t always know what “it” is exactly, or what its worth, and that can be the difference between a valuable treasure, and a treasure with more sentimental value.

For aspiring and experienced collectors alike, the pricing and identifying answers you’re looking for, market insight you value, and beautiful auction-quality photos you admire, are in this history-marking price guide. Plus, the bonus DVD demonstrates what to look for and how to inspect pieces for indications of fakes and reproductions.