Antiques & Collectibles

Hardcover. New York, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1st, 1989, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 239 pages, illustrated throughout in color and b&w. Light shelf-wear to dust jacket. Clean, tight copy. A comprehensive guide to nearly 4000 years of sword making from all over the world. Written by a distinguished team of experts and scholars, it provides an expert appraisal of the weapons themselves and is rich in historical and background detail. Fully illustrated throughout with photographs and art reproductions, this is a unique survey of a vast body of superb craftsmanship. It is an essential reference work for weapons enthusiasts, collectors and lovers of military history and fine art.

Hardcover. New York, Ridge Press/Macmillan, 1st, 1965, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 251 pages. Illustrated with full color photographs. price clipped dust jacket shows standard wear. Clean, tight copy. Bil Baird, a master puppeteer of our time, recounts the history of his art, from its remotest yesterday to its bright and promising tomorrow. Along the way, he examines the famous and outrageous Mr. Punch, the raucous Karaghioz, the noble knights of the Orlando legend, the lovely shadow plays of Asia, the unique Bunraku puppets of Japan, and the exciting developments in today's puppetry around the world. To which we would like to add: There has never been any book to compare with this one. It remains the classic text on the history of puppetry around the world. It has dozens of amazing photographs, and a very lucid text written by one of the great master puppeteers of our time.

Softcover. New Philadelphia, OH, Tuscarawas County Historical Society, Inc., 1st, 1978, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Spiral bound softcover. 128 pages, b&w photographs. Light edge wear, rubbing to covers. Small scratches on rear cover. Else a very clean, tight copy.

Softcover. New York , Japan Society, 1st, 2009, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 96 pages, illustrated throughout in color. Clean, unmarked copy with only minor wear to wrappers.

Hardcover. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1st, 2020, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. In Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America, Wendy A. Woloson takes seriously the history of objects that are often cynically-made and easy to dismiss: things not made to last; things we don't really need; things we often don't even really want. Woloson does not mock these ordinary, everyday possessions but seeks to understand them as a way to understand aspects of ourselves, socially, culturally, and economically: Why do we--as individuals and as a culture--possess these things? Where do they come from? Why do we want them? And what is the true cost of owning them? Woloson tells the history of crap from the late eighteenth century up through today, exploring its many categories: gadgets, knickknacks, novelty goods, mass-produced collectibles, giftware, variety store merchandise. As Woloson shows, not all crap is crappy in the same way--bric-a-brac is crappy in a different way from, say, advertising giveaways, which are differently crappy from commemorative plates. Taking on the full brilliant and depressing array of crappy material goods, the book explores the overlooked corners of the American market and mindset, revealing the complexity of our relationship with commodity culture over time.

Softcover. Philadelphia, Henry Disston & Sons, 1st, 1911, Book: Good, Dust Jacket: None, Flexible leather covers very worn and chipped, 206 pages, Interior is clean and firm with one loose page, and page 60 looks like a photo of a hammer was cut out, otherwise clean, bright pages. Loaded with b&w photos and illustrations of vintage tools from 1911. This is the original printing.

Hardcover. Boston, Little Brown & Company, 1st, 2001, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 408 pages, b&w illustrations. Imperial Green Jade, also known as jadeite, is one of the rarest stones in the world. This volume combines original historical research, a travelogue, and investigative journalism to tell the secret history of jadeite. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Paris, Chez Castel, 2nd pr., 1858, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, VIII-352 pages plus a 70 page supplement. Title printed in red & black. Original 1/2 leather, with marbled boards, spine in compartments with raised bands, gilded decorations. This is the 2nd. and much enlarged edition. A very useful volume in the scarce field of book repair. FRENCH TEXT. Leather corners show light wear, small scar to front panel, otherwise a very good, clean volume.

Hardcover. Harrison , Robert Alan Green, Reprint, 1970, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 179 pages. Illustrated with early American Silversmiths identification marks. This reprint edition limited to 1000 copies. Light wear to edges of dust jacket. Clean, tight copy.

Hardcover. New York, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1st, 1980, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 282 pages, plus index. Text by Bernard Barenholtz and Inez McClintock, photographs by Bill Holland. Light blue cloth covers with gilt titles to spine, illustrated laminate dust jacket, 285 illustrations including 100 plates in full-color. Light rubbing to dust jacket, clean boards, pages crisp and unmarked; a very clean, tight copy in great condition.