Warman"s Antiques & Collectibles 2008 Price Guide, 41st Edition
About.com Rating
The Bottom Line
Browsing through this guide is like going on an 800 page treasure hunt. It's easy to use, I loved the way the individual pages are laid out and am especially happy with the rainbow of chapters, each color highlighting a particular topic.
I didn't check out every topic, but I was bothered by a incorrect listing* in the Holt-Howard section that at times has confused collectors, this doesn't help the matter.
I have since heard from Warman's editor on the oversight.
From Editor Tracy Schmidt: I am truly sorry for the lack of clarity in the information provided, and welcome the opportunity to help make it right.
Pros
- Huge, Heavy and Colorful
- Short History at the Beginning of Individual Subjects
- 2000 Color Photographs
Cons
- A Listing Mistake that Bothered Me
Description
- Most of the individual subjects have a short history and reproduction alert (if necessary) preceding the easy-to-read values.
- The 2000 photographs and color pages puts this book in my list of the top books to have for collectors.
- One of the best depression pattern guides seen in a general book. The line illustrations make it easy to identify patterns.
- Wonder why you can't get "book" price for your stuff? The introduction chapter explains how the pricing works.
- Learn more about the State of the Market and why it's time to BUY!
Guide Review - Warman's Antiques & Collectibles 2008 Price Guide, 41st Edition
It's been a few years since I picked up a copy of Warman's Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide and all I can say is WOW, they've come a long way.
It's an impressive book and also important to me, the format is very easy on the eyes.
I have a few price guides that I regularly reach for on my shelves, those guides are typically the ones that make it easy to find what I am looking for, have clear colorful photographs, relevant prices and resource information about the individual categories. This book isn't even going to make it to the book shelf, it has a prominent place on the corner of the desk!
The main categories are:
ceramics (180+ pages), furniture (75+ pages), jewelry (18 pages), toys (48 pages) and over 300 pages devoted to a multitude of smaller, miscellaneous categories.
There are additional chapters educating the reader on depression glass reproductions; a depression glass thumbnail guide with 80 line illustrations and several pages devoted to the collecting and care of pottery.
Warman's gathers their prices from a variety of different sources, including auctions, dealers, antique shows, malls and flea markets. All this makes an excellent price guide to add to your library, one that you will consult time and time again, especially when you find those elusive items you may not be familiar with. Between the history provided, the pictures and prices shown, you'll quickly become a more knowledgeable collector!
*The newer 2004 Grant-Howard Pixie jars are shown in the vintage Holt-Howard section, but are not labeled as the newer jars or with the company name. I assume this will be corrected in future editions.