Featured Useful books and the rest!

Looked at our collection of reference books and, rather than admiring the learned ones, considered which ones we use regularly. They only partly reflect the mix of things we buy to resell (mainly ceramics/glass/ephemera/collectables/clocks). The surprising outcome was that we only regularly consult a tiny fraction of the books we own, which doesn't say much for our book buys!





Top 5 books used:

1. Bradbury's book of hallmarks (because there is often a silver item in lots bought)
   
2. Encyclopedia of British Pottery & Porcelain Marks (Godden- still useful despite the internet)
3. British Studio Potters Marks (Yates Owen & Fournier - identifying studio pottery can be a nightmare but can be surprisingly rewarding)
4. British Tea & Coffee cups (Steven Goss - a Shire booklet and I wish I had a better book! Recommendations please! Used to get an approximate date based on cup and handle shapes)
5. Collectable clocks (Shenton- recent addition and just beginning to be used regularly)

If the list was longer we would include glass reference books, E Benezit Dictionnaire des Peintres etc, and Welsh porcelain books. The latter as we tend to buy unidentified early porcelain and our location makes finding a Nantgarw or Swansea piece slightly more likely.

However my books on jewellery languish largely unconsulted as I cant justify lot prices. And why I have 3 different Faberge guides remains an unsolved mystery.

Colemans Dolls always disappoints, as I can never find the maker details in there and have to resort to the internet.

And all the Miller's and other price guides have been discarded as irrelevant.

Latest buy is the Horolovar 400 day clock ID Repair Guide, hopefully helpful in identifying the more valuable anniversary clocks.

Which leaves several shelves full of interesting reference books which I may refer to once in a blue moon

 

There is a "Reference Books" thread pinned to the top of this Antique Discussion board. Seeing that will be easily findable in the future, I wonder whether you'd be willing to post this list there?

 

There are similar specialized lists posted at the top of some of the boards here, like the Pottery, Glass, & Porcelain board and the Jewelry board.

 

Ah Fig, sorry, I saw that post and that no one had posted books there apart from Peter, so I chickened out!

I'll post the list there, my point was not so much that these books are that good, it was more that I keep going back to them for IDing and leaving loads on the shelf.

 

Yes, I noticed nobody else had posted there. And he started the thread years ago, before this site was re-initiated in 2014. So we just were not in the habit. I'll try to remember to post something!