Americana Books

It's a Wonderful Christmas: The Best of the Holidays 1940-1965

Susan Waggoner

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harry N. Abrams Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $9.62

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 25 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Even now that we're all grown up, we can't help but look back on our childhood holidays and hope to recapture that elusive spirit of joyful anticipation. Celebrating Christmas is so often about nostalgia. With a nod and a wink to the days of Christmas past, It's a Wonderful Christmas presents classic images of the Yuletide icons of mid-20th-century America.

Bubbler lights and glow-in-the-dark icicles. Catalogues crammed with toys. Norad bulletins tracking Rudolph's red nose through the nighttime sky. Along with hundreds of such quintessentially American illustrations, author Susan Waggoner stocking-stuffs her lively text with fascinating bits of information, lore, and lists. Wonder what the all-time most popular Christmas song is? How the tradition of the department store Santa got started? The answers are here. Loaded with images of vintage Christmas cards, wrapping paper, magazine ads, Lionel toy trains, and more, all in full color, this charming book will appeal to anyone who associates Christmas with home movies, "The Chipmunk Song," and Santa relaxing with an ice-cold bottle of Coca-Cola. AUTHOR BIO: SUSAN WAGGONER is the author of several illustrated books, including Vintage Cocktails (STC). A native of Minnesota, she currently lives in New York City.

The Urban Treasure Hunter: A Practical Handbook for Beginners

Michael Chaplan

Amazon Price: $12.89 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Square One Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 27 new & used starting at $12.13

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Best book for new treasure hunters 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.

I am just beginning my hobby with a metal detector. I purchased several books on treasure hunting and this is by far the best. It has a broad range of extremely useful information. By all means start with this book if you too are a beginner. Most of the other books I bought had a lot of fluff. This book has a ton of useful information and guidance.

The metal detectors guide book 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This book is an invaluable resource for the beginner and even the intermediate detectorist. It has filled me with new ideas of where and how to search for lost valuables and coins. The tidbits on history and archeology were most interesting.

Great book with lots of tips 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

No matter what your treasure, be it coins, bottles, or somethisg else, this book has great tips on where and how to find it. I originally bought a copy for my son and was so impressed that I bought another copy for myself.

Hoping for more 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I was hoping for a little more technical stuff with this book. It talks
about old buildings, privies, new construction sites, and etc. to look for
things. I wanted techniques in the handling of the detector. Not so much as
where to go. To me, it's a book about common sense. Overall, I would
recommend it. It is helpful in a few areas.

1000 Pin-Up Girls (25th Anniversary Special Edtn)

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Taschen Amazon Marketplace: 18 new & used starting at $10.19

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

better than nothing 3 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

This book is flawed but if you want the covers from Robert Harrison's magazines by famous pin-up artists this is good. One problem is the cropped covers that prevent the reader from seeing the whole effect. The images also cover the full page so there is no white margin to absorb finger marks and other edge damage from use without harming the image. Taschen should have focused on the pin-up artists rather than trying to make a book cover all of Robert Harrison's magazines. By changing focus to the artists they could have dumped the black and white photos and shrunk the book. They then could have published full covers in an oversized book.

Taschen has published the same material in two other books but they are also flawed. First, is the original volume "Girlie Magazines." With 60 fewer pages it is a significantly thicker volume because the pages are thicker. While "1000 Pin-Ups is a good value, in my opinion "Girlie Magazines" remains the better book, with better paper quality. Second, is a small selection of covers from "Girlie Magazines" titled "Pin-Ups" in the Icons Series by Giles Neret. I would just buy a good used version of "Girlie Magazines" for a little more and get 3-4X the illustrations.

Editorial Review:

"Girls, Gags & Giggles" - this was publisher Robert Harrison's recipe for dishing up the American pin-up to the U.S. male. In the 1950s, his girlie magazines sold by the millions, before becoming icons of pulp and trash culture.These skilfully illustrated girls with their curvaceous forms and inviting lingerie soon overtook America's national dessert, in terms of popularity, and even developed considerable potential as a cultural export during the 1940s. 'Never show everything,' was always the motto. Smiling prettily at the camera, the models exuded just the right amount of sex appeal without seeming too sophisticated or artful. They were the 'girls next door' whose wholesome attraction soon made one forget the magazines' deliberately trashy presentation. Their rosy complexions and innocent allures still titillate even in an age when far more graphic material is the norm. This is for everyone who enjoys pin-ups, push-ups and pulp style!

1897 Sears Roebuck & Co. Catalogue

Amazon Price: $12.21 List Price: $17.95 By: Skyhorse Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 13 new & used starting at $10.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A portal to another time 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is utterly fascinating for those who hold any sort of interest in bygone times. While not a step-by-step guide, it inadvertantly thrusts the reader into the role of a home owner of limited means in the late 1800s. You find yourself shopping, suckered in by the richly worded item desciptions and enticed by the promises of "best on the market," "guaranteed for a lifetime," and "will cure all diseases of the nervous system."

Unconsciously, you create your own little shopping list and envision a home where the husband builds everything from the buggy to the bathrooms while the wife prepares all the meals and pretties herself with skin whiteners and hair lotions.

I am so glad to have bought this catalogue. I use it as a writing prompt for my high school students, to encourage creative and analytical thought, and they delight in it. I implore everyone to investigate this book.

Editorial Review:

Imagine it’s the end of the nineteenth century, and, with one catalog, you can buy everything from beds and tools to clothing and opium. (Yes, opium.) Not to mention ear trumpets, horse buggies, and Bibles. The 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalogue is both a wonderfully fascinating collector’s item and a valuable piece of American history. For every recognizable item included, there are plenty of others guaranteed to confuse or interest 21st century readers—like Bust Cream or Food and Sweet Spirits of Nitre. What was once standard household fare is today a sometimes strange, often funny look at what life was once like for the average American family. It’s amazing to see that a Princely Shirt for Princely Men cost $0.95 or three for $2.75 or that a Complete Violin Outfit (with bow and case) cost only $2.00.

Route 66 Lost & Found: Ruins and Relics Revisited

Russell A. Olsen

Amazon Price: $19.77 List Price: $29.95 In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served. By: MBI Amazon Marketplace: 11 new & used starting at $19.77

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Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Travel -> United States -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Travel -> United States -> West
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Lost and Found 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Both volume one and two are very interesting and well researched books.
I traveled Route 66 a couple of years ago and reading the book was fascinating- now I know how many locations I went sailing past without a clue!
When I next get a chance to do a repeat journey, I shall certainly re-read the books very thoroughly and travel slower so as not to miss such historic scenes.

Very disapointed 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 15 people found this review helpful.

I was very disapointed with this book. I was hoping to get some information about route 66 as it is today, but it's all but gone now.

What made it a bad book for me is they showed how it used to be then should it as it is today. I just wanted to cry. It would have been all right if they just showed the old or the new, but the before and after just about killed me emotionally.

Editorial Review:

Russell Olsen. This engaging look at the 'Mother Road' takes 75 locations along its 2,297-mile route and shows them first during their halcyon heydays through black-and-white photographs and period postcards, then on the facing page as they appear today.

The Art and Flair of Mary Blair

John Canemaker

Amazon Price: $26.40 List Price: $40.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Disney Editions Amazon Marketplace: 40 new & used starting at $22.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Mary Blair rocked. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Beautiful and unique look into the life and developed portfolio of a retro animator. This book is nostalgic, child-like awe packaged. Wonderfully whimsical images.

It's a Small World Legend 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

When I visited Disneyland last year with my daughter I expected to fall in love all over again with various attractions at the park: Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Carousel. I honestly didn't expect to fall in love all over again with "It's a Small World" but I did.
I had already heard the name, Mary Blair, but I didn't know anything about her so I decided to research her online and I found this book.
What an incredible artist she was! John Cane tells her story and her contributions to everything Disney. She was an incredible artist! Her works now sell for many hundreds of dollars. It's too bad that she didn't live long enough to see herself become famous. Like most artists, she became famous after her death. At any rate, here is the story of the woman who created so much of the Disney magic. It's very well illistrated and an enjoyable read.

Editorial Review:

For more than a dozen years, an unassuming, quiet-spoken woman dominated Disney design. The stylishness and vibrant color of Disney films in the early 1940s through mid-1950s came primarily from artist Mary Blair. In her prime, she was an amazingly prolific American artist who enlivened and influenced the not-so-small worlds of film, print, theme parks, architectural decor, and advertising. At its core, her art represented joyful creativity and communicated pure pleasure to the viewer. Her exuberant fantasies brimmed with beauty, charm, and wit, melding a child's fresh eye with adult experience. Blair's personal flair comprised the imagery that flowed effortlessly and continually for more than a half a century from her brush. Emulated by many, she remains inimitable: a dazzling sorceress of design and color.

Petretti's Coca-Cola Collectibles Price Guide: The Encyclopedia of Coca-Cola Collectibles (Petretti's Coca-Cola Collectibles Price Guide)

Allan Petretti

Amazon Price: $31.49 List Price: $49.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Krause Publications Amazon Marketplace: 5 new & used starting at $31.49

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Fed Up With This One, Too 2 out of 5 stars.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

Right off the bat: I agree that the omission of blotters and assorted other collectibles from this guide is a gaping omission as big as a barn. I hardly use this guide anymore for several reasons:

1) The back index is as bad as they come. Totally incomplete.

2) You want to find a certain tray? Be prepared to bounce from one end of the book to the other looking for what you need. There is no apparent logic to the way this guide is arranged. I'm sure the author felt it was completely logical, but his logic escapes me.

3) The front index is just painful to figure out. There is a usability book out there called "Don't Make Me Think". The author of this Coke guide should study it.

4) Too much rhetoric and opinion about "fantasy" items. I find this section of the guide painful to sift through. Just the facts, please. And then there's the illogical order of everything .

The best that can be said about this guide is that it's big. It is poorly organized and has way too many omissions to be my primary guide. If a 12th edition ever comes out, I'm going to check it out before buying, to see if these problems have been fixed.

I much prefer Wilsons' guide over this one.

Editorial Review:

Chapter by colorful chapter of Coca-Cola calendars, serving trays, bottles, signs, vintage advertisements, toys, coolers, dispensers and countless other items representing the foremost name in soda pop collectibles await you, in this new edition of the superior Coca-Cola collectibles identification and values reference.

Eric Sloane's An Age of Barns: An Illustrated Review of Classic Barn Styles and Construction

Eric Sloane

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Voyageur Press Amazon Marketplace: 31 new & used starting at $8.75

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

I have a barn 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

and I understand that barn so much better now that I have read this book. Sloane gives a brief overview of the history of barns, regional types of barns, and even the tools to raise a barn. A lovely book.

Nice book, but not Sloane's best 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This has some interesting history of early barns, especially those of New England. Drawings are well done, as usual. If you are interested in barns west of the Mississippi look elsewhere.

Editorial Review:

This is a re-issue of Sloane's classic folksy history of barn folklore, architecture, and history, which has been out of print for twenty years. "Eric Sloane's An Age of Barns" is filled with fabulous black-and-white illustrations from this great American artist. Covering all types of American and Canadian barns and everything associated with them-implements and tools, hex signs, silos, out buildings, hinges, barn raising, and more-"Eric Sloane's An Age of Barns" is a spectacular album tribute to this important facet of our architecture and agriculture. This book is sure to once again become a collector's item.

Classic Cowboy Stories: Eighteen Extraordinary Tales of the Old West (Classic)

Michael McCoy

Amazon Price: $9.95 List Price: $9.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: The Lyons Press Amazon Marketplace: 31 new & used starting at $3.64

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Enjoyable Cowboy Stories - both fiction and biography 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Michael McCoy has compiled an enjoyable collection of eighteen cowboy tales written in the late 1800s and early 1900s. I had expected Classic Cowboy Stories to be entirely fictional short stories. However, many entries are chapters taken from novels, biographies, and travel writings. McCoy was careful in his choices; these selections function quite effectively as independent stories. There is no sense of fragmentation or incompleteness.

Several authors were familiar like Owen Wister, Theodore Roosevelt, Frederic Remington, Zane Grey, and O. Henry, but most were new to me, including William MacLeod Raine, Clarence Mulford, Isabella Bird, F. R. Buckley, B. M. Bowers, Frank Benton, Bill Nye, Stewart Edward White, Eugene Rhodes, and Emerson Hough. For those that are counting, there are only fifteen authors; Owen Wister, Zane Grey, and O. Henry each had two selections.

I quite enjoyed these varied stories and I now make a few predictions. First, at some point I will return to this collection and read these stories again. Second, I will track down and read the sources of several of the biographical selections, particularly Theodore Roosevelt's Ranch Life and the Hunting-Trail (1888), Isabella L. Bird's A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains (1879), and Frederick Remington's Pony Tracks (1895). And third, I will once again read those two classic westerns, Owen Wister's The Virginian and Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage.

Editorial Review:

Roping a buffalo, running off cattle rustlers, sitting out a winter storm in a cave-adventures like these were all part of everyday life for the cowboy. They're depicted here in stories that have stood the test of time, by writers whose words are just as funny and wise today as they were one hundred years ago.
Covering all corners of the great Western expanse-from Montana to Mexico, California to the Mississippi-the stories in this collection represent not just the Anglo male perspective but also that of the blacks, Mexicans, and women who made their lives on the range. It features works by Owen Wister, Theodore Roosevelt, Frederic Remington, Isabella L. Bird, Nat Love, Bill Nye, Charlie Siringo, Zane Grey, Andy Adams, Mark Twain, E. Mulford, O. Henry (creator of the Cisco Kid), and many others, including some surprises by little-known authors.

A Museum of Early American Tools

Eric Sloane

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 36 new & used starting at $12.84

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I would have to say this is one of my best books! The pen and ink drawings a wonderful. So well writen with so much information. I just finished reading this again and feel like going and useing some of the tools in there that i own! I love working with wood and other materials in the American way. Some of the tecniques he dessribes are so ture an i use the all the time! If u love America and/or hand tools, you must own this book.

Great Art 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Eric Sloane doing what he does best. The illustrations are superb as usual and so are the descriptions of how the tools were used. This book is bound to make you think differently the next time you are at a yard sale or fleamarket standing in front of a bunch of old rusty tools.

Very informative 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I love tools, especially old tools and I found this book to be a treasure trove of information. As the title claims, it is a museum. For every tool there are one or two drawings and a short blurb on the tools were used and made - frequently I want more detail than this, but it is a starting place, just as any museum. For the price, this book is a good value for any lover of old tools.

Editorial Review:

Fresh, informal, direct, and expressive, A MUSEUM OF EARLY AMERICAN TOOLS covers early tools and the wooden and metal artifacts that our forefathers made with them. Including dozens of pen-and-ink sketches.