20th Century Glass (DK Collector's Guides) [Hardcover]

Judith Miller (Author), Mark Hill (Author)

Book Description

Series: DK Collector's Guides | Publication Date: October 4, 2004

Exploring one of the fastest growing collecting areas, the DK Collector's Guides: 20th Century Glass covers all the designers, designs, and movements that are regularly collected. From Art Deco and Studio Glass to Bohemian and Scandinavian, the book has over 1,110 individually priced items.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Running from vases and bowls to lamps and outright sculpture, this collector’s guide highlights notable glassware of the past century that transcends the pedestrian and has proven to be fine art. Miller, an antiques expert and co-founder of the bestselling Miller’s Antiques Price Guide, organizes the book primarily by type of glass (e.g., blown, pressed, iridescent), but she also includes concise histories of glass designers and factories. She provides illustrated looks at the hallmark traits of each style as well as carefully captioned examples of select pieces from each genre. Collectors will love the fact that she estimates the value of each piece shown in the book: Tiffany & Co Crocus table lamp, $30,000-$40,000; green glass dragon paperweight $30-50. Such price estimates establish Miller’s book as an important research and educational tool, and may send even casual readers running about to appraise the items in their homes. As thorough as it is, the book isn’t written with much sparkle. But die-hard collectors will hardly be looking for lyric verse in this volume—they’ll be looking for information, and this book unquestionably gives them that. 1,000+ illustrations.
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About the Author

Judith Miller is the creator of the best-selling Miller's Antiques Price Guide and has written more than 80 books on antiques, including the DK Collector Guides and the Collectibles Price Guides.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT (October 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756605253
• ISBN-13: 978-0756605254
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #843,829 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Judith Miller began collecting in the 1960s while a student at Edinburgh University in Scotland. She has since extended and reinforced her knowledge of antiques and design through international research, becoming one of the world's leading experts in the field. In 1979 she co-founded the international bestseller Miller's Antiques Price Guide and has since written more than 100 books, which are held in high regard by collectors and dealers. Judith Miller appears regularly on TV and radio. She is an expert on the BBC's "Antiques Roadshow" and co-hosts the popular BBC TV series "The House Detectives," "ITV's "Antiques Trail," and Discovery's "It's Your Bid." She has appeared on "The Martha Stewart Show" and CNN. She is a regular lecturer and contributor to numerous newspapers and magazines, including Financial Times, BBC Homes & Antiques and House & Garden. She has lectured extensively, including at the V&A in London and the Smithsonian in Washington.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transparent goodies, October 31, 2004

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 20th Century Glass (DK Collector's Guides) (Hardcover)

I think this may well become the standard reference guide for glass collectors. Beautifully designed, accessible and I thought very comprehensive in its coverage. Starting with blown and cased glass then pressed and moulded, iridescent, enamelled, painted, stained, engraved and finally cut glass. Each of these sections is broken down into national styles, for instance, the Scandinavian section of blown and cased glass covers Kosta Boda, Orrefors, Holmegaard, Riihimaki and Karhula-Iittala. All the glass shown has a caption that includes a dimension and price guide. The back of the book includes a glossary, dealer and museum addresses and that all-important index.

A particularly interesting chapter is the last one, contemporary and studio glass. Eighty-two artists are featured with one or two examples of their work. This is beautiful fine art glass and with some items it is hard to believe that they are made out of such a brittle substance. Predictably, there is not much in this section costing less than a thousand dollars.

I think it is worth commenting on the presentation. All the pages are very cleanly designed with typographic clarity for the main text, captions, key dates and designer information. The photos (over a 1,100) are presented as cutouts and almost jump off the page, all this glass looks just stunning.

BTW. The main US publishers of collector's books should study '20th-Century Glass', this is what highly visual titles should look like!

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, March 24, 2006

By 

Assaf - See all my reviews

This review is from: 20th Century Glass (DK Collector's Guides) (Hardcover)

A very good selection of designers and examples. I miss more elaborate explanations about the technics used in glass production. Images are in very good quality and the colors are vivid and beutifull. Very recomended for an overall study of 20th. century glass art.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I found an alternative, May 2, 2010

By 

LD (Colorado) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: 20th-Century Glass (Dk Collectors Guide) (Hardcover)

I did not buy this book but I was originally very tempted. I give it 5 stars because I like Judith Miller books and she does a great job on 20th century glass in this book. I ordered the book from the library. I am not a collector- I wanted some nice color photos of European glass from 1600-1920. I have books focusing on etched glass so I was looking for enameled, Bohemian, multi-colored, stemware, gilded, and painted pieces. This book is limited to 20th century mimicry of earlier styles that were more finely detailed. I purchased Miller's Collecting Glass-The facts at Your Fingertips" and the Antique Collector's Club "Starting to Collect Antique Glass" by John Sandon. These books are smaller but have good sized, distinct photos with the details so you can enjoy turning the pages. Both cover similar glass but the authors' choice for what to show as examples differs. Between the two I ended up with a wonderful reference set with many examples from the same maker, style, or era. There are lots of differences between the books so I can not say that one is better than the other. My choice to not buy this Judith Miller book was based solely on my desire to look at antiques and their more intricate details compared to modern glass. 20th Century Glass differed from the others by titling the pages with the manufacturers name or the style of glass. It was the easier to reference. So if you collect modern glass, this is a great book for information including tips. For a broader perspective, I have given you some options.