Customer Reviews

All-Bisque & Half-Bisque Dolls

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I love this book. It is that simple. Angione herself is quality through and through. Not only is she an expert on the topic she writes about but she is an expert writer. With total generousity she endeavers to explain to the rest of us the history of bisque doll making so that we can fully understand how to evaluate the individual items we come in contact with. I found her book invaluable in forming a foundation upon which to build. No other book I looked at helped me sort through the wealth of information out there and begin to make sense of it all. Her references and page numbers are accurate too - a rarity in the doll book world where so many of them reference a page and what you are looking for is not there. My only complaint about this book? I wish she had had the budget to have larger and individual photos of her examples placed right next to the information. However, the quality of this book is so superior to much of what is written today, that I am forgiving of this one small flaw. Show me an author of bisque dolls today who has genuinely written to educate and generously share their knowledge. In reading her book, I came to know the quality in Angione.

Bisque and half-bisque dolls are attractive collectibles, but the market, especially for the smaller sizes, is full of confusion and dealers who don't know bisque from china. Angione had the topic covered. Even if she hadn't been an authoritative and experienced collector, her personal memories of the social context of many of the dolls would be worth the price. I personally think her views on Japanese bisques are overly harsh; but I wouldn't give two pins for an authority who isn't openly opinionated about something. Carry your ax where everybody can see it, instead of pretending you don't have one to grind, and you won't mislead anyone. If you have this book and Nippon Dolls and Playthings: Identification and Values by Joan F. Van Patten and Linda Lau (Collector Books, 2001), you are better equipped to start collecting bisque dolls than most dealers are to sell them.

Interested in making contact with those who remember the author Genevieve, and/or photographer, Charles. Signed: Pauline Angione

Pauline's daughter here. Forgot to give you contact info. I can be reached at: pauline@angione.com