Customer Reviews

The Bakelite Jewelry Book

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Bakelite Jewelry Book by Davidov and Dawes was published in 1988 and it was the first book I bought when I started collecting Bakelite jewelry many years ago. Big and beautiful, with wonderful pictures, this book does a great job of showing the variety and personality of this fun jewelry while also educating the reader about the history of Bakelite. Unfortunately, the price guide in the back is now outdated. This book is a visual feast and, even though I now have a shelf full of books on Bakelite, it is still the first book I grab when I want to check on a piece!

This was the first book on Bakelite jewelry that I ever bought, and the mouthwatering pictures wheted my appetite to start collecting Bakelite jewelry. However, after this luscious introduction, I was in for a big disappointment out in the real world. Most of the stunning pieces in this book have long since been snapped up by collectors, and in the years since I got this book I have rarely found a piece of Bakelite that appears in it. In terms of seeing some of the best of the best, Davidov shows Bakelite jewelry at it's finest. She also does much to enlighten collectors about the Bakelite jewelry industry. Although there is a rudimentary pricing guide, it is completely out of date and is of little use to today's collector. None the less, Bakelite collectors will enjoy this book. It's not a collector's guide. Instead, this beautiful book is a glorious celebration of top of the line vintage Bakelite jewelry, and a guilty pleasure to just thumb through and savor....

This is a beautifully photographed book. Shows many wonderful pieces of vintage bakelite jewelry. I can't fault it except to say, I wish it had even more examples of bakelite to look at.

I was looking forward to this book as I have the authors'book on Victorian jewellery. Although I enjoyed this book, I was disappointed there weren't more pictures, i.e, closeups of the authors bracelet collection. Nonetheless, I am delighted I have this book and look at it frequently.

Love this book! Beautiful photography and good explanation of bakelite history. A must have for a collectors library. Wish I had been involved in the publishing of this book. It must of been a delightful ride to see all the vintage bakelite. Like being in a candy store. Corinne Davidov and Ginny Redington Dawes did a wonderful job. But please invite me next time, okay? :-)

Fun to look at the pictures of some fabulous Bakelite. If you collcect Bakelite, you should have this book.

From the email add I received from Amazon.com suggesting I buy this, I was under the impression that it was a new book. Since I had read two other books by the same authors and found them excellent (one on lesser-known varieties of Victorian jewelry and the other on Georgian jewelry), I expected this book to be equally terrific. However, it turns out that it was written much earlier, and there is less text (and that less informative) than is found in the other works. The photographs are still superb, but I found the information less helpful than that in the authors' other books. For one thing, the price guide is outdated, but for another, it is much more difficult to decide where in the guide any pieces the reader might have at hand would fit in. It is still an enjoyable book, but is more along the lines of a coffee-table book than a reference or educational volume. I do strongly urge the readers of this review to check out the other books by these women.