Customer Reviews

Collecting Art Plastic Jewelry: Identification and Price Guide

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The new Collecting Art Plastic book from Leigh Leshner is full of wonderful photographs of plastic jewelry that a beginning to seasoned collector might reasonably expect to find on a jewelry treasure hunt. The photographs are larger than life to show the detail and the beauty in everything from nylon, bakelite, celluloid, lucite, and the newer resins. There is enough information of the new artists to peek your interest in searching them out. As a long time collector dealer myself, I consider it worthwhile to keep on hand as a resource in my jewelry library.

I like the mixture of the old and new plastics which give well rounded examples of various plastic jewelry available on the market today.

This book is a must if you are into collecting Art Plastic Jewellery including plastic ,celluloid , bakelite and lucite.There are beautiful large coloured photographs on every page with descriptions and a price guide. Lots of chunky bracelets, dog brooches, mah-jong bracelets, animal pins, fruit jewellery etc. Very useful if you are into collecting vintage and modern plastic jewellery but also just a lovely book to look at!

Leigh Leshner's "Collecting Art Plastic Jewelry" is a fascinating look at today's plastics artisans. Modern designers like Jackie Weeks, Judith Evans, Jim Foltz and Judy Clarke--excluded from other bakelite and plastic jewelry guides--are well-represented in this clear and interesting book. There are sections on vintage pieces, history and types of plastics as well as the requisite price guide (which seemed more accurate than other guides for this current market...), but it is the photographs and the info on the new generation of artisans that make this book a winner. A must for the serious and the casual collector.

If you are like most plastic jewelry collectors, you are tempted to snap up every new book on the subject that comes along. With such a pretty cover, this book looks promising. It doesn't deliver.
The first problem is that the author clearly does not know much about her subject. Most of the information she presents in the very slim section of the book which includes any writing at all is nothing more than a re-hash of information presented in Karima Parry's "Bakelite Bangles Price and Identification Guide" and Parry's "Bakelite Pins". In terms of identifying vintage plastics by testing, the author doesn't mention the commonly used chemical testing methods, but she carefully describes the notoriously destructive (and frowned upon by collectors) "hot pin test" which permanently damages the piece being tested.
The author clearly doesn't know much about Bakelite, as on pages 124, 137, 149, and 179 she shows pictures of bangles which she identifies as Bakelite which are either modern "Fakelite" or as on page 179 at the top; hard plastic.
The color pictures are enormous. Since none of the captions include measurements, collectors have no clue that the piece they are looking at may in reality be the size of a quarter instead of the size of a dinner plate. The few rarer pieces in the book which a collector might want to get good look at are often shown very small, while common unremarkable pieces are often given an entire page all their own.
But the biggest problem in this book is organization. There isn't any! After a short written section, the reader is treated to 200+ more pages of huge colored photos of jewelry, which is not arranged in any way that would make the book useful as a reference. The jewelry is not sorted by type or period or composition. Instead, the book resembles a haphazard collection of relatively unremarkable pieces shown in no particular order. Costume jewelry, Bakelite, Lucite, Celluloid, pins, beads, bangles, necklaces, earrings, etc. are shown, but in a hopeless jumble. Yes, there is an Index at the end of the book, but who wants to constantly pick their way through it to try to find what they are looking for? Without an organized presentation, this book is very inconvenient to use. If, for example a reader is looking to research pieces made of Lucite, they will find them sprinkled throughout the entire book, instead of arranged in a single chapter.
Although this book calls itself an "Identification and Price Guide", the author mis-identifies quite a few pieces besides the Bakelite, and the pricing is either out of date or has little basis in reality. There is no guidance for the collector whatsoever, as the author does not discuss any specific piece, or give the reader any information as to its quality, condition, age, rarity, or desirability, and how those affect the value.
A few pages of "Modern Designers" are shown, but with no discussion whatsoever. Too bad, as these are some of the most interesting pieces in the book.
It isn't difficult to spot vintage jewelry that is either made of plastic or includes plastic in it's composition. What collectors and dealers are thirsty for is information and expert guidance. In this book, Ms. Leshner does little to demonstrate that she knows much about plastic jewelry, and this disorganized picture book is of little use to a collector or dealer.

Collecting Art Plastic Jewelry by Leigh Leshner is a wonderful addition to any jewelry collector's library. The pictures are fantastic and very detailed. The book also has information and works by many of the new bakelite artists and the gorgeous photos show their contributions to the artistry and skill of working with bakelite. There are lots of examples of the vintage bakelite and plastics which will excite the experienced collectors. The book also has a identification and price guide to help new collectors with their collecting of this important jewelry art. Great book Leigh--I love it!

Barbara Wood

Great book! Wonderfully photographed and illustrated. Thank you Maurice Childs for going the extra mile to present beautiful photography. Leigh Leshner does a great job of describing the different types of plastics, identification tests, vintage designers, current modern designers, how to collect, and price guide. There is only one negative that I could possibly say about this book. I wish they had put more history included with the photographs such as the designer and manufacturer (if known), year made, and any other pertinent information. I especially liked knowing more about Judy Clarke, Jim Foltz, Ester & Ron Shultz, Karen & Howard Kronimus, Jackie Weeks, and others. A must have for your library!

This is a fabulous book for the plastic jewelry collector, and a terrific way to introduce plastics to a new admirer. The pictures are absolutely gorgeous! The text is interesting and informative. This book is a steal at the price! Highly recommended.

Grab a cup of tea and sit and enjoy every bit of this fabulous book. I could not put it down and when I did I picked it right back up. Simply luscious jewels you only dream about owning. I am always thrilled with any book Leigh puts out but this is one of the best. Anyone that does not love this book has no love for the fabulous vintage Bakelite and Lucite that can be seen and almost touched lol in this book. Well worth every penny spent and I am giving several as gifts. Instead of dreaming of lolly pops I dream of carved huge Lucite and Bakelite Bangles.
Thanks for another great book.

"Collecting Art Plastic Jewelry: Identification and Price Guide" by Leigh Leshner is informative for the novice as well as seasoned collector. The author seems to convey a keen balance between old and new plastics to give the reader ample knowledge of both. I particularly liked the price guide; it is a good gauge for individuals new to the market. I thought the photos were very well done. Thank you, Leigh.

I own all the books in Leigh Leshner's series and cannot fault Leigh for showing off great photos, great jewels and intense information. Leigh has done an excellent job with all of her books. Cannot wait to see what she has next in her jeweled magic hat. I hightly recommend all of Leigh Leshner's books. She gears them for various types of collections and you surely won't be disappointed.