Customer Reviews

Fiesta, Harlequin, & Kitchen Kraft Dinnerwares: The Homer Laughlin China Collectors Association Guide (A Schiffer Book for Collectors)

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This is the definitive text on Fiestaware®, Harlequin® and Kitchen Kraft. It was written for collectors by collectors (the combined efforts of the Homer Laughlin China Collectors Association.)

The book has insightful, smart and readable text that was reviewed by experts for accuracy. Each piece is illustrated with gorgeous, professional full-color photos, scale line drawings and details on its manufacture.

Homer Laughlin gave the authors unprecedented access to the original journals of Franklin Rhead, the original designer behind Fiestaware® and Harlequin®, and it shows.

This is more of a textbook than a guide. I find myself using it constantly. For Fiesta and Harlequin® collectors there is no equal.

This book, by far and away, is THE BEST for the collector of Homer Laughlin colourware. It has an amazing amount of detail and answers almost every question a person could ask about the dishes named in the title. Measured line drawings are an invaluable help for both the novice and seasoned collector. And it is quite a treat to see photos of nearly every piece in all glaze colours. I found the price guide to be a major improvement over most, as each piece is priced individually by colour.

Readers are treated to a wonderfully accurate history of the dishes. Several rumours that have circulated among the collecting community over the years are laid to rest. The fact that the authors had access to both Frederick Rhead's journals and the HLC modeling logs resulted in a book that is sure to become "The Fiesta Bible".

It is quite refreshing to be able to consult a reference for information, and know that it is factual and free of some author's prejudice and innuendo. This particular book sets a new standard for what collectors' books should be. A MUST BUY!!!

This is a fine quality coffee table type book, with heavy paper and nice color reproduction. If you are an advanced collector who owns every book about Fiesta as well as every piece of Fiesta, you will want this book.

If you are a new collector who has absolutely no idea what any thing is, have no assortment of Fiesta to look at as you read and have no spatial visualization skills, you will want this book because it very pedantically gives every measurement every which way so that you can figure out that your plate that measures 9 5/8 inches is ... surprise commonly called the 9" luncheon plate, and not some "rare, unknown, experimental" due to that extra 5/8". In fact, if you are given to such flights of imagination, especially when pricing your items for sale, please buy this book.

If you are the average collector who falls in the middle, who has seen a set or two of Fiesta, or owns some already, who knows the difference between a bowl and a cup, the tried and true Huxford book, also out at this time in a new edition at about ... and in stock at ..., is the more standardly used alternative, and the one that all but the most novice collector would probably find the better value.

If you are a beginning collector of Fiesta, Harlequin or Kitchen Kraft, this book will be an excellent source of information, particularly with regard to colors, dimensions and marks, the most commomly asked questions. If you are a more advaned collector, there is still a wealth of information to be found in this reference. The inclusion of dimensions for each piece is a subtantial improvement over most collectors guides to dinnerware. An absolute must own for the Fiesta or Harlequin collector!

If you are a serious collector of Fiesta or Harlequin, or if you are just begining to collect, this book is an absolute must own. The inclusion of dimensions for each piece is a substantial improvement over other guides. It is comprehensive, well researched and well organized. Don't go antiquing without it!

This is an excellent resource for those interested in the products and history of the Homer Laughlin pottery. The color photos are outstanding; the information on the going prices for pieces of pottery is thorough and can be used to look at the prices of what people are charging on EBay and other sites. This is a "must buy" for any one interested in pottery, dishes, and history.

Given all the hype that has been sounded off about this book, I guess my expectations were far too high. I expected something that would make me throw away my Snyder book for the pictures, stop constantly using my Huxford for the information and become enraptured with this one... sorry folks. I found the "one item to a page" thing a little too overdone and self important. Really, MORE information on LESS pages at a LOWER cost would have been much preferred. At 39.95, it is unlikely that I will buy the next (inevitible) edition...- I mean, just how many photos of a single item, followed by a line drawing of the same item, do you need to see?... Huxfords have always kept prices at around $20 per each edition update.... at $40 I would rather buy a piece of Fiesta than (a second edition of) this book. If you can, buy it used or borrow it.