Kovels' Know Your Antiques, Revised and Updated [Paperback]

Ralph Kovel (Author), Terry Kovel (Author)

Book Description

Series: Kovel's Know Your Antiques | Publication Date: December 12, 1990

The advice you need from the source you know -- the Kovels.

For every collector who wants to know how to evaluate, purchase, and care for antiques and collectibles, this revised and updated edition of Kovels' Know Your Antiques will be a valuable companion.

With more than 300 photographs and line drawings, a clear, concise text, and extensive up-to-date bibliographies, this book will help you determine if there is anything of value in the inherited belongings of Aunt May, or whether that zealously guarded Stradivarius violin is genuine or fake.

Kovels' Know Your Antiques covers everything from pottery, silver, and glass to furniture, prints, and rugs. The Kovels show how a tape measure and magnet can help prove the age of antique furniture, how to test for old silver with a fingernail, how to date cut glass and porcelain by their marks, and much more.

This book also contains a list of current price guides, publications, and collector clubs that provide additional help and information. With Kovels' Know Your Antiques, you will learn how to buy almost any antique with a shrewd eye toward present and future value.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"What the Kovels don't know about antiques isn't worth knowing."
--House Beautiful

"The Kovels are arguably the authorities on antiques and collectibles in this country."
--Los Angeles Times

"As millions already know, any book carrying the Kovel byline will be as reliable, informative, and fact-filled as any collector could wish."        
--American Country Collectibles

From the Inside Flap

The advice you need from the source you know -- the Kovels.

For every collector who wants to know how to evaluate, purchase, and care for antiques and collectibles, this revised and updated edition of Kovels' Know Your Antiques will be a valuable companion.

With more than 300 photographs and line drawings, a clear, concise text, and extensive up-to-date bibliographies, this book will help you determine if there is anything of value in the inherited belongings of Aunt May, or whether that zealously guarded Stradivarius violin is genuine or fake.

Kovels' Know Your Antiques covers everything from pottery, silver, and glass to furniture, prints, and rugs. The Kovels show how a tape measure and magnet can help prove the age of antique furniture, how to test for old silver with a fingernail, how to date cut glass and porcelain by their marks, and much more.

This book also contains a list of current price guides, publications, and collector clubs that provide additional help and information. With Kovels' Know Your Antiques, you will learn how to buy almost any antique with a shrewd eye toward present and future value.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Random House Reference; Rev Upd edition (December 12, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517578069
• ISBN-13: 978-0517578063
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,090,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well organized and informative., July 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Kovels' Know Your Antiques, Revised and Updated (Paperback)

This book offers excellent and basic information on a cross-section of antiques as well as odds and ends. It is well organized and easy to read. I started to just scan it but found each section I would begin, too interesting, so I would finish reading that particular section. Worthwhile for the novice and those who are open to picking up some new information.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Covers a lot of territory, June 11, 2003

By 

Bob Feeser "MillCrafters.com" (Springfield, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kovels' Know Your Antiques, Revised and Updated (Paperback)

Antiques and collectibles covers such a vast array of knowledge, that no one book could ever cover it all. This book is an excellent resource for someone like myself who wants to get his feet wet. I covers a lot of topics lightly. They include: Pottery and Porcelain, Glass, Bottles, Furniture and furniture construction, Lighting Devices, Silver, Pewter, Tinware and Toleware, Clocks, Needlework, Jewelry, Prints, Paintings, and Pictures to Hang, Paper Antiques, Store stuff (that is what they called that chapter), Books, Music, Toys, and other collectible items.
I was interested in learning more about French Provincial furniture, and several other furniture types were covered-briefly. I learned that if you want to get a good deal of information about any one type of item, it is best to consult a book that specializes in that area. A short paragraph, or page or two about something really scratches the surface. Most likely the specific piece you have in mind will not be covered.
This is a great book for general education. After all, you never know what you will stumble on that is of great value, and is ready to be given away. I think collecting is a matter of, if you really like it, then it is for you. It is just as well to know how much it is worth, and where it came from, and how old it is. In a general sense, this book will give that all to you. A nice read for someone like myself who is not seasoned in antiquity.
A lot of museums, historical societies, and collectors helped to provide the information that is in this book. Highly recommended.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars General Info, June 26, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kovels' Know Your Antiques, Revised and Updated (Paperback)

Good general info, but not enough entries or detail. Photos are bad.