Customer Reviews

Popular Art Deco Lighting: Shades of the Past (Schiffer Book for Collectors)

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

For years I've wished there were a good, richly illustrated reference book on Deco lamps. Usually, I had to content myself with just a single chapter in other books on Deco. Finally, there's this book! Marvelous photos on every page. I suspect some of the estimated values are a bit high, but perhaps, in time, the rest of the market will catch up to them. Regardless, anyone interested in Deco lighting needs this one on their shelves.

In our search for the perfect slip shade chandelier, we have referred to this book time and time again. We have found several fixtures from the book on Ebay. It is an excellent compendium of art deco light fixtures and, although the prices stated are on the high side, gives us a good idea of rarity and value. Highly recommended.

Although this book is the best resource of its kind, I do have two minor whines. First, few of the pictures are accompanied by the manufacturer or a definitive date produced (most have a date range). Second, a few of the pictures (although it is a small percentage) are of poor quality.

For anyone who is a beginner or a serious collector of deco lighting, this book is a must. The pictures are beautiful. I have purchased several old lamps for restoration. I now have a better idea of how the finish might have looked as well as the appropriate shade. Well worth the dollars spent. You might be surprised to find out just how much Aunt Lucy's old spelter lamp goes for on the antique circuit.

I was very anxious to get this book, because I wanted to get a professional insight on various art deco lamps. When the book arrived I was not only dissapointed but also very embarassed for the authors as well as for those people who pay the suggested $49.95 for it. The quality of the photographs is even worse than homemade. The images are blurry, you only guess how the materials the lamps are made of look in reality, the description is terrible. I don't have to pay so much to find out that the lamps were made in the time range from 1910-1950, I would prefer to know the exact year (OK, plus/minus 2 years), the price range is also taken out of the thin air. Where did it come from? On ebay, for example the prices for those lamps range from $1- to $10,000
There was no history about what kind of lamp styles were typical for this or that country.
The quality of introduction article is that of a teenager's school paper.
It is a total rip off for the diletant's attempt to turn a buck on anything.
The authors should stick to their fleamarket sunday sales rather than pretending to be some "scholars".

What a disappointment for the price! While I am accustomed to Schiffer Books being mostly lacking in scholarship, this one was the worst. About 99% of the examples photographed have no manufacturer listed, and nor does the book list any. Since these are 20th century lamps, I would think that some catalogue or information about the respective companies would be available. Moreover, their prices--where do they come from? Their own gallery? Auction houses? Thin air? They don't state their sources. This book was not helpful unless you want to look at pictures. I'm sorry I bought it.