Customer Reviews

Blue Ridge China Traditions (A Schiffer Book for Collectors)

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I waited with anticipation for the delivery of this most recent Blue Ridge book. I was terribly disappointed.....extremely unprofessional in its overall organization, layout and quality of photos. Some pictured items have values beneath, some do not. Some are not even identified. If you were looking to identify something specific, you would nearly have to look through the whole book...I have to say that it seems more like a personal photo album with collectors holding up their prized pieces, than it seems like a guide. There is a price guide in the back that seems adequate...but if you don't know what the items look like, you're out of luck...as there are no pictures with that. I have the Blue Ridge Encyclopedia from 1989 and find that book infinitely more professional and useful despite the fact that its price list is out of date and collectors have changed some of their interests. This book truly is more like a photo album...it shows curio cabinets full of Blue Ridge pieces, often with just one or two pieces in the whole cabinet identified....if you can even see them well enough to make an identification. Often a caption asks one to "note" the presence of a certain item, but does nothing to help a newbie understand the importance of that piece! I can't imagine what the publishers were thinking. If you are a versed Blue Ridge collector, you might enjoy these snapshots and tours through collectors' display shelves...but if you are a beginner, I recommend you start with a Blue Ridge book by different authors. After reading through this book one time, I thought "Well, I don't know any more about Blue Ridge than when I started."

I have to disagree with the above review. I found the review to be totally incorrect and unfair. Blue Ridge China Today" is both a beautiful and informative book. What a great introduction to Blue Ridge! My wife and I have been collecting for many years and have been looking for such a complete guide to assist us in our Blue Ridge purchases. The authors are to be commended for their relevant and insightful descriptions of confusing patterns. We found the pictures, descriptions and prices to be very clear; easy on the eye and easy to understand! This book has been very helpful to us in helping us to build our own beautiful and valuable Blue Ridge Collection! In addition, it has encouraged our children to start their own collections! Bravo John and Frances! Well done! When are you going to send us more?

TO IDENTIFY YOUR PLATES BY NAME, YOU MUST HAVE THIS BOOK. EACH BOOK HAS NEW LISTINGS FOR NAMED PATTERNS THAT HAVE BEEN FOUND.

MINE IS SIGNED BY BOTH FRANCES AND JOHN RUFFIN AND NUMBERED.

I MET THE RUFFINS IN ATLANTA AT A SHOW AND ENJOYED VISITING WITH JOHN. I AM SELLING MY BOOKS ON BLUE RIDGE AS I AM DISPERSING MY COLLECTION.