Spiffy Kitchen Collectibles [Paperback]

Brian Alexander (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 5, 2003

A guide devoted to postwar collectible kitchen gadgets, plastic house wares and accessories, especially appealing to dealers, decorators, designers and historians. It features over 1200 colour photographs of vintage advertisements and magazine covers, as well as full listings and prices.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

In the 1990s Brian S. Alexander set out to redecorate his home in a style that closely mimics the 1950s, exposing himself to all types of kitchen gadgets and household items of the period. His interests as a collector took him to numerous antique malls, shops, flea markets, shows, and on more than a few Internet excursions. As Brian's collections grew, he thought someday he might write a book on the subject, and in 2001 he signed up with a motivational program focusing on long put off ?someday projects? Through the Chicago Tribune. He presently works as an architect in Gurnee, Illinois and has homes in Evanston, Illinois and Michigan City, Indiana.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Krause Publications (September 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873496884
• ISBN-13: 978-0873496889
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #905,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #96 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Kitchenware

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fabulous Book!, October 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Spiffy Kitchen Collectibles (Paperback)

Excuse the enthusiasm, but Spiffy Kitchen Collectibles is an amazing book. It's accurate, informative and beautiful. And on top of that, it's a hoot. Filled with more than 1,000 full-color pictures of kitchen gadgets of all kinds, the book is part identification guide, part price guide and part stroll down memory lane. Covering Post World War II kitchen ware, the book includes hundreds of period magazine advertisements, helping to put the collectibles in context. Visually, it's brilliant. Some of the pictures are small but that's only because there are so many included. You don't have to be a collector to enjoy this book. But if you are, you'll find the book handier than an Ecko egg beater. Buy it. Read it. Enjoy.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Warning--this is the same as the Warmans Kitschy Kitchen Collectibles Field Guide, June 8, 2006

By 

Heidi German "hjm8" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spiffy Kitchen Collectibles (Paperback)

I just recieved Spiffy Kitchen Collectibles and was quite disappointed to find out that it is exactly the same graphics and photographs as contained in the Warmans Kitschy Kitchen Collectibles Field Guide, just in larger format. I saw they were by the same author, but didn't think they'd be exactly the same inside!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My ma had one of those, January 7, 2008

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spiffy Kitchen Collectibles (Paperback)

What a delightful slice of Americana. I'm interested in mid-century America especially suburban living and this book captures a little bit of this so well. Look through the pages and it's clear that the author (and publisher) have taken some editorial effort to produce an interesting book. I was particularly pleased to see that this is not the usual dull looking, badly designed collectors book, full of amateur snaps of objects sitting on a table with several presented on the page as square photos.

The thirty-eight chapters probably include every popular kitchen gadget available at the time (all nicely presented as cutouts though missing light grey shadow effect that really would have completed each image) but nicely there are included period magazine covers, ads, pages from manufactures brochures and other graphics. Another thing I liked about the book is the addition of the packaging the utensils came in showing the design and typography, predictably lacking in any graphic design but showing vibrant colors and in fact anything to catch the housewife's eye while on the store shelf.

An ideal book for collectors and because of the way it has been editorially produced it will have instant nostalgia appeal and interest anyone who wants to know how folks lived a few decades ago.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.