Kovels' Antiques and Collectibles Price List 2002, 34th Edition (Kovels' Antiques & Collectibles Price List) (Paperback)

~ Ralph Kovel (Author), Terry Kovel (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Kovels -- The Reliable Choice

All New -- All Appraiser-Approved Prices.
Unique ALL-COLOR Section— “Hands Down, Feet First: A Collecting Odyssey”

* The Kovels’ exclusive report on the record-setting prices of the past year
* More than 400 black-and-white photos, plus hundreds of factory marks and logos
* Easy to use—alphabetical listings, cross-referenced and indexed
* Handy ruler—in inches and centimeters

From the Inside Flap

America's most popular price guide for collectors, dealers and appraisers. As America's passion for antiques and collectibles continues to grow, this new edition is indispensable.
Over 500 categories - Everything from ABC plates to Zane pottery is easily accessible in the 37th edition of this annual bestseller. This new edition features:

• An exclusive market report on record-setting prices of the past year.
•A new 16-page full-color insert
• More than 50,000 new items and prices—what collectors really paid at shows, sales, nationwide auctions, and on the Internet.
• More than 400 black-and-white photographs, plus hundreds of factory marks and identifying logos. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 896 pages
• Publisher: Random House Reference; 34th edition (October 23, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609808419
• ISBN-13: 978-0609808412
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,426,510 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Yeah, it's jam-packed with information but...., June 15, 2002

By	Dr. Eduard Van Kleef (Berlin, Germany) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

...it's also difficult to find your way around.

This book basically consists of a long list of "antiques", (including all possible kinds of 50's colletibles) sorted by type. The good thing about this book is, that the prices quoted are actual realized sales, i.e. there are no estimates and guestimates in this book.

The bad thing is, that whatever you're looking for will almost certainly not be in this book. And if it is, you will not be able to find it, unless you already know the book/the market very well.

Why? Well, there is, of course, an infinite amount of "stuff" out there. Even Kovel's 900 pages cannot cover it all. That would be less important, if the book a) limited its scope a bit e.g covering only "real" antiques OR "real" collectibles and b) showed us how to determine the value of something not in the book(e.g. if "your" chair is made out of a different kind of wood from the type described in the book, how does that influence the price?).

Instead, the problem (of looking up a certain kind of antique) actually is aggravated by the fact that the organization of items is not very clear. Example: if you're looking for the price of a Meissen Porcelaine Figurine, you may have to look under all three categories (Meissen, Porcelaine and Figurines). That of course being subject to you knowing that there is a separate "Meissen" category and not looking up "porcelaine" only. Forget the index, it rarely helps.

In my opinion, this book can be useful only for people that are willing to put a lot of time into the subject, learning the organization of the book by heart and visiting a lot of auctions / flea markets in order to develop a feeling for the factors influencing prices. A beginning collector is likely to be frustrated by this book.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kovels' Antiques & Collectibles Price List 2002, January 3, 2002

By A Customer

If you're at all interested in antiques, this all-new version of the Kovels book is for you. I was attracted to the Kovels books years ago, but lately had stopped buying them. That was foolish because I'm a collector and NOT having a current guide probably meant I paid more for some things than I should have. I was attracted back to the Kovels while watching their very informative -- and funny -- TV show on Home and Garden Television. The show reminded me that I hadn't bought a guide for a few years, so I ordered one and started using it immediately. In a word, the Kovels new, updated, easy-to-use guide is indespensible!

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing., January 22, 2002

By	Claus Hetting (Gentofte, Copenhagen Denmark) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was very disappointed about this book. I find it poorly organized and lacking in content. It basicly consists of very long lists of items, and each item occupying approximately one line, and containing only very little description, and there are very few photos. Everyone who has tried knows that evaluating antiques is very tricky, and even from detailed descriptions and pictures it can be close to impossible. These lists are rather useless unless accompanied by lots of details. Perhaps for very specific items, i.e. china, glass, etc. it could be useful, but I think it has very limited use for furniture.