Best antiques care & reference books according to redditors

The Smithsonian's Saving Stuff is a pretty decent resource for people looking to preserve family treasures like these.

This is a great collection your grandma passed down OP!

Personally, I hate houzz (pronounced whose), they are greedy, steal ideas and are primarily an advertising/sale site (sure to get down votes from houzz fans). Though occasionally they have good ides. I am not a fan of pinterest, either, also because they steal content and often don't link back to the provider. Thankfully there is still a lot of content on YouTube that they haven't managed to co-opt.

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To Decorate on a dime you need to remember TIDE: (Thrift, Inspiration, DIY, Education)

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books at the library

American Junk by Mary Randolph Carter.

Amazing Furniture Makeovers by Jen Crider.

Big Design, Small Budget: Create a Glamorous Home ... by John Ha Betsy Helmuth.

Better Homes and Gardens Flea Market Style: Fresh Ideas for Your Vintage Finds.

City Farmhouse Style: Designs For A Modern Country Life by Kim Leggett.

Easy Flea Market Style: Creative Ideas & Fabulous Fix-ups by Alan Caudle

Found, Free & Flea by Tereasa Surratt.

Flea Market Chic: The Thrifty Way to Create a Stylish Home

Flea Market Decorating, by Vicki Ingham

Flea Market Style: Decorating with a Creative Edge by Chris Mead, Emelie Tolley.

Flea Market Fabulous by Lara Spencer.

Flea Market Finds Before and After: Home Decorating with Makeover Miracles

Flea Market Finds: Instant Ideas & Weekend Wonders: Matt Matthews.

Flea Market Secrets by Geraldine James.

Flea Market Style by Emily Chalmers, Ali Hanan.

Flea Market Style: Ideas and Projects for Your World Tim Himsel

Furniture and Accessories by Amy Howard.

I Brake For Yard Sales by Lara Spencer.

The New Bohemians: Cool and Collected Homes; by Justina Blakeney.

Paris Flea Market Style by Claudia strasser

Rescue, Restore, Redecorate: Amy Howard's Guide to Refinishing Furniture and Accessories by Amy Howard.

Styled: Secrets for Arranging Rooms, from Tabletops to Bookshelves by Emily Henderson.

The Whimsical Home: Interior Design with Thrift Store Finds, Flea Market Gems, and Recycled Goods.

Vintage Fabric Style: Stylish Ideas and Projects Using Quilts and Flea-Market Finds in Your Home by Lucinda Ganderton , Rose Hammick, et al. | Apr 1, 2003


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design videos

thrift interior design

Tips for Decorating Your Home With Thrift Store Finds.

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painting furniture:

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paint furniture DIY.

boho painted furniture.

Mackenzie painted furniture.

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Hope that helps!

Thanks! I actually have a BS and MS in MatSci. I wanted to pull up a quote from my Fundamentals of Polymer Science text by Painter and Coleman, but I'm not at home.

EDIT: I just wanted to mention that Painter and Coleman is one of the most accessible materials science books out there. It requires at most a Calc 1 level of math to understand and is very entertaining and readable (for a science text, at least). It's worth picking up a used copy if you're interested in materials science and how different polymers get different properties. It's also leather-bound so it looks good on the shelf.

If you’d like to learn more there’s this book that discusses barbed wire in great detail. The only reason I know this exists is because the author is a client of mine’s relative.

The AIC website provides this aggregation of online resources. I find the wiki to be particularly useful and reference it often.

The Conservation of Easel Paintings is a fairly recent publication that gives a comprehensively broad, but not overly deep overview of the field of paintings conservation and was written by a worldwide group of experts.

The Science for Conservators 3 Volume Series is a great introduction to the scientific concepts involved in the field if that's something you feel you need. If the Science for Conservators Series seems overly basic for you, I recommend The Organic Chemistry of Museum Objects; this book is out dated in some of it's details, but is still a seminal book that is largely unmatched in content.

Castironcollector.com is the site most people link to and their data is mostly accurate but not 100%

The Red and Blue books have even more information and serious collectors probably have both of them.

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Griswold-Wagner-Favorite-Sidney/dp/0764337297

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Wagner-Griswold-Excelsior-Collectors/dp/0764311913

EstateSales.net


That's where most of my iron has come from over the years. I set up an alert on the site to go off whenever a sale is listed with the phrase "cast iron". In the meantime, I'll browse the open listings from time to time, as many times they won't have it listed that way (it'll be something like "cookware").

You may not turn over anything right away, but within a month or two you'll find something good. You have to be careful, though. You're buying stuff "as-is", and there's a LOT of crap out there. Also, some estate sale companies know iron-hunters are out there and will try to take advantage of the newcomers by pricing shitty Chinese iron at prices which are absurd for top-quality American stuff. I've seen 30-year-old Chinese pieces selling for 50 bucks. I've seen a half of a Wagner chicken fryer made post-1960, covered in rust and still priced at 35 dollars (the complete piece in tip-top shape is worth MAYBE 20 bucks).

You'll also find a lot of reasonably priced stuff that isn't in the best condition. You want iron that isn't warped or cracked, but sometimes it's hard to tell if something is slightly warped or has a hairline crack. You sometimes just have to take a chance, and to that end...you want to avoid spending too much money.

Another thing to avoid: Antique malls. Go to one if you don't believe me. They will probably have some pretty nice iron there. And it'll be priced literally 3-4 times what it's worth. Typical 9-inch Griswold pans sell at 150 dollars. Wagners clock in at around a hundred. You'll even see unmarked iron (which is typically the cheapest) going at over 50 bucks. Avoid antique malls like the plague.

Ebay can sometimes yield a good deal, but you're taking a risk. Everything there is typically priced according to the Cast Iron "Blue book", which means that anything priced at a cut-rate is 100% certain to be warped. Most are up-front about it, at least.

The Linnet Bird by Linda Holeman

> In the claustrophobic, mannered world of British India, Linny Ingram seems the perfect society wife: pretty, gracious, subservient. But appearances can be deceptive. Linny Ingram was born Linny Gow, an orphan raised in the gray slums of Liverpool. Sold into prostitution by her stepfather when she was only eleven, Linny clung to the belief that she was meant for something more, something better, than life on the cold, dangerous streets.

> A stroke of luck granted Linny the chance to re-create herself as a proper middle-class young lady, allowing her to join “the fishing fleet”—young women of good birth who sailed to India in search of husbands. India, with its exotic colors, sights, and smells, is a world away from the cold back alleys of Linny’s childhood. But even there, she is haunted by her past, and by the constant threat of discovery. Soon she finds that respectability and marriage bring a new kind of imprisonment. But having come so far, Linny is not about to surrender easily. In the lush tropics of India she finds not only the means of rebellion . . . she finds that she may be capable of feeling love and freedom after all.

an extremely well written book, but does deal with dark topics (mainly rape).

reaches for the Atlas of Atlases

Edit Up to page 39. Lots of faces blowing clouds and line drawings of Galleons, but no monsters so far...

Edit p.50 has a map with some, but they're so small they're difficult to make out.

Edit p.59 has a whale with a scowling face, 60 has a dragon, but too small. p88 might be worth scanning (map of "The Heavens" with lots of fanciful creatures overlaid on top of constellations, albeit poor contrast).

Hmpph. If this book is any example, I think you're going to have a hard time with this :(

If I can dig my ole scanner out of the garage tonight I'll have a go at scanning p.88 and post a link here. But ya, otherwise, skip this book, it's not much help here.

It might be repairable, maybe with an added piece of mesh a little larger than the hole added behind and carefully hand stitched into place.

However I feel compelled to say this: an almost 90 year old dress is, at this point, a collectible piece and not a wearable one. From a historical standpoint, it's probably best to keep it in good shape and that doesn't include wearing it (body oils, smells, moisture/humidity, stains, general wear and tear, sunlight, things happen...). On the restoration/conservation debate, I tend to lean toward conservation (stabilize, don't alter original materials) and trying to preserve items as much as possible. (Can't help it, I've spent my whole life with my Dad the art conservator, so I know too much about old things.) The further away from this time period we get, the fewer things we have left from it, thus the need for care now.

If it is in good condition, you may be able to display the dress. You might consider contacting a local museum or the AIC for more information. Here's a link from the AIC on textiles: link, and there is this book Saving Stuff that covers care and storage of household things and includes a chapter on vintage textiles.

I hope I've provided you with some useful information.

Another resource I have found helpful is "Saving Stuff" by Don Williams.

https://www.amazon.com/ Saving-Stuff-Collectibles-Heirlooms-Possessions/dp/0743264169

It assumes no conservatorial knowledge and covers a wide range of materials.

Definitely not enough. Box those suckers up good. They should not be able to move and should be well cushioned so that they cannot be crushed. I usually put boxes inside of boxes.

As to Fostoria, there are lots of good books. I don't know exactly what you are selling but pick up a couple for your reference. https://www.amazon.com/Fostoria-Glassware-1887-1982-Identification-Glassmaking/dp/1574321080/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1479613950&sr=1-1&keywords=fostoria+glass

https://www.amazon.com/Fostoria-Stemware-Crystal-America-Identification/dp/1574325833/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1479613965&sr=1-4&keywords=fostoria+glass

It's probably covered in this book or the second volume of it.

https://www.amazon.com/Fenton-Glass-Other-Companies-1970-2005/dp/1574325159

Also;; ebay has a number of listings for glass made for MMA by different glass companies. Most if not all of them are out of business now and some people just collect the glass made for MMA only.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=glass%20mma&ssPageName=GSTL

You should get him one of these. I used to spend hours looking up my cards in those books when I was a kid.

Sorry, I'm a guitarmaker, not a knifemaker. What I will say is that you can find a ton of info in Fine Woodworking, which might also be available at your library, and for some reason I always see this book for dollar at Borders, but you can get it in that link for $0.02. It's not the most in-depth book, but it's got great information in it and you can't beat the price.

Other than that, though, I can't help you too much. I will say this though-- when I was learning the craft, there was no greater resource than hanging out on the guitar building forums and soaking up all the knowledge there. I got 17,000 ideas from seeing what everyone else was doing, and most of them are very helpful if you need advice, instructions or criticism. I suggest you find one or two of them for knife making.

Have fun and keep it fun!

The blue book says they made #2-#14. Are you saying you have a #14 or did I just add one more to the list you're missing?!

So here are a few resources to nerd out to:

www.castironcollector.com

The Red Book

The Blue Book

The Yellow Book

Cast Iron Chaos - BSR Info

Wagner and Griswold Society


Best of luck and welcome to collecting cast iron!

This is the one I have. Its got everything you need.

Here's to decades of pizza and pancakes on your gorgeous, antique griddle! You should make some huge tortillas on that thing too.

The blue book is actually titled "The Book of Griswold and Wagner: Favorite, Wapak, Sidney Hollow Ware".

Hi and welcome :) I just wanted to let you know you did everything correct and your post was successful.

I did a quick Google search for "books about cast iron cookware" and this result looked promising. Maybe if you repeat the search you'll find exactly what you're after. eBay didn't seem to have anything and I haven't tried Amazon.

/r/castiron is a helpful subreddit and I'm sure others will chime in, too.

Good luck!

Promising Amazon result

red book

blue book

yellow book (griswold gem pans)

grey book (early gate marked stuff)

these are about the best we have at the moment... the red book and blue book cover a lot, but obviously not everything.. and they are a bit dated as far as their pricing goes... but good sources of info.. .lots of pictures.

Super specific books like this one and the unofficial Pyrex one are awesome.

These can be worth a lot, IF they're complete and in good condition with all original pieces. They're just very, very rare in that condition. I would borrow or buy a copy of "Griswold Wagner Favorite Expanded..." (also called the Blue Book) by Smith and Wafford. I think they discuss these types of stoves. Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Griswold-Wagner-Favorite-Expanded/dp/0764337297?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-osx-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=0764337297

Worth the investment. I used an interlibrary loan to get a copy and learned a lot from it. First time posting a link, I tested it, so let me know if it works.

I don't know a whole lot about them myself but I did find this one book on amazon if you're interested. [here]
(http://www.amazon.com/Return-Cane-Natural-History-Walking/dp/9057270501/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452625385&sr=1-10&keywords=walking+stick)

Other than that I'd try Wikipedia.

Welcome! Given the difficulty of this endeavor, many of us welcome help, fresh perspectives, and new skillsets. I'm afraid that becoming familiar with, and making progress with the Cicada3301 puzzle will require a great deal of reading, with many of the resources being in English.

As /u/Matt_RK900 mentioned, this video by LEMMiNO is a great starting place. Not only will it describe the journey on which the puzzle has taken us, but it will most likely instill a profound interest in the puzzle. These four videos by Great Big Story will paint a more detailed picture of what has gone into the progress of this puzzle as well as summarizing the current status.

As /u/jerry_b_o_o said, the book Liber Primus is a vital resource which requires a great many more skills than a grasp on the English language. While many of the translated pages thus far have been in English, there are mathematical puzzles as well as yet-undeciphered puzzles that may not be based in English. For example, there are clues and references throughout the pages that involve image-analysis. Along with a physical copy of the book, I would suggest downloading the pages for various forms of analysis that can be done with a computer.

Please read the wiki mentioned in the side-bar and feel free to ask questions. Cheers!

His amazone page for Liber Primus
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Liber-Primus-Antonio-Kowatsch/dp/1987441265

I still don't quite understand what you're considering weird about this. Perhaps you're unaware of the importance of depression glass? It has nothing to do with the mental condition, but is instead a product of an economical depression in the USA.

From Wikipedia:

\> Depression glass is clear or colored translucent machine made glassware that was distributed free, or at low cost, in the United States and Canada around the time of the Great Depression.

Depression glass ended up becoming a huge collector's item, and in the USA you'll see many auctioned estate sales and thrift stores with tables and tables of it. The book you posted is a guide to knowing the worth and importance of different styles of the glass, and as these values change from year to year, the reference guide is updated fairly often. They actually made it up to the nineteenth edition in 2009 before all publications by that author ceased within the next year.

It's pattern glass (commonly referred to as pressed glass) with cut-glass accents. I doubt they mean anything more than being a decorative element. Pattern glass was made for the masses, so there's a ton out there and figuring out the manufacturer can be tricky. A book like this helps.

Though the cut stars look really rough. I wonder if that might have been an apprentice piece or a cast-off that didn't get destroyed.

I haven't done any glass flipping yet, but I picked up a few old collecting guides at Goodwill, in case I ever decided to jump in. This thread made me dig them out and now I want to go hunting, more for myself rather than flipping...crap. lol

I love art deco and in just a few minutes of thumbing through one of the guides, I found some stuff I love, all rare of course and expensive on eBay.

These are nice for the pictures and seeing what pieces make up a set, rather than a price guide.

Here's a link to one of the books for an example:

https://www.amazon.com/Elegant-Glassware-Depression-Era-Identification/dp/1574320831/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495820641&sr=8-1&keywords=elegant+glassware+of+the+depression+era+eighth



And here's what I want, sheesh, thanks for the new obsession! :)

Tiffin Twilight: https://tinyurl.com/y9bfwrmb

Dance of the Nudes: https://tinyurl.com/y9shp2yd

Ruba Rombic: https://tinyurl.com/y8xdyfz8

In general, for this and similar questions that might lead to more, I recommend people take a look at Don William's book Saving Stuff: How to Care for and Preserve Your Collectibles, Heirlooms, and Other Prized Possessions. It covers material culture as well as paper, so if you end up with medals, uniform parts, knives, photos, etc. the answers for everything can be found within.

In my opinion, the next best thing to the original catalogs- If you can get your hand on this Transformers Identification and Price Guide, it's worth it. I have it and it's awesome! Includes all G1 figures. Don't care much about the estimated price as that depends on demand. Do a google search and you'll see what I mean.
https://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Identification-Price-Mark-Bellomo/dp/0896894452
Sample page:
http://news.tfw2005.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/1969/12/41408462cb0cc06aaa_0.jpg

I don't know too much about decoy ducks specifically, but I do know that there is a vibrant collector's market for them, especially handmade "folk art" ducks. Some are very valuable.

You should contact a specialist in this area and get a realistic idea.

[Check out the number of books on Amazon about duck decoys.] (https://www.amazon.com/Collectors-Guide-Decoys-WALLACE-HOMESTEAD-COLLECTORS/dp/0870695800)

The two books you want are The Book of Griswold and Wagner and The Book of Wagner and Griswold. Both books cover all the major brands and have price guides.

I'm not aware of any book on cast iron restoring, but all the resources you'll need are online, such as at the Cast Iron Collector page.

$280 for 6 pans. I hate to be that guy but that's 2-3x what they are worth. The small logo Griswold is generally not regarded as collectible.

Blue book lists the small logo at

• Size 3 - $5 to $15
  
• Size 4 - $30 to $40
  
• Size 5,6,8 - $15 to $20
  
  The Erie is a nice skillet but still only $40 to $60.
  
  So $280 is $100 more than the top end of the blue book value; not sure how to say that without sounding like a jack-ass.
  
  

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Griswold-Wagner-Favorite-Sidney/dp/0764337297