Miniature Antiques

A professor of art for over twenty-five years, Cynthia Maris Dantzic is also the author of two prize-winning college texts on 2-D Design and Drawing and several children's books. Her collection of pocket mirrors began with a 10-cent purchase over thirty years ago and now includes over 400 examples.

"This is a fun and painless way to give yourself a firm grounding in the wide wonderful world of antiques and collectibles."
— Kyle Husfloen, Managing Editor, Antique Trader Weekly and Antique Trader's Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide

"Whether you consider yourself a beginner…or a dedicated collector, you will find chapters in this easy-to-read book…designed to enhance your material needs."
— Milton L. Talbert, Jr., 1st Vice President, National Association of Dealers in Antiques

Includes Tips on Spotting Fakes!

Do you love to poke around at estate sales and antique shops — but can't really tell the difference between Queen Anne and Queen Victoria? Do you dream of owning that old Oriental rug or Meissen figurine — but worry that the dealer might gouge you on the price? Relax. Writing with humor and common sense, Ron Zoglin and Deborah Shouse demystify the highfalutin terminology of the antique world — and show you step-by-step how to find, bargain for, buy, and decorate with antiques.

Inside, find helpful advice on how to:

• Distinguish between real antiques and stuff that's just plain old
• Develop a plan of attack before you begin your hunt
• Select antiques based on the five key points of the Radar Test
• Accessorize your home or office with antique European, Oriental, and American glass and porcelain
• Clean and care for your precious finds
• Work an auction — real time and online

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Lauren Kirkpatrick is a writer who has held careers ranging from newspaper section editor to children’s school photographer. She lives with her husband in Little Rock, Arkansas, and dearly loves her own sparkly little rock.

Visitors to the site of colonial Williamsburg encounter the memorable Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, housing a fine collection of miniatures. The winsome charm of the antique toys highlighted there can provide remarkable historical insights as well. But perhaps more than anything else, they represent a child's view of the adult world, albeit one where the young one fantasizes moving about as if already grown up. Collectors will appreciate the documentation this book provides, with numerous color photographs representing finely crafted miniature objects of ceramic materials, glass, textiles, varied woods, and metals. More recent items, such as tiny oil paintings, embellish some of the pictured rooms, while Rountree's text offers an informed context with which to view these enthralling artifacts. Alice Joyce

Published in conjunction with a May 16–July 28 exhibition at the Grolier Club in New York, this handsome volume traces the history of books ranging in height from three inches to less than a quarter of an inch. Included are books of many kinds, often containing beautiful illustrations—illuminated medieval and Renaissance devotional books, including the world's smallest Bible, chained to its own little lectern; Arabic and Indian scriptures; and the complete works of Shakespeare in a miniature revolving bookcase. Some of these books were intended for amusement, such as those made for Queen Mary's dolls' house; others have more practical uses, such as small traveling libraries and little Hebrew books that could be concealed in times of persecution. The smallest book ever is a New Testament printed in 24-karat gold on a silicon chip. There are elegant bindings in materials such as leather, mother-of-pearl and gold filigree. In their informative text, Bromer, a rare book dealer, and Edison, a collector, discuss the diverse contents of these tiny volumes, as well as papermaking, printing processes and publishers. Their delightful book is a feast for the eye, with more than 260 color illustrations in which most of the books are pictured in actual size. (May)
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The author is a dedicated collector of miniature lamps and a prolific writer on the subject. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Graham C. Boettcher is the William Cary Hulsey Curator of American Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art, where he oversees the collections of American fine and decorative art before 1945. Elle Shushan is among the world's foremost dealers in American and European portrait miniatures, and works with many of the leading private and public collections of miniatures. Jo Manning is a romance novelist and the author of 'My Lady Scandalous' (Simon & Schuster, 2005), a biographical account of the royal courtesan Grace Dalrymple Elliot.