The Bottom Line
- Nicely illustrated in color.
- Book is printed on high-quality paper.
- An excellent general timeline is included.
- A composite photos section is included.
- Only a few pages are devoted to dolls; ;too few to be truly helpful.
- There are several innacutate statements about dolls.
- Dolls are inexplicably filed under "collectibles."
Description
- 239 pages.
- Hardcover.
- Suggested Retail $25.00.
- Appendixes include composite photos (not for dolls) and history timelines.
- Dealers and auction house appendix only includes those which gave images for the book.
- Full color photos.
- By Judith Miller.
Guide Review - Book Review: Antiques Investigator by Judith Miller
First of all, I was very surprised to see dolls lumped in with collectibles, when the author went on to discuss mostly antique dolls including Jumeau and Bru dolls from the 1800s, and which are clearly considered antiques. I found this a bit...well...insulting. Perhaps it is because many doll collectors simply cringe when a piece of furniture from that period or a piece of china is considered a "true" antique and a doll is not.
Second, I was very surprised at some of the inaccuracies contained in the few pages devoted to dolls. Such as: "China and parian (made of unglazed untinted porcelain) dolls were first made in Thuringia, southern Germany, and were popular from the end of the 1840s to the 1890s. These dolls are rare and expensive." I was quite surprised by such a general statement since I can show you many German bisque-head dolls and china dolls from that period which are quite inexpensive and quite common. Also this: "A Bru in perfect condition will sell for around $25,000." Too broad a generalization; what type of Bru?
I also did not understand, at least in the dolls chapter, the chapter divisions of "The Interrogation," "The Prime Suspects" and "The Line-Up."
For these reasons, if you are looking for doll information, I would not purchase this book. Please refer to other reviews regarding the other topics covered.
