Antique Trader Bottles: Identification and Price Guide (4th Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Overrated book for the easily impressed
Review: Don't buy this book. It is a waist of money and time. I have a lot of old bottles and can't find one of them in this book. It says it is the best book for bottle collectors. If it is, why can't I find even a Vicks Vapo Rub cobalt bottle in it?? I am very dissatisfied.

Rating:
Summary: Overrated book for the easily impressed
Review: I have a copy of this book, along with dozens of other books on antique bottles and collecting them. It is one of the least worthwhile of them all, and I am including books published in the 1960s with more listings, better photos, etc. The book shows mainly bottles that are more easily found in the West, and chances are that the bottles you want to find info on will NOT be listed. (Of course, no book can list them all, as there have been hundreds of thousands of different bottles made-just in the US alone). But Mr. Polak's book is a hyped mess of misinformation, fuzzy b&w photos (although he does include a lovely centerfold layout of several beautiful bottles in full color!!) and a "quick course" on identifying the age of bottles which is almost useless, as the problem of learning the true age of a bottle is not always as simple as he makes it sound. The list of glass factory marks has been copied from other writers who copied from Julian Toulouse's book on bottle makers' marks, and some of those are in error just as he first presented them in 1971. Production dates of bottles listed must be taken with some caution. Some of the bottle club information is very outdated, having been lifted from old magazines that are 20+ years old. Information is often vague, with little explanation of exact condition, damage, or the exact embossing variant being referred to, which can make a HUGE difference in the value of a bottle in some cases. I think every bottle collector should have a copy, but mainly as another checklist they can refer to, in order to help find out what all is out there in the field of antique bottles that they MIGHT eventually run into at antique malls, bottle shows, yard sales or by digging them themselves. Values are mostly overrated, some are too high, some are too low. Overall, this book is an example of the type of material that I find disheartening: Lots of HYPE, but not much solid, worthwhile information for the serious bottle collector/hobbyist/historian/digger/amateur archeologist out here!!

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I've been an Antique Bottle Collector for approximately 10 years and have bought all of the previous editions of Bottles: Identification and Price Guide. While the other 3 editions have been excellent and a great help, the 4th Edition is by far the best of the group. The front part of the book with respect to how to understand bottle collecting,the history of bottles and glass, and digging for bottles (which I do) is an excellent update. In addition, the updated pricing sections along with the photographs, both black & white and color, are also extremely helpful. I find that the other area that provided a great deal of help is the back section of the book. The Trademark Section, Glossary, Clubs and Dealer Guide, and Bibliography. Overall, Mr. Polak has done a great job providing a super updated 4th Edition. The book makes mention that it has been called the "Bottle Bible" and I can understand why. It's been extremely helpful to myself and many of my fellow bottle colletors.

Rating:
Summary: Poorly organized, little content
Review: This book is a very difficult book to use. No index, bad alphabetizing of lists, no cross referencing. It lists mostly high-end bottles, and ignores others. It has pages of useless content. e.g. bottle club listings, bottle dealers, etc - all things that are out of date a month after publication and best found other ways. That space could have been used for something useful, like an index. I recommend this to no one.

Rating:
Summary: Poorly organized, little content
Review: This book is a very difficult book to use. No index, bad alphabetizing of lists, no cross referencing. It lists mostly high-end bottles, and ignores others. It has pages of useless content. e.g. bottle club listings, bottle dealers, etc - all things that are out of date a month after publication and best found other ways. That space could have been used for something useful, like an index. I recommend this to no one.