Reddit mentions: The best antiques care & reference books
We found 45 Reddit comments discussing the best antiques care & reference books. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 21 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.
1. The Book of Griswold & Wagner: Favorite * Wapak * Sidney Hollow Ware: Revised & Expanded 5th Edition
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Height | 10.9 Inches |
Length | 8.5 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 3.5 Pounds |
Width | 1.2 Inches |
2. Saving Stuff: How to Care for and Preserve Your Collectibles, Heirlooms, and Other Prized Possessions
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Height | 9.125 Inches |
Length | 7.375 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | June 2005 |
Weight | 1.39552611846 Pounds |
Width | 0.92 Inches |
3. The Complete Liber Primus
- Whether learning to crawl or taking first steps, the minute little ones are on the move, parents need a baby-proof area to keep them out of harm’s way—and give parents peace of mind
- Skip Hop’s Playview Expandable Enclosure features six cloud-print mesh panels that allow visibility between parent and child while keeping baby contained
- The décor-friendly design can be arranged as a spacious, free-standing play yard with an easy-open door panel. The airy, yet sturdy, steel-frame panels also work together as a room divider with secure wall mounts (included) anywhere you choose
- A detachable clip-on play surface with eight engaging activities grows with baby—from seated to standing play
- Includes hinged door panel for easy access and One-handed door entry with secure closure
- Creates over 20 square feet of playspace in multiple configurations with 6 panels
Features:
Specs:
Height | 8 Inches |
Length | 5 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 0.18 Pounds |
Width | 0.16 Inches |
4. Flea Market Decorating: Creating Style with Vintage Finds (Better Homes & Gardens)
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Height | 10 Inches |
Length | 9.25 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 2.77341525596 Pounds |
Width | 0.5 Inches |
5. Elegant Glassware of the Depression Era: Identification and Value Guide (8th ed)
Specs:
Height | 11.5 Inches |
Length | 0.75 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 2.5 Pounds |
Width | 9 Inches |
6. The Complete Guide to Wood Finishes: How to Apply and Restore Lacquers, Polishes, Stains and Varnishes
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Height | 10.5 Inches |
Length | 7.5 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 1.25 Pounds |
Width | 0.5 Inches |
7. Fundamentals of Polymer Science: An Introductory Text
Used Book in Good Condition
Specs:
Height | 9.31 Inches |
Length | 6.28 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 1.7416518698 Pounds |
Width | 1.2 Inches |
8. The Linnet Bird: A Novel
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Color | Black |
Height | 7.99 Inches |
Length | 5.27 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | January 2006 |
Weight | 0.71 Pounds |
Width | 1.1 Inches |
9. Transformers: Identification and Price Guide
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Height | 10.75 Inches |
Length | 8 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | May 2007 |
Weight | 2.16934865808 Pounds |
Width | 0.75 Inches |
10. Collector's Guide to Decoys (WALLACE-HOMESTEAD COLLECTOR'S GUIDE SERIES)
Used Book in Good Condition
Specs:
Height | 9 Inches |
Length | 7.25 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 1.05 Pounds |
Width | 0.5 Inches |
11. Organic Chemistry of Museum Objects, Second Edition (Conservation and Museology)
Used Book in Good Condition
Specs:
Height | 11.69 Inches |
Length | 8.27 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | January 2000 |
Weight | 0.95019234922 Pounds |
Width | 0.5 Inches |
12. PYREX®: The Unauthorized Collector's Guide (Schiffer Book for Collectors)
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Height | 11.25 Inches |
Length | 8.75 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 1.95 Pounds |
Width | 0.5 Inches |
13. Collector's Encyclopedia of Depression Glass, 19th Edition
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Height | 11 Inches |
Length | 8.5 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 2.45 Pounds |
Width | 0.75 Inches |
14. The Point of it All: Understanding the Designs and Variations in Antique Barbed Wire
Specs:
Height | 10.01 Inches |
Length | 7.99 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | June 2016 |
Weight | 1.84967837818 Pounds |
Width | 0.83 Inches |
15. The Return of the Cane: A Natural History of the Walking Stick
Specs:
Height | 7 Inches |
Length | 7 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 0.63 Pounds |
Width | 0.6 Inches |
16. Fostoria Stemware: The Crystal for America Second Edition (Identification & Value Guide)
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Height | 11 Inches |
Length | 8.5 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 0.03 Pounds |
Width | 0.75 Inches |
17. The Elite Redline Guide: Hot Wheels™ 1968-1977 Indentification & Values
Used Book in Good Condition
Specs:
Height | 11 Inches |
Length | 8.5 Inches |
Weight | 3.48991760746 Pounds |
Width | 1 Inches |
18. Field Guide to Pattern Glass
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Height | 8.75 Inches |
Length | 5.75 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 1.32 Pounds |
Width | 1.25 Inches |
19. Fenton Glass Made for Other Companies 1970-2005
Specs:
Height | 11 Inches |
Length | 8.5 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 1 Pounds |
Width | 1.25 Inches |
20. Baseball Card Price Guide 2010
Specs:
Height | 8.999982 Inches |
Length | 5.999988 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 3.3 Pounds |
Width | 2.28999542 Inches |
🎓 Reddit experts on antiques care & reference books
The comments and opinions expressed on this page are written exclusively by redditors. To provide you with the most relevant data, we sourced opinions from the most knowledgeable Reddit users based the total number of upvotes and downvotes received across comments on subreddits where antiques care & reference books are discussed. For your reference and for the sake of transparency, here are the specialists whose opinions mattered the most in our ranking.
You should design the space as a singleton. You may or may not move items into the next family space?
The photos are really shit. I only know the general feel of the space. It's a lofty conversion with rough walls and a shiny dark floor. You want to DIY. That says Boho to me.
I would start with a bed. In a small space the bed is the sofa as well. But you may want to splurge on one decent arm chair if you're a couch potato.
For the bed look at making a pallet board frame, I would go for something with a little drama, like a four poster bed, but hard to do with pallets, so maybe have it wider than the bed (not longer) or wider on one side like a side table that goes the length where you can stack books? idk.
Paint is your friend. Learn to paint. You can get cheap to free paint at any paint store in the discount/miss-mixed area. Some city recycling centers (toxic waste) will have half cans of paint for free that folks have dropped off.
Try to decide on a color scheme (again tons of advice on this on line) but the easiest is Red, White and Blue. Blue as in turquoise, periwinkle and cool grey, cobalt, baby blue; Red as in Burgundy, Fire engine, pink and some deep corals. It means you can mix and match all the blues with all the reds but absolutely no orange, purple, green or yellow. Plenty of white to balance and complement. Bits of grey or brown is okay. If you are able to stick to that, it's pretty hard to go horribly wrong (but either the red or the blue should dominate the other- 60% neutral, 30% one color, 10% the other), especially when picking out miss-mixed paint.
Spend more time with a glass of wine scouring youtube DIYs and apartment therapy type sites, then you do on NetFlix.
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Go to thrift stores to get an idea on prices, then haunt Craig's list and yard sales for a better deal. On the last and first days of the month (especially Friday, Saturday and Sunday) drive alleys in affluent rental areas for dumpster dive furniture that you can refurbish.
When shopping thrift furniture, think out to the box, Look at the size and shape, not the surface and intended use; you're going to fix it with paint or refinishing. Others see a useless waste of space in a 1920's buffet with a broken trestle leg. I see it with the legs cut off and the perfect height for a TV stand with storage underneath. (in a small space anything that has a door you can shut for storage is golden). Others see a clumsy chest of drawers with a warped top, I see it with an off-cut of butcher-block from the lumber yard for the top and an addition to my kitchen pantry. I know how to take out a drawer and insert open shelving for a can of soup.
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If you ever run across a decent, "workable" rug for cheap -realize you have found a golden egg and crack open the piggy bank. I am not talking the skanky, smelly cheap Thrift store Persian carpets that originally came from Walmart, I mean a real rug. So, shop for $5,000 rugs first hand to see what quality means. And if you find a decent rug at Marshall's, wait for it to go on sale. And if you find a great rug for $400 at a yard sale, be ready to snap it up.
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Also remember that curtains aren't always optional, like wearing earnings, but more like going bald or having hair. It depends on the room, and personally nothing says boho to me more than cool textiles, either found, repurposed or hand dyed or embellished with fringe/rick rack, etc. (so scour the notions and sewing sections of thrift shops and yard sales). there are also millions of DIYs on wall art and dying material for curtains and pillows.
Shibori is a live dye, you make it like making bread. Kits are sold on Amazon and at art stores. It can be used for curtains, sheets, pillows, etc. And it's blue.
[DIY Shibori curtains[(https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Shibori+curtains+diy]
see
no sew cuhsions
no sew curtains.
tablecloth curtains.
Drop Cloth Curtains.
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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
Personally, I hate houzz (pronounced whose), they are greedy, steal ideas and are primarily an advertising/sale site (sure to get down votes from houzze 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.
Cheap frames can be had at the thrift shops, The art doesn't matter. Shop frames. You can gut the art, keep the cool mat and insert your own favorite print. Also for a cool frame, you can have a mirror cut to fit at the hardware store.
Good lighting makes a home. You should be aware of three kinds, General (overhead, floor lamps bounced off the ceiling or walls), Task (desk lamp, night stands, end tables) and mood (candles, small lights, sconces, string lights). Lighting a small space makes it feel bigger and Boho is also about interesting and mood lighting. So if you run across a silly little 20 watt snail light (in the shape of); what the heck pick it up and fit it onto a book shelf.
Which reminds me. You can find good cheap furniture, but bookcases are often a little harder to come by, so you can splurge on a Bookcase knowing that a good bookcase will transfer to the next space.
I would start with the larger furnishings, the bed, dresser, desk. And once that's settled you might want to go for a rolling kitchen island, they make them with a drop leaf for seating and a couple of stools.
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!
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
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.
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
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!
Other Resources
There are a TON of Facebook groups. Search for them, they are mostly closed but its easy to get access.
Second would be WAGS, the Wager and Griswold Society. They are the resource. You have to pay for membership, but if you are really into it, they are awesome. I mean really awesome.
Second would be the Red and Blue Books.
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.
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).
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
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 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!
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)
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.
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.
Super specific books like this one and the unofficial Pyrex one are awesome.
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.
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".
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.
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.
$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
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.
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.
Did a little inspecting compared to:
https://www.amazon.com/Elite-Redline-Guide-1968-1977-Indentification/dp/0615351352
I don't think any have been re-touched. If you'd like some closer looks at any feel free to let me know!
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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?!
This is the one I have. Its got everything you need.
You should get him one of these. I used to spend hours looking up my cards in those books when I was a kid.
https://www.amazon.com/Book-Griswold-Wagner-Favorite-Sidney/dp/0764337297
The "red' and "blue" books -
http://amazon.com/Book-Wagner-Griswold-Excelsior-Collectors/dp/0764311913
http://amazon.com/Book-Griswold-Wagner-Favorite-Sidney/dp/0764337297
His amazone page for Liber Primus
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Liber-Primus-Antonio-Kowatsch/dp/1987441265