Synopses & Reviews
Ralph and Terry Kovel are proud to present the most authoritative and current art pottery book on the market, Kovels' American Art Pottery: The Collector's Guide to Makers, Marks, and Factory Histories.
After the Kovels began collecting American art pottery in the 1960s, they decided to research and write their first book on the subject, The Kovels' Collector's Guide to American Art Pottery (Crown, 1974). Since that time, art pottery has become one of the most important and popular areas of collecting in this country. Today, many pieces are still very affordable, and collectors everywhere are searching for art pottery treasures. Many other pieces are represented in museum collections, and some pieces are selling for thousands of dollars.
The Kovels have never stopped researching the history of art pottery factories and products, and have been continuously gathering new or previ-ously unpublished information from rediscovered catalogs and records, archaeological digs, and family histories. And now, they offer the most com-plete and up-to-date pottery book available, Kovels'American Art Pottery.
Written with the collector in mind, this book em-phasizes all the information needed for an under-standing of art pottery factories and their wares. The Kovels list large and small art pottery firms and include a general history of each one. Makers, artists and their backgrounds, artists' and factory marks, dates, and lines of pottery are all described in detail. The Kovels discuss the well-known factories such as Rookwood, Weller, and Grueby, as well as the lesser-known or recently recognized potteries such as Avon, Radford, and Zanesville. More than 215 potteries are listed here from A to Z. There is also a full section on tile factories following the art pottery portion of the book.
Kovels' American Art Pottery is extensively illus-trated with more than 700 beautiful color and black--and-white photographs of art pottery pieces. Also included are fascinating historical photographs and more than 1,000 illustrations of actual artist and fac-tory marks. The thorough range of photographs and illustrations will enable any collector to identify a piece of art pottery by its decoration, shape, color, or identifying mark. And to complete this valuable ref-erence, a bibliography is provided for a]l those who wish further information about the historical aspects of a pottery.
Kovels' American Art Pottery is an indispensable book for all collectors, dealers, museums, or antiques enthusiasts who wish to know all they can about this exquisite art form.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 309-318) and index.
About the Author
Ralph and Terry Kovel are the best-known writers on antiques and collectibles in America. They have written more than 75 books, including the annual Kovels' Antiques & Collectibles Price List. Their national newsletter, Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles, has over 150,000 subscribers. The Kovels also write columns for House Beautiful and 150 newspapers, publish articles, and appear on television and radio talk shows.