That being said, this book is very effective at providing information about this wonderful art pottery. The authors provide us a history of the potter and his work, with a number of historical photos. There is an extremely useful section showing various marks (backstamps) used, allowing one to identify and date pieces. There are hundreds of well shot photos of pieces, giving examples of techniques and glazes used. All in all an excellent value and sure to please.

23 of 23 found the following review helpful:

Top Notch Guide  Aug 22, 2000

This book is fabulous. I can't begin to say how many times I have read it and flipped through the pages for information. It is clearly written and the information is presented in such a way that even the novice collector can easily find details from glaze color and dating to prices. Price guide being located in the back is rather annoying (rather than the value being listed directly with the photo) but this a small price to pay for such a fabulous resource. For the more advanced collector, I recommend Scott Nelson's "A Collector's Guide to Van Briggle Pottery".

12 of 12 found the following review helpful:

Best Van Briggle Reference I've Seen...  Mar 05, 2000

This reference provides a history of the Van Briggle Pottery, with a focus on the early history. The tips for dating pieces by glaze color, clay texture/color, and bottom condition are invaluable for new collectors. This is a must-read for anyone interest in Van Briggle, especially since it's really the only reference book on the market!

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Very helpful Van Briggle Collector's Resource  Mar 06, 2009
By L. Dillon
Though dated 2002, this guide provides interesting, historical company information and is very helpful in authenticating and dating pieces. Many of the photos are very dark and don't show the lovely colors of the actual pieces. The price guide is listed seperately in the back of the book with most of the pieces identified only by plate number, so it is very cumbersome to use. Overall, a worthwhile reference book.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Good starting point for collecting VanBriggle  Jan 06, 2009
By J. LaRamie
We see a lot of VanBriggle pottery but didn't know enough about it to make an informed purchase. This book gives an excellent overview of the history of the company and how to date pieces. It also has a fairly up-to-date price list of the featured pieces.
Some of the ways to date a piece are difficult to see, such as subtle differences in glaze shading, but I don't think that's a fault of the book.
This is a great book if you are interested in learning about or collecting VanBriggle pottery.

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