Collectables,History, Art, Antiques

I first started to take notice of Lea Stein Jewelry after watching an episode of Bargain Hunt when one of the contestants brought two Lea Stein brooches at an antiques fair. The contestant then went on to make a profit on the brooches when they sold then in a later auction. I really liked the look of these brooches and I decided that I would like to find out more. I decided to buy a book on the subject of Lea Stein Jewelry and I found a used copy for sale at my local auction. I put a bid on the book but somebody else wanted it more than I did , so I did not get that particular copy. However, I did not give up hope and I did manage to get a brand new copy online. I paid less for my new copy than I would have done for the used copy that was being sold at auction.

I was very pleased with my book and I find it very useful. The book was written by Judith Just who is a serious collector of Lea Stein Jewelry. The book is full of large, glossy, colourful photos of items from the author`s own Lea Stein collection. The author also shares her knowledge and experience of collecting these items in the text.

So, armed with knowledge that I had learned from my book, I went to the next local antiques fair . Luckily there was a dealer who had a whole collection of Lea Stein Jewelry for sale at reasonable prices. I brought a couple of pieces ,and that began my own collection.

If you are considering starting your own collection of Lea Steins , I would recommend that you do some research on her work before you go off buying any. This is because there are other brooch makers out there who make a similar product. I do not think they are trying to pass their work off as Lea Stein because these people are brooch makers in their own right. However their brooches could look similar to Lea Stein`s especially to an untrained eye. Somebody who is new to this field of collecting may see the cheaper brooches for sale and think they have found a bargain.

I know this from experience because when I was at an antiques fair, I saw a whole tray of these cheaper brooches being sold for £5 each. I had to look twice because they were simialr in size, design, materials and colours to the genuine Lea Stein brooches. Luckily I had already gained enough knowledge from my book to be able to tell that they were not the real thing, so I was not tempted to buy any.

Lea Stein Jewelry is published by a company called Schiffer who are independant book publishers. They are always looking out for collectors who want to get a book published . They use images from author`s own collections in the books that they print. Schiffer print books on a variety of different subjects including antiques and collectables.

Books similar to Lean Stein Jewelry include;

Bakelite Jewelry

Bakelite Pins

Art Deco Bakelite Jewelry &Boxes Cubism for everyone.

Although I have never really been interested in this area of collectables, I did see some comic books make good money at an auction recently. Of course the books that sold were very rare , but this made me think that there is more to comic books than meets the eye.

It seems that there is a huge following of this subject and it is the characters in these comic books that make them unique. So when I saw this book at a used book stall I decided to buy it and find out more on this subject.

This Encyclopedia is a large hardbacked book with images and information on every page. Like most Encyclopedias , the information is in alphabetical order. The reader is given information on the characters and groups that can be found in DC Comics. These include original characters and more modern examples.

Each character, no matter how well known they are, is given a well written piece of text will all the information about them. They are also shown in vivid colours and there are several characters featured on each page. There is also a module on each characters section that tells us the following about them including;

Where and when they first appeared , including the name of the publication and the date of the first appearance.

Status, are they a hero or a villain?

Their real name, some of these characters have everyday names as well as their better known names.

Occupation, what they do for a living when they are not being heroes or villains in the stories

Personal details such as height, weight, hair and eye colour.

Special powers and abilities, listing all the wonderful things they can do that others are unable to