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B. J. Summer's Guide to Coca-cola: Identifications, Current Values (B J Summer's Guide to Coca Cola Identification)
by B. J. Summers
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Collector Books (2006-10)
ISBN: 1574325108
EAN: 9781574325102
Dewey Decimal #: 338.766362
Hardcover: 291 pages
Edition: 6
SKU: 90908000007
Condition: New
Comments: 1574325108 New, never read, may have minor wear on cover.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
B.J. Summers, author of two popular books on advertising and gas station memorabilia, offers this refreshing book on Coca-Cola collectibles. This deluxe hardbound book will become the essential reference book for collectors of Coca-Cola items, including thermometers, jewelry, china, calendars, fans, bottles, trays, games, clocks and Santas. 750 color photos.
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Customer Reviews
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REVIEW FOR LATEST 6TH EDITION
Rating  (5)
Date: 2006-11-05
1 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
I recently had the opportunity to review another company's Coca Cola collectibles book, they too a well respected publisher of antique and collectibles books and there's no doubt about it, the B.J.Summers Sixth Edition guide has got that one beat hands down. This is a thoroughly beautiful book. Hardcover, thick, glossy stock pages, and fantastic photography highlight this book.
The introduction provides legend keys to the condition as well as the source of the item's value which I think is very important. Summers lets the reader know if the value came from a collector, a completed auction, a dealer, or the author himself. The book then presents 46 different item categories, everything from signs, bottles, calendars and trays, to more eclectic items like Jewelry, no-drip protectors, and ashtrays. There's also a miscellaneous chapter for items that don't fit into one of the other 45 categories.
I was absolutely fascinated by the number of items pictured in the book. With nearly 300 pages and as many as 10 items pictured per page, there are literally thousands of different Coke items pictured. The signage is simply fantastic, particularly those featuring celebrities such as Eddie Fisher and jazz musician Lionel Hampton. In all there are 82 pages of signs alone. Does it picture EVERY Coca Cola sign ever made? Of course not, but what book does? Still even if you have one that isn't pictured, you should be able to find one similar that you can use as a basis for value.
I really enjoyed the section on coolers and those bright, red coolers of days gone by. I remembered the old Coke cooler we used to have back in the early 70's. Like a lot of people, I love the Coke Santa items, especially those great ads by Haddon Sundblom which look great framed and are still very affordable today.
The problems are few and minor. The categories could have been laid out in alphabetical order but instead there seems to be little rhyme or reason to the order. That said, it's still a truly wonderful book that will delight collectors or just plain fans of nostalgia.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
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Great Coca-Cola Guide Book!
Rating (5)
Date: 2006-07-14
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This was a very helpful and informative guide to Coca-Cola collectibles. I would highly recommend it to any serious collector. Full of valuable information.
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B.J. Summers' Guide to Coca-Cola
Rating  (3)
Date: 2006-07-10
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
We have quite a few old Coke signs and none were in this guide. We were disappointed to say the least.
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Good as a companion to Petretti's
Rating  (4)
Date: 2005-02-09
Pros: Extensive selection of signs and cardboard items with lots of nice colour photos throughout. Many items in this book aren't in Petrettis, so it makes a good companion. All up I am happy with this book and use it regularly to price and check items.
Cons: The book is hoplessely laid out and it can be very hard to find items as it seems there is no logic to the order items are listed or displayed. It seems the entire book is largely made up from the collection of one or two private collections and as such prices can be inflated compared to market values, plus many items are missing simply because these collectors didn't feel they are important enough. As with most other Coca-cola collectors books this one is entirely US centric with very little information on foreign items.
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OK, but could be great
Rating (3)
Date: 2003-09-27
2 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
*****April 2005 UPDATE: "Could be great" but after seeing the 5th edition, the publisher has taken a book with great potential and flushed that potential down the toilet. What they did was gloss up the paper and make it look old-fashioned (it doesn't work for me, but maybe it will for others), but the huge mistake is that they actually dropped a significant number of items from the book and went overboard hiking up the price values! If you are a serious collector, browse through the 5th edition at a bookstore, before buying it. END UPDATE*****
This guide has great potential, but somebody should do some usability studies on it to make it better. It's a chore finding a specific item. For example, collector trays: I still can't figure out what logic was used to arrange/order them in the book. By title? By name? The index at the back of the book is incomplete and often worthless. For example, there's a whole section on blotters in the front index, but try finding "blotter" in the back index.
Prices are conservative. Unrealistically low in many cases.
There are items that aren't found in other guides, and the color pix are exceptional. I really like this guide, but it has design flaws that need to be fixed.
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