Melmac Dinnerware

Rating:
Summary: a feeble attempt to cash in on another fad
Review: I couldn't get very excited about this book. The whole genre of "pricing guides" is tacky and depressing (it takes all the fun out of junking - both from a buying and selling standpoint) but this one didn't even try to be informative. It wasn't well researched, nor was it very comprehensive.

I would suggest ignoring these guides and just going with your instinct. If you like it, buy it. Don't let these silly guides decide your taste for you. If you're a dealer, get to know your stuff and your customers and price accordingly.

Rating:
Summary: Research 101?
Review: I found this book very disappointing: the authors did a minimum of research. Instead, they filled the pages with photos of items from their own collection--the monotony of this approach is quickly evident. With very few pattern names given, and a far too general price guide, there is little information in this book. A self-indulgent effort, at best.

Rating:
Summary: OK, not a doctoral dissertation but still a useful guide.
Review: The authors have presented a fairly basic overview of most of the main lines of melmac dinnerware, including illustrations from their own impressive collection and a short history of each manufacturer. As a reference volume or identification guide, this falls short, but as a general overview of the world of melmac, probably this is the sort of information that most semi-casual collectors can use. Until a better volume on this subject comes along (rumor has it that a promising young scholar is working on just such an opus) this still has to rank as about the best set of encapsulated summaries and illustrations available. Hence 4 stars.