No Argument That Fossils Are Antique

BOOK REVIEW

If you want to collect something really old, try fossils. To give you some idea of what to look for, Schiffer Publishing has recently released World’s Oldest Fossils, by Bruce L. Stinchcomb.

Fossils were puzzling to science well into the 18th century, according to the author. They were considered as freaks of nature, as talismans placed into rocks by God to test one’s religious beliefs, or as devices of the devil.

It was not until the early 1800s that a greater  understanding of the earth and its great age was accepted by most scientists and modern geology was established. At that point, fossils began to be used to help explain the various ages of earth, and the development of plant and animal life. (But that is not to say that everyone agreed on exactly what the fossils meant.)

The text of the book begins with the earliest fossil record of life from the period called Pre­ cambrian by geologists. Other chapters feature fossils of the Cambrian Period, when animal life became obvious. Color photographs illustrate the book, and a value guide is included.

Anyone studying fossils has to be prepared to handle a lot of really big words - that seems to go along with any investigation of these years when earth was first developing, But if Paleo­ proterozoic iron formations, Medusiform trace fossils, and Prokaryotic life don’t discourage you, you’ll find this book very interesting.

World’s Oldest Fossils (ISBN: 978-0-7643-2697-4) is priced at $29.95. Contact your local bookseller, or Schiffer Publishing at www.schifferbooks.com

Donna Miller

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Do You Remember When Pac-Man Ruled?

BOOK REVIEW

Among the hottest collectibles appealing to the people who were kids in the early 1980s are the early video games. Parents of those kids will also remember the begging for, first, an Atari, and then more and more games to play on it.

The Atari was introduced in 1980. In 1984, the video game market crashed, and no one in the market fell harder than Atari. In fact, the market began to fall right after the Christmas season of 1982. Several small companies had planned to enter the video games market in 1983, but there were so many Atari games out that there was no shelf space for newcomers.

Excess inventory began showing up on clearance tables. With cheap games to be had in this way, buyers quit buying the full-priced merchandise, and by 1984 there was a full-fledged crash in the video game business.

The video games of the 1980s are the subject of Classic ’80s Home Video Games, an identification & value guide, by Robert P. Wicker and Jason W. Brassard. It features the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Coleco Vision, Odyssey^2, Intellivision and Vectrex.

You’ll find all your favorite games here - (did you like Deadly Duck, Jungle Hunt, Midnight Mutants or Brain Strainers?), and, of course Pac-Man. Most of the games are pictured in full color.

Values are given for the cartridge alone, the manual, and the complete boxed set for each item. And in case you don’t remember what it all meant, the authors include a glossary of terms and some “Atari Speak.”

Home Video Games is a Collector Books publication. It is priced at $24.95. See your local bookseller or visit the online catalog: www.collectorbooks.com.

Donna Miller

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Retired Lighters Light Interest Of Collectors

BOOK REVIEW

Cigarette lighters, which have been made since the 1800s, have taken many forms and operate in many ways. Some are battery operated and some use electricity. Others use a fluid with flint or butane. 

Collectors might specialize, because of the large number of lighters available. Advertising lighters are one specialty. They were given away by many companies. Some are logical, such as those given by cigarette companies, but they were also gifted by dozens of others, from mortuaries to the Fraternal Order of Elks. The “cheesecake” lighters, with pictures of nudes and near-nudes, are popular. So are lighters made in the shape of an animal. Scottie dogs, elephants, horses and even dodo birds have all lent their shape to cigarette lighters.

The above are all pocket lighters. Another type is the table lighter. Most of these are either too large or shaped too awkwardly to be carried in one’s purse or pocket. Ronson inserted a lighter into a 14-inch high zebra foot and leg. Another manufacturer inserted its lighter into a deer hoof. Other table lighters are shaped like golf carts, Indians in full headdress, gasoline pumps, covered wagons, coffee pots, and automobile grills. While most were made of metal, such as silverplate, chrome or brass, these metals were sometimes decorated additionally with other materials such as leather or fur.

To see hundreds of examples of cigarette lighters of all kinds, see The Big Book of Cigarette Lighters, by James Flanagan (Collector Books, ISBN: 1-57432-409-8). It sells for $29.95. Check with your local bookseller or shop online at www.collectorbooks.com.

Donna Miller

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