FROM THE EDITOR
Take a quick look at our Book Reviews for this issue, and you might notice a very interesting fact. Of the five newly-released publications featured, four were written by Australian or New Zealand authors. This wasn’t a deliberate choice by us; it simply illustrates the strength of the local talent! Naturally we’re particularly proud of Tom Kiernan, who has just published his first book, The Best Book on Satsuma – 300 Marks and Signatures; Tom is the oriental expert for our Specialist’s Opinion pages. His book came about because of the difficulty many people have in understanding and reading Satsuma signatures, and he’s spent years collecting the hundreds of images illustrated. Australian pottery expert Gregory Hill has also written another book, this time on the majolica produced at the Bendigo Pottery. Gregory’s book began as a catalogue in conjunction with a new exhibition, but it’s taken on a life of its own and is now a stand-alone reference. Then there’s Adrian Franklin’s book on his year in the collecting spotlight. Adrian is one of the regular panellists on the ABC’s Collectors show, but as you’ll learn from dipping into this entertaining read, there’s a lot more to him than meets the eye! The last of our home-grown authors is from across the water in New Zealand. Tony Richardson’s fascination with the Atomic coffee maker has turned into something of an obsession, leading him to uncover all sorts of hitherto unknown information on the world’s most popular coffee maker – and put it all together in a very readable book. The final book in our bumper review section is one we hinted about last issue; the new tome on Clarice Cliff. It wasn’t quite what I expected, although specialist Clarice dealer George Walters, who is selling the book, says I’m the only one to voice my particular complaint! Anyway, the release of the book led to a strident headline in a UK collecting magazine, so we decided to look further into the current Clarice Cliff market and find out what’s really happening. Will Clarice be the Comeback Queen? You’ll have to have a look at the story on page 63. There is a glaring omission to our book review pages, however. I haven’t written anything about the Alan Carter 2009 Price Guide. That’s because I will no doubt be accused of bias if I write about Alan’s book (yes, Alan Carter is the father of Christine and I), and I don’t review the 2009 edition of the Carter’s Price Guide put out by John Furphy Pty Ltd. But if I do review both books, I will be accused of being biased when I say that the Alan Carter 2009 Price Guide runs rings around the Furphy version. And why wouldn’t it? Alan Carter is currently celebrating 50 years in the antiques trade, with 25 of those spent in publishing. John Furphy Pty Ltd has been producing the Carter’s Price Guide (which ironically has not a Carter in sight, despite bearing the name) for just five (or is it four?) years, after buying the name in May 2004 (and it wasn’t a Carter who sold the company the name, either). Does this all sound a bit circumspect? Sorry. But if we inadvertently say the wrong thing there’s a very real risk of someone in the Carter family being sued (again). I think I’d better just leave it by saying Alan Carter has devoted this year to producing his best Price Guide yet, to celebrate his 50th anniversary in business. Julie Carter, Editor.
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