Handbags by Judith Miller (2006, Paperback)

Handbags was my first purse book and I absolutely adore it! It's a compact little book, but contains a whopping 448 pages of big, clear full color photographs. The pictures are taken against a white background, so it's very easy to look at. Most pages are devoted to a single purse, including a full shot and close up of detail.

The book is broken down by era, and then further by type of bag and designer. I found the format easy to follow. This was especially helpful to me in identifying the era of beaded bags, since they tend to all look alike to me. :-)

I was very pleased to find a few of the purses in my collection in the book.

There are a few faults I found with the book. Rather than put a specific price on each bag, the author uses a star system to give a very broad range. The range is too broad in my opinion. For instance, a single star denotes a price range of $50 - $200. Much to general, in my opinion. Also, as with most price guides, the price ranges are highly inflated.

Even with those faults, it's still a spectacular book, and I give it 5 Suns Up! :-)

I purchased this book to get more insight and information on vintage and high end bags you just dont see much of today because they are so outrageously overprice. This book is a great shopping guide with all the things you need to look for to authenticate some handbags. Tons of colored photos with logos and tags, of these great handbags. Perfect for the vintage or higher end handbag seller. Gives a review of price compared to condition.