Pictorial Guide to Pottery & Porcelain Marks by Chad Lage (2003, Hardcover, Illustrated)

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Chad Lage's "Pictorial Guide To Pottery & Porcelain Marks" is a large hardcover reference book. It is an alphabetical listing of pottery and porcelain makers' marks with color photos of the marks on actual pieces and additional full photos of actual examples. There are no overviews of makers and no essays on pottery or porcelain. Therefore, this book is not a complete reference. But it is a good starting point if you are trying to identify the maker of a piece that bears an unfamiliar name or initials. It is only really effective, however, if the maker's mark is includes the name or initials of the maker. If the mark is only a symbol, you will have a problem looking it up in this book. You can browse the guide and try to make a mental note of the maker's marks that are symbols and then hope you will recognize them when you are out shopping for collectible pottery and porcelain. If you found a piece of Rookwood, for instance, it would be impossible for you to identify it with this book. Even though it has some drawbacks, I still feel the book is useful. It also includes the approximate dates the marks were used. There is a full index in the back. The entire book weighs in at a hefty 410 pages.