IOLA, Wis. – Michael Polak is known as the “Bottle King” for good reason: He has been a bottle hunter and passionate collector for 40 years, amassing a collection of more than 3,000 bottles, and is one of the hobby’s leading authorities.
As with the previous editions of his book, Polak pours his passion for and knowledge of bottles into the just-released 8th edition of “Antique Trader Bottles Identification & Price Guide” (Krause Publications). Known as the “bottle bible,” this book has been a reliable and trusted reference and definitive bottle-collecting guide for 20 years.
This easy-to-use guide is also the only full-color bottle book on the market, and this new edition is packed with 1,300 color photographs of 40 of the most popular bottle-collecting categories from the 19th and 20th centuries, including beer, figurals, flasks, Hawaiian, ink, medicine, sarsaparilla, target balls, whiskey and a new one for this edition: pot lids. The book also has extensive updates and revisions to the essentials of the hobby, and other valuable information includes history, trademarks, resources and insider tips for finding, identifying, valuing, buying and selling bottles – all from an author with more than four decades of bottle collecting experience.
There are also roundups of recent auction highlights, such as an extremely rare and historically important cabin bottle made by Mount Vernon Glass Works in 1840, which sold for $25,740, and various archeological adventures, including one at Wyatt Earp’s saloon in Nevada and shipwreck discoveries – all of which continue to excite collectors and demonstrate that the hobby is strong and keeps gaining popularity.
Polak has written more than a dozen books on bottle collecting, including “Picker’s Pocket Guide to Bottles,” and has contributed numerous magazine and newspaper articles on the subject. He is a member several bottle collecting organizations. He is a member of the Los Angeles Historical Bottle Club, San Diego Antique Bottle Club, Las Vegas Bottle Club and the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors.
Antique Trader Bottles Identification & Price Guide, 8th Edition
Soft cover
552 pages
1,300 color photos
Retail price: $24.99
This new edition is available at booksellers nationwide, and directly from the publisher at KrauseBooks.com. When ordering at KrauseBooks.com be sure to enter Discount Code BTL8 to receive free standard shipping to U.S. addresses. This offer is valid through April 30, 2016.