Collecting Art Plastic Jewelry

A great aspect of reviewing one of Leigh Leshner's books comes with her steadfast credibility as an author and a colleague in the vintage costume jewelry collecting field. Her books are well-written and well-researched, first and foremost, and that's not always the case with reference guides on collectible topics. Her newest reference guide Collecting Art Plastic Jewelry is a feast for the eyes any fellow jewelry enthusiast would enjoy perusing. What makes it so exciting? It's the photographs.

Leshner’s photographer did a fantastic job of highlighting each and every gorgeous plastic piece included. From Bakelite to Lucite to Celluloid and more, an ample variety of plastics are shown in this guide in a veritable rainbow of hues. Even the cover is ultra enticing filled cool bangles and fun shapes all with a blast of glorious color.

But this book isn’t all form without function. The introductory material offers beginners information on testing plastics, identifying materials and starting or furthering a collection. A good refresher for moderate to advanced collectors as well, but if you’ve been around the plastics block a time or two you won’t pick up too much new information here. That doesn't mean you won't like the book, however.

Advanced collectors will also value the sections on contemporary jewelry artisans who are transforming old Bakelite stock into beautiful “new” jewelry items. Many long-time Bakelite fans are now turning to these pieces to freshen their collections as the more interesting older brooches in flora and fauna figures, polka-dot bangles, and other hard to find pieces remain highly priced in the secondary marketplace. Although these contemporary pieces sell at prices most people would consider to be expensive, compared to their older counterparts they’re quite the bargain.

I do have one bone to pick with this book, however. It would be even more perfect if it were organized so that bangles or brooches or necklaces were a little easier to ferret out in a pinch. After an initial once or twice over, most reference books sit on the shelf until you actually need them to look up a piece you're contemplating or have recently acquired. There is a useful index, but having sections on different types of plastics broken down into different types of jewelry would be even better.

Even so, I think most people who want to learn more about older plastics will enjoy this guide. The excitement generated by colorful plastics just can't be beat.