Indian Trade Relics Identification & Values by Lar Hothem (2002, Hardcover, Illustrated)

I had high hopes for this book, but was dismayed to see some obvious fakes and other questionable items being showcased as authentic. Even the cover shot showing the beaded bag is fake. Authentic tin cones should NEVER have crimped tops unless they are for the reproduction market. The vast majority of the trade items shown appear to be original however & of interest to any collector of these items to compare details with their own as long as they can separate the good from the bad. I counted at least 30 spurious axes- examples of modern repros and misidentified axes-- although there are many more that ARE correctly identified. Mr. Hothem was well known in the stone age catagory of publishing, but had little background in the historical fur trade era items focused on in this book. Nearly all the collectables pictured were submitted by the collectors and sent in to the author so they might get a higher price on their now 'authenticated' items which is typical of these type of books. This is really a collection of what OTHER unknown people think is authentic trade items and not the author. This has been the disturbing trend in the publishing world concerning such collectable items unfortunately.

The photography is well done but the descriptions for them as well as their supposed value is written by the collector, not the author. There is also a broad range of trade collectables covered. So if you take this book with the understanding that this is not an absolute authoritative reference you will find value in those items you can separate from the junk. Most people however, will not know the difference & will be misled by these misidentified items for many years to come. The values given are what the buyer paid for it or would like to get for it, but a range of prices based on actual results would have been more informative. It certainly is entertaining enough to look at the pictures & take note of their details, but unfortunately I can't recommend it much more than that.

Shows great to average examples of artifacts from private collections as well as some museum pieces.Last known origin of pieces is very important to us collectors and that is in there too. By reading and looking at the pictures, it should come to no surprise where the author is from, and that is o'k . Values in the book reflect sound to prospering economic times. Either way, this is one book that will never go out of style. Very informative, great pictures. I have no regrets on this purchase.

This is a great resource for the living history interpreter,collector or student of history. The photos are plentiful and beautiful-one of the reasons I bought this book.
I am a living history interpreter and this book is so valuable to help get a feel for what actual pieces look like. It could save literally thousands in getting your kit and impression correct.
I liked the broad range of subjects covered. There is literally something to interest anyone-male or female,young or old.