Meant for both connoisseur and amateur, this is the definitive book in its field. During ten years of research, the authors examined furniture from coast to coast, in museums and private collections. American Furniture has a running text along with its identification captions, which places furniture in its social and historical context. In its 100 color pictures and 1300 black-and-white photos, the book frequently presents furniture in the rooms they were made for. There is extensive coverage of the masterpieces from the seventeenth century to the present, many of them newly photographed for this book, but coverage is by no means restricted to these pieces. This is the first book to encompass furniture "away from the mainstream"--Pieces made away from the furniture centers of New York, New England, and Pennsylvania. Thus, there is discussion of the furniture of the Southwest; furniture made in Dutch, Spanish, French, and Norwegian settlements; and furniture made in religious enclaves or as part of social or aesthetic reform movements. Also, line drawings reveal how antique furniture was made--and therefore how to tell a genuine antique from a forgery.--From publisher description.

Winterthur Museum is world renowned for its decorative arts collections and its exceptional educational programs. Adapted from the training materials developed at the museum, the revised and enhanced Early American Decorative Arts, 1620-1860: A Handbook for Interpreters is an indispensable guide for anyone involved with interpretation of decorative arts collections. Early American Decorative Arts, 1620-1860 elucidates the principles of public interpretation, explains how to analyze objects, and defines the concept of style. Eighteen chapters provide comprehensive descriptions of decorative arts including furniture, ceramics, textiles, paintings and prints, metalwork, glass, and other objects. Many museums and historic sites display such collections to thousands of visitors annually. Guides, interpreters, educators, and collection managers will find this book a helpful summary and a guide to further research. This enhanced edition includes now includes a CD featuring beautiful color images of the more than 170 black-and-white photographs in the book, bringing the Winterthur collections to life on your computer and in your classroom. Published in cooperation with Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library.

An annual publication forging a link between social history, American studies, and the decorative arts.

This book is a comprehensive resource covering the principles and practice of the conservation and restoration of furniture, and other decorative art objects made wholly or partly of wood. It integrates theory with practice to show the principles which govern interaction between wooden objects, the environmental and conservation treatments and the factors which need to be taken into account to arrive at acceptable solutions to conservation problems. The practical knowledge and experience of a team of conservators active in the field are bought together with theoretical and reference material from diverse sources and unified within a systematic framework. Specialist conservators from related disciplines cover diverse materials often incorporated into furniture.

Colonial Americans were enamored with the rich colors and silky surface of mahogany. As this exotic wood became fashionable, demand for it set in motion a dark, hidden story of human and environmental exploitation. Anderson traces the path from source to sale, revealing how prosperity and desire shaped not just people’s lives but the natural world.