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.

Food cooked in the fireplace tastes better than food cooked in most conventional methods today, say the authors and this book shows how twenty-first century folks can enjoy hearth-cooked meals today. Surprisingly few pieces of special equipment are needed, especially for camping families. The authors emphasize the appliances and techniques that make open-hearth cooking realistic in today's homes where the fireplace is not in the kitchen. The authors explain the art of building a good cooking fire and maintaining the three basic temperatures - low, medium and high - needed to prepare almost all foods, and suggest ways to keep the hearth clean and the cook safe. Each chapter on technique tells how things were done in the old days, and then goes on to demonstrate techniques for today. The authors have added substantial new material since original publication in 1982, and completely updated the resources section of the book. Suzanne Goldenson and her husband are serious cooks and collectors of early American cooking implements. Doris Simpson is co-owner of a restaurant and once helped cook a Thanksgiving dinner over an open hearth for Craig Claiborne.

Pictorial essay on fireplaces from the 17th century through the 20th century also covering iron fireplaces, chimney doctors, chimney sweeps, andirons, accessories, and even fireplace cookery with recipes to use in a fireplace. (352pp. illus. index. Masthof Press, 1996.)

This bibliography of the study of household furnishings used in the United States from the seventeenth century to the early twentieth century contains twenty-one sections. Each section begins with an essay that outlines the development of scholarship in the files and points toward new directions for research with annotated entries on the most significant works. Three chapters present the basic reference tools and surveys of art and architecture. These are followed by chapters devoted to such topics as furniture; metals, including silver and gold, pewter, and Britannia metal; ceramics and glass; textiles; timepieces; household activities and systems; and craftsmen and the Arts and Crafts Movement in America. Includes an author/title index.

The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts covers thousands of years of decorative arts production throughout western and non-western culture. With over 1,000 entries, as well as hundreds drawn from the 34-volume Dictionary of Art, this topical collection is a valuable resource for those interested in the history, practice, and mechanics of the decorative arts. Accompanied by almost 100 color and more than 500 black and white illustrations, the 1,290 pages of this title include hundreds of entries on artists and craftsmen, the qualities and historic uses of materials, as well as concise definitions on art forms and style. Explore the works of Alvar Aalto, Charles and Ray Eames, and the Wiener Wekstatte, or delve into the history of Navajo blankets and wing chairs in thousands of entries on artists, craftsmen, designers, workshops, and decorative art forms.