Discriminating decorators and collectors, no less than dealers and researchers in antiques, have long felt the need of a comprehensive study of the ornamented chair and its development in America. This book is the product of an effort to satisfy that need and at the same time to bring new pleasures to lovers of beautiful furniture. The book is based on photographic and research material collected by the late Esther Stevens Brazer, who spent a lifetime in the study and revival of early American decoration. The authors are all qualified researchers, teachers, and decorators. In their text they present a general history of chair types, facts regarding ornamentation, and informative accounts of some of the leading craftsmen and decorators of the various periods. The final chapter of the book briefly relates the history of the Society and describes how its members carry forward the efforts of Esther Stevens Brazer, maintaining in their research, their teaching, and their restorations the standards of an old craft and the traditions of its finest workmen.

This authoritative and definitive work contains the first formal history of antique trays every published. Each of its six chapters is written by a different authority. They discuss: Lace-Edge Painting The "Chippendale" Style Trays Ornamented with Gold Leaf The Freehand Bronze Techniques Stenciled Trays The Country Painted Tray The book is lavishly illustrated with more than 500 photographs, seven of them in full color, including pictures of trays prized by museums and private collectors, as well as hundreds selected from the unique photographic collection of the late Esther Stevens Brazer.