FURNITURE FOR THE GENERATIONS As a woodworker, you've no doubt admired examples of classic furniture. You know, the stuff that makes you go, "Wow! I wish I could build that." Now you can. Glen Huey, senior editor at Popular Woodworking magazine, takes you through each and every step of how to build 18th-Century furniture. And when you're done, the projects will last for generations. Complete plans, cutting lists and step-by-step photos with captions are included with each project. Here are some of the furniture pieces you will learn how to build: Massachusetts Block-Front Chest Pennsylvania Chest-on-Chest Chippendale Entertainment Center New England Chest & Bookcase Townsend Newport High Chest Federal Inlaid Table Shaker Small Chest of Drawers Massachusetts High Chest (highboy)
Drawing on the latest scholarship, this comprehensive, lavishly illustrated survey tells the story of the evolution of American furniture from the 17th century to the present. Not viewed in isolation, furniture is placed in its broader cultural, historic, and aesthetic context. The focus is not only on the urban masterpieces of 18th century William and Mary, Queen Anne, Chippendale, and Federal styles but also on the work of numerous rural cabinetmakers. Special chapters explore Windsor chairs, Shaker, and Pennsylvania German furniture which do not follow the mainstream style progression. Picturesque and anti-classical explain Victorian furniture including Rococo, Renaissance, and Eastlake. Mission and Arts and Crafts furniture introduce the 20th century. Another chapter identifies the eclectic revivals such as Early American that dominated the mass market throughout much of the 20th century. After World War II American designers created many of the Mid-Century Modern icons that are much sought after by collectors today. The rise of studio furniture and furniture as art which include some of the most creative and imaginative furniture produced in the 20th and 21st centuries caps the review of four centuries of American furniture. A final chapter advises on how to evaluate the authenticity of both traditional and modern furniture and how to preserve it for posterity. With over 800 photos including 24 pages of color, this fully illustrated text is the authoritative reference work.
Over 1700 of Skibinski's line drawings present a visual approach to the identification of antique furnishings. The book is arranged in chronological sequences (17th century through the early 20th century) by type of furniture, from tables and settees to desks and bookcases. Butler and Johnson have included some important information for the novice and the experienced collector: the sources of furniture used as models for the illustrations; lists of museums, art galleries, and special displays of outstanding collections of furniture; a selected bibliography and a glossary; the anatomy of a piece of furniture; and a brief history of the periods of furniture and furniture makers. Highly recommended for public libraries and other subject collections.
Charles Rohlfs (1853-1936) ranked among the most innovative furniture makers at the turn of the twentieth century. Praised by the international press and exhibited throughout the United States and Europe, his beautiful works grew out of an interesting mix of styles that included Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, and proto-modernism. This book presents the first major study of this important American designer and craftsman, drawing upon new photographs and fresh sources of information. Alongside traditional historical approaches, the book presents detailed formal, structural, and stylistic analyses of Rohlfs's well-known masterpieces from major museums, together with lesser-known objects in public and private collections. Topics include discovering the contribution of Rohlfs's wife--mystery novelist Anna Katharine Green--to his designs; the far-ranging sources of his idiosyncratic motifs; his influence on Gustav Stickley's designs; his commissioned interiors; his efforts at self-promotion and marketing; and his attempts to define a conceptual framework for his artistic endeavor. Handsomely designed and illustrated, the book also features a complete set of unpublished period illustrations of over seventy works.
"American Furniture, 1650-1840: Highlights from the Philadelphia Museum of Art show early American furniture participated in an international visual language. This volume provides an important resource for scholars of American furniture, illuminates the cultural and mercantile life of the fledgling nation, and offers a lively introduction to the donors, curators, and personalities who have shaped the institution from its earliest days to the present"--
Early American Furniture is a complete and thorough field guide. In addition to the discussion of period and style and the numerous illustrations found in most books on period furniture, this book covers other topics that are equally important to the collector: understanding the furniture trade, evaluating quality, investment potential, identifying period workmanship, the ins and outs of dealers, shows, and auctions, care and conservation, repair and restoration, documentation, insurance, problems of inheritance, and coping with the misrepresentation so often encountered in the market. This is a very practical book full of information needed by the collector, particularly by the collector of average means who does not buy from the larger dealers or attend the major auctions. Written by a collector for other collectors, it deals with the many problems in building a collection. The 400 black and white illustrations are finely detailed line drawings made from authentic pieces of furniture featured in the catalogs of some of the leading auction houses. The beginning or occasional collector or anyone curious about some old family furniture will adore this handy, easy-to-use guide.
Exquisitely photographed and beautifully designed, this complementary catalog of America's finest studio furniture highlights 84 pieces from the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery. Inside, the pages reveal the importance of wooden furniture in the modern American craft arena, and how first- and second-generation artists shaped the studio furniture movement. Artist statements accompany gorgeous photography of the Renwick collection and provide insight into the makers' training and professional experience, theories on art, artistic techniques, and even personal inspirations. Such artists include the patriarch of studio furniture, Wharton Esherick, and Wendle Castle, the maker of the most popular piece among gallery visitors-the infamous Ghost Clock. The treasures of the Renwick collection-Judy's McKee's Monkey Settee, Sam Maloof's Rocking Chair, John Cederquist's Ghost Boy, and George Nakashima's Conoid Bench-are also included among the many pieces from makers whose work is functional, artistic, and of the finest craftsmanship. About the Authors Dr. Oscar Fitzgerald earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in history from Georgetown University and served as director of the Navy Museum in Washington, D.C., until he decided to pursue full time his passion as a furniture historian and decorative arts consultant. He is currently on the faculty of the Smithsonian Institution/Corcoran School Master's Program in the Decorative Arts where he developed and teaches a core course on the studio furniture movement. His book, Four Centuries of American Furniture, which includes coverage of the studio furniture movement, is the standard reference work in the field. In 2004, he was awarded a prestigious James Renwick Research Fellowship, which funded research for an essay published in the 2005 issue of Furniture Studio. Paul Greenhalgh is a world-renowned scholar of the decorative arts and a leading figure in the international museum and academic world. He is currently director and president of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Corcoran College of Art and design, in Washington, D.C. His previous posts have included the presidency of NSCAL University, one of the leading Canadian institutions of art and design (2001-2006); head of research at the Victoria & Albert Museum (1992-94); deputy keeper of ceramics and glass at the V&A (1990-1992). Over the past two decades he has also written and edited a number of defining texts in the field of the crafts, decorative arts, and cultural history, including Ephemeral Vistas (1988), Modernism in Design (1990), Art Nouveau, 1890-1914 (2000) The Persistence of Craft (200), and The Modern Ideal (2005). He also curated the seminal exhibition Art Nouveau, 1890-1914 at the V&A in 2000.
