AMERICAN FURNITURE

The former research editor of Antiques and American editor of Connoisseur has done a valiant service in synthesizing the history of American furniture of the 17th, 18th and early 19th century styles. The book is well planned for both reading and practical use, in that the illustrations some 700 of them- are divided so as to follow immediately on the text relating to the pictures. Nutting, Lockwood, Nagel and others have written basic texts, but this is to my knowledge- the best single volume work covering so much area. From Jacobean (often known as Pilgrim) to early Victorian, the developments of American variations on the English styles is traced, always in close relationship with the architectural developments and regional characteristics and the men whose names were associated with the periods and styles. New techniques, phases and details that differentiated the American from the English, all have their place. Each photograph is captioned to identify not only subject and date, but where the specific furniture is located.