Eleven essays focus on the relationship between artisanry and ethnic identity as well as the development and diffusion of furniture styles in the 18th century South. He traces the origin of this bias to the preconception that the agrarian South was unsophisticated, but also to the Civil War. According to his thesis, winning the Civil War gave the North the right to redefine the cultural history of America, and since that time, notions of culture and sophistication have been cast from a Northern perspective. Prown then sets the stage for the following essays, by pointing out that new scholarship has revealed the early South to be a region of surprisingly diverse cultural and ethnic influences, whose furniture was technically and stylistically equal to that produced in other regions of the country, as well as that imported from England. The Individual studies which follow trace the influence of various ethnic groups, including the Dutch, who dominated transatlantic trade in coastal Virginia in the 17th century despite the competing influence of the British.
Several essays detail the contributions of German and Swiss German cabinetmakers in the South.
American Furniture editor Luke Beckerdite details the impact of French Huguenot furniture makers, while another essay traces Irish roots in Virginia cabinetmaking. In addition to focusing on the cultural diversity of the early South, American Furniture 1997 contains a presentation of technical aspects of Virginia upholstered furniture, a detailed analysis of the records of furniture imported from England for Charleston's elite, and a study of the evolving nature of furniture designs as cabinet makers traveled west to settle the backcountry. American Furniture 1997 also includes reviews of several books on furniture making and design, as well as a detailed bibliography of furniture related books and publications of the previous year. American Furniture has become the pre-eminent journal of record for historical research related to field of furniture making and design. This year's volume continues the high level of production and scholarship which has characterized the work of the Chipstone Foundation.