American Furniture
Subtitle: The Federal (Winterthur Book)
Publisher: Random House Value Publishing
Published: December 12, 1988
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780517249468
Subjects: Non-Classifiable; Sale Books; Nonfiction - General; Hobbies/Crafts
Description: The museum at Winterthur, Delaware, contains the largest and richest collection of American furniture in the world. From among these treasures Joseph Downs selected for reproduction in this book 400 outstanding examples of furniture from the Queen Anne and Chippendale periods, when the cabinetmakers of New England, New York, Philadelphia, and the South were at the height of their achievement. The examples are interesting not only for their rarity and beauty as furniture, but also because they show the skill and independence of American cabinetmakers and the numerous variations to be found in each style. With each illustration authoritative information is given on the place of origin, date of construction, dimensions, special features and qualities, the maker and original owner when known, and interesting and sometimes amusing details from contemporary wills and inventories.
In addition to the individual pieces, the author presents the furniture in its proper environment in a separate section of 24 pages, including ten rooms in full color. His Introduction reviews the background of the period, the woods available to craftsmen, and the reasons for the great variety within the historic periods of American furniture. A short Foreword on collecting, specially written by Henry Francis du Pont, rounds out the book. The volume thus provides technical information for the person who seriously collects and a highly readable history for those interested in the early American way of life. The book is a companion volume to American Furniture: The Federal Period.