Title: Just for nice
First published: 1991
Description: Just for Nice, a Pennsylvania German colloquialism, means that an object exists, not for any utilitarian purpose, but simply for one's pleasure. Just for Nice, the book, is definitely not only "just for nice" if you are interested in knowing about the carvers and whittlers of southeastern Pennsylvania and in learning about the "magical" objects they created. With its 115 illustrations, showing 275 carvings, all in full color, it provides the reader with the most wide-ranging and varied selection of woodcarvings ever assembled from this region. More importantly, it presents new information on Pennsylvania's known carvers and carvings, and introduces thirty-some previously unknown or unidentified artists and their works.

The book and its accompanying exhibition measure bench-mark carvings against the newly discovered ones. They also compare the self-taught artisans with the professional artists, who created portraiture, trade signs, and furniture. Finally, they present the non-academic whittlers, who felt compelled to decorate utilitarian objects, such as butter prints and bag stamps. The carvings were gathered and the book written by a carver and his wife, Richard S. and Rosemarie B. Machner, two of the most knowledgeable collectors of this art form in the field today. Together, they spent countless hours gathering examples, documenting them, and breaking new ground in their search for the sometimes illusive artisans that produced them. The introduction was written by Charles F. Hummel, a deputy director at Winterthur Museum, known worldwide for its collection of early American decorative arts.

Carvings were assembled from America's major museum and historical society holdings, as well as from many important private collections. A number of the pieces were found by tracing descendants of the carvers. Others came from collectors who found the pieces in the homes of their original owners. Many are recorded for the first time. It is the most comprehensive survey of the subject to date and is certain to become the landmark source book for information on this topic for years to come. The book is a must, not only for the collector but also for the amateur or professional carver. It will interest anyone with an appreciation of sculptural art.

The Machmers, collectors since the late 1940's, summoned the half-century experience of author-scholar, Dr. Donald A. Shelley, retired president of Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. Then, they recruited former New Englander, Richard Flanders Smith, retired vice president of product design for Armstrong World Industries. Smith, an avid collector since 1960, created the book layout and design. And finally, they obtained the services of Dennis K. Moyer, director of Schwenkfelder Library, with his thirty-five years of collecting experience. The photographer, Bradley A. Schaeffer, expertly caught many features of the pieces: action, excitement, stateliness, humor, or whimsy. Special groupings were created for comparison of subject, carver, or technique. A reference section includes biographical sketches of carvers, plus additional observations describing details of many pieces. To aid the researcher further, the book includes a bibliography and is fully indexed.

This book documents an exhibition at the Historical Society of Berks County, March 26, 1991, through September 21, 1991.
Subjects: Wood-carvers, Wood-carving, Pennsylvania Dutch, Exhibitions, Biography
Places: Pennsylvania
LC classification: NK9710.P4 M33 1991