Combining comfort, simplicity and craftsmanship, Windsor chairs have long been prized by collectors. Introduced from England in the early 1700s, the Windsor style took hold in America first as seating for the well-to-do and later as the favourite chair of the general population. Included in the Windsor family are stools, tables, settees, high chairs, cradles and candle stands, but the greatest variety is found in the chairs, which range from comb-back to bow-back to step-down versions. Their makers took advantage of the natural properties of different woods for particular components of the chairs, employing hickory, red oak, or ash for bent parts, maple for turnings and pine for seats. This book documents all these features and styles with narrative descriptions and photographs of the 198 pieces under discussion. It also provides 34 full-page drawings (and lists of measured parts) which amateur furniture makers can use as blue-prints for creating Windsor reproductions.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• [1] A pictorial study of the history and regional characteristics of the most popular furniture form of 18th-century America, 1730-1830
• v. 2. A continuing pictorial study of the history and regional characteristics of the most popular furniture form of eighteenth-century America, 1730-1840.

This is beautifully illustrated, full-scale study of women's painted furniture, a long-lost art that sheds light on women's lives in the early republic. In this long-awaited tribute to women's painted furniture, author and artist Betsy Krieg Salm rediscovers a style of early American decorative art still largely unknown to curators, antique dealers, art historians, and the public. She documents the socioeconomic, cultural, and aesthetic history of this art form, which includes items such as sewing and work boxes, face screens, and tables. Salm carefully chronicles the process itself, including a selection of cabinetmakers and woods, varnishes and paints, and specific tools and techniques used by these women artists. Salm analyzes the styles, designs, and patterns of more than 200 pieces of women's painted furniture. Treating these objects as documents of women's daily life, she shows the close relationship of painted furniture motifs to those of needlework and other decorative arts of the period. Thanks to her work, this art form may now achieve the recognition it deserves in the broader genre of American women's art. "Women's Painted Furniture" presents a comprehensive collection of images, most of which are not available elsewhere. Primary sources used by the author include genealogies of artisans and chemical analysis of antiques, recipes, patterns, instructions in methods and technique, and the original, mainly English, sources of artistic inspiration for painters and needle workers.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

Even before the American Revolution, the artists and craftsmen of our young country were forging a distinguished American identity through beautiful examples of fine and decorative arts. Many of the finest examples of the work created during the earliest years of the country's history--from 1730 to 1840--were collected by the U.S. Department of State to decorate the reception rooms where important statesmen and diplomats are greeted. Highlights from this prestigious collection of American art and craft will tour in a nationwide exhibition for the first time. "Becoming a Nation" features more than 100 objects from the exhibition, each accompanied by detailed essays. The book includes paintings by such notable American masters as John Singleton Copley, Gilbert Stuart, and Fitz Hugh Lane; exceptional works of silver by Paul Revere and Myer Myers; and exquisite baroque, rococo, and neoclasssical furntiure crafted in Portsmouth, Boston, Newport, Philadelphia, and New York. A definitive study, "Becoming a Nation" recommends itself to experts and amateurs alike. .
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

This guide takes a comprehensive look at the history and construction of 18th-century furniture. It covers details such as ball and claw feet, cabriole legs, veneering and period finishing. Accompanying step-by-step photographs provide clear insights into all the techniques.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

This companion volume to "American Windsor Chairs" goes into the background behind the more specialized pieces of furniture such as cradles, highchairs, settees, stools, barber chairs, commodes and spinning wheels. The material is surveyed chronologically and by geographic region and each form is treated in cultural, economic and technological context.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Brief history of fancy
• Fancy takes form
• Early fancy furnishings
• Kaleidoscope
• Spirited ornamentation
• Bold furniture for all Americans
• Wares to enrich the home and the mind
• Farewell to fancy.

A comprehansive study of glass made or used in America from the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th centry. Opening with a survey of glassmaking in Europe and the colonies, the author provides a brief history of the acquisition of glass by Henry Francis du Pont whose massive 1500-piece collection at the Winterthur Museum is the basis for this book. Du Pont began collecting glass in 1919 and did so until his death in 1969. This volume covers drinking glasses, food service items, ornamental vases and desk accessories, lighting devices, bottles and flasks, and miscellaneouss items ranging from windowpanes to bird fountains. The objects are arranged according to function; nearly all are shown life-size; and the entry for each includes both a physical description and a brief history.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)