Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. 20th century    3. Architecture    4. Catalogs    5. Decoration & Ornament    6. France    7. Furniture    8. History    9. Interior Design - General    10. Interior decoration    11. Interior design   

Reviews (6)

A Real Eye Opener
I have only been selling Japanese Antiques for a short time and I found this book is fantastic to show potential tansu customers. It has also helped us (Japanache dot com dot au) with selection when on buying trips to Japan and restoration once back in Australia.
Strong on Art , Light on Craft
I am biased; I am a woodworker.This is actually a terrific book offering a huge collection of beautiful photos, and an extensive commentary about the role of Tansu in Japanese lifestyle and culture.However the craft of making Tansu was not well represented.From the title I would have expected more on tools, techniques and joinery.

A Tansu Tribute
If you are fascinated by the creation of handmade Japanese cabinetry, this is one of the few books you can find on the subject because for some reason, the cabinetry of Japan is one of the least recorded aspects of Japan's woodworking history. Throughout this guide, you will find lush photographs of opaque and transparent lacquered chests, their hand-forged iron handles and the tools of the trade. I especially enjoyed the hand-colored photos of family life, rice fields and the textile sellers. Not only do you get to glimpse this magical world of Zen temples and street merchants selling sweet rice drinks, you will be able to view page after page of stunning merchant chests, bedding chests, clothing chests and mizuya-dansu (kitchen cupboards).
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Subjects:  1. Antiques / Collectibles    2. Architecture    3. Cabinetwork    4. Chests    5. Furniture    6. General    7. Japan    8. Antique furniture    9. Art / Design / Furniture    10. Furniture & cabinetmaking   

Reviews (18)

Furniture is the Focus
This book has great pictures of West Indian furniture and its focus is only on the furniture. I was looking for some ideas on how to design using this style, but not much can be gotten directly on how to do this from this book. However, I did come away with a good sense of the various influences on the West Indian style.

Moderately interesting
This book had some interesting facts, but as an interior designer who was looking for inspirational pictures for room designs I thought it had moderate value.

FABULOUS!
I have owned this book for over a year and always thought it was an excellent book but wasn't inspired to write a review until just recently, when I received a new book I purchased called "Caribbean Style".This book, "Caribbean Elegance", is everything that the other book is not. I love this book! The photography is incredible, encompasing everything from the smallest furniture detail or accessory, to entire historical exteriors & interiors, and exquisite scenery!
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Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Decorating - General    3. Furniture    4. Furniture design    5. Furniture, Colonial    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. Interior Design - General    8. Interior Design - Style Books    9. West Indies    10. Art / Design / Decorative    11. Caribbean islands    12. Interior design   

Reviews (3)

Perfect Book For 3D Modellers and general Artists
This book is really the reference book for furniture and has a Wide variety of furniture types covered! About 99% of the books pages contain Beautiful and 100% clear Photographs.
Furniture by Judith Miller
A few months ago, I found this book while browsing through the shelves at a local bookstore. The fantastic pictures and descriptions in the book ignited my interest in furniture history. This is not a how-to book, but if you want an understanding of the details that are characteristic of particular furniture styles -- as well as some background on the historical, political and social forces that influenced these designs -- you probably won't find a better reference manual.
Great new book
This is an absolutely beautiful book.The photography is spectacular, all of the pieces are on a white background so you can really see the details.It has a lot of information accompanying the photos and covers all the major time periods.I would like to use this as a text for the History of Interiors class I teach. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Encyclopedias    5. Furniture    6. Furniture Arts And Crafts    7. History    8. Styles    9. Antiques & Collectibles / Furniture   

Reviews (1)

Excellent Aid for Production of Period Works
I was excited from the time I opened the package. The volume has high quality photographs printed on gloss pages.The photographs represent a broad spectrum of works by superior funrniture makers.The comprehensive text explained the obvious and not so obvious distingtions in form, format, style, constrution approach, and a host of like details.
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Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Catalogs    5. Decoration and ornament    6. Furniture    7. Furniture, Colonial    8. Furniture, Queen Anne    9. Queen Anne style    10. United States    11. Antique furniture    12. USA   

Subjects:  1. Antiques    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Chairs    5. Design - Furniture    6. Furniture    7. Furniture Arts And Crafts    8. History    9. History - General    10. Art / Design / Furniture    11. Decorative Art; furniture; interior design    12. Furniture & cabinetmaking    13. Product design   

Reviews (7)

High quality work
I took the initiative to build the carved corner china from the plans in this book and they are excellent. When I was done with my project I wrote Mr. Gottshall with photos of my project and he wrote back immediately, as I am perhaps the only other person he knew who built this particular project.
Instructions and Measured Drawings for 40 Classic Projects
I gave this book "Making Antique Furniture Reproductions" as a present to a person who is learning how to make furniture. This book was very well received and appreciated for all of its detailed information and illustrations.

Gottshall will be a good companion.
Franklin Gottshall has written a number of great woodworking project/reproduction books and periodically reshuffles and reassembles his popular plans. This book one is similar to an earlier red cover version on Reproducing Antique Furniture. I built a variation of the blockfront chest. Gottshall's construction explanations are very clear and his drawings are thorough, and accurate. I wanted a four drawer instead of a three drawer chest. I used a Kittinger catalog to rescale the piece, but basically followed Gottshall's construction. His piece did call for full 7/8in sides which required a little research to find.A source supply would have been nice. I accomplished the carving of the shells from his layout, though I modified the center design somewhat, and thought his shell looked a little thick, but simply thinning it down did the trick. Because when I built the piece in 1974, I didn't have the variety of router bits available today, I found I had to design some templates and jigs to ensure success on the complex cuts. But all that is doable. Recommend that you draw up full scale plans from Gottshall's plans for complex pieces. It will help you learn the construction. Even if you do not like or build all the pieces, it is a valuable reference on fine furniture construction that you'll reference often. It's a great book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Amateurs' manuals    2. Antiques & Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Crafts / Hobbies    5. Furniture    6. Furniture making    7. Woodwork - General    8. Antique furniture    9. Crafts & Hobbies / Woodwork    10. Furniture & cabinetmaking    11. Reproduction of artworks   

Reviews (5)

The Best!!!
Perhaps the best book of its kind currently on the market.Positively dripping in excellence, this book is your one stop resource for all of your furniture restoration questions.Warped tabletops, veneer repair and replacement, broken chair leg, worn chest of drawer's runner, dents, scratches, staining and finishing, no subject is given short shrift, and all of the examples are accompanied by a plentiful supply of colour photographs, and clear instructions.It even makes a great read for those who lack the time and resources to undertake such repairs.A thoroughly satisfying book.

Excellent book
If you only wish to buy one book on repair of old furniture, this is the book. The author is a true specialist within the field and everything is explained and illustrated excellently. In addition it's a very pretty book with many fine photos. The only little flaw is that the info on refinishing is a little scattered. Anyway, the info is there. Go buy the book!

A great book for the DIY furniture repair
This is a great introduction book to furniture repair.Read more

Subjects:  1. Do-It-Yourself    2. Furniture    3. Furniture finishing    4. General    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. House & Home    7. Repairing    8. Woodwork - Furniture/Cabinetry    9. Antique furniture    10. Furniture & cabinetmaking    11. House & Home / Furniture    12. House maintenance   

Reviews (4)

Found book arrangement difficult
A College textbook or reference-type book.Comprehensive--fine print.Seemed a good read, but I didn't like the set-up.All text was in the front, and the examples and photos were grouped in the back.One would need to flip back and forth to view examples of the subject matter.Didn't work for me.
The Complete Guide to Furniture Styles
As a college educator in the history of architecture, furniture and the decorative arts I think the Boger is a very good overall text both to students and interested others.Information on furnitre prior to Gothic is the weakest, and would reccomend other texts to satisfy those needs.Photographic reproduction quality in some instances barely passable.

Great book for a history of furniture styles!
I have to disagree with the previous reviewer--this book is FILLED with pictures in the back half of the book. The pictures are disappointingly all black and white, but it keeps the cost down I suppose. This is the best resource for visual identification of styles from Egyptian through Twentieth Century that I have seen, and I have seen quite a lot of them. The front half of the book is very detailed information about each of the styles as well as specific pieces within each style. It's not something you can read from cover to cover, as the details would quickly overcome you. But it is a wonderful reference book for anyone who wants to be able to look up a particular style, read about it, and look at many pictures to visually understand general characteristics of the style. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles / Furniture    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Architecture / Interior Design    5. Furniture    6. Styles    7. Antiques    8. Antiques & Collectibles    9. Design - Furniture    10. Furniture Arts And Crafts    11. Furniture, Classical   

Reviews (1)

Somewhat misleading title....
This is an OK book, but the title is somewhat misleading to the casual reader. This book deals very specificly with the "Directional Designs" line produced by Paul McCobb - not all of Paul McCobb's "Fifties Furniture"
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Antiques & Collectibles    3. Antiques / Collectibles    4. Antiques/Collectibles    5. Furniture    6. History    7. McCobb, Paul    8. Themes, motives    9. United States    10. Antique furniture   

Reviews (2)

DU PONT'S WINTERTHUR
Winterthur is THE finest collection of American Federal Furniture in the world, it is simply a singular collection.This book is very well conceived, the text is well researched and the images are crisp.Mr. Dupont was one of the first major collectors of American Furniture of the Federal Period, and he had a great eye for the best pieces.We are so lucky that he kept his beloved collection intact and he was generous enough to create a museum to showcase this spectacular collection and allow the public to appreciate the beauty of this amazing craftsmanship.American Federal Furniture is now some of the most expensive and sought after furnture in the world, but at the time Mr. DuPont began collecting it was not sought after at all, the wealthy wanted French Furniture, this was considered beautiful and American Federal Furniture was considered too understated, Mr. DuPont, because of who he was, really changed peoples mind on this style of furniture and we owe him a debt of gratitude for this.I recommend this book to anyone with a love for beautiful things.

first time used book order
My sister in law wanted this book for her Christmas gift.She is an antique appraiser.I was a bit unsure of ordering a used book for a present but when it came I was happily surprised to see that the book was in excellent condition.I will be pleased to give the book to her at Christmas.LD ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. 19th century    3. Antiques & Collectibles    4. Antiques / Collectibles    5. Antiques/Collectibles    6. Catalogs    7. Furniture    8. Furniture, Colonial    9. History    10. United States    11. Antique furniture    12. USA   

Reviews (4)

Dean of Early American Furniture
If you have any interest at all in Early American Furniture, buy this book!Mr. Sack is one of the most knowledgable experts on this subject.This book shows you the subtle differences in what makes a piece good and what makes a piece great.Having his experise on this subject is invaluable if you have any interest in searching for early American antique furniture.He learned from his father, who had an amazing eye, and Mr. Sack shows you what he has learned.He is reknowned as an expert in the field of Early American Furniture.It is a shame that this book is out of print and that one must spend a great deal for a used copy, but this book is worth every penny.Maybe we will get lucky and he will revise it again, but I would not hold my breath.

Best of the best
Not a lot can be said here.If you want to see the best and have comparasions to look at as well.Or if you just want drool over real furniture this is the book.A must have for anyone who aspires to knowing what is truly art in furniture design.

One of the Best on Antique Furniture
If you want to truly study and develope an "eye" for the finer points of antique furniture this is a must have book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Furniture    5. Furniture Arts And Crafts    6. Furniture, American    7. Furniture, Early American    8. Antiques & Collectibles / Furniture    9. Furniture & cabinetmaking   

Reviews (2)

Great book
I'm obsessed with Shaker furnitue and architecture. I'll get around to reviewing all of my books in time. I think I have every Shaker book printed!
Excellent book, beautiful pictures; but see my warning below
Probably because it is one of the newer books on Shaker furniture, this one seems to be the most accurate on the provenance of the many surviving Shaker items.It appears they have done an excellent job of decipheringwhere a piece was made regardless which village it was found. Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Furniture    5. General    6. Shaker furniture    7. Antique furniture    8. Reference works   

Subjects:  1. Antiques / Collectibles    2. Decorating - General    3. Design - General    4. Do-It-Yourself    5. Furniture    6. History    7. House & Home    8. Art / Design / General    9. Home furnishing & decoration   

Reviews (4)

great book - a woodworkers essential
Alot of philosphy, mostly biographical, has a few quotes that stick:
Gorgeous and inspiring book
Like the books of James Krenov, "The Soul of a Tree" is as much a book about philosophy as it is about wood. And it's a good philosophy:slow down, take your time, play with the wood, and enjoy it. The book is really about the soul of Nakashima. He outlines some of his own personal history and how he developed his ideas about craft. There's not really much on technique here - you can certainly find better books for that - but you won't find many more inspiring.
Pure Style.
The author omit needless wood and carve great pieces of furniture. It is like zen on wood. You will not regret the money you spent on this title. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Furniture    2. General    3. Photography    4. Handicrafts   

Reviews (5)

New DUNBAR catalog versus 50 version
This is basically a reprint of the 1950 catalog --- OK for collectors,but you can get the new color version at the dunbar websitewww.collectdunbar.comWormley was a great DUNBAR is a classic mid-century modern success story.
During the 50's & 60's , Ed Wormley and Dunbar were leaders in the fine furniture industry. Leslie Pina's reprint of one of the catalogs from that period gives collectors a nice reference point. The company is about much more than what is presented in this basic presentation, hopefully someone will write a more comprehensive reference on the entire collection. I've heard word that the company is coming back and going back into production with some of the primary pieces. That would be great! The book on Edward Wormley is also worth checking out.

Mid-Century Modern Furniture Must...
Great starting point on Dunbar.. I agree with the review that said they miss some key points about the company and the top designs, but this is only a reprint of one of their catalogs,not the definitive story of Dunbar.Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Furniture    5. Antique furniture    6. Furniture & cabinetmaking   

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Catalogs    5. Furniture    6. Great Britain    7. Reference - General    8. Reference - Price Guides   

Reviews (2)

Beautiful Herman Miller book
This book is superb - well laid out with beautiful historical photographs. Also contains a great overview of the history of Herman Miller, including design and release dates for classic furniture by Eames and Nelson.A great book for the retro furniture enthusiast.

Beautiful Book!
This book has lots of beautiful photos. If you like "classic herman miller" by Leslie A.Pina ,You had to buy this one.I promise you like it!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Architecture    4. Catalogs    5. Design & Drafting    6. Furniture    7. Furniture Arts And Crafts    8. Herman Miller, Inc    9. Herman Miller, Inc.    10. History    11. United States    12. Furniture & cabinetmaking    13. Interior design   

Reviews (2)

Tennessee Furniture
This is a splendid book, originally published by the Tennessee Historical Society, and sold at the Tennessee State Museum.Photographs and descriptions are excellent, as are the examples. The book is not engaged in "price guessing" and the like.Rather, it is designed for the person who is familiar with the construction of period furniture and who is cognizant of the terminology.It is highly recommended for collectors, dealers and anyone else interested in ways and furnishings of the past.

excellent info for the tennessee antique buff
excellent reference for the tennessee antique business and interest. can be used to date early furniture and also its' orgin. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Cabinetmakers    4. Decorating    5. Furniture    6. Furniture Arts And Crafts    7. History    8. Tennessee    9. Furniture & cabinetmaking    10. Non-Classifiable    11. Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects   

Reviews (3)

Great Info book!
Get this one. It shows and tells what a novice needs to learn about antique furniture. Also...a great refresher for long-time antiquers.

Good Reference
This book is good for a quick reference.It is filled with sketches that are grouped into categories (chairs, tables, beds). Hundreds of detailed drawings!
Excellent and easy to use reference book, illustrates styles in thier purest form. Does not treat the subject of authenticity but notes characteristics and idiosyncracies of various examples. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques    2. Antiques & Collectibles    3. Antiques / Collectibles    4. Antiques/Collectibles    5. Furniture    6. Furniture Arts And Crafts    7. Furniture, American    8. History    9. United States