Book on Regional Differences

S

shayes2791

Member
Does anyone know of a good book on regional differences in furniture making of the 18th Century?  It seems that you read an article on carving shells or claw and ball feet that will mention a certain region for that particular piece, but I haven't found a good source overall.

Thanks,
Scott
 
Scott,

Jeffrey P. Greene's book American Furniture of the 18th Century (Taunton Press, 1996, ISBN 1-56158-104-6) gives a good introduction to regionalisms. Once you get acquainted with some of the differences, you may want to investigate some resources devoted to specific makers or regional styles. Everybody has their favorites.

When you get there, check back. There may be more than one opinion as to what the definitive resource is on......

Can anyone offer another book title?

Mark 
 
Scott, Mark's reference to Jeffrey Greene's book "took the words right out of my mouth!" There is a chapter in Jeff's book beginning on page 148 titled Cabriole Legs - Ball and Claw Feet. On page 156 he goes into considerable detail about carving a B & C foot and on pg 157 there is a good drawing showing the regional differences between the Massachusetts; the Newport; the Philadelphia and the New York B & C feet as well as the differences between John Townsend's, John Goddard's and Eliphalet Chapin's feet (that is their B & C feet!)

Also, in the August 2002 issue of Woodwork magazine Editor John Lavine's column "Looking Back" (page 96) is about the Ball & Claw Foot and  speaks of the development and the regional differences, with a few pictures.

Jeff's book is readily available from Taunton Press. If you cant find the August '02 issue of Woodwork let me know off forum, and I'll Xerox that column and mail it to you.
John McAlister
 
John Kirk's book on "American Chairs" goes into the regional differences in pretty good detail, to my recollection.
It is focused on chairs, but the claw feet, through tenons, etc. are discussed, and I think chairs are a good form to study for regional characteristics.

Cal
 
Thank you for all of your input.  It amazes me how some people can not only narrow it down to regions, but to specific locations, makers, and even others who worked with or for a certain maker.  I know there is material on planemakers, but there doesn't seem to be much on furniture in the way of makers and regionional differences.

 
Scott,

There are quite a few resources out there but it is unlikely that your local Border's will carry them due to their limited appeal. To make matters worse, some definitive volumes are out of print and can only be found on the secondary market being sold for up to 20 times their original retail price. Some benchmark volumes have been reprinted (i.e. Winterthur's two-volume American Furniture by Downs and Montgomery and Horner's Blue Book of Philadelphia Furniture). Books that have recently been published that I would recommend include Robert Mussey's The Furniture Masterworks of John & Thomas Seymour, the Kugelman's Connecticut Valley Furniture, and Morrison Heckscher's John Townsend. Other titles, anyone? Online booksellers like Amazon or Abebooks might have a title you are looking for or at least be able to put you in touch with a seller who does. Some used book shops specialize in rare and out-of-print materials (www.joslinhall.com) so if you can't find something check there.

How do you know what titles to look for? Check the bibliographies of books or articles that interest you. More recent writings will include the most recent scholarship as well as any dated titles if they are still pertinent.

The American Furniture series published by Chipstone (www.chipstone.org), is an invaluable and diverse collection of scholarly writings on the subject. I highly recommend these as well.

Mark
 
Thanks Mark.  I have been purchasing out of print books for about the last two years.  Some have not been what I expected or repeats of other titles.  None really on regions or makers. But you did have good suggestions on picking a better selection and on some titles to purchase.  And yes, I have seen the books that are $500 and higher.  The only way I would pay that is if someone really recommended it with reasons why or I was able to browse through it.  Is it that difficult to get these books reprinted or is there no demand?  Do you have any opinions on 'The New Fine Points of Furniture: Early American: The Good, Better, Best, Superior, Masterpiece ' by Albert Sack?

I also saw that Yale has a building of period furniture ranging in different period, styles, and regions.  They say you can arrange a visit to study different pieces.  Has anyone gone there?
 
>>Is it that difficult to get these books reprinted or is there no demand?<<

I ask this question of the librarian at MESDA (Old Salem) about John Bivins book "The Furniture of Coastal North Carolina". There is demand as reflected by the prices. As for the difficulty of getting these books reprinted, I was told that part of it is getting consent of John Bivins relatives, because he is deceased, but also reluctance on the part of the publisher, because of the amount of new books in the pipeline. Apparently there is some backlog there and new works take precedence over reprints. I suspect this is the case with alot of the very informative books we would like to see at a more economical price and readily available.
 
Also I remember that American Furniture from the Metropolitan Museum of art:  Queen Anne and Chippendale Period, splits up their furniture by regions, such as new england, pennsylvania, and new york.
This book can be found on ebay/internet for less than $50 sometimes.

Cal
 
"Do you have any opinions on 'The New Fine Points of Furniture: Early American: The Good, Better, Best, Superior, Masterpiece ' by Albert Sack?"

"I also saw that Yale has a building of period furniture ranging in different period, styles, and regions.  They say you can arrange a visit to study different pieces.  Has anyone gone there?"

Scott,

I've never been to the Yale University Art Gallery but it is at the top of my list of places to visit. The furniture study does look interesting. http://artgallery.yale.edu/pages/collection/study/study_furniture.html

I bought The New Fine Points....Good, Better, Best etc. when it was first  published and was shocked to see a used copy recently advertised for over $200. While I have a lot of respect for the author,  I would definitely consider other books first. From my experience, I reach for the book when it is referenced by someone else but it is seldom my 'go to' resource for detailed information. If you can find a copy at the original retail price then sure, pick it up. For half again as much as the used Fine Points I was able to buy the ten-volume Israel Sack Collection which also included Horner's Blue Book--a much better deal. I hope I didn't burst your bubble. Does anyone have a different take on Good, Better, Best?
 
I have a copy of The New Fine Points.... and refer to it only infrequently like Mark.  While, I have never looked through the original Sack The Fine Points...., copies of that book including the latest editions are quite reasonable in the used book market.  Check abebooks.com.  I would think that the reader would get a good feel for the Sack Good, Better, Best technique from the older volume and then could get a lot more mileage for his investment with a lot more information by investing in the volumes suggested by Mark - Israel Sack Collection and related volumes.

Kent
 
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