No comments about Le Corbusier: Inside the Machine for Living.

1 comments about Victorian Houseware, Hardware and Kitchenware: A Pictorial Archive with Over 2000 Illustrations (Dover Pictorial Archive Series).

1. Although interesting for the idle reader, this book is a valuable resource for those writing in the period setting, with its detailed descriptions and illustrations of items considered mundane in this era but no longer in use today. Also a priceless resource for the reenactment community.

No comments about Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

2 comments about Shop Drawings of Shaker Furniture & Woodenware, Volume 2 (Shop Drawings of Shaker Furniture & Woodenware).

1. shop drawing of shaker furniture and woodenwar



2. Please note that this excellent book is 96 pages, not 3 as indicated, and that it is the second of three volumes in a series.

1 comments about Quilts Sold!: A Guide to Heirloom And Antique Quilts.

1. Kathy Prochnow is a regular contributor to Traditional Quilter and has long provided insight into the quilt auction marketplace and how it works; so it's a logical transition from column to book, gathering her knowledge in QUILTS SOLD! A GUIDE TO HEIRLOOM AND ANTIQUE QUILTS. Historical background blends with pricing information and details on how auction house quilts work to provide quilters with the most thorough coverage in print. Her researcher husband contributes his expertise to gather a comprehensive price list of auctioned quilts, making this a real winner.
   
   Diane C. Donovan, Editor
   California Bookwatch

No comments about In and Out of Focus: Images from Central Africa, 1885-1960.

No comments about Starting To Collect Antique Furniture (Starting to Collect Series).

1 comments about J.M. Young Arts and Crafts Furniture: 181 Photographs.

1. A fine informative and historical account of a quality small furniture builder in upstate NY. They were making Arts and Crafts (the first true American design) furniture long after Stickley stopped. A must for any fan of craftsmanship

3 comments about The Bulfinch Guide to Carpets: How to Identify, Classify, and Evaluate Antique Carpets and Rugs.

1. This is probably the most frequently used carpet book I have. I'm not a dealer or serious collector - just wanted to buy nice rugs for the house but I wanted to know what I was buying. I first found this at the library and ended up buying it (along with 2 others that are bigger and different). I go to this book first every time I have a question. This book has great maps of the areas, history of the people in each of the areas, great drawings and explainations of the different symbols and motifs, discussions on the knots/weaves and what to look for in terms of quality, typical indications of what to look for in each type of carpet, and more. We recently returned from a trip to Turkey/Istanbul where we went to the Grand Bazaar and bought carpets for the house - it was lots of fun (great people)- and I feel that this book really helped me not only appreciate the rug making and understand some of the history but also make more informed decisions when shopping. Highly recommeded!



2. This book looks like a beginner level general rug book but it is actually very useful. Of all of my beginner books this is one I still go back to...



3. this is a pretty basic primer for those just beginning to collect oriental carpets. There are quite a few pictures/examples, although the book is less than comprehensive.

3 comments about American Fancy.

1. From the two color book ribbons sewn into the binding to the heavy duty paper and bright, clear illustrations, this book is almost certainly the best produced new book I have ever seen. I resisted buying it for some months because of the price, but I was wrong to delay. The Chipstone Foundation and the Milwaukee Art Museum, and especially the designer, Wynne Patterson, are to be highly commended for producing a book of the highest quality. That is no small achievement in these pinch-penny days.
   
   Long lost is the fine art of hand-binding books in leather and half-leather, but this book comes as close to the sensual delights of a handmade book of the 18th century as any I have ever seen.
   
   Some of this praise must, of course, be reserved for the author. Some of the sensual delights of this book arise from the integration of black and white advertisements from historical sources, color pictures of painted furniture, close-up images of painted surfaces and ancillary images such as pictures of mocha ware, doll houses, quilts and folk portraits. The conscious effort to vary our range of focus adds a whole new dimension to the experience of reading the book.
   
   I think that Priddy has an esoteric argument to make in his text, and I'm not sure he entirely makes his case. Sometimes, the words fight against the images, but the book is so beguilingly beautiful that the reader is ultimately won over by the sheer fancy imbedded in the effort.
   
   Most of the time, we buy a book for its subject matter and treatment. Here there we have an additional reason. American Fancy is simply one of the finest books made in modern times. It is pure a delight.



2. Disclaimer: I was a lender to the exhibition and objects from my collection are illustrated in this extraordinary book, more than a catalogue of the exhibition. I heard the author, Sumpter Priddy, lecture on his concept of Fancy well over ten years ago and it resonated within me for years afterward. To finally have the expression of that concept so brilliantly realized must be both thrilling and empty-feeling for him. But those who have the book are the beneficiaries of his insight. The book is beautifully illustrated with top-level color photography by Gavin Ashworth of objects from museums and private collections that flesh out Priddy's vision of what constituted Fancy in the 1790-1840 period. The text is accessible and comprehensive while well-presented graphically. My only quibble is that the book's cover doesn't begin to suggest the riches within. In all, an exceptional effort at an extremely attractive price, thanks to the Chipstone Foundation's involvement.



3. American Fancy: Exuberance In The Arts 1790-1840 is a stunning coffee table book focusing upon all forms of physical art - from paintings to furnishings to clocks, glass panels, coffeepots, and much more that could be found American households circa the early 1800's. The full color photographs display a truly remarkable assortment of classic antiques, and the text brings the reader on an in-depth tour of not only the works themselves, but the lives and sweeping historical changes surrounding the men and and women who cherished them. American Fancy is a veritable treasury of vintage creations, many of which were pragmatic as surely as they were beautiful.