No comments about Living With Wicker.

5 comments about Chinese Country Antiques: Vernacular Furniture and Accessories, C. 1780-1920.

1. With regard to furniture, the McCormick's state: "China gets under your skin." How true that is. Their book provides a wonderful coffee table reference for the collector or designer. The selection of pieces photographed is a fantastic representation of the vernacular furniture and accessories China has to offer. Their book also provides interesting information about the amazing background of these pieces since the Qing period.



2. This book creates appreciation for the type of Chinese furniture and accessories that are both within financial reach and that work with today's lifestyles. The author has revealed a well kept secret. It's beautiful. It's informative. It's a must read for anyone interested in history and/or the decorative arts. One of the best books of its kind.



3. The images are very nice and well photographed, however as a work of scholarship it is flawed. There are a large number of datelines that are so clearly wrong as to question the authors expertise. I won't bore you with a image by image critique but suffice to say that there are better books on the market such as Friends of the House or Kai Yin Lo's book on Vernacular furniture all of which are real works of quality. As for the price guides included in the book, how helpful is it to give a ...[broad] price range... for a piece of furniture without explaining why one will be the lower price the other the more expensive.



4. In Chinese Country Antiques: Vernacular Furniture And Accessories, c. 1780-1920, Andrea and Lynde McCormick successfully collaborate to offer a comprehensive, authoritative, reader friendly survey of antiquarian Chinese furniture. Profusely illustrated with hundreds of full color photographs, there are chapters devoted to provenance, finishes, fakes, cabinets, chairs and stools, tables, and accessories. Of special note are the chapters on fakes, and accessories. A highly recommended and beautifully presented introduction to Chinese antiques for the novice collector or student, Chinese Country Antiques is further enhanced with an informative appendix on "Woods" and a brief bibliography for further, more specialized or detailed study.



5. With all the fuss about Ming and early Ching Dynasty antiques, I am glad that someone has finally written a book about furniture from the late Ching Dynasty. At face value, it is a very attractive book indeed, with colourful pictures of antique Chinese furniture and accessories. However, those hoping to learn more about antiques from this book will be sorely disappointed. Not much was written about the history behind the antiques, such as the difference in styles during different times in China's history or even differences in styles between regional furniture. This book was written by people who own an antique business, so what you read is rather like what you would hear should you walk into an antique shop and speak to the shopkeepers. The literature covers only the first 29 pages of the book, and save for the last 2 pages where there is a short discussion on the various kinds of wood, the rest of the 176 page book contains page after page of photographs of furniture and accessories, with no further explainatory notes.

No comments about Pioneers of Modern Furniture.

No comments about The Secular Furniture of E. W. Godwin: with Catalogue Raisonne.

1 comments about Classical Furniture.

1. I must confess that I was very pleasantly surprised and delighted by this excellent, first book outing by David Linley! It is an excellent survey of the history of classicism from its origins in ancient Greece, to the influence of Architect Andrea Palladio, throughout Europe, England and the rest of the world. Linley is an excellent modern day interpreter of classicism, which is evident by his furniture designs which are featured throughout this beautiful book. He goes into detail about the great furniture makers such as, Chippendale, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton. He also discusses the influence of some of the great architects such as Adam and Kent. I had the good luck to see up close, one of Linley's biggest commissions: The conference table in The Board of Trustee's Room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was more than cleverly done. In years to come, he will unquestionably be regarded as one of the great modern interpeters of classical furniture ever. This book is a MUST for anyone who loves fine furniture.

No comments about The Intelligent Layman's Book of British Furniture: 1600-2000 (The Intelligent Layman's series).

No comments about Shop Drawings of Shaker Iron and Tinware.

No comments about Paintings in Wood - French Marquetry Furniture: French Marquetry Furniture.

5 comments about The Soul of a Tree: A Woodworker's Reflections.

1. Nakashima, a woodworker in the classic sense. Only wanted the tree to live on longer by working with and creating with it. This book is a great example of the love one can have for both nature and woodwork.
   Any woodworker should have this book not on the shelf, but closer, to the workspace at all times.



2. i'm an electrician, but i really like wood... george nakashima on the other hand loved wood... his views make his work even more valuable and amazing...



3. Able to tug at you in so many ways. A privilege to be able to buy his product.



4. Alot of philosphy, mostly biographical, has a few quotes that stick:
   "Man has the audacity to try to improve the tree...."
   
   This is a MUST read for a woodworker.



5. 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.
   
   On a personal note I had a lady call me years ago to fix up `some old furniture' she and her husband had bought years ago (in the `50's I believe.) Seems when they were young college professors they found this young oriental guy down the road who made furniture in his garage. When I looked at the furniture I told her that her young oriental friend had become quite famous and showed her this book. She was flabbergasted. What she wanted me to do was to nail up some chairs that had worked loose over time. I refused, of course, and explained to her that these were valuable pieces that should be cared for properly. I also encouraged her to contact Nakashima's Conoid Studio (if it still existed) to let them catalogue the pieces. Even after years of use by a family with kids living in the sticks the pieces were obviously crafted with meticulous care and held up surprisingly well. It was a real joy to bring them back to daily use.

2 comments about How to Recognize & Refinish Antiques, 4th (How to Recognize and Refinish Antiques for a Pleasure).

1. Unfortunately, Woody Books sent me the wrong book. Therefore, I am not able to review this item. I sent the wrong book back, but have not yet received the one I ordered. I do not plan to purchase anything else from them in the future.



2. This book offers great information for the hobbiest who would like to make a little extra money or go into business full time. The author gives good information on many topics such as how to date a piece, buy it at a good price, refinish and sell items. The book is well written and much easier to understand than other such books that I have read.