No comments about Clues to American Furniture.

No comments about Field Guide to American Antique Furniture (A Roundtable Press Book).

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

1 comments about 1930S Lighting: Deco & Traditional by Chase (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. This is an exciting book for collecters who are familiar with the wide range of Chase products as well as those just being introduced to these beautiful lamps! My mother began to collect when no one recognized these pieces for their style and beauty - monetary considerations aside. This book juxtaposes the actual lamps with pages from the original Chase catalogs. The design detail and the artist's sketches are a wonderful benefit to designers. A great companion volume to Chase Complete! A real joy to read and study.

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

1. 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...



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



3. 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.



4. 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.



5. 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.

No comments about The Lc4 Chaise Longue (The Design Classics Series).

1 comments about Simple Colonial Furniture.

1. The 39 projects consist of a single page of plans, not exploded diagrams with step-by-step as in modern how-to, with a list of parts to cut, and a short commentary on particular problems. The most complicated have two pages of plans with two pages of remarks and "Bill of Material" (parts list).

   Originally copyrighted in 1931, this has been reprinted by the likes of Bonanza Books in recent years. This book was designed for the trained home woodworker and for the teacher of advanced wood shop classes at vocational high schools. The projects are called "problems" for classrooms, and are designed to challenge students as they increase in skill, though the book itself does not teach the skills: turning on the lathe, cutting mortise & tenon joints, etc. Even where he gives rudimentary instructions on making rush seats, he suggests getting a book on chair seating.

   If you can deal with this, you may enjoy the project range. The 8 miscellaneous projects range from book ends and frames to lectern and library magazine rack. There are nine tables, 6 stools or chairs, 6 desks or chests, 6 cabinets or shelving units (they overlap), 2 clocks and 2 beds. I should note that none of these are "authentic" reproductions of any particular antique, but are all the author's (excellent, skilled) designs in the Early American style, often a bit simplified from the original methods. He also includes furniture for modern living: smoking stands (ashtray pedestals), radio cabinets, bulletin boards, etc.

   The chapter on furniture finishing weighs the pros and cons of shellac vs. varnish, and tells how to apply both and trad wood sealers, but of course has nothing to say about modern finishes like acrylic or urethane.

   Consider this an addition of projects to your library of how-to books on woodworking and finishing, rather than any kind of training text, either beginning or advanced.

No comments about Neo-Classical Furniture Designs: A Reprint of Thomas King's "Modern Style of Cabinet Work Exemplified," 1829.

No comments about Masterpieces of English Furniture.

No comments about Furniture Care: Repairing and Restoring Tables (Furniture Care).