Welcome to Our Bookstore Through our partnership with Amazon.com, you can purchase selected reference books on American Antiques, usually at discount prices. 1. Select a category by clicking on a tab. 2. Scroll up and down to view all books in that category. 3. Click on the button below a book title for the price.

		Maine Antique Digest: The Americana Chronicles: 30 Years of Stories, Sales, Personalities, and Scandals by Lita Solis-Cohen Maine Antique Digest is the publication of record for the antiques market in America. Now this venerable publication, based in Waldoboro, Maine, has opened its archives to reveal the greatest stories to fill its pages in 30 years: the fascinating personalities, amazing discoveries, major sales, auction dramas, and staggering scandals that have defined the $20 billion-a-year antiques industry. This engrossing look at M.A.D.--the bible of our business, as one prominent New York dealer described it--has enormous appeal for fans of Antiques Road Show, eBay, yard sales, and antiques shows. It covers the years 1973 through 2003, with more than 45 stories that introduce unforgettable people, revisit landmark sales of silver, tramp art, pottery, paintings, and furniture, and recount famous frauds, forgeries, and crimes of passion--such as that of the collector who embezzled millions to indulge his singular desire for the world's best vintage Bakelite costume jewelry. Lita Solis-Cohen became Maine Antique Digest's first staff reporter in 1975 and remains as senior editor today. She has lectured, taught, consulted, and written extensively on antiques for many regional and national publications. She lives in Rydal, Pennsylvania.
		American Fancy: Exuberance in the Arts, 1790-1840 by Sumpter T. Priddy III A lavishly illustrated book published by the Chipstone Foundation of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. American Fancy is more than a simple story about an influential fashion in the arts – Fancy was as much a worldview as it was a style. Literary and philosophical trends, dramatic social changes and scientific inventions all contributed to the spirit of Fancy. American Fancy explores these larger cultural manifestations and the way they mirrored the youthful optimism of the new nation. According to Jon Prown, the foundation’s executive director and chief curator, guest curator Priddy’s scholarly approach is both timely and innovative. “More than any other decorative arts work to date, American Fancy incorporates a wide range of scholarly perspectives to explain not only what things looked like, but also why these artifacts looked the way they did and how they were perceived by their original makers and users.” Employing an approach that is increasingly used in contemporary scholarship, the book integrates the research methods and analytical tools of diverse academic fields – including art history, material culture studies, literary, intellectual and scientific history, and psychology – to gain insight into Fancy and its relationship to early 19th-century American life.
		Encyclopedia of American Folk Art by Gerard C. Wertkin, Lee Kogan This is the first comprehensive, scholarly study of a most fascinating aspect of American history and culture. Generously illustrated with both black and white and full-color photos, this A-Z encyclopedia covers every aspect of American folk art, encompassing not only painting, but also sculpture, basketry, ceramics, quilts, furniture, toys, beadwork, and more, including both famous and lesser-known genres. Containing more than 600 articles, this unique reference considers individual artists, schools, artistic, ethnic, and religious traditions, and heroes who have inspired folk art. An incomparable resource for general readers, students, and specialists, it will become essential for anyone researching American art, culture, and social history. In addition to profiles of painters, sculptors, carvers, and lithographers, with details on their principal works and where they can be viewed, entries include: Artist Schools * Basketry * Beadwork * Ceramics * Ethnic and Religious Traditions of Folk Art * Flasks * Museums and other institutions holding collections of folk art * Painted Furniture and other Artifacts * Quilts * Rugs * Shop Signs * Stoneware * Tavern * Toys * Weathervanes * and much more.
		American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum by Brook Davis Anderson, Stacy C. Hollander Featuring art from the Colonial period to the present, this book represents the second major exhibition at the new building of the American Folk Art Museum in New York. Cocurators Hollander and Brooke Davis Anderson have assembled an impressive compilation of material from the permanent collection that will be on display between June and December of this year. Spectacular illustrations are sandwiched between erudite essays that define this very inclusive collection, which offers everything from paintings, quilts, and weather vanes to furniture and contemporary works by self-taught artists. Also included are extensive notes on each piece that are both interesting and informative. However, what makes this an excellent choice for pubic libraries on a tight budget is its inclusion of art forms that have often been separated in the past. The work of Horace Pippin, Grandma Moses, and Ammi Phillips is right alongside that of Henry Darger and Bill Traylor, bringing together in one source the genuine "big picture" of self-taught art in America over time. -- Library Journal
		Stars and Stripes: Patriotic Motifs in American Folk Art by Deborah Harding American crafts and textiles expert Harding (Home Sweet Home) combed through museums, auction house, libraries and private collections to compile this impressive catalogue of folk art and objects featuring the signs and symbols of a nascent democracy. The images the artisans chose-the bald eagle, the white pine, Lady Liberty and, over and over again, the flag in all its incarnations-appear on decorations and household objects from quilts to storage boxes to weather vanes. They are "personalized expressions of a collective consciousness," proof that the values of a new nation were shared by its widely scattered citizens. For Americana buffs, Harding's volume is a treasure trove of information: for each of the 200 color photographs, she offers a historian's description of the subject. Wooden liberty caps, for instance, were often mounted on poles and carried in parades, just as they had been in the French Revolution. Harding also gives thumbnail biographies of famous carvers and brief histories of, for example, the U.S. seal and the folk art of firehouses. When confronted with all these examples of allegorical needlework, Hawaiian flag quilts, boldly stenciled stoneware and banner-emblazoned fire buckets, even readers who lack real patriotic enthusiasm will be moved to admit that we don't make 'em like we used to. -- Publishers Weekly
		American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum by Stacy C. Hollander The preeminent private collection of American folk art now becomes public. Showcasing more than 400 outstanding works that comprise the Ralph O. Esmerian gift to the American Folk Art Museum in New York, this sumptuous volume celebrates American folk art in all its vibrant diversity. Combining new research, never-before-published color photographs, and detailed entries on each artwork, American Radiance is indispensable for collectors and students. This book was released in conjunction with the 2001 opening of the museum's new building in New York City.
		Little by Little: Six Decades of Collecting American Decorative Arts by Nina Fletcher Little Nina Fletcher Little spent over sixty years collecting and writing about New England antiques until her death in 1993. Her special contribution was to bridge the worlds of American antiques and folk art, bringing the antiquarian's passion for the past to the study of folk art. She combined a keen appreciation of the aesthetic qualities of an object with a determination to discover everything possible about the historical and social context in which it was created -- who made it, when and where, how it was used and by whom. For her there was no contest between object and context: she honored both. This matchless account of a superb collection of New England country arts of the 17th through the 19th centuries tells the story of the collection and describes the joys, pitfalls, and philosophy of collecting with grace, humor, and great knowledge.
		Country Arts in Early American Homes by Nina Fletcher Little Nina Fletcher Little spent over sixty years collecting and writing about New England antiques until her death in 1993. Her "special contribution was to bridge the worlds of American antiques and folk art, bringing the antiquarian's passion for the past to the study of folk art. She combined a keen appreciation of the aesthetic qualities of an object with a determination to discover everything possible about the historical and social context in which it was created -- who made it, when and where, how it was used and by whom. For her there was no contest between object and context: she honored both." -- Folk Art
		The Flowering of American Folk Art 1776-1876 by Jean Lipman, Alice Winchester (Contributor), Whitney Museum of American Art The quintessential guide to folk art in America, based on the landmark Whitney Museum exhibit of 1974, illustrates more than 400 outstanding examples of American craft, covering four major categories--painted, drawn, or stitched pictures; sculpture; architectural decoration; and decorated household objects. 400 b&w and full-color illustrations. -- Ingram
		Folk Art in American Life by Robert Bishop and Jacqueline M Atkins The late Bishop, former director of the Museum of American Folk Art, was recognized as the foremost authority on native folk arts. Completed by Atkins (art, New York Univ. Graduate Sch. of Education) after Bishop's death in 1991, this book focuses on nearly 400 years of creative energy but is limited geographically to the Northeastern United States, an area the authors felt most strongly influenced succeeding artists working in the folk genre. The authors' aim was to show the unique contributions of America's diverse immigrant groups. Many of the paintings, weathervanes, figureheads, furniture, and textiles will already be familiar to students of American art history and readers of Bishop's other books. -- Library Journal
		The New Fine Points of Furniture: Early American Good, Better, Best, Superior, Masterpiece by Albert Sack and Deanne Levison Sack reprises his classic 1950 guide to evaluating American antique furniture, Fine Points of Furniture: Early American--Good, Better, Best. This all-new guide adds two additional levels of excellence to Sack's grading table--"superior" and "masterpiece"--to reflect the great number of superb pieces that have appeared in the past 43 years. It features some 650 new color and b&w photographs detailing over 200 furniture types, supported by Sack's illuminating evaluations, which prize aesthetic standards as much as rarity, history, age, and documentation. -- Book News, Inc.
		Fake, Fraud, or Genuine?: Identifying Authentic American Antique Furniture by Myrna Kaye American furniture is the current star of the multibillion-dollar antiques market. Fake, Fraud, or Genuine? is an exciting and informative work that will teach the reader to be a detective, avoiding costly mistakes, at any auction or antiques shop. Through simple, practical techniques, the reader will learn to put styles, construction, and technology to work to discern the genuine, the repaired antique, the honest reproduction, and the complete fraud. Examining furniture of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, the book contains a rogue's gallery of illuminating drawings and photographs, accompanied by the rich and insightful text of distinguished author Myrna Kaye. Fakers will find this book discouraging, buyers and enthusiasts will find it indispensable.
		American Furniture of the 18th Century by Jeffrey P. Greene American Furniture of the 18th Century bridges the gap between the art of period furniture and the craft of furniture making. Jeffrey Greene's meticulous research of styles, makers and period methods produces a rare combination of history and technique that is bursting with information and insight. Green first provides a comprehensive survey of design and construction based on the historical influences and tastes of the period. He then examines and explains authentic joinery, construction and furniture making methods. Throughout, he provides drawings, illustrations and photographs. In a separate, full-color section, he treats readers to a close-up look at 18 important examples with a discussion of their design, construction and artistic merit. American Furniture Of The 18th Century captures the spirit of an age that boasted William and Mary, Queen Anne, Chippendale, Hepplewhite, Sheraton, Neoclassical and other enduring makers and styles. It successfully links the history, craft and construction of these classic masterworks in a beautiful volume of elegance and timeless designs. Highly recommended reading for antiquarians, collectors of 18th Century furniture, and students of 18th Century Americana. -- Midwest Book Review
		Furniture Treasury (2 Volumes in 1) by Wallace Nutting Here Wallace Nutting, at one time the most renowned authority in the field, gives everyone the opportunity to profit by his own experiences throughout a long life devoted to American antiques. He tells the reader where and what to collect, analyzes the special problems of the small collector, lists twenty-one precautions for the beginner. He recounts some delightful collectors' yarns, and describes his own experiences in acquiring historic antiques--most of which are now in museums. This classic, "out-of-print reprint" reproduces the original contents of Nuttings' Furniture Treasury Volume I and II, originally published in 1928. The book contains over 5,000 illustrations of wonderful pieces in all major categories of furniture. Each category is chronologically organized from the Puritan period up to late Federal. There is very little data provided for each item; this is really a photographic reference.
		Wallace Nutting and the Invention of Old America by Thomas Andrew Denenberg For devotees of American decorative arts, Wallace Nutting (1861–1941) needs little introduction. A Congregational minister turned author, photographer, and wildly successful entrepreneur, Nutting was the principal authority on early American furniture for much of the twentieth century and played an important role in the development of a colonial revival aesthetic and ideology. He collected, reproduced, and marketed colonial artifacts, and the goods and experiences he offered his middle-class customers promoted his idealized notion of a time and place that he called "Old America." This handsomely illustrated book is the first full-length study of Nutting’s life and work. Thomas Andrew Denenberg describes Nutting’s interrelated endeavors, from his varied writings (including Furniture of the Pilgrim Century and the monumental three-volume Furniture Treasury) to his photography (both amateur and professional), chain of restored museum houses, renowned collection of seventeenth-century furniture, reproduction colonial furniture business, and advertising program. By charting Nutting’s activities, Denenberg creates a picture of an influential cultural critic who deftly combined myth and materialism, contributing significantly to both the growth of consumerism and the development of an antimodern worldview in the twentieth-century United States.

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