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.

		The Encylopedia of Shaker Furniture by Timothy D. Rieman, Jean M. Burks This encyclopedia is an enhanced and expanded update to The Complete Book of Shaker Furniture, originally published in 1993 by Harry N. Abrams. By combining in-depth commentary on the Shaker tradition with detailed technical information and superb photographs, Rieman and Burks have created the most authoritative volume to date on the identification and authentication of individual pieces of Shaker furniture. While most Shaker furniture books illustrate the classic "period of gospel simplicity" from 1820 to 1850, this book illustrates all periods of Shaker furniture, showing that Shaker styles actually reflected the tastes of the time, simple when neoclassical was popular and becoming more ornate as tastes changed to Victorian. Beginning with a broad description of the Shaker religion, lifestyle, and furniture-making, the book progresses to descriptions of each bishopric and its furniture and artisans. Over 1,000 excellent images are included, with more than two-thirds of them in color.
		Shaker Design by June Sprigg, Whitney Museum of American Art A must-have reference for Shaker enthusiasts, this book is essentially a catalog of the seminal 1986 Shaker exhibit at the Whitney Museum
		Shaker Furniture Makers by Jerry V. Grant, Douglas R. Allen, Hancock Shaker Village In this thoroughly researched, generously illustrated study, Grant--assistant director at the Shaker Museum in Old Chatham, N.Y.--and writer Allen offer portraits of the 19th-century Shaker craftsmen who designed and constructed the simple yet sophisticated wooden beds, benches, chests and desks so admired today. Craftsmen are presented in a case-by-case format: we learn when one began making bedsteads, when another invented a taboo musical instrument. Viewed as a whole, the case studies do much to reveal the sociology of daily Shaker life--the tightly enforced communal order, the rejection of individual ego, and the relentless focus on keeping "hands continually at work." Through this dense web of detail, a group portrait of a sect in decline emerges, with many case studies ending in the craftsman's ultimate disillusionment and final abandonment of Shaker precepts. -- Publishers Weekly
		SHAKER STYLE: Form, Function, and Furniture by Sharon Duane Koomler This beautifully documented, authoritative overview of this Shaker form and function showcases the 200-year-old sect's eloquent minimalist style, which blends seamlessly into today's modern design aesthetic. Illustrated with historical and contemporary photos in black-and-white and color, it explores furniture, architecture, interior spaces, arts, crafts, and textiles. Sharon Koomler is the former curator of collections at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
		The Complete Book of Shaker Furniture by Timothy D. Rieman, Jean M. Burks Rieman, maker of reproduction Shaker furniture and coauthor of  The Shaker Chair, and Burks, former curator at Canterbury Shaker Village, have created a comprehensive, well-documented guide to Shaker furniture. While most Shaker furniture books illustrate the classic period of ''gospel simplicity'' from 1820 to 1850, this book illustrates all periods of Shaker furniture, showing that Shaker styles actually reflected the tastes of the time, simple when neoclassical was popular and becoming more ornate as tastes changed to Victorian. Beginning with a broad description of the Shaker religion, lifestyle, and furniture-making, the book progresses to descriptions of each bishopric and its furniture and artisans. -- Library Journal
		The Shaker Chair by Charles R. Muller & Timothy D. Rieman For well over a century, the world has noted the distinctive chairs made by Shaker communities throughout the eastern United States. A writer for House Beautiful suggested at the beginning of the twentieth century that "If you own a Shaker chair, preserve it with great care, for it will soon be considered an antique, and a rare one at that." In this definitive book, that statement is verified as the authors examine in depth the styles and production techniques of chairs made at ten Shaker communities during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Historical and contemporary photographs, extensive journal and account book references, diaries, postcards, catalog advertisements, and detailed line drawings are all used to document the chairs' history. Readers will find valuable information on identification of chair types and origins as well as an analysis of design and construction. An essential resource for collectors, historians, designers, and devotees of antique furniture.
		In the Shaker Tradition by Lesley Duvall & Sharon Duane Koomler A uniquely American style, Shaker design is extremely popular with homeowners and decorators. Enjoy a tour of warm and comfortable rooms featuring quintessential pieces through stunning full-color photographs presented here. Focus on the way the clean lines, characteristic fine workmanship, and beautiful simplicity of Shaker furnishings add grace to today's homes, and see how Shaker design influenced later furniture makers and craftspeople. The philosophies and religious beliefs offer insights into the purpose and significance behind the aesthetics of their architecture, furnishings, household accessories, and even the colors of their walls and floors. Quality reproductions have made the Shaker style readily available to the public, and this enjoyable volume offers many wonderful suggestions for integrating Shaker pieces with other styles in your design scheme.
		VHS VIDEOTAPE: Ken Burns' America - The Shakers (1985) by Ken Burns DVD VIDEODISC: Ken Burns' America - The Shakers Hands to Work, Hearts to God (1985) by Ken Burns From America's documentarian Ken Burns (The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz) comes this intimate portrait of a "serene creed" whose members considered themselves America's "chosen people." They called themselves the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, but because of their ecstatic dancing, they are more popularly known as the Shakers. Its members put their "hands to work and their hearts to God," creating a legacy of fine and priceless furniture and magnificent architecture. A model for the world's utopians, the Shakers believed in social, economic, and spiritual equality, and in pacifism, feminism, and joyful personal worship. They also believed in celibacy, which is why, when Burns filmed this in 1989, there were but a dozen Shakers left in America. On-location footage, contemporary interviews with historians and present and former members, and dramatic voice-overs culled from diaries create a moving portrait of the Shakers and "[keep] the light shining bright." -- Donald Liebenson

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