The Great Book List
Over time many beginnning collectors have asked about what reference books they need. So finally, here you go. My personal top ten. All of these books are available used from specialty booksellers, or if you're lucky elsewhere. My favorite bookseller is Rick Russack books, www.booksaboutantiques.com, or set up at your favorite show.
1. Beyond New England Thresholds by Samuel Chamerlain, Hastings House, 1937, out of print, available. This is my all time feel good book, this is why I collect. Great moody black and white pictures of New England interiors, great early American furniture. The other book is New England Rooms by Samuel Chamberlain and Narcissa Chamberlain, some different picture, some repeats, just as good.
2. The Impecunious Collector by James T. Kirk, 1975, Knopf, out of print, widely available in paperback. This is the book that started all the interest in original surfaces. John compares various pieces and helps your eye to learn what is good and why. He coined the phrase, buy it ratty and leave it alone, still useful today, and a great response to all the refinishing that was all the style at that time.
3. Early American Antique Country Furnishings by George Neumann, L-W Book Sales, in print. This is considered the bible for early Americana, a great reference book with black and white pictures of furniture and smalls and prices. Many dealers have several copies, one for each vehicle.
4. The Pine Furniture of Early New England by Russell Kettell, 1929 by Dover. This is a great book with lots of pictures in black and white of early pine furniture, country furniture.
5. Furniture Treasury by Wallace Nutting, MacMillan, 1928, widely available. This has 5ooo illustrations in black and white of early American furniture, from high style to country. Wallace was the guru of early American furniture back in the day, and this is still a terrific reference book.
6. Fine Points Of Furniture by Albert Sack, Crown, 1940, widely available,$12. Lots of black and white photos, mostly more formal furniture, but great comparisons of good, better and best. Great training for the eyes.
7. Country Arts In Early American Homes by Nina Fletcher Little, Dutton, 1975, still in print I think. A great introduction to acessories for the early home. A little bit about all the differnent categories of collecting, all country and all from her own collection. Nina was one of the great early collectors of the 1940's.
8. Early American Wooden Ware by Mary Earle Gould, Tuttle, 1962, out of print, hard to find, $50. Extensive black and white photos and information on every kind of treen object imaginable that was used in early homes.
8. About early lighting there are two good starter books. Early Lighting by the Rushlight Club, 1988, available. This is a great reference book on early lighting, lots of black and white pictures, and explanations of lighting from very early times through early electric. I also like Colonial and Early American Lighting by Arthur Hayward, 1923, Dover, widely available. This has great pictures of early lighting, and the pictures of early tin chandelier will make you cry with envy.
9. On early textiles the best overall general book is, oddly enough, one of the American Country series by Time Life called The Needle Arts, widely availble, 1990. It has good clear color pictures of all the major types of early needlework. Sometimes a little info and a name is all you need to get started researching.
10. The volume called Folk Art from series The Knopf Collectors Guides to American Antiques is a good overview of all the major categories of folk art currently being collected. Good color pictures and prices, still in print.
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House Restoring
Here are a few pics of our current project. We are moving our kitchen circa 1940's from the old part of the house to the "new" addition on the back. The old kitchen was a shed that was moved and added onto the house sometime ago. You can see by the early posts and beams it was as early as the house, and by the later beadboard that the work was maybe done in the 1920s.
Here is Cy moving the water lines that are in the future doorway between old kitchen and new.
This is a pic of the inside of the wall of the old kitchen, (the shed).
This is looking from the keeping room into the old kitchen. Right now you step down 2 steps, after hitting your head on the 5' tall doorway. We hope to fix that.
This is a pic from the old kitchen into the keeping room, and the back of the settle. Look at the thick old sheathing with rosehead nails that was under the original exterior. The hole was an old window.
As you can see, Cy is taking a much needed break! The door is moved, and a small deck is added. Hey, we almost forgot if you move your door you also have to move your steps!
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