America's Traditional Crafts [Hardcover]

Robert Shaw (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This astonishing survey of American crafts from the early 1800s to the present reveals that craft objects often achieve fine-art levels of beauty, sophistication and originality. The focus is on functional objects, including intricate works in wrought iron, shorebird decoys, furniture, musical instruments, pantry boxes, rugs, stoneware, scrimshaw, leatherwork, Shaker tools and baskets, Amish quilts and Native American moccasins, dresses and quillwork. In his engaging text, Shaw, curator at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, provides valuable historical perspective by showing, for example, how craft co-operatives during the Depression revived and modified 19th-century rug-making techniques, or how African Americans and Native Americans adapted the European-American tradition of hand-carved walking sticks, adding features derived from their own iconographic customs. Anyone interested in crafts will want to own this extraordinary showcase of living traditions, illustrated with 310 color photographs.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Written by a curator at The Shellburne Museum in Vermont, this large and beautiful book presents a collector's view of American crafts. Primarily historical in tone, the work uses 337 color photos to present such traditional crafts as textiles, ceramics, woodenwork, basketry, decoys, musical instruments, and metalwork. Although cowboy leatherwork and Native American weaving and quillwork are shown, the gaze of the book seldom lifts over the rise of the Appalachian Mountains. The sparse text fails to provide much meaningful information, and the few small vignettes of artisans cannot bring them to life. Unless a broad photographic overview is wanted, books on specific crafts would be more cost effective.
- David McClelland, Temple Univ. Lib., Philadelphia
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Hugh Lauter Levin Associates; First Edition edition (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 088363693X
• ISBN-13: 978-0883636930
• Product Dimensions: 14.1 x 11.3 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,054,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert Shaw is a gifted communicator who lectures, writes, curates, and consults on many aspects of American folk arts and crafts. His many critically acclaimed books include American Quilts: The Democratic Art, Hand Made, Hand Played: The Art and Craft of Contemporary Guitars, The Art Quilt, America's Traditional Crafts, and American Baskets. He has curated exhibitions at major museums and expositions in the United States, Europe, and Japan, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival.; contributed to numerous books and exhibition catalogs; written articles for The Magazine Antiques, Early American Life, Sports Afield, Fiber Arts, and other periodicals; and served as a consultant to museums, private collectors, and Sotheby's auction house. His web sites are www.roberteshaw.com and www.artofthequilt.com.