Customer Reviews

Charleston Furniture, 1700-1825

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I was looking for a book with details of the furniture produced during this period both to learn more about the style and for inspiration for my own creations. This book had only general descriptions of the types of wood and the types of things made with it. The photographs are low quality and few. A large portion of the book is devoted to documenting all the individuals who made furniture in the Charleston area but there are not any examples of their work identified in the book. By far the best thing about the book is the picture on the cover.

The tradition of southern furniture is a rich one and the cabinet-makers and joiners of the Charleston area created a high point in the making of American furniture -- pieces that are rich, that use local woods innovatively, and that have a decorative flair that sets them apart from other American furniture schools. Charleston furniture of this time period is solid and full of craft, yes, but it is also dynamic.

Burton's book, first published in 1955, has proved to be a minor publishing hit, being reprinted many times.

This is an older book! You shouldn't expect dazzling color photography! Get a newer book for that. Here you get about 100 or so b&w illustrations.

What Burton does provide is a nifty combination of history and aesthetics. He discusses the kinds of furniture made in Charleston, the kinds of furniture NOT made in Charleston, styles, influences, the nitty-gritty of the furniture trade. He sketches the history of many, many Charleston cabinet-makers, so if you know someone who would drool over the biographical details of a particular cabinet-maker, get them this book.

And since we all seem fixated on breakfronts, sideboards, and chairs, it is wonderful that this book devotes attention to other sorts of furniture.

Topics disussed include...

Early Charleston
Sources of Furniture
Schools/Styles
Labels
The Exporting Trade
Plantation-Made Furniture
Prices
Woods
Beds and Bedposts
Early tables/card tables/breakfast tables
Pediments
Sofas and Settees
Chairs
Brasses/Polishes
Sideboards
Cabinet-Makers' Receipts

Wonderful book about furniture of this period. Especially interesting for me as I had numerous relatives living in Charleston during this period and up to present. It gives insight into how people lived in Charleston during these times.