Customer Reviews

Field Guide to American Antique Furniture: A Unique Visual System for Identifying the Style of Virtually Any Piece of American Antique Furniture

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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This book is good for a quick reference. It is filled with sketches that are grouped into categories (chairs, tables, beds).
It can help you identify the style of a piece of furntiture, but doesn't help authenticating the piece.

Excellent and easy to use reference book, illustrates styles in thier purest form. Does not treat the subject of authenticity but notes characteristics and idiosyncracies of various examples.

Get this one. It shows and tells what a novice needs to learn about antique furniture. Also...a great refresher for long-time antiquers.

Very helpful book! I now have a better sense of what to look for when going to antique/estate auctions. Also helped me estimate the age and style of a few pieces I already had.

Great book for the price. Book is exactly what the title says it is. Lots of line drawings and pictures to help with identification.

I purchased this book not really knowing anything about it but seeing it suggested in Miller's Price Guide. I went online to Amazon and found this copy at a VERY reasonable used price..

Any antique furniture buyer will tell you it is so very hard to keep the details of different unique makers marks straight while out and about looking at furniture. Seeing antique furniture, no problem. You can spot it a mile away. But to get up close and discover where was it made, possible makers, era, etc. You really need to have the details at your finger tips.

One good example is Chippendale. With the claw and ball example, there were many makers here in the Eastern states who made the claw and ball feature. Each state almost has its unique way of making its claw and ball different. Just slightly enough that if you did not know, someone could tell you the piece was manufactured in New York by a famous maker...when the features, very slightly would suggest an older date from say, PA.

When I saw this book advertised it said over 1700+ pictures and I thought that may be wishful thinking! But indeed, this book is so full of drawings to accompany the features that it is very clear in demostation what to look for in your furniture. These are not full color photos, but rather line drawings which actually work better when you are looking at style rather than one particular example.

I especially enjoy the way the book is categorized by era. It helps to show each era and how furniture changed with the era. The first chapter on the History of American Furniture is very informative!

I will not ever be without this book again when looking at furniture!

this book seems to be pretty comprehensive, and the sketches are great! Wish I had this in college while studying period furnishings! Elements of the furniture are categorized by origin and style, great reference.