Customer Reviews

Care and repair of everyday treasures

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I bought this book when I needed information on BASIC care of my antiques of all sorts, including reviving leather on furniture and gilding on pictures, as well as polishing etc. To a small extent I got that. But most of the techniques in this book --most notably in the section on upholstery -- while clear, leave a dangerous impression of ease. For almost any of them, you need a degree of skill that would make much of the advice unnecessary. Don't try upholstering anything from this book or you'll have a dead sofa! Theory is only a small part of handcraft. Even hand's on basic courses aren't enough. incidentally, if you want to clean gilt,say, forget it, though Miller tells you how to regild. NOT a basic care manual, in fact!

I wish I'd had this book 40 years ago. An amazing compilation of general how-to for antiques but also every day items that need TLC. Helful hints like: don't let the dog use the antique Chinese rug for a restroom, it ruins the value! It would make a great wedding gift.

This book is an entertaining read, and it can give some rather bare instructions on how to do certain things, but there is a lot of really bad advice in here; for example, the author pushes boiled linseed oil as a great way to polish wood. A little research on the web will show you that linseed oil (boiled or not) is not only an effective way to mess up a good chunk of fine wood; it is a fabulous way to burn down your house without ever lighting a flame. Boiled linseed oil has a dreadful tendency to just suddenly burst into flame all on its own; more than one house has burned down because of this stuff. Also, the advice on polishing silver is horrible. I have studied the care of fine silver extensively, and have mastered the art of polishing and the preservation of antique silver, and I would never use any of the techniques described in this book.
If you have common sense and don't trust the author implicitly, you can learn a few things from reading this book. Not much, though; I think it can cause more problems than it can solve. When I get around to restoring the water-damaged wood veneer antique furniture I just purchased, I will use my own common sense and logic; not the advice in this book. You can do the same.

If you're someone faced with antique for the first time (like I was), this is exactly what you need. The book addresses all the repairs I'll have to do on my furniture and silverware, lists all the necessary material and tools as well as documents the procedures you have to follow. Highly recommended.