Furniture Books

This is just the cutest book that I've had to read to my daughter at least 3 times a day! We love the style of writing that's teamed with precious illustrations. I also like the extended use of vocabulary throughout the story. A favorite!

A tale told in clever rhyme that lots of fun (especially to read aloud.) But as much as I enjoyed the tale of an incredibly hard-to-please queen, it's the collage of ingenious illustrations that make me giggle. This is the kind of book you read to your kids, then pour over the illustrations after thay have gone to bed! A wonderful book....I can't wait for more.

If you like Neoclassic furniture, this is the one and only book you should have. It profiles all of the best Neoclassic furniture (in my opinion); that made in Italy.

Besides offering a lavish production so that each piece is really viewable, this book compiles virtually every piece of the style. It's an amazing but delicious encyclopedia.

This is a necessity for anyone who loves the style or needs authoritative information on it.

This is a fantastic sourcebook for collectors and dealers, and, I imagine, students. Fascinating text; high quality production (you get what you pay for) that makes it a lifelong reference and a handsome addition to one's library; fine photography of an amazing array of the best furniture from this time; and tastful, classic design. The representation surpassed my expectations--this book is the definitive, the one and only, the first thing to go to when researching a piece. I am most surprised by the historical overviews as they read extremely well. Not every piece is covered in extreme detail, but everything I've thought to look up has been there with a useful passage of at least a few paragraphs. The book is quite large and covers all the essentials and more.

A must for every wookworker's library, this book is a well ordered collection of articles written by master craftsmen. Packed with pictures, it begins with how to straighten warped woods then details how to curve straight woods. Full of information on every type of wood joint and jigs to make them work right the first time using one's hand or power tools. I have found the secrets revealed in this book to be most helpful in my understanding how to get the most out of my nice tools. I particularly like the section on how to choose router bits and detect whether or not they are defective. I had an expensive one shatter on first use; no more. I'll use this as a reference many times. It is well worth the buck.

I fully concur in the comments of the previous evaluator. As I near retirement, I am looking forward to using the great collection of woodworking tools I have amassed. This book has better explanations on the use of a jointer than the material that came with my recently purchased 6" Jet. The pictures, virtually all in color,are very illustrative and the text was just right - not too technical or boring but well written and to the point. The books treatment of straightening less-than-perfect material is outstanding.

I bought this book after taking classes in making lightship baskets locally, and must admit that without it I would not have been able to continue making them at home. The history of the baskets is excellent, and colored photographs of baskets as well as the island of Nantucket are numerous throughout the book. If you are at all interested in baskets, this book is a must!

I took a class by Martha Two yrs. ago that was great to. It was at the MBA in Grand Rapids MI. The book is just as good if not better. The history is something I always wanted to know about . Thank You Martha for such a wonderful book . C. M. Miller Bay City MI.

This book is fascinating. It is a very complete study of the influence of europen culture, art and crafts on the Maharajas of India, encompassing all forms of consumer goods... cars, jewels, trains, etc, etc. All these works of art are the result of intense cultural and economic exchange between both worlds and the book emphasizes this very well. A scholarly publication well served by wonderful photographs.

Dr. Amin Jaffer is a curator in the Asian Department of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London where he specializes in Indian art and culture during the era of European influence during the British Raj period (1857-1947). With "Made For Maharajas: A Design Diary Of Princely India", Dr. Amin has compiled with narrative commentary an impressive historical overview of art and luxury goods in all manner of media and associated with the aristocracy of the maharajas during these centuries. Superbly illustrated with 290 images (150 of which are in full color), the representative and custom-made artifacts range from private airplanes and luxury cars, to chandeliers, gold dinnerware, couture fashions, fine leather goods, houses, furniture, jewelry, and more. Dr. Amin drew upon the archives of firms that included Louis Vuitton, Boucheron, Chaumet, Cartier, and Hermies, he had access to palace and private collections, and employing his own extensive expertise, has written a text that is as entertaining as it is informative in revealing the extraordinarily varied works commissioned by princes whose personal wealth was exceeded only by their eccentricities. As an impeccable work of scholarship in a coffee-table art book format, "Made For Maharajas" is especially recommended for academic library collections and would make a superb choice as a community library Memorial Fund acquisition.

Jeff has plenty of jigs up to satisfy a shaker craftsman. His photos sure beat illustations. I loved the wooden vice and shaker bench plans. Plenty of other unique jigs.

Jeff has plenty of jigs up to satisfy a shaker craftsman. His photos sure beat illustations. I loved the wooden vice and shaker bench plans. Plenty of other unique jigs.

John Shea's "Measured Drawings of Museum Classics" is itself a classic. It is not just a book about furniture; he carefully includes enough information on the Shakers, their history and their religion to give the reader an appreciation and understanding of the people and their passion for piety, humility, industry and kindness. It was these virtues that gave birth to their beautiful classical simple and elegant furniture -- which has been admired by "the world's people" for two hundred years.

During his preparation to write his book, John visited several Shaker communities and museums. At Sabbathday Lake and Canterbury, he was fortunate to meet the surviving members of the Shakers including Mildred Barker and Gertrude Soule, both of whom have now passed away. Written in 1971, it includes pictures of Shaker buildings, woodenware and furniture from five of the Shaker communities and ten museums.

I have owned my copy for several years. I recently bought copies to give to two friends for Christmas, both experienced woodworkers, who indicated a desire to build furniture. It is inexpensive and completely in black and white but it contains pictures and measured drawings of 87 Shaker furniture and woodenware. In addition, it has pictures of hundreds of other shaker items and a wealth of information about the people and their communities.

He includes adequate step-by-step instructions of the assembly and finishing of three simple projects - a candle stand, a step stool and a bench. The instructions for cutting dovetails for the step stool is particularly helpful to a new furniture student.

Of all the books about the Shakers and their furniture, this is probably the best low cost, balanced introduction to the Shakers, their way of life and their furniture.

I was impressed by the detail of the Shaker way of life. I was looking for ideas and drawings,and I found out that the Shakers were very resourceful and inventive. This is a must read if you want to make Shaker furniture.

This book has tons of great pictures, easy to follow instructions and an index of suppliers. It is great for ideas for your dollhouse and it is easy to build one from the book.....

This book gives measured drawings and building instructions for five different buildings: a cider barn, a forge, the "Swan Inn", a really large Georgian house and a water mill. These are not (with the exception of the Georgian house) your "typical dollhouse". Still, the buildings are charming, the directions are complete and you might be TIRED of typical dollhouses. There are also many color photos of finished interiors, and a last chapter devoted to the workshop which covers safety, tools and techniques.

As a master woodworker, I've used this book many times as an aid to create several wooden Shaker replicas in my shop. It contains details and accurately scaled drawings, given in inches (rather than metric). For a drawing book it is very good, but the book could be larger. No construction or technique is given, as the book is intended for layout and graphics. The book is really one book in a set of three.

These are all small measured line drawings/tight sketches that show a wide variety or Shaker built furnishings with their basic dimensions.
Only the major forms are shown with different views and details where helpful.

I 've found them useful in replication of actual furniture as well as duplication of patterns that I can apply which are Shaker inspired.
I own the entire set of 3 and often refer to them when I want to duplicate patterns of drawers or doors and proportions for built-ins, as well as recreate individual pieces of furniture.

This book is truly superb - and an excellent encyclopedia, filled with tons of useful information. However, I must say don't forget this is a British book. Therefore, you will see references to British Pounds and U.S. Dollars. This is not really a problem, except when you are looking up a specific piece of furniture, which may have a different name in England. That said, I doubt most people will even notice the difference - so, not to worry - just something to keep in mind. I definitely recommend it -the images are incredible and all in color, filling every page cover to cover. It is the best book I've ever seen on antiques. In addition, I bought it at my local bookstore and paid $80.

Similar to Understanding Antiques in format, but offers more information. Well written and illustrated with good,clear color photos on every page. This is a must have book for any antique collector.