Colonial Furniture of New England

Irving Lyon

As the ex-husband of an expert in certain types of collectibles, I've seen a large number of books like this go past my eyes over the last decade and change. This one, actually, fell into my hands purely by accident; I'd requested something else at the library, and this must have had the same barcode, because it came in instead of the other book. Something perverse in me decided to keep it around and give it a whirl, and I have to say, I'm quite glad I did.

Most modern collectibles guides are nothing more than big, lushly-illustrated price lists. Not so Colonial Furniture of New England; in fact, prices are only mentioned in their contemporaneous contexts, with no speculation from Lyon about what such and such a piece might be worth in the present day. What the book actually is is a fascinating look into the etymology of furniture, how certain pieces came to look the way they do, and other such subjects (including, as filler-- the preface explains why-- such trivialities having nothing to do with furniture as when and how chocolate first started being imported to the states, and an unintentionally amusing bit about the granting of licensures to chocolatiers. It seems the stuff was even more feared, in the seventeenth century, than demon rum).

Lyon divides the book into seven chapters, each addressing a particular type of furniture, and each well illustrated. Those who don't know much about furniture may find themselves lost for a while-- it took me almost half the book to figure out, for example, what japanning means, as related to furniture-- but you'll get it eventually.

As a price guide, of course, it's useless. For those who love language, on the other hand, it's a small, hidden gem. Highly recommended.