Researching Antique Furniture

Finding information about antique furniture is one of the more challenging areas of research for the collector. The vast range of periods and styles, as well as the manufacture of reproductions and fakes, make the identification and authentication of furniture particularly complicated. The following titles help to identify furniture styles and their periods, describe how to spot fakes and reproductions, and contain price information for furniture. This list is only an introduction to the materials owned by the library; see below to learn how to find more.

Identification and Price Guides

Dubrow, Eileen
Styles of American furniture, 1860-1960
Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub., c1997.
(r)q NK2407.D82 1997

Ketchum, William C.
American Furniture: Chests, Cupboards, Desks & Other Pieces
New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, c2000.
NK2725.K47 2000x

Lindquist, David P.
English and Continental Furniture, with Prices
Radnor, Pa.: Wallace-Homestead Book Co., c1994.
NK2525.L55 1994

McNerney, Kathryn.
American Oak Furniture
Paducah, KY: Collector Books, [1988], c1984.
(r)NK2407 .M34 1988x

McNerney, Kathryn.
American Oak Furniture, Book II
Paducah, KY: Collector Books, 1998.
(r)NK2407 .M34 1988x

Philp, Peter.
Field Guide to Antique Furniture
New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin, 1992.
NK2525.P52 1992x

Schwartz, Marvin D.
American Furniture: Tables, Chairs, Sofas & Beds
New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, c2000.
NK2715.S29 2000x

Smith, Nancy A.
Old Furniture: Understanding the Craftsman's Art
New York: Dover Publications, 1991.
q TT194.S63 1991 (Science & Technology)

Swedberg, Robert W.
American Oak Furniture: Styles and Prices Book I
3rd Edition
Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1998.
(r)NK2405.S89 1998x

Swedberg, Robert W.
Collector's Encyclopedia of American Furniture (3v.)
Paducah, KY: Collector Books.
qNK2405 .S894 1991

Swedberg, Robert W.
Furniture of the Depression Era: Furniture and Accessories of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s
Paducah, KY: Collector Books, c1987.
(r)qNK2408 .S9 1987x

Taylor, Fred & Gail
Identification of Older & Antique Furniture
Tampa, FL: F. & G. Taylor, c1993.
VIDEO: Art G - Ide

Warman's American Furniture
Iola, WI: Krause Publications, c2000.
(r)q NK2405.W34 2000

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Encyclopedias and Dictionaries of Styles and Periods

Furniture
London: M. Beazley, 2001.
NK2240.F87 2001x

Andrews, John
Antique Furniture
Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: Antique Collectors' Club, c1997.
NK2240.A47 1997x

Butler, Joseph T.
Field Guide to American Antique Furniture
New York: H. Holt, 1986.
NK2405.B87 1986

Naeve, Milo M.
Identifying American Furniture: a Pictorial Guide to Styles and Terms, Colonial to Contemporary
Nashville, Tenn.: American Association for State and Local History, 1989, c1981.
(r)NK2405 .N28 1989

Forrest, Tim
The Bulfinch Anatomy of Antique Furniture: an Illustrated Guide to Identifying Period, Detail, and Design
Boston: Little, Brown, c1996.
q NK2235.F67 1996

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Directories of Makers and Manufacturers

Dubrow, Eileen.
American Furniture of the 19th century, 1840-1880
Exton, Pa.: Schiffer Ltd., c1983.
(r)qNK2407 .D8 1983

American Manufactured Furniture
West Chester, Pa.: Schiffer Pub., c1988.
(r)q TS853 .A47 1988

Bjerkoe, Ethel Hall.
The Cabinetmakers of America
Exton, Pa.: Schiffer Ltd., c1978.
(r)NK2406 .B55 1978

Ketchum, William C.
American Cabinetmakers: Marked American Furniture, 1640-1940
New York: Crown Publishers, c1995.
rNK2405 .K48 1995

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Buyers’ Guides

Weinhagen, Robert F.
Assume Nothing: a Manual for Buyers of American and English Antique Furniture
Highland House Publishers, c1993.
(r)NK2405.W38 1993

Kaye, Myrna.
Fake, Fraud, or Genuine?: Identifying Authentic American Antique Furniture
Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Co., c1987.
(r)qNK2240 .K39 1987

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Searching the Library Catalog

Subject Headings

Subject headings are assigned to each book so that you can find it in the Library Catalog with the SUBJECT search. The following is a list of useful subject headings to find books on furn iture.

You can start with a very broad subject heading, such as Furniture, and do a lot of browsing, OR you can subdivide it by country, state, style, or other descriptive term, such as in the following examples:

• Furniture -- England
• Furniture, Oak
• Furniture -- Expertising
• Furniture -- Pennsylvania
• Furniture, Mission
• Furniture -- Styles

These subject headings can be even further subdivided, in much the same manner:

• Furniture -- England -- Dictionaries

• Furniture -- History -- 17th century

• Furniture -- United States -- Collectors and collecting

• Furniture, Mennonite -- Pennsylvania -- Chester County – Exhibitions

There are many more specific subject headings that may be useful, as well, such as:

• Cabinetmakers
• Country furniture
• Stickley, Gustav
• Chairs
• Shaker furniture
• Wicker furniture

Although browsing through the subject headings can be useful, in fact, it is often better to use a WORD search to combine subject headings, since many books have more than one subject heading.

Sample word searches:

• oak and stickley
• furniture and arts and crafts movement
• chairs and 19th century

Browsing the Shelves

Browsing the open stacks is often the easiest method for finding circulating books on related topics. Take note, however, that you can find related books in four different places on the shelves in the Music and Art Department. Books on furniture are in the NK2200's to the NK2700's in the Library of Congress classification system, and in 749's in the Dewey Decimal system.

Internet sources

FM4: Furniture: Industry, Design, History
http://www.iserv.net/~plucas/index.htm
A terrific starting place on all aspects of furniture.

History of Furniture Timeline
http://www.maltwood.uvic.ca/hoft/timeline.html
Covers 1660-1950 and includes names, terminology and materials for each period.

Furniture: Guide Picks from About.com
http://antiques.about.com/cs/furniture/index.htm
Links & articles to help learn about periods, styles, terminology & more.