Database of Early American Furniture

Do you like furniture? Sure, we all do! So you'll find very interesting the many offerings from the Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture, available at http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/DLDecArts .

Click on the "Chipstone Collection images" link to access a database of almost 500 images of 100 examples of early American furniture. A search for "foot" found 45 images. Most of the images on the front page were close-ups of furniture feet; information included title, subject, place/time, and rights. If you click on the picture you get a somewhat larger picture (and links to even LARGER pictures if you just can't get enough of furniture feet) and additional details about the furniture including dimensions. If you click on the Accession number link (here's an example: "Chipstone Accession No. 1992.10") you'll get a set of all the images associated with that object. Some of this furniture is gorgeous. Why am I sitting on a plastic folding chair?

This site also offers twelve titles that are considered "significant books for the study of decorative arts and material culture (with an emphasis toward 18-19th century American material culture)." Browse gently through William Pain's "The practical house carpenter, or, Youth's instructor containing a great variety of useful designs in carpentry and architecture; the five orders laid down by an entire new scale" or wonder at the artistry of George Brookshaw's "A new treatise on flower painting, or, Every lady her own drawing master: containing familiar and easy instructions for acquiring a perfect knowledge of drawing flowers with accuracy and taste." Accuracy AND taste, mind you. If you're not patient you can also search the collected texts by keyword. Much browsing to be had here.

Posted to Culture-Home and Household | TrackBack