Colonial revival in America : annotated bibliography
IV. Decorative Arts, Furniture, Interiors

"The Antique Craze."
Cabinet Making and Upholstery 1 (15 March 1884): 30.IV

A very brief but whimsical commentary on how "the manufacture of antiques has become a modern industry", which hints at the origins of professional 'distressing'.


"The Antiques of Williamsburg."
Antiques 63 (May 1953): 160-298. IV

An entire issue devoted to antique furniture and decorative objects used in the reconstruction of Colonial Williamsburg.

Ames, Kenneth L., ed.
Victorian Furniture: Essays from a Victorian Society Autumn Symposium.
[Nineteenth Century: Vol. 8, Nos. 3-4]. Philadelphia: The Victorian Society in America, 1982. IV

Two-volume edition features seventeen essays from the symposium which, the editor proposes, demonstrate attentiveness to the emergence of "material culture as a form of nonverbal communication." Contributors who model a variety of new approaches to furniture and design studies include Donald Fennimore, David Hanks, Christopher Monkhouse, Rodris Roth, Page Talbott, Edward Teitelman and Richard Guy Wilson. Includes “The Ironies of Style: Complexities and Contradictions in Decorative Arts, 1850 — 1900” by Harvey Green.

Arthur, Catherine Rogers.
"The True Antiques of Tomorrow": Potthast Bros., Inc., Baltimore Furniture Craftsmen, 1892-1975.". M.A.thesis,University of Delaware, 1999. IV

Tells the story of a Baltimore furniture-making firm that has produced hand-crafted reproduction furniture for almost a century.

Brazer, Esther Stevens.
Early American Decoration: A Comprehensive Treatise.
Springfield, Mass.: The Pond-Ekberg Company, 1940. IV

Detailed information on colonial furniture and wall decoration, with practical demonstrations, done in the hope that "Colonial interior decoration will come into its own as a delightful background for daily living."

Cantor, Jay E.
Winterthur.
New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1985/1997 revision. IV

History of the transformation of the du Pont home to a museum after 1951, owing to Henry Francis du Pont's avid conoisseurship of the decorative arts. Throughly illustrated account demonstrates how du Pont's personal collection became a tool of scholarship, and turned the display of objects into an artform.

Chamberlain, Samuel.
Beyond New England Thresholds.
New York: Hastings House, 1937. IV

A photographic essay on the interiors of forty-five houses from the colonial and Early Republican periods, designed to tell the story of the progress of American taste and manners.


"Colonial Furniture and Bric-a-Brac."
The Decorator and Furnisher 1 (March 1883): 196.IV

Quaintly contemporary commentary on seeking value in old things.

Cook, Clarence.
The House Beautiful: Essays on Beds and Tables, Stools and Candlesticks. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1881 reprint.
New York: Dover Publications, 1995. IV

A guide to taste in the decoration of the home, which contains scattered references of admiration concerning "old" furniture.

Cord, Xenia E.
"Marketing Quilts in the 1920s and 1930s."
Uncoverings 16 (1995): 139-173. IV

Examines the development of a popular market for Colonial Revival kit quilts in the twenties and thirties and the manner in which sentimental rhetoric was used to target potential buyers.

Cunningham, Patricia A. , and Susan Voso Lab, eds.
Dress in American Culture.
Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1993. IV

A collection of papers on American clothing that contains Beverly Gordon's, "Dressing the Colonial Past: Nineteenth Century New Englanders Look Back," an essay that describes how some mid-nineteenth century people costumed themselves in colonial-type dress as a way of "enacting" the past.

Davidson, Marshall B. and Elizabeth Stillinger.
The American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985.IV

Helpful visual review of museum holdings acquired since 1924, organized by period and collection type. Includes "Early Colonial, 1630-1730" and "Late Colonial, 1730-1790" headings for sections on period rooms, furniture, silver, pewter, ceramics, glass, and art.

Dulaney, William L.
"Wallace Nutting: Collector and Entrepreneur."
Winterthur Portfolio 13 (1979): 47-60. IV

This article describes the activities of Wallace Nutting (1861-1941), a prolific and important collector, photographer, promoter and designer of colonial and Colonial Revival furniture and objects.

Dunbar, Jean.
"One House at a Time."
Preservation 50 (September/October 1998): 60-67. IV

Reviews the life and work of Candace Thurber Wheeler, one of the first American women to make a living as a designer. Wheeler co-founded the Associated Artists firm in 1879 along with Louis Comfort Tiffany, Samuel Coleman and Lockwood de Forest. She promoted Colonial Revival styles in architecture, decorative arts and interior design in an attempt to reform the quality of modern life.


"Duncan Phyfe, Master Craftsman."
American Architect 122 (8 November 1922): 427-429. IV

An illustrated description of Phyfe's colonial furniture, published in conjunction with an exhibition at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Eberlein, Harold Donaldson, and Abbot McClure.
The Practical Book of American Antiques Exclusive of Furniture. Revised edition with new supplement.
Philadelphia and London: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1929. IV

A compendium for "collectors, amateurs and searchers for fine old things," designed to provide "precious knowledge of our artistic heritage." Covers glass, metalwork, needlecraft, silver, pewter, pottery, decorative painting, portraiture and allegorical painting, weaving, fractur, woodblock printing, wood and stone carving and lace.

Emlen, Robert P.
"Imagining America in 1834: Zuber's Scenic Wallpaper "Vues d'Am_rique du Nord."
Winterthur Portfolio (Summer/Autumn 32 1997): 189-210. IV

Studies the history of a scenic wallpaper designed by the French company Jean Zuber et Cie in 1834. The forty-nine foot wallpaper, which depicted "a rose-colored view of life in Jacksonian America," became so popular that it was reissued many times between 1854 and 1864, and again in 1880 and 1923. It was a favorite of colonial revivalists, and was even used by Jacqueline Kennedy for the White House's Diplomatic Reception Room.

Farnam, Anne.
"A.H. Davenport and Company, Boston furniture makers."
Antiques 109 (May 1976): 1048-1055. IV

A brief history of an important furniture-making company of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, which specialized in revival styles and made furniture for the White House and many of Boston and New York's wealthy elite.


"The Furniture of Our Forefathers: How it Embodies the History and Romance of Its Period."
The Craftsman 24 (May 1913): 148-157. IV

Describes and praises (and overestimates the availability of) Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton furniture in the colonial period, implying that it is worth our attention and affection.

Garrett, Wendell D.
"Furniture owned by the American Antiquarian Society."
Antiques 97 (March 1970): 402-407. IV

The story of how the American Antiquarian Society, which is not in the business of collecting furniture, has compiled an impressive collection of colonial furniture since 1814.

Gordon, Beverly.
"Spinning Wheels, Samplers, and the Modern Priscilla: The Images and Paradoxes of Colonial Revival Needlework."
Winterthur Portfolio 33 (Summer/Autumn 1998): 163-194. IV

Examines American needlework from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries, with particular attention given to the changing nature of "colonial" during that time and the role of women in the production of both material objects and meanings.

Halsey, R. T. Haines and Elizabeth Tower.
The Homes of Our Ancestors, as Shown in the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York [...].
Garden City, LI: Doubleday, Page, and Company, 1925. IV

Later editions, such as the 1928 version, feature increasingly finer photographs of room interiors, which at the time of this initial "deluxe" run were state-of-the-art. Subtitling says it all: "From the beginnings of New England through the early days of the republic; exhibiting the development of the arts of interior architecture and house decoration, the arts of cabinetmaking, silversmithing, etc., especial emphasis being laid upon the point that our early craftsmen evolved from the fashions of the Old World a style of their own; with an account of the social conditions surrounding the life of the original owners of the various rooms."

Harrison, Constance Cary.
Women's Handiwork in Modern Homes.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1881.IV

Influential in its time, this how-to guide includes sections on needlework with types of stitches, china painting, and hints for decorating the “modern” home, including decorations for dinner tables.

Hill, John H.
"Furniture Designs of Henry W. Jenkins & Sons Co."
Winterthur Portfolio 5 (1969): 154-187. IV

Tells the history of a Baltimore furniture-making firm that produced Colonial Revival pieces among its other work over a 105-year period.

Holloway, Edward Stratton.
American Furniture and Decoration - Colonial and Federal.
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1928.IV

Presents furniture styles of Colonial and Federal periods, illustrated with b/w photos, and provides one of the earliest rationales for the sources of certain styles of furniture.


"The House and Garden Dictionary of Period Decoration: Colonial."
House and Garden 79 (March 1941): 41-44. IV

One of a series of guides to period decoration from one of America's most popular homemaking magazines. Each article provides an illustrated dictionary of furniture and architectural decoration. Demonstrates the popularity of the Colonial Revival on the eve of World War II.


"The House and Garden Dictionary of Period Decoration: Early Colonial Period."
House and Garden 80 (July 1941): 29-32. IV

One of a series of guides to period decoration from one of America's most popular homemaking magazines. Each article provides an illustrated dictionary of furniture and architectural decoration. Demonstrates the popularity of the Colonial Revival on the eve of World War II.


"The House and Garden Dictionary of Period Decoration: Georgian Period."
House and Garden 80 (September and November 1941): 41-44; 53-56. IV

One of a series of guides to period decoration from one of America's most popular homemaking magazines. Each article provides an illustrated dictionary of furniture and architectural decoration. Demonstrates the popularity of the Colonial Revival on the eve of World War II.

Kardon, Janet, ed.
Revivals! Diverse Traditions, 1920-1945: The History of Twentieth-Century American Craft.
New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, in association with the American Craft Museum, 1994. IV

Exhibition catalog that highlights various craft revivals in the interwar years. Includes essays by Harvey Green ("Culture and Crisis: Americans and the Craft Revival"), William B. Rhoads ("Colonial Revival in American Craft: Nationalism and the Opposition to Multicultural and Regional Traditions"), William Wroth ("The Hispanic Craft Revival in New Mexico"), and John Michael Vlach (""Keeping On Keeping On": African American Craft during the Era of Revivals").

Kimerly, William Lowing.
How to Know Period Styles in Furniture; A Brief History of Furniture from the Days of Ancient Egypt to the Present Time.
Grand Rapids, MI: Grand Rapids Furniture Record Co., 1912. IV

A demonstration of early twentieth century interests in historical furniture, including that of the American colonial period.

Lasansky, Jeannette.
Pieced By Mother: Over 100 Years of Quiltmaking Traditions.
Lewisburg, Penn.: The Oral Tradition Project of the Union County Historical Society, 1987. IV

This study of central Pennsylvania quilts includes a chapter on the "grandmother's quilt" movement of the 1890s to 1930s.

Lockwood, Luke Vincent.
Colonial Furniture in America. Third edition. 2 vols.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926. IV

A handbook on colonial American furniture for the collector and connoisseur.

Lynes, Russell.
The Tastemakers.
New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1949. IV

An interesting history of American taste and those who shape it in the architecture and the arts.

Lyon, Irving Whitall.
The Colonial Furniture of New England: A Study of the Domestic Furniture in Use in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.
New York: Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., 1891. IV

A good example of an early colonial era furniture study.

Mayhew, Edgar de N., and Jr. Minor Myers.
A Documentary History of American Interiors From the Colonial Era to 1915.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1980. IV

An illustrated book on the history of American interiors, with sections on colonial and colonial revival eras.

McClelland, Nancy.
Furnishing the Colonial and Federal House. Revised edition.
Philadelphia and New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1947. IV

Intended for those who, "desiring to furnish their houses comfortably and at a modest expense, want them at the same time to express the atmosphere and feeling that existed in the days of which our modern Colonial and Federal dwellings are reminiscent."

McClelland, Nancy.
Historic Wallpapers from their Inception to the Introduction of Machinery.
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1924. IV

This history of wallpaper includes 12 color plates, 245 half-tone illustrations and a chart of periods.

Monkhouse, Christopher.
"The Spinning Wheel as Artifact, Symbol, and Source of Design."
Nineteenth Century 8 (3-4 1982): 153-172. IV

Charts the revived interest in spinning wheels during mid-19th century as symbolic of the pre-industrial era. Monkhouse argues that modern versions of the Philadelphia Centennial, at 1976 bicentennial exhibits, often featured spinning wheels, and led to a wave of furniture styles that resembled spinning wheels.

Monkman, Betty C. and Bruce White.
The White House: its Historic Furnishings and First Families.
New York: White House Historical Association/Abbeville Press, 2000. . IV

Highly visual history of the White House from Washington's era to the Clinton administration, with emphasis on how furnishings and decorative objects were acquired by various presidential families. "Catalog of Objects", chapter on “National Identity and the Colonial Revival, 1900 — 1950s" and a separate roster of "Important Acquisitions, 1961-2000" of particular interest.

Morse, Frances Clary.
Furniture of the Olden Time.
New York: The Macmillan Company, 1913. IV

A survey of colonial period furniture.

Nutting, Wallace.
Furniture of the Pilgrim Century (of American origin) 1620-1720. 2 vols. 1924; reprint.
New York: Dover Publications, 1965. IV

This two-volume compendium by one of the major figures in the Colonial Revival contains all types of early colonial furniture.

Nutting, Wallace.
Furniture Treasury (Mostly of American Origin). 3 vols.
Framingham, Mass.: Old America Company, 1928. IV

A vast catalog of 5,000 pieces of colonial furniture and household objects.

Nutting, Wallace.
Wallace Nutting Supreme Edition General Catalog.1930; reprint.
Exton, Penn.: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1984. IV

Catalog of Wallace Nutting colonial furniture reproductions from the 1930s.

Ormsbee, Thomas Hamilton.
Early American Furniture Makers: A Social and Biographical Study.
New York: Tudor Publishing Company, 1930. IV

A survey of the history of American furniture to the mid-nineteenth century.

Roessel, Elizabeth Harding.
"'The Way We've Always Made It': The C. Dodge Furniture Company and the Cabinetmaking Industry of Manchester, Massachusetts.". M.A. thesis,University of Delaware, 1987. IV

Tells the story of a furniture making company that continued to use "old-fashioned" techniques and tools to produce colonial style furniture into the 1960s.

Roth, Rodris.
"The Colonial Revival and "Centennial Furniture."
The Art Quarterly 27 (1 1964): 57-77. IV

An important article on the early Colonial Revival interest in furniture.

Roth, Rodris.
"Pieces of History: Relic Furniture of the 19th Century."
Antiques 101 (May 1972) : 874-878.IV

Giving expression to the idea that furniture transmits history, Roth features special furniture was created for the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Pieces of interest include "relic furniture", created from a tree in Independence Square, hickory chairs from the grounds of Andrew Jackson's Hermitage, and furniture made from the Charter Oak in Connecticut (the site where the colony's charter was hidden from English government representatives).

Seale, William.
The Tasteful Interlude: American Interiors Through the Camera's Eye, 1860-1917.
New York: Praeger Publishers, 1975. IV

A collection of photographs of Victorian-era interiors that demonstrates how colonial reproduction furniture was often incorporated with other decorative items to produce an eclectic whole.

Shackleton, Robert, and Elizabeth Shackleton.
The Quest of the Colonial.
New York: The Century Company, 1913. IV

A chatty book that details the authors' never-ending search for colonial objects.

Singleton, Edith.
The Furniture of Our Forefathers. 1900/01; "improved" edition.
New York: Benjamin Blom, Inc., Publishers, 1970. IV

Combines tales of daily social life in the colonial period with notes on individual pieces of furniture by architectural critic Russell Sturgis.

Smith, Robert C.
"Furniture of the Eclectic Decades, 1870-1900."
Antiques 76 (July 1959) : 52.IV

Popularized through expositions such as the Paris Exposition of 1878, the Philadelphia Centennial in 1876 and the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, Smith illustrates how revivals in furniture design often combined two or more styles.

Stillinger, Elizabeth.
The Antiquers: The Lives and Careers, the Deals, the Finds, the Collections of the Men and Women Who Were Responsible for the Changing Taste in American Antiques, 1850-1930 .
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1980. IV

Described by the subtitle: "The lives and careers, the deals, the finds, the collections of the men and women who were responsible for the changing taste in American antiques, 1850-1930." Includes many Colonial Revival promoters found in this bibliography.

Stillinger, Elizabeth.
The Antiques Guide to Decorative Arts in America, 1600-1875.
New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1972. IV

A guide to early American decorative arts. Arranged by chronological style, covering furniture, silver, ceramics and glass.

Thomson, James.
"The Adam Style as Applied to Furniture and Fittings."
The Craftsman 27 (February 1915): 470-478. IV

A review of Adam style furniture, the source for the "delicacy and restraint" in American colonial style designs.

Thomson, James.
"In the Days of Good Queen Anne."
The Craftsman 28 (June 1915): 304-311. IV

A review of the Queen Anne style in furniture and architecture; all illustrations are of furniture.

Thomson, James.
"What is Colonial Furniture?"
The Craftsman 25 (October 1913): 104-108. IV

Defines colonial furniture ("all furniture in vogue prior to the beginning of the nineteenth century") and compares it to the "clumsy pseudo classic stuff" that dates from 1810-1870 and fools many collectors.

Thomson, James.
"What is the Chippendale Style? A Study of This Great Cabinetmaker."
The Craftsman 26 (April 1914): 59-66. IV

An effort to end confusion over what is and is not Chippendale style, in light of the multitude of mislabeled revival pieces.

Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher.
The Age of Homespun: Objects and Stories in the Creation of an American Myth.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf/Random House, 2001. IV

Twelve chapters spanning the 17th- to early 19th-century demonstrate how New England's female-centered production of textiles developed long before the Revolution or hydraulic technologies as a response to new marketing opportunities in the rural North. The story of the feminization of weaving in the 18th century. By the 19th-century, Americans began collecting "authentic" items that were valued as expressions of patriotism, family pride, national identity, domestic thrift, and household industry. Thoroughly indexed and footnoted.

Wallis, Frank E.
American Architecture, Decoration and Furniture of the Eighteenth Century.
New York: Paul Wenzel, 1896. IV

Measured drawings and sketches of details from colonial and Colonial Revival houses.

Wheeler, Candace.
The Development of Embroidery in America.
New York and London: Harper & Brothers, 1921.IV

Wheeler's simple narrative about the history of American needlework, and some of its sources, elevates American native quillwork, crewel work, samplers and quilts as records of history, revealing a perspective that was contemporary with the 20th-century Colonial Revival.

Wheeler, Candace.
Principles of Home Decoration.
New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1908. IV

A primer on home decoration as the art of good taste by a prominent Colonial Revival promoter. Includes many examples of colonial antique or revival decoration, and praises the "fine fitness" of colonial furniture.

Wilson, Kathleen Curtis.
"Weaving Cloth and Marketing Nostalgia: Clinch Valley Blanket Mills, 1890-1950, Cedar Bluff, Virginia."
Uncoverings 15 (1994): 169-204. IV

Thorough recounting of the savvy marketing of southern Appalachian crafts, and one of the earliest campaigns to sell a concept of tradition, which influenced the general public between 1890 and 1950. Although Clinch Valley's looms were powered by steam, water and electricity, its brochures, promotional flyers and mail order ads show how the Goodwin family intentionally projected a sense of historical authenticity for commercial gain.