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Shades of our Ancestors, by Alice Van Leer
Carrick (1928)
One of my favorite books, a great read and a wonderful place to learn
about American silhouettes and silhouette artists. Great reference material, lots of good black & white
illustrations (plus one beautiful color frontpiece), and the stories
will make you fall in love with American silhouettists. The book is in
very good condition with just a very small hard to notice water-stain on
the bottom edge of the front cover and a few pages. Very nice and
tight.
(#4162) $65
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British Silhouette Artists and their Work, by
Sue McKechnie (1978)
This is the Bible of silhouette research....the seminal
work....whatever other superlatives can be attached to a reference
book.... Ms. McKechnie devoted her adult life to the study of
antique silhouettes. This comprehensive book is 799 pages of
information and tons of images (it weighs a ton, too). It catalogs
every trade label and signature known and recorded at the time of its
publication. It discusses individual artists, the history of
silhouettes, frames, jewelry, and has a large chapter detailing costumes
of the periods (this is my best source for dating silhouettes and
portraits). Lucky for us, Ms. McKechnie even devoted a chapter to
artists working in America! If you are building a collection of
silhouettes, or selling or appraising silhouettes, you've gotta have
this book! I apologize in advance for the price. This book
as gotten extremely hard to find. I looked for months for a copy
that I could offer at what I finally had to decide was a "reasonable"
rate. Believe me, if you are serious about silhouettes, this will
be your go-to book. Please also note that the book weighs more
than 8 pounds and will be costly to ship....but it is really, really
worth it! This copy is in excellent condition.
(#4016) $375 |
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Silhouettes A History and Dictionary of Artists,
by Mrs. E. Nevill Jackson (1989)
A necessary staple if you want a reasonably priced reference for
silhouette artists. Mrs. Jackson was the collector who started the
trend of collecting antique silhouettes. She spent a good part of
her life researching the art of 18th and 19th century silhouette cutting
and the artists who produced this great art form for the masses and the
aristocracy alike. You will find yourself running over and over to
the "Dictionary of Artists in Silhouette" which encompasses about
one-third of this wonderful book. Lots of good black & white
illustrations. Original softcover. Published in 1989 as a
unabridged republication of the 1938 Silhouette: Notes and
Dictionary. This copy is in very good condition.
(#3932 & 3933) $45
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Silhouettes in America, 1790-1840: A Collector's
Guide, by Blume J. Rifken (1987)
Another of my favorite reference books, this little book includes a
very important chapter on dating silhouette from clothing. You'll
pull it out again and again for that chapter! It's packed with
illustrations of great American silhouettes. Ms. Rifken seems to
lean a bit towards the folky silhouettes (which I love) and she
illustrates what I think are some of the most creative silhouettes made.
This is an ex-library copy with the library card inside the front cover,
the cataloging tag on the front cover, and stamps from the Peoria
Public Library on the back cover and the front and back of the title
page. The cover have slightly bent top and bottom edges and a few
extremely light scuffs. But the pages of the book are good, clean
and unbent. It's a very good copy of an outstanding reference
book.
(#4169) $65
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A Loving Likeness American Folk Portraits of the Nineteenth
Century, by Marna Anderson (1992). This is one of my favorite
books on folk portraits! This book represents the exhibit catalog
of the 1992 exhibit of Raymond & Susan Egan's folk art collection at The
Gallery at Bristol-Myers Squibb. It includes beautiful photographs
of portraits and silhouettes of some of the most important American folk
portrait artists of the 19th century. Brief biographical
information is given for known artists within the collection as well as
characteristics which help identify of the artist's work. The book
is thin, but it has 60 information-packed pages and all of the many
photos are in color. You will find yourself going back to this
book over and over again for reference. If you collect folk
portraits, you need this book!
I currently have two copies from which you can choose. The
first is a like new copy and includes an 8 page supplement with 28
additional color photos. I seldom find them with the supplement.
(#4313) $85
Your second choice is a very good copy with a little scuffing to the
covers and a slight crease in the top quarter of the back cover.
Other than the minor cover scuffs, the book is in great condition with
no marks to any pages.
(#4316) $70
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The Windsor Style in America 1730-1830,
Charles Santore (1981)
I fell in love with American windsor chairs almost 30 years ago, when
I was lucky if I could add to my collection at the rate of one good
chair per year. When this wonderful book was first published in
1981, I was quick to buy it and read it front to cover many times.
This is my first copy of this wonderful book. As I was cleaning
out my study, I found that I have this wonderful, now out of print first
edition of what would become volume one as well as the later combined
edition. So now, I offer it to you. It was a ground-breaking
scholarly work and really pars down the construction of windsor chairs
in general and the regional differences specifically. If you want
to own one windsor chair or a collection, it will really help you learn
what to look for in buying quality period chairs. Fine condition,
hardback with original dust jacket. The dust jacket has some
scuffing, but the book is in wonderful condition.
(#3954) $35
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Little by Little Six Decades of Collecting American Decorative
Arts, Nina Fletcher Little (1998 edition). This is a favorite
book of mine for reference on collecting Americana of all types.
Nina Fletcher Little and Bertram Little were pioneers in collecting
American antiques and America was lucky that Ms. Little was a wonderful
research-hound and writer. She literally "wrote the book" on
collecting. This fabulous book (which is also a fun read) recounts
the Little's collecting from the time they caught the bug in the 1920s
until their collection was one of the best in the country in the 1980s.
She recounts collecting and learning about clocks, ceramics, furniture,
textiles, nautical paintings and ship figureheads, decoys and other folk
carving, fireboards and overmantle paintings, and one of the best, most
extensive collections of folk portraits ever assembled in a private
collection. Really, the list is just a sampling--they collected
and researched almost every aspect of American Decorative Arts.
This is a beautiful soft cover book of 292 pages packed with
information, fun stories, and incredible color and black & white
photographs. This is a very fine copy of the book with slightly
bent corners but super clean and tight. It is a very good
reference you will run to again and again.
(#4166) $35 |
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