AMERICAN FURNITURE: QUEEN ANNE AND CHIPPENDALE PERIOD IN THE HENRY FRANCIS DU PONT WINTERTHUR MUSEUM

NY: The Macmillan Company. Near Fine with no dust jacket. 1952. First Edition Thus. 1. Hard Cover. First Printing (stated). Publisher's full red-brick buckram, silver lettering on spine, gilt medallion on cover. Folio. xl, (470) pp. Illustrated with 421 plates, of which ten are in color. Foreword by Henry Francis du Pont. Includes extensive Notes and Index. Former owner's signature on ffep, only the slightest shelf-wear at the head and heel of the spine, else fine. NEAR FINE. This is a cornerstone reference work which remains one of the standard studies of this period. Downs examines four hundred premier examples of American Queen Anne and Chippendale furniture from the Winterthur collection. The book even now remains a standard text on the subjects of Queen Anne and Chippendale furniture. It contains unequalled photographs and otherwise unavailable examples of manufacturer labels and inscriptions. Sections on specific types of furniture include: Beds, Chairs, Chests, Clocks, Couches, Desks And Bookcases, Fire Screens, Looking Glasses, Sofas, Stands, Stools, Tables, and Labels and Inscriptions. The ten color plates are a group of Queen Anne and Chippendale interiors and the remaining B&W plates are 401 examples of individual items of furniture from the Henry Francis DuPont Winterthur Museum. The museum at Winterthur contains the largest and richest collection of American furniture in the world. Joseph Downs was director of Winterthur Museum and a recognized authority on American decorative arts. Downs had planned to write a three-volume history of American furniture but died before he could complete more than this volume. Charles Montgomery eventually wrote the second, on Federal furniture. [Semowich 1290]. [Arntzen/Rainwater P217]. An essential reference book for serious dealers and collectors. A quite large and heavy volume. . Folio - over 12" - 15" tall .