Suggested Reading

Suggested Reading
An educated antique collector is an avid antique collector. We are constantly looking for the best reading materials. Some books are excellent, while others leave you less impressed. Below we've put together a list of our favorite books. They make great gifts too! See items sold directly from Baker & Co. See items sold by Harvard Historical Society See items sold by Amazon

Purchase Directly from Baker & Co. Antiques

2008 California Country Wall Calendar

For the first time, we have created a 2008 calendar based on images used from the premiere American Country Antique and Folk Art Show on the West coast. This calendar is filled with wonderful images from a wide variety of country antiques. Keeping track of important dates on your calendar is easy when you can view 12 months of inspiring images that reflect American Country antiques. Our high-quality calendar is printed on thick 100lb cover weight paper. January 2008 - December 2008, 2009 preview, US holidays marked on the calendar. To see each month, click here. While supplies last.

Please email me if you would like to purchase it.

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$5.00

The Art of the Game
A Collection of Vintage Game Boards

by Tim Chambers

For those of you who know me, you know my passion is game boards. This book is one of the best I've ever seen on the topic. The vivid photos take you through Shelby Shaver's collection of eclectic game boards of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The graphic, colorful and detailed examples provide a delight to the eye and the details enable you to understand just what makes a particular game board exceptional. This table top book, measuring 12" x 12", is over 200 pages of the highest quality color photos. The Art of the Game is only available for purchase from a few select places and in limited quantities. I am pleased to be able to offer it to you. Please email me if you would like to purchase it.

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$125.00

Purchase Directly from Harvard Historical Society

No Longer Hidden:
An Exhibit of Black Cloth Dolls Catalogue

by Patch Hatch and Robin Chambers

My very dear friend, Pat Hatch, of Harvard Antiques in Harvard, MA is currently exhibiting a large part of her special black cloth doll collection at the Harvard Historical Society in Still River, MA. Please take a moment to view the exhibit's website at www.blackclothdolls.com. I am certain that you will want, and hopefully can, see these incredible dolls in real life by visitng the exhibit in person. A very nice catalogue of Pat's exhibit is available for purchase along with note cards and postcards either at the Historical Society, through the mail, or on-line.

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$15.00

Purchase through Amazon.com - just click on the link to go directly to the book!
The Farmhouse Book by David Larkin From the New England saltbox to the Pennsylvania Dutch, from the southern colonial to the western ranch, the American farmhouse is an icon of our history and our traditions of hearth and home, an architectural entity in and of itself, as well as a highly coveted retreat for country dwellers. A practical guide to choosing and living in a farmhouse is provided. More than two hundred photographs and drawings capture the essence of the American farmhouse in all of its charming, rustic glory.	Click to Purchase:
Amish: The Art of the Quilt by Robert Hughes (author), Julie Silber (curator/commentator) This coffee table book captures images and descriptions of Amish quilts from the Espirit quilt collection. The stunning images capture the true works of art of these quilts. All were conceived and stitched by women of Lancaster County, PA between 1870 and 1950.	Click to Purchase:
Folk Hearts by Cynthia V.A. Schaffner and Susan Klein A Celebration of the Heart Motif in American Folk Art is the subtitle of this older, wonderful book that celebrates the heart in over 150 photographs. Here are hearts embellishing everything from a family tree to a face-powder box, from samplers to scrimshaw, from weather vanes to valentines...the heart motif in American country furnishings, folk crafts, textiles, sculpture, kitchen implements, and the countless variety of love tokens. Captions and commentary complete this beautiful album of folk hearts.	Click to Purchase:
Vintage Cottages by Molly Hyde English, photograhs by Tom Lamb Vintage Cottages features unique and personalized decor focused on second homes and retreats with a vintage cottage theme. These places are filled with art, books, color, scents, textures and memories that link to life's experiences, relationships and hopes. Vintage Cottages shows how to "come home" to a serene retreat that's unlike anything else.	Click to Purchase:
Ceramics in America 2007 by Rob Hunter Ceramics in America is a series of books covering different early china and porcelain factories. This book, published in Oct 2007 focuses on the American China Factory which operated in Philadelphia from 1769 to 1772. Although only in operation a short time, it influenced the quality, design and manufacture for years to come. Gousse Bonnin and George Anthony Morris were the owners. The coffee-table sized book is extremely detailed in research and filled with great visuals.	Click to Purchase:
Expressions of Innocence and Eloquence Selections from the Jane Katcher Collection of Americana Edited by Jane Katcher, David A Schorsch, Ruth Wolfe Photographed by Gavin Ashworth Expressions of Innocence and Eloquence presents more than two hundred examples of American folk art and decorative arts created in the 18th and 19th centuries. Drawn from the extraordinary Jane Katcher Collection, the book features a wide array of some of the finest American folk art. A distinguished group of scholars discuss these objects within the context of historical, economic, and social issues as well as aesthetics. This book is over 400 pages of photos and text that delights and educates.	Click to Purchase:
Findings: The Material Culture of Needlework and Sewing by Mary C. Beaudry Using "findings" - pins, needles, thimbles, scissors, and other sewing accessories and tools - the author uncovers what these small traces of female experience reveal about the societies and cultures in which they were used. She examines sites in the United States and Great Britain, as well as Australia and Canada; ranging from the Middle Ages through the Industrial Revolution.	Click to Purchase:
Mocha and related dipped wares, 1770-1939 by Jonathan Rickard This is the first book I've seen focused on mocha and other dipped wares. It covers the originas of mocha and the different styles based on various production techniques. From 18th century England into the twentieth century, mocha has a broad history as covered by Jonathan Rickard's more then 30 years of collecting and studying. There are many color and black & white photos with a detailed gloassary and bibliography.	Click to Purchase:
Antiques Investigators by Judith Miller The author is an antiques expert best known for her yearly price guides. In this book she shares the tips she uses to tell a genuine antique from a fake. From chairs to chests, ceramics to glass, and teddy bears to silverware she provides all the tools, techniques and tricks to spot a bona fide antique.	Click to Purchase:
In the Shaker Tradition by Lesley Duvall In the Shaker Tradition explores the aesthetics of the Shakers, focusing on the simple but beautiful pieces that add grace to homes today, as well as on the ways that Shaker design influenced later furniture-makers and craftspeople. Also discussed are the philosophies and religious beliefs that informed Shaker lifeways, and thus their architecture, furnishings, household objects, and even the colors of their floors and walls. Over 140 stunning photographs illustrate this book.	Click to Purchase:
Country Arts in Early American Homes by Nina Fletcher Little In this book, expert Nina Fletcher Little examines a wide variet of country arts that characterized early New England homes. From the beginnings of country folk art up until the mid-19th century, the author discusses architecture, landscapes, carvings, school-girl art, picture frames, flowers, small decorative objects and boxes, ceramics, fireboards, and rugs and carpets. This book is a delightful read with handsome illustrations.	Click to Purchase:
Neat and Tidy: Boxes and Their Contents Used in Early American Houses by Nina Fletcher Little For over 60 years Nina Fletcher Little collected and wrote about New England Antiques. In this particular book, she delightfully examines the boxes and their contentsused before the Civil War. What collector doesn't have at least some boxes? By examining the boxes within the context of social conditions at the times of their uses, she is able to be both informative and entertaining. For easy reference and learning, the boxes are grouped by four main types of use, each with subcategories.	Click to Purchase:
The Essential Grandma Moses by Jan Kallir Grandma Moses was a humble farm woman who taught herself to paint when she was in her 70s. This book places her in the context of other "self-taught" or "folk" artists, exploring why the art establishment first adored, then rejected and is now re-embracing her. Published in 2001, this introduction to her life and well-loved paintings coincides with the opening of a major exhibition of her work that originated at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.	Click to Purchase:
American Redware by William C., Jr. Ketchum Great reference book on American Redware with excellent illustrations. A must have for the redware collector. This book is even referred to on the Smithsonian website!	Click to Purchase:
New Country Style by Country Home Books The wide variety of new country style is reviewed in this book by Country Home. The most current directions and forward looking trends in country style are identified. Divided into themes such as cottage, rustic, and eclectic, the book offers numerous color photographs accompanied by decorating tips. Each chapter concludes with the editors' advice on how to achieve each look.	Click to Purchase:
Country Living Seasons at Seven Gates Farm by The Editors of Country Living Seven Gates Farm is a rural 19th-century Maryland farmstead that is home, workplace and studio to James Cramer and Dean Johnson. This book explores the how the house, its gardens and James and Dean's projects change and evolve throughout the course of a single year. These two talented artists and craftsmen share their inspiring ideas for old-fashioned gardens, natural handcrafts, and homespun holiday celebrations in the country tradition.	Click to Purchase:
American Farmhouses Country Style and Design by Leah Rosch Leah Rosch begins her book with the following statement: "Few history books capture the story of America's past as vividly as the farmhouses that fill our countryside." The stunning pictures in this book offer a rich and inspiring survey of country architecture and design, from painted funiture to porches, stenciling to saltbox houses. The major architectural and interior features of farmhouse design are reviewed with an explanation of the often pragmatic history that spurred their invention--how rooms were used, why materials were chosen. Stunning homes across the country are highlighted and a detailed sourcebook of manufacturers, craftsmen, and architectural antiques dealers nationwide is included.	Click to Purchase:
Country Decorating by Jessie Walker For those who want to create a classic country home that uses color, fabric, metal, wood, ceramics, and collectibles with flair, this is an absolute must. First and foremost, it’s breathtaking to look at, with amazing photography that captures everything from Painted Pleasure to Country Collections and provides design inspiration for spaces indoors and out. Pore over lovely displays of period style, with tall upholstered chairs and a vertical step-back cabinet; vibrant mixtures of color; charming details such as homespun fabric, hooked rugs, handmade quilts, and more. Walker also offers advice on decorating possibilities and on finding vintage treasures that amplify the rustic theme.	Click to Purchase:
American Hooked and Sewn Rugs Folk Art Underfoot by Joel and Kate Kopp Hooked rugs are some of the finest examples of folk art. In 1974, the Kopps were guest curatos for the ground breaking eand very popular exhibit of hooked rugs held at the Museum of American Folk Art in New York. With over 250 illustations, the authors trace the development of the hooked rug from its origins in eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century yarn-sewn bed rugs to twentieth-century examples of hooked rugs. This book will enhance your knowledge and delight your eye.	Click to Purchase:
Shaker Design by June Sprigg Classic Shaker that we all love at its best. Great large, boldly colored photos.	Click to Purchase:
Shaker Life, Work and Art by June Sprigg and David Larkin Author June Sprigg has lived and worked with the Shakers since 1972, and her text discusses their origins and beliefs, their work and daily life. More than 200 full-color photographs, taken especially for this book by Michael Freeman, richly illustrate their architecture, furniture, crafts, and inventions. The photographs were shot - almost entirely with available light - in the villages and museums in New England, New York, and Kentucky.	Click to Purchase:
Shaker Style Form, Function, and Furniture by Sharon Duane Koomler Shaker Style is a lavishly illustrated and comprehensive survey of Shaker artifacts. Includes chapters on architecture, interiors, furnishings, textiles, and art. Looks at the history of the Shaker movemment and explains why these artisans took sucha profound pride in their work. Contains up-to-date information on where to obtain Shaker furnishings today.	Click to Purchase:
The Flowering of American Folk Art 1776-1876 by Jean Lipman and Alice Winchester The quintessential guide to folk art in America, based on the landmark Whitney Museum exhibit of 1974, illustrates more than 400 outstanding examples of American craft, covering four major categories--painted, drawn, or stitched pictures; sculpture; architectural decoration; and decorated household objects. 400 b&w and full-color illustrations.	Click to Purchase:
American Quilt A History of Cloth and Comfort 1750-1950 by Roderick Kiracofe Beautifully illustrated with more than 250 stunnning examples of the quilter's art, The American Quilt is the first major work to examine quilts in their historical and cultural context, offering a richly detailed and evocative overview of America's best-loved folk art.	Click to Purchase:
American Coverlets & Their Weavers Coverlets from the Collection of Foster and Muriel McCarl by Clarita S. Anderson, Foster McCarl, Muriel McCarl This book shows the McCarl private collection of American handwoven coverlets, including well-preserved examples created mostly in the Middle Atlantic states, Ohio, and Indiana between the 1810s and the 1860s. The McCarl collection was on display in Colonial Williamsburg during 2002 and 2003. The coverlets, of a type known as fancy and figured coverlets, feature elaborate patterns incorporating such images as flowers, foliage, animals, government buildings, and patriotic scenes. Names of the weaver and client and the date and place of production are frequently woven into the corner blocks. This book presents close to 60 coverlets in full-page photographs showing their front sides, with close-up photographs of their corner blocks and a page of text for each coverlet, explaining the design motifs and summarizing what is known about the weaver. Almost half of the book is devoted to a biographical dictionary of over 700 known coverlet weavers, including information about extant coverlets believed to be theirs and the historical record of their lives. With the detailed pictures and biographical data, this is an excellent reference book..	Click to Purchase:
Long May She Wave by Kit Hinrichs Kit Hinrichs has been collecting American Flag memoribila for over 40 years. This book has over 500 pictures of Old Glory in every imaginable use of the flag fom actual old flags to labels, pins, group formations and even body art. This is a wonderful coffee table book. Also, until January 2006, you can see a small part of Kit's collection at the Los Altos History Museum.	Click to Purchase:
Samplers & Samplermakers An American Schoolgirl Art 1700-1850 by Mary Jaene Edmonds This book was published in conjunction with an exhibit at The Los Angeles County Museum in 1991. The book has illustrations and a story on each of the nearly 80 samplers covered. The story on each sampler was researched by the author and includes information on the creator of the sampler as well as her teacher, school, town and timeframe. This book includes wonderful detail on the samplers. It's also a history lesson from the perspective of the often negleted schoolgirls ofthe 1700 and 1800s.	Click to Purchase:
Early American Antique Country Furniture by George Neumann George Neumann has created a reliable encyclopedia covering those cherished furnishings found throughout homes from colonial times up through the 1800's. A multitude of furniture, fixtures, appliances, and knick-knacks hundreds of years old are found throughout this volume. This is an excellent reference book on furniture.	Click to Purchase:
Antique Quilts & Textiles A Price Guide to Functional and Fashionable Cloth Comforts by Bobbie Aug, and Gerald Roy This book provides excellent pictures showing the many quilt patterns. It is an excellent, affordable, reference book.	Click to Purchase:
Camps and Cottages: A Stylish Blend of Old and New by Molly English, Linda Svendsen From the burnt orange of Yosemite's sunsets to the cobalt blues and foam greens of the Pacific, Camps and Cottages invites you to make a fresh, bold statement by combining the warmth and comfort of cottage living with a rustic blend of old and new. It is cozy, colorful, and truly American. Whether the location is New England, mid-America, the Rockies, or the Pacific Coast, Camps and Cottages reflects the form and function of the heartland energized with the color and movement of our country's forests and seashores.	Click to Purchase:
Sand Pail Encyclopedia: A Complete Value Guide for Tin-Litho Sand Toys by Karen Horman, Polly Minick Recollect those childhood experiences when you played carefree on the beach with your sand toys with this comprehensive identification and value guide of tin sand pails and other tin-litho sand toys. From patriotic themes of world wars, to Victorian pails showing children in period clothing, from the early days of transportation showing early airplanes and dirigibles, to the world of Disney, these pails reflect the story of our country. The beautiful and rare pails pictured in this book will be invaluable for identifying and pricing your own pails. Rich in historical and social trends, this book will guide you through the early makers of tin litho and touch on the most popular like Ohio Art as well as the lesser known masters such as Converse and T. Bro's. It also gives today’s market values for tin sand pails and other sand toys. 250 color photos	Click to Purchase:
The Coverlet Book Early American Handwoven Coverlets by Helene Bress The Coverlet Book is a two-volume hardcover boxed set. The Coverlet Book is over 1,100 pages long and contains over 1,000 photographs, over 2,000 drawdowns and over 300 diagrams. A picture's worth a 1,000 words!	Click to Purchase:
Labors of Love: America's Textiles and Needlework, 1650-1930 by Wendy Lavitt, Judith Reiter Weissman Labors of Love pulls from museums and private collections across the country to illustrate their account of the origins, techniques, motifs, and distinctive qualities of a dazzling array of textiles and needlework: counterpanes, blankets, coverlets, and quilts...tablecloths and towels...mittens, gloves, moccasins, socks, vests, pockets, reticules, purses, and shawls...decorative objects such as samplers, banners and flags...and the accoutrements of needlework itself - button boxes, needlecases, pincushions, and the like. With over 300 pictures and lots of text explanations.	Click to Purchase:
The Comprehensive Guide to Chocolate Molds: Objects of Art & Artists' Tools by Wendy Mullen This is a brand new book by Wendy which is even more comprehensive then prior books. It is really a comprehensive guide to chocolate molds.	Click to Purchase:
American Folk Art by William C. Ketchum, Jr. This book is a classic and has been republished a number of times since it's first publication 1995. Beginning with that most basic American institution, the family, this book investigates the varied arts of home and community. Before the invention of the camera, portraiture--not just the province of the wealthy--was practiced in the forms of painting and silhouette cutting; domestic and regional scenes were also memorialized on canvas in genre paintings.	Click to Purchase:
American Folk by Gerald W. R. Ward, Abaigeal Duda, and Pamela A. Parmal "Gorgeous" is how this book is most often described. American Folk presents over 60 remarkable objects from one of the country's most prominent collections of folk art, many of them never before published. The introductory essay by curator Gerald W.R. Ward is an excellent introduction and overview of "folk art" and presents the history of its acquisition by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 88 color illustrations.	Click to Purchase:
Home Sweet Home: The House in American Folk Art by Deborah Harding, Laura I. Fisher The "house" is one of American folk art's most popular and prominent motifs, and this beautiful book explores the use in all major folk art media. Each chapter focuses on a specific folk art category and includes an in-depth, detailed introduction to the subject followed by a comprehensive gallery of images accompanied by extended captions that provide a symbolic, social, and economic context for each piece. Every folk art format is featured: quilts, rugs, needlework, furnishings, paintings, and drawings, among others.	Click to Purchase:
Stars and Stripes: Patriotic Motifs in American Folk Art by Deborah Harding and Paul S. D'Ambrosio I've always been a fan of items with the traditional stars and stripes, eagles, Lady Liberty. In this book, author Deborah Harding finds these and other patriotic images decorating quilts and coverlets, whirligigs and weather vanes, game boards and fire buckets--almost no object that could be painted, stitched, or carved was spared embellishment with our country's colors or symbols. Harding examines these objects with an eye to both the artistic and historical significance of each piece.	Click to Purchase:
Folk Art in American Life by Robert Bishop and Jacqueline Marx Atkins This book focuses on nearly 400 years of creative energy in the Northeastern United States, an area the authors felt most strongly influenced succeeding artists working in the folk genre. Examples include paintings, weathervanes, figureheads, furniture, and textiles. The folk art represented ranges in media and subjest and style from abstract to prmitive. The furniture collection is along with the collection of oils and needle and loom work some of the best examples in their respective fields.	Click to Purchase:
Little by Little: Six Decades of Collecting American Decorative Arts by Nina Fletcher Little This book is an inspiring account of the superb collection of New England country arts of the 17th through the 19th centuries assembled "little by little" over six decades by Bertram K. and Nina Fletcher Little. Nina combined a keen appreciation of the aesthetic qualities of an object with a determination to discover everything possible about the historical and social context in which it was created -- who made it, when and where, how it was used and by whom. For her there was no contest between object and context: she honored both	Click to Purchase:
American Fancy Exuberance In The Arts 1790-1840 by Sumpter Priddy This is an awesome coffee-table book with beautiful illustrations focusing on all forms of physical art - from paintings to furnishings to clocks, glass panels, coffeepots, and much more that could be found American households circa the early 1800's. The full color photographs display a truly remarkable assortment of classic antiques, and the text brings the reader on an in-depth tour of not only the works themselves, but the lives and sweeping historical changes surrounding the men and and women who cherished them. American Fancy is a veritable treasury of vintage creations, many of which were pragmatic as surely as they were beautiful.	Click to Purchase:
American Painted Furniture by Cynthia Schaffner American Painted Furniture surveys decorative treasures from 1790 to 1880, a period when cabinetmakers, gilders, and ornamental painters aspired beyond the utilitarian to create fanciful works of art. With 350 superb photographs and a thorough analysis of faux-inlaid desks, marbleized tables, stenciled cupboards, elaborate timepieces, and much more.	Click to Purchase:
Textiles in America 1650-1870 by Florence M. Montgomery, forward by Linda Eaton The book offers an overview of textiles in America. Textiles were the most-imported commodity, and a highly valued one, used for bedding, bed curtains, clothing, household linens, window curtains, upholstery, and floor covering. Drawing on original documents, prints, paintings, commercial records, merchant papers, advertisements, and pattern books, Textiles in America 1650-1870 is a comprehensive resource and a treasure trove of scholarship.	Click to Purchase:
The Art of the Weathervane by Steve Miller Weathervanes from the mid to late 19th century have come to be considered three-dimensional sculpture, suitable for decorating modern corporate offices and homes. Dynamic wooden and metal weathervanes are organized into groups by the assorted forms they depict. Manufacturers are identified, and their back-grounds are explored. The weathervanes in this superb book are guaranteed to inspire an active interest in weathervane collecting. Beautiful photographs.	Click to Purchase:
American Antique Weathervanes: The Complete Illustrated Westervelt Catalog of 1883 by A. B. & W. T. Westervelt A bit different then the rest of the books on the list, this is a reprint of Westervelt's extensively illustrated 1883 catalog, illustrating over 550 copper weathervanes and finials. This excellent primary source by one of the principal manufacturers of American weathervanes offers an extraordinarily wide range of styles and motifs.	Click to Purchase:
Drawing on America's Past: Folk Art, Modernism, and the Index of American Design by Virginia Tuttle Clayton, Elizabeth Stillinger, Erika Doss, and Deborah Chotner The Index of American Design is widely regarded as one of the New Deal's most important art projects. Began in 1935 as a unit of the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project, tIts aim was to compile and eventually publish a visual archive of American folk, popular, and decorative art from the time of settlement to about 1900. This book presents 82 of the finest watercolor renderings along with a selection of the artifacts they represent.	Click to Purchase:
Hooked Rugs: History and the Continuing Tradition by Jessie A. Turbayne One of my passions, I enjoy the folk art quality of hand-made hooked rugs. This book preserves the historical background of the often whimsical designs and instructions for starting a rug of your own. The sections present over 300 color photographs of different rugs in lively geometric, abstract, floral, animal, Oriental and original designs, and factual discussions of the interesting people who motivated the designs.	Click to Purchase:
The Complete Guide to Collecting Hooked Rugs:Unrolling the Secrets by Jessie A. Turbayne Dividing the rugs into three age categories: antique, collectible, and contemporary, Jessie Turbayne tells you where to find hooked rugs, what to buy, and what to avoid, and gives tips on care and display.	Click to Purchase:
Hooked Rug Treasury by Jessie A. Turbayne This book provides a visual inventory of particularly memorable hooked rugs. From the most dedicated hands and from the most passionate collectors, this treasury holds more than 500 of the choicest hooked rugs	Click to Purchase: