The Arts & Crafts Movement began as a response to the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, first in England and then in the United States. It idealized the craftsman and embraced simple, strong designs executed by hand. The art, metalwork, pottery, textiles, and furniture of the Arts & Crafts Movement are enormously popular in today's antique market, and the designs are inspiring a whole new wave of creativity. This new book explores the Movement on both sides of the Atlantic. It focuses on furniture, which Gustav Stickley called the "clearest concrete expression of the Craftsman idea," and also includes large representations of all the decorative arts. It covers a broad range of items, from the rarest to the common. All of the pieces have been on the market and are accessible to collectors at various levels.
The pieces are illustrated in over 500 full-color photographs. Each is carefully described and an estimate of its current value is given. Many English and nearly all American manufacturers are represented, as are the hundreds of forms that evolved during this period of design. This new addition to the literature on Arts and Crafts will be of great interest to collectors and dealers alike, helping them to appreciate and evaluate their cherished treasures.