The Arts & Crafts Collector's Guide - Softcover

Rago, David; Sliker, Suzanne; Rudd, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1586850520 ISBN 13: 9781586850524

Publisher: Gibbs Smith, 2005

Synopsis

Focusing on the three main areas of Arts & Crafts-art pottery, wrought metal, and period lighting-this field-guide-style book is strikingly illustrated with vibrant photos that show the key concepts every antique collector, dealer, or hobbyist needs to know.

About this title

About the Authors

David Rago oversees three auction companies and two quarterly magazines, each specializing in a particular area of twentieth-century decorative arts and furnishings. He lectures nationally and is an expert decorative ceramics and porcelain appraiser for the hit PBS series The Antiques RoadShow. He is the coauthor of Miller's American Art Pottery: Treasure or Not? and Collecting Modern. He lives in Lambertville, New Jersey.

Suzanne Sliker has worked at the Mission Oak Shop and Aurora Studios in Putnam, Connecticut, for nearly ten years. She specializes in furniture, lighting, and textiles of the Arts and Crafts period.

David Rudd has been a decorative arts dealer and has operated Dalton's American Decorative Arts for over twenty-one years. He specializes in decorative arts of the twentieth century with an emphasis on Stickley mission oak furniture. Rudd is currently an independent appraiser in New Jersey, contributing writer to the American Bungalow, and president of the board of directors of the Central New York Arts & Crafts Society.

From the Back Cover

The ultimate field guide
for Arts and Crafts collectors
with comprehensive consideration of the following areas:
o art pottery
o furniture
o metalwork
o lighting
Packed with insider information, this book will help you decide which pieces are worth buying, what pieces are likely to increase in value, and how to find reasonably priced pieces.

From the Inside Flap

How do you distinguish quality, beautiful Arts and Crafts objects from the mass of over-priced, damaged leftovers? Which buys are likely to increase in value? And perhaps the question that cuts to the heart of antique assessment: How can you learn to adeptly discern the soul of a handcrafted piece? This insider's guide to collecting Arts and Crafts is an indispensable resource for every collector-from serious connoisseur to part-time hobbyist. Packed with sage advice for evaluating pieces from the nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Arts and Crafts movement, this handbook focuses on art pottery, mission furniture, wrought metal, and period lighting. Amply illustrated with vibrant, high-quality photographs highlighting nuanced details of period pieces, this thorough guidebook immerses you in the dynamic world of antique collectables. Indeed, from the opening pages, you'll learn to distinguish what's good, what's reasonably priced, and what's likely to bring you a great deal of enjoyment, increase in value, or both. Quickly flip through the pages to admire the extraordinary period pieces or carefully peruse the comprehensive analyses of each maker. David Rago oversees three auction companies and two quarterly magazines, each specializing in a particular area of twentieth-century decorative arts and furnishings. He lectures nationally and is an expert decorative ceramics and porcelain appraiser for the hit PBS series The Antiques RoadShow.Rago's credits also include hundreds of articles written for trade and consumer publications and decorative ceramics books. His most recent, Miller's American Art Pottery: Treasure or Not?, co-written with Suzanne Perrault, was published in October 2001, as was Collecting Modern, a collaboration with John Sollo. Rago was only sixteen when he became a dealer in American art ceramics. By his mid-twenties, he had expanded his expertise to include mission furniture, wrought metal, lighting, and other decorative objects from turn-of-the-century America and Europe. He further advanced his knowledge at the Jordan-Volpe Gallery in Manhattan. David Rudd has operated Dalton's American Decorative Arts for over twenty years. He specializes in decorative arts of the twentieth century with an emphasis on Stickley mission oak furniture and accessories of the American Arts and Crafts movement, including art pottery, metalwork, and textiles. Rudd has served as exhibition consultant to the Everson Museum of Art and Rochester Institute of Technology, consultant and appraiser of architectural renderings for the Onondaga Historical Society, consultant to Christie's Auction House, and committee member at the Everson Museum. Rudd is currently an independent appraiser for a specialty auction house in New Jersey, contributing writer to the quarterly magazine American Bungalow, and president of the board of directors of the Central New York Arts and Crafts Society.Suzans Sliker has worked at the Mission Oak Shop and Aurora Studios in Putnam, Connecticut, for nearly ten years. She specializes in furniture, lighting, and textiles of the Arts and Crafts period. Sliker has edited numerous articles on the Arts and Crafts movement and is currently involved in a collaborative book project on the Saturday Evening Girls with other scholars

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

After considering all of the books currently available on American Arts and Crafts, I came to the conclusion that there was a need for an insider's guide on collecting Arts and Crafts material. Or, more to the point, there's a dearth of books that discuss what's good, what's still reasonably priced, and what's likely to either bring you a great deal of enjoyment, increase in value, or both.

I'm not interested in rehashing the history of the Arts and Crafts period, or even detailing facts about individual makers and their work. Better, more patient authors have established that foundation long ago and still more are in the process of adding to that body of work.

Rather, my thirty plus years of experience have focused on eschewing scholarly works on the subject. It's not that I'm an anti-intellectual snob. I've just always learned better by handling something than by simply reading about it. I'd much rather, for example, touch a piece of Grueby pottery than have someone tell me how it feels.

That, of course, leaves you having to read about Grueby pottery instead of actually wrapping your fingers around a piece. Nevertheless, I can offer insight into collecting period pieces, tell you where you're most likely to get the opportunity to see such things for yourself, and prepare you well for the experience.

Edition details

• Publisher: Gibbs Smith
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1586850520
• ISBN 13: 9781586850524
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 296