"In American Furniture: Understanding Styles, Construction, and Quality, John T. Kirk answers questions about when, where, how, and even why a piece of furniture was made. Starting with the wood itself, he provides a comprehensive guide through the often complex visual thinking that underlies a compelling design, offering insights and observations into what makes a piece successful. He juxtaposes genuine works and fakes, enabling the reader to judge both quality and authenticity.".

"Kirk shows the reader each style, from the innate beauty of a seventeenth-century Hadley chest to the Classicism of the Shakers. William and Mary, Queen Anne, Rococo and Chippendale, Philadelphia and Newport, and all the variations of the Federal Style are explained in vivid detail. Comparative sections explore regional differences.

Then the story moves to Gustav Stickley and the American Arts and Crafts movement, and ends with a look at how earlier styles were revived and adapted in the 1930s and 1940s."--BOOK JACKET.