The New Fine Points of Furniture: Early American

Albert Sack

Reviewed by:

Charles L. Driggs

Sack writes in the introduction: “This book is an extension of Fine Points of Furniture: Early American, published … in 1950.” If you regularly watch PBS’s Antiques Roadshow (American version), you may have occasionally seen Mr. Sack evaluating items of furniture.

This book is a visual education on how subtle differences in proportion, style, materials of construction, and execution make a huge difference in the appeal of a piece of furniture to the human eye, and correspondingly it’s value in the market. Sack also shows how English furniture styles were adapted and expressed in American variants. Styles examined begin with the late 17th century and extend to the mid-19th century. This is a good reference for discovery of subtle details important to a specific style, especially if you’re thinking of making a modern re-creation. The mix of black and white and color plates present a wide array of furniture, from the mundane to the spectacularly well done.