Antique Restoration

For years, collecting antiques has been Barbara Ohrbach's favorite pastime. Cherchez, the elegant home furnishings shop she owned in New York City, reflected her exquisite taste and impeccable eye. In this very personal book, she gives practical advice about collecting and living with antique objects. As she says, all of these treasures from the past are what "give a room its personality and style and a house its soul.

"Antiques at Home is filled with more than 300 photographs of beautiful old objects and rooms, and provides a wonderful look at the world of collecting -- from flea markets to elegant stores. Ms. Ohrbach discusses many types of antiques, including ceramics, silver, and textiles. In each chapter, she interviews some of the most respected people in the antiques business and includes tips for what to look for when buying antiques and ideas on how to decorate with them. Each chapter ends with a special section on how to care for and preserve these objects.

Ms. Ohrbach shares her enthusiasm in searching for antiques and tells us where to find them in an international source guide that reveals her favorite antiques shops, fairs, markets, unusual museums, and historic homes. Decorative arts societies, reference books, decorating periodicals, and restorers are also listed.

Beautiful objects that were used and loved in everyday life in the past have become very special to us today. For everyone who has already discovered the warmth that old things bring to our homes, as well as for newcomers to collecting, this book will be a treasured guide.

Although neither of these guides to antiques is particularly scholarly, McKenzie's is certainly more credible (albeit less fun to read) than Loomis's. McKenzie provides useful tips?not only for the business pro but also for the flea-market junkie?on how to rummage for, buy, and sell antiques and on how to establish a profitable business, with suggestions on such matters as calculating inventory turnover and handling tax records. He provides information on how to do minor repairs on collectibles and also offers guidance on major restoration projects, such as rebuilding old trunks or resilvering mirrors. The writing is straightforward, the advice is practical as well as easy to understand, and the book would be of interest to most antiques buffs. The title of the Loomis book pretty much sums up its content. While it does offer tips on "the hunt" and subsequent bargaining (and the etiquette of dealing with sellers), its primary focus is on the dating and identification of a wide variety of antiques (everything from World's Fair collectibles to Shaker furniture). While Loomis's breezy style may annoy some, readers familiar with his television appearances and videos will probably find this book enjoyable. Because his information is occasionally contradictory (he asserts, for example, that porcelain was first produced in Europe at the Meissen factory in Germany in 1709; two pages later he states that the French made porcelain in 1673), this book should not be considered an essential purchase unless there is patron demand.?Margarete Gross, Chicago P.L.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The essential step-by-step guide to buying, repairing, and preserving antiques & collectables

More than 450 full-color illustrations and photographs

Helpful hints from professional restorers and conservators

Advice on where to buy antiques and what to look for—and look out for

Complete, practical information on mending, cleaning, and conserving

The best and safest ways of displaying, storing, and protecting your antiques and collectables

'We found this a welcome addition to our books on ceramic restoration and conservation as it is some years since an authoritative book has been published. It is impressive, comprehensive and well-illustrated It immediately proved to be a useful reference book for our workshop - both to check procedures and as a reminder for alternative methods.'
Shella de Cort and Gina Kelland, private restorers - Conservation News, July 1994.

'This book does not teach 'conservation by numbers', but for trainees or practising conservators wishing to refresh knowledge, or solve a problem, this is a treasure house.'
Susan Bradley, Head of Conservation Research, British Museum, Museums Journal, August 1994 - Museums Journal, August 1994.

'the fundamental principles and processes will remain usable for many years, making this an excellent reference book.'
Studies in Conservation, February 1995 - Studies in Conservation, February 1995.

'It is a good investment for those involved with ceramics.'
Conservation News

'a thorough and comprehensive review'
New Heritage Magazine

Based on the premise that antiques in poor condition are more affordable for the average person, Bennett presents a guide to identifying authentic antiques and gives instructions for restoring them. He covers the construction methods to look for to determine genuine antiques but leaves out references to style, for which a good furniture book such as Sotheby's Guide to American Antique Furniture (LJ 1/96) is needed. This book's strength lies in its instructions for structural and finish repairs to wood furniture and in details like the explanation of how to duplicate brass fixtures. Amateurs might want to start with the easier approach found in Robert W. Wood's All Thumbs Guide to Fixing Furniture (Tab, 1994), but those interested in more advanced directions will find this book useful.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ellen Becker works out of a studio in Paris, Virginia with a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains, restoring gilded antiques and manufacturing urns and keepsake boxes.

Every year seems to bring hundreds more books on making new furniture and even a few that tell how to create an "instant antique." But if there is another recent book on restoring true antiques, it is recondite indeed. Although Holcombe is concerned with restoring antique English furniture, his techniques can be applied to American mission, Shaker, and just about any other form of furniture. His tips on taking a piece of furniture apart, fixing joints, repairing the dings and scratches of the years, and then fitting everything together just as it was many years ago are invaluable. Although only 128 pages long, Holcombe's effort even includes chapters on glass replacement, finishing, and dealing with that dread condition--warped wood. Consider this a necessary addition to virtually any woodworking collection. Jon Kartman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'This book has been written by those who care for motion picture film. And it shows.'
New Heritage Magazine

'Extremely useful'
Lecturer, Columbia College Chicago