[.ca] Stickley Style: Arts and Crafts Homes in the Craftsman ... (ISBN 0684856034)

From Amazon.com:
The Arts & Crafts movement first gained popularity in England in the late 1800s as people became distressed by spreading industrialization and factory goods produced inexpensively with flimsy construction and inferior wood. Seeing that the new system treated workers as machines, the movement sought to revive a craftsmanship of earlier times. In the United States, Gustav Stickley gathered together many of the movement's shared beliefs as he tried to, among other things, clear the clutter typically found in Victorian interiors and replace it with something simpler. The book begins tracing Stickley's life in 1876 when, at 18, he found his life's vocation while working in his uncle's furniture factory in Brandt, Pennsylvania. Through wonderful photos (many of them full-page) and careful wording, David Cathers and Alexander Vertikoff demonstrate a clear appreciation for Stickley's style--unvarnished wood, exposed joinery, strength, no-nonsense forms, and the beauty of integrity. Stickley, in short, devoted his life to celebrating and making visible the elements of construction. The work of others who helped to shape the Arts & Crafts movement--including architect Harvey Ellis, Charles and Henry Greene, Elbert Hubbard's Roycroft community, and Charles Rohlf--is also examined. Among the highlights of the book is Craftsman Farms, an artisan colony, model farm, and school Stickley built on 650 acres, described in its time as "a log cabin idealized." The book also examines Stickley's Colonial Revival House in Syracuse, New York, which he turned into the first Craftsman residential interior after a fire damaged the house on Christmas Eve, 1901. It was also to be the house where Stickley, widowed and nearly penniless, lived out most of his final years (he died in 1942) with his daughter and her five children. Many of the details about Stickley's personal life come from his grandchildren's memories. "He was," one grandchild has written, "almost an evangelist in bringing new thoughts and new appreciation of things artistic and new social thinking. That is something that doesn't go bankrupt and he, as an inspiring person, never did go bankrupt." --John Russell

Lovely Book:
This book is full of lush photographs of Stickley homes. I bought it because it was well-designed, as well as informative. The photo references are impressive, and overall the book pays the same attention to detail that Stickley did. For example, I was impressed that beneath the dust jacket, the cover of the book itself was a beautiful print of a Ginko Flower textile. Almost every page has full color images, and at the back there are individual photo references for furniture, lighting, and decorative items, much like a catalog. The whole thing is indexed as well. Useful as a reference book for research, or an art book to just enjoy.

It becomes the reference book for our house and my ...:
woodworking projects. We moved in this Arts & Crafts house built in 1912 two years ago and started remodeling a bit by bit. Also my woodworking hobby has taken off along with the remodeling. The more we have done on the house, the more we like and the more we want to know about it. I have been in the stores looking at those expensive mission style furnitures and mimic the design on my own piece. I designed every piece I made for the house. Then at the point that we think we need to know more about the history of Arts & Crafts and bigger picture, we bought this book. It is surprisely good book that contains everything we were looking for. Gorgeous pictures, stunning furniture. When we were refinishing the master bedroom, we were looking at the book constantly for ideas and colors. Now the room is done, I am looking forward to making my next project - morris chair. Again, I already know what it will look like from this book. Well, this book is not only for people like me who needs reference but also very nice one for those Arts & Crafts enthusiasts.

Stickley Style : a book worthy in the Craftsman Tradition:
An excellent book for both the Stickley and Arts & Crafts Movement enthusiast. We recommend it.