The Shaker Legacy: Perspectives on an Enduring Furniture Style

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About The Shaker Legacy: Perspectives On An Enduring

Amazon.com Review Many appreciate the clean, simple lines of traditional Shaker furniture, yet few know the people behind the designs or the spiritual beliefs that play such an integral part in both their work and daily lives. In his book, The Shaker Legacy: Perspectives on an Enduring Furniture Style, author Christian Becksvoort, a contributing editor of Fine Woodworking magazine and an experienced custom furniture maker and restorer who's worked for the last remaining Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake, Maine, examines the Shakers' faith in relation to their furniture. Becksvoort believes that "understanding Shaker furniture requires understanding the faith of the people who created it." Their religious practices--the constant striving for spiritual perfection in everything they did, the desire to emulate Christ and to live practically, "purely, free of vanity, greed, and pride"--permeate Becksvoort's insightful discussions of the Shaker culture, their recognized inventiveness (inventions include the circular saw, apple peeler, wash mill, and chimney cap), their influence on other furniture styles, and finally the furniture itself, which is the focal point of the book. Highly perfected, free of vain ornamentation, and utterly utilitarian, the furniture is indeed the Shaker faith in physical form. In addition to covering the classics--including the ladder-back chair, trestle table, and the built-in--Becksvoort points out subtle variations in design that existed from community to community: the curved, cutout base of a case of drawers was typical for the communities in Ohio, while bevel-edged drawer lips and straight, tapered feet on a blanket box point to the Mount Lebanon community. Becksvoort's intelligent account of the Shakers and their furniture, combined with hundreds of full-color photographs, taken on location at various communities and pulled from archives, make The Shaker Legacy a beautiful tribute to these talented craftsmen and their enduring design. --Stefanie Hargreaves Product Description Solid construction and honest functionality make Shaker furniture one of the most popular and timeless design categories. Based on extensive research and personal experience with the last working Shaker community in Maine, this book traces the roots of Shaker design to Shaker belief, which inspired the clean lines, careful craftsmanship, and signature details that define the style. The author also discusses the less known Victorian period of Shaker design and shows how this style has influenced subsequent ones. A bibliography, glossary, and index are included. About the Author Christian Becksvoort has been a professional woodworker for 40 years and a FWW contributing editor for 25. “After all these years,” he says, “I still work alone. Each piece is designed, laid out, constructed, glued up, sanded, and finished by me.” He builds between 20 and 30 pieces each year, and they range from chairs, tables, and chests of drawers to lamps, clocks, and small sleighs. Favorite furniture style? “Shaker, of course.” Favorite rock band? “The Cowboy Junkies.” He is the author of the woodworking classic, the Shaker Legacy (The Taunton Press, 1998).