Customer Reviews (4)

S&P collecing
One of the first (and one of the best) books I bought on S&P collecting.It has a wonderful section of S&P Condiment Sets, from those I have & can afford, to those I hope to find at a bargain basement cost.The Black Americana section is also very good.The value section has sent me back to antique shops to buy S&Ps I thought too costly, but were a good deal in the long run.High recommended for all.

I have never seen so many ugly salt shakers in my life.
I guess the book is ok if you like ugly salt shakers.It sure wasn't worth the $20 to me that I paid for it.90% of them, I wouldn't take for free.

Fantastic!
This is my favorite book on salt & pepper shakers, and I have quite a few! There are so many sets pictured, I keep finding a set I hadn't seen before every time I look through this book. The pictures are great, as arethe descriptions! Definitely recommend!

One of the Best S&P Books Around!
This book is definately for anyone who is looking for a wealth of information about novelty salt and pepper shakers. Since this book was published in 1990, the values may not be as up to date as later books, butI have yet to see another shaker book with so much other information aboutthe shakers themselves. The shakers are photographed in related groupssitting on 4-5 glass shelves with a solid-colored background. The picturesare excellent. The entire first page of each section contains a detaileddescription of the shakers pictured with the values for each listed at thebottom of the page. The description are truly wonderful and must have beenthoroughly researched. That is the best part of this book.Ms. Daverntalks about the background of many of the shakers as well as of the companythat made them. She also mentions other related shakers that are notpictured in some cases.There are very few collectible salt and peppershaker books that one can truly say is enjoyable reading.However, this isa wonderful book to just sit and read through due to Ms. Davern'sdescriptions, personal views, and beautiful pictures. This book is a mustfor any novelty salt and pepper shaker collector. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

What do the Mormons, the Shakers, and the Oneida Perfectionists have in common?
The answer is quite a lot, according to historian Lawrence Foster, a member of the history faculty at Georgia Tech, a former president of the Mormon History Association, and a longstanding friend and colleague in the study of the Mormon past. Foster begins his discussion of the marriage practices of these three groups by focusing on the larger milieu of antebellum American society. During that era virtually all of the institutions of humankind received serious scrutiny and some alteration. The most obvious example was the abolition of slavery in much of the Western World; of course it came to an end in the United States only because of the radical realignment of political power coming through the Civil War. But other institutions such as marriage and family patterns also found their critics and experimenters abounded. Some of those alterations led to the creation of the Victorian family so elegantly described in a succession of books on the subject such as in "Cradle of the Middle Class: The Family in Oneida County, New York, 1790-1865" (Cambridge University Press, 1981) by Mary P. Ryan.

This book explores Mormon plural marriage, Shaker celibacy, and Oneida Perfectionist group marriage as it originated and evolved in the nineteenth century. Foster treats these experiments in marriage and family not as aberrations from a well=established norm, but as legitimate permutations of the reform impulse of the era. Each of these groups was founded by a charismatic leader, and Foster spends considerable energe probing the mind of Josepm Smith, ann Lee, and John Humphery Noyes. In the process he substantially illuminates the groups he focuses on, helps explain their marriage practices, and draws interesting comparisons between them. In this latter regard, especially, Foster's concluding chapter is a welcome addition to the literature, addressing such issues as the role of women in these various groups, the concept of religious authority and power and who has it and why, and family and childrearing practices. Foster takes a heavily anthropological approach toward his work, and theories ranging from Arnold Van Gennep to Victor Turner abound. He is intrigued by rituals, and by "rites of passage" ceremonial practices.

This is an exceptionally fine study that holds a central place in the historiogtraphy of the Mormon religion. Enjoy! ... Read more

Product Description
Describes the Shaker lifestyle through true stories of Nicholas Briggs and Anita Potter, two children who lived with them, one in the 1850s, the other in the 1920s. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderful craft & vintage recipe book
This wonderful book features historic Shaker style crafts and old-style Shaker recipes for both adults and children. Some of the crafts and recipes require intermediate skills or better so the book is really for those 9 years old and up. ... Read more

Product Description
Having lived and worked with surviving Shakers of Maine and New Hampshire, June Sprigg has drawn objects from forty collections to celebrate the Shaker tradition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

great book of shaker creations
bunch of clear pics,interesting info about each piece.
even if you not particular of shaker craftsmanship or design,,,youll like this book.

if you have even a little interest in woodworking,but arent partial to shaker design,i bet you could spot 10 pics of items in this book youd want to try n build.
if you work with wood,youll want this tome.[always wanted to use that word.];-) ... Read more

Product Description
Ohio Congressman Rob Portman, a life-long Shaker enthusiast, and freelance writer Cheryl Bauer, co-authored Wisdom's Paradise, the story of the first western Shaker settlement, founded in 1805. It was here that missionaries from eastern communities joined with zealous wilderness reformers to create a utopian haven commonly called Union Village, now Otterbein-Lebanon Retirement Community, near Lebanon, Ohio.

Here, Shakers tried to create a new heaven-on-earth but found that, even in paradise, perfection came with a heavy price. They contended with hostile mobs, the state legislature, and a newspaper publisher who deemed them satanic. Despite the chaos, the Shakers succeeded as religious publishers, innovators of garden seed and herbal medicine, and livestock breeders. They grew to be one of the most influential Shaker settlements in America. And then they were gone.

What happened? Why did the community and the Shaker faith fade in the West after seemingly triumphing over suspicion and prejudice? Wisdom's Paradise answers these questions, and describes the struggles and successes of the people who called themselves the Believers. ... Read more

Product Description
Gene Florence, the foremost authority on glassware, has produced a brand new guide for collectors. Florence's Kitchen Glass Shakers, 1930 - 1950s, is sure to spice up your bookshelf. Over 1,000 glass kitchen shakers, including sugar shakers, are pictured in this volume of full-color group photographs. Catalog identification of previously unknown shaker names is provided, as well as name, company, and value given for each item shown. Companies featured include Hazel Atlas, Anchor Hocking, Jeannette, McKee, Owens-Illinois, and Tipp City Decorations. This book features sharp images and offers insight into values of these savory shakers. It's another bound-to-be best-seller from glassware expert Gene Florence. 2004 values. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

This shakers book rocks!
It's a well written and very thorough book. Makes me want to collect vintage glass shakers big time!

Great, sent quick, book was fantastic, great pictures, a will defined book with advanced wording.
This book has what is needed to classifly your S & P's you don't need any other. ... Read more

Product Description
Over 240 recipes representing the best of Shaker cooking, which focuses on using America's natural bounty.With black and white illustrations throughout as well as stories of Shaker life and history, this is a unique book that celebrates easy, natural, American cooking. ... Read more

Product Description
An illustrated alphabet rhyme that includes the animals from alligator to zebra. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Should never be out of print
Subtitled-A Shaker Abecedarius-meaning a mnemonic device for teaching the alphabet, i.e. the ABCs. (Notice in the lines below that the first letter in each line advances the alphabet as the poem works its way from 'A' to 'Z.') The Shakers knew a lot of names for animals. What, for example, did they come up with for 'X'? A xanthos-of course!

Alligator, beetle, porcupine, whale,
Bobolink, panther, dragonfly, snail,
Crocodile, monkey, buffalo, hare,
Dromedary, leopard, mud turtle, bear,
Elephant, badger, pelican, ox,
Flying fish, reindeer, anaconda, fox,
...

In the last line, above, the initial 'A' in 'a____naconda' wants to be stretched in order to keep the poem's cadence. That is the part where, when reading aloud. you trace your child's finger along the length of the anaconda. The charming and bemused illustrations look like period pieces, but they are not. Truly, an editor's and illustrator's labor of love.

[Other they-don't-make-'em-like-they-used-to suggestions are the one volume editions of the Golden Encyclopedia and the Golden Bible (circa 1949) and an in-and-out-of-print-title, The Little Lame Prince and The Adventures OD A Brownie by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik (1826-1887) with illustrations by Edwin.J. Prittie. (The ONLY edition to get is The John C. Winston Company Edition of 1928.)

Thanks largely to their illustrations, all these titles, especially the last, will recreate for you and your child the lost-in-time reading experience of a bygone era. (Great gifts.)]

Beautiful illustrations; fun rhymes
My 1 year old LOVES this book! It's great fun for him to learn animal names. He loves the rhyme and rhythm, and we both love the illustrations.

Beautiful, whimsical alphabet book
Delicate and detailed illustrations with old fashioned looking pictures this book is based on a traditional Shaker abc rhyme of animal names. The illustrations are playful and you can tell the artists had fun illustrating this book.The book introduces unusual animals names like xanthos, ocelot,angleworm and ichneumon. Fun book to share with your children. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
The people of Shaker Lane were a ramshackle lot, with kids, dogs, ducks, and general junk all over the place. They loved their homes, but when the town decided to build a reservoir on their land, the Shaker Lane folks knew it was time to move on. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Oldie but golden goodie!
My kids are now in their 20's but I still remember this wonderful story book about people in a neighborhood and what makes up a community.We all loved the illustrations of individual, slightly eccentric yet perfectly normal families one might see around our own countryside -- those who live in beat-up mobile homes, in little bungalows and so on, and how when a road or dam or reservoir is built, these homes and farms are destroyed to make room for the new and often less interesting.We loved the family pictures and liked to speculate beyond the story -- what the children's names might be, what their pet's names might be, and like the first reviewer, I also loved the man who lives on the water with his dogs and collection of glass bottles displayed to catch the sunshine, much like people used to fill plastic milk bottles with colored water and hang them on many-armed plant holders in their front yards in the PA and NY countryside where we once lived.A marvelous book -- find a copy, new or old, to treasure and read again and again. Fascinating, fabulous, and evocative.Beautiful book to feed mind, heart and imagination!

A surprisingly charming story about a poor community.
My son and I found this book and I was attracted to the folksy drawings (other favorite books with similar art were "Miss Rumphius" and "The Ox-Cart Man", both also highly recommended). So I bought this book without reading it. It was hysterical because it was so completely unexpected and so detailed in the account of this small town succumbing to the whims of eminent domain, even down to the recreated letter from the government and the visit from the "man"! I'm reading it to my son wondering "oh-oh, where is this going?" but it was all done in very good taste, very appropriate for youngsters. It is basically a story about a farm that sold off land "cheap" which became a small community that then became a little trashy and finally was turned into a reservoir. I thought it so funny and odd that we were reading a story about such an odd history. Not like any kids' book I've ever read before and VERY interesting. My son, who was 5 when we bought it, got something completely different out of it. The book not only tells the story of what happened to this little community, it introduces you to just about everyone who lives there, showing you their homes, giving the names of their children and even mentioning their pets. He loved learning the different people and how they were related. And counting the animals and children. He loves the one old guy who sort of collects dogs and junk and is the last to remain in the area "I like the water" he says from his new houseboat on the last page. How great! The main reason that I recommend this for smaller children is that it really does teach compassion -- it talks about the people in this poorer neighborhood and you like them. Then it mentions that outsiders saw them as nuisances and there is even a scene where school-kids tease them from the bus that goes by. What a wonderful opportunity to say "See, honey? That wasn't nice, was it?" and instill a sense of kindness toward the less fortunate, if nothing else. As he grows older though I can see that he would get more and more about it and even learn about eminent domain. The pictures are wonderful. Just wonderful! This book needs to go back into print! It is a favorite in our house. I wish the Provensens would write another in a similar style.

I disagree -- young children will like it just fine!! Highly recommended!!!
My son and I found this book and I was attracted to the folksy drawings (other favorite books with similar art were "Miss Rumphius" and "The Ox-Cart Man", both also highly recommended). So I bought this book without reading it. It was hysterical because it was so completely unexpected and so detailed in the account of this small town succumbing to the whims of eminent domain, even down to the recreated letter from the government and the visit from the "man"! I'm reading it to my son wondering "oh-oh, where is this going?" but it was all done in very good taste, very appropriate for youngsters. It is basically a story about a farm that sold off land "cheap" which became a small community that then became a little trashy and finally was turned into a reservoir. I thought it so funny and odd that we were reading a story about such an odd history. Not like any kids' book I've ever read before and VERY interesting. My son, who was 5 when we bought it, got something completely different out of it. The book not only tells the story of what happened to this little community, it introduces you to just about everyone who lives there, showing you their homes, giving the names of their children and even mentioning their pets. He loved learning the different people and how they were related. And counting the animals and children. He loves the one old guy who sort of collects dogs and junk and is the last to remain in the area "I like the water" he says from his new houseboat on the last page. How great! The main reason that I recommend this for smaller children is that it really does teach compassion -- it talks about the people in this poorer neighborhood and you like them. Then it mentions that outsiders saw them as nuisances and there is even a scene where school-kids tease them from the bus that goes by. What a wonderful opportunity to say "See, honey? That wasn't nice, was it?" and instill a sense of kindness toward the less fortunate, if nothing else. As he grows older though I can see that he would get more and more about it and even learn about eminent domain. The pictures are wonderful. Just wonderful! This book needs to go back into print! It is a favorite in our house. I wish the Provensens would write another in a similar style.

Bittersweet & Poignant, not a young child's book
This book tells a sad tale of "progress and civilization" overtaking a peaceful rural town.

The town originally began when two widows started selling plots of their vast land a half acre or so at a time, when they became unable to tend the fields themselves. The ladies "sold them cheap." Slowly but surely, the town grew bit by bit, with kindly rural folk moving in. Eventually, a smell rural town developed.

The people, most with little education, lived simply, and tended to strew their property about their yards: old iceboxes, wheel-less cars, assorted broken down farm vehicles. Soon the surrounding folks began to heckle the place. Still, the people of Shaker Lane were good, honest, decent folk. Multi-generation families lived there. They helped out anyone who needed it, and looked after one another. Everybody knew everybody. It was a peaceful place to live.

Inevitably, the Powers That Be decide to build a dam on the nearby pond, which will flood Shaker Lane. The people will have to move. One by one, they go. Sadly.

Once the dam is built, and the lands adapt, the new building begins. Concrete, stucco, and asphalt in place of wood and metal. Brand new modern homes, with manicured yards, backyard patios, basketball courts, and built-in swimming pools. "Single family homes" without the grandparents, cousins, uncles, etc the previous residents had. Lots of loud, new, fancy automobiles. Progress.

What had been an idyllic, peaceful town full of kindly neighbors who helped one other is now a "modern" semi-suburb lived in by an entirely different sort of people. The old (and elderly) residents have given way to the young. Seeing it now, "You wouldn't know the place," we are told.

**
A well-told story, not for younger children, even though it looks like a children's picture book. The story is quite sad, poignant because of the harsh reality of these situations, as they have been happening as "suburbs" creep farther out and out. Progress.

The illustrations are beautifully rendered in a soft way. The book is hard to classify, although recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
This delightful gift/inspirational volume features quotations that lie at the heart of Shaker philosophy--rewards of a job well done, gentle warnings against the seductions of flattery and pride, and reassurances of humanity's goodness. 45 full-color photos. ... Read more

Product Description
A fresh generation of regional American cooks can now learn the time-tested secrets of Shaker farm kitchens with this paperback edition of the classic "The Best of Shaker Cooking", with recipes including cranberry bean soup, Shaker chicken fricassee, sweet corn pudding, and graham-buttermilk bread. All of the recipes are easy to prepare, and feature the natural ingredients that Shaker cooks have relied on for centuries. Amy Bess Miller is the president of Hancock Shaker Village, and Persis Fuller was the kitchen director at Hancock Shaker Village. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Eat Well the Old Fashioned Wayl
There are half a dozen recipes in this bookthat we make and give away as gifts for holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas).They are so not "heart healthy" you can't believe.But for holiday stuff, once a year stuff, they are GOOOOOD.

It's a whole different world of recipes - eggs, the more the better.Butter, the more the better.But when these were created, the people that were eating these things were burning 8000 calories a day in the fields.

If you're into organic foods, these are like organic recipes.They were all created with the eggs from free-range chickens, with vegetablesfertilized only with natural fertilizers (see the chickens).

The Pumpkin Loaf is something that we give as gifts, as is the Cranberry Loaf.

And then there's the ... well, if you like hamburgers with onions, imagine a stuffed onion which is basically an inside-out cheeseburger.

... Read more

Product Description
Definitive study provides detailed coverage of origins, ideology, industry and art, mode of worship, internal organization of communities. Author’s reliance on original manuscript material, contemporary illustrations make this study especially useful to students of American social and religious movements. 33 illustrations.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A classic!
Some of the information here has been reinterpreted over time. But readers seeking to understand the spirituality of the Shakers would do well to begin here, and experience the Andrews' genuine enthusiasm for their subject, and then follow with other readings by contemporary authors.

A Fine Introduction to the Shakers
The Shakers were a religious group founded in England and transplanted to America in Colonial Times.Their aim was to live a "simple" life.They founded numerous villages throughout New England, where theyshared a communal existence based on farming, carpentry, andfurniture-making.Today the Shakers are virtually extinct but they arebest-remembered for their distinctive furniture.

Edward D. Andrews was anauthority on the Shakers and he wrote several books on these fascinatingpeople.This one is a good place to start your study.Then move into his"Work & Worship Among the Shakers," before getting into booksby other authors on the subject.

Deming tells the interesting story ofthe Shakers, and makes you wish there were still some Shaker villages tovisit.But alas, they're all gone, victims of the Modern World!Deming'sbooks are the next best thing! ... Read more

Product Description
Shaker Loops (revised) ... Read more

Product Description
In this pioneering study, historian Scott T. Swankreveals the links between the daily life of the Shakers in theirplanned religious communitites and their artand architecture.

As the Director of Canterbury Shaker Village, the author has had unlimited access to the Village's archives, resources, and grounds, examining papers and artifacts, exploringthe 25 remaining buildings, and experiencing the seasons. He has literally been able to walk in the footpaths of the Canterbury Shakers, whose community remained prominentfor 200 years. It is one of the oldest, most typical, and most completely preserved of all the Shaker villages, the only community with an intact first-generation meetinghouseand first dwelling house on their original sites. The result of the author's painstaking research and close observation is this perceptive book, filled with discoveries, presentingthe full sweep of Shaker art and architecture in the context of a specific Shaker community in Canterbury, New Hampshire.

Two centuries ago, the Shakers established America's most successful communal societies. They lived in isolated, rural villages, pursuing work and worship in communitieswhere religion, social behavior, and environmental design were constructed as a harmonious whole. These utopian communities were regulated by "gospel order" which assured their members that their disciplined lives were in harmony with God's will. In these spiritual havens, they endeavored to accomplish their founder's twin mandates,"Hands to work, hearts to God."

Shaker designs have endured long after the communities that created them have passed from the American scene. Shaker style, encompassing all elements of art and architecture, has been greatly esteemed for its craftsmanship, sense of proportion, simplicity, and practicality. The author's well researched text, detailed captions, and excerptsfrom diaries and letters bring life to the legacy of Shaker objects as well as to the architecture. He also provides a time line, a bibliography, and notes.

Accompanying the text are 250 illustrations including 150 in color principally by Bill Finney, who has been photographing Canterbury for over twenty years. There are alsohistorical pictures and maps and newly created plans and diagrams.

This insightful book should especially interest collectors, historians, interior designers, and architects, giving readers a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Shakers'artistic legacy.

Other Details:250 illustrations, 150 in full color240 pages10 x 10"Published 1999 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Deceptive marketing
I had no idea this book only covers the former Shaker village at Canterbury, New Hampshire. The title and cover of this book indicates a comprehensive treatment of Shaker buildings, not just one village. None of the info available . . . amazon.com indicated the true nature of this book.This is a real problem with buying books sight-unseen from internetbooksellers. Nonetheless, this is a good book about Canterbury. But some ofthe finest Shaker buildings are in Kentucky, and the only buildings stillinhabited by modern Shakers are in Maine. All these and more are in JulieNicoletta's definitive book, "The Architecture of the Shakers."It's also a better price! ... Read more

Product Description
Large-format book with more than 90 detailed drawings and advice on how to use various woods. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Measured Drawings of Shaker Furniture
very accurate and informative drawings and very good info in regards to the Shaker lifestyle

Technical, not for browsers
If you like to browse technical books and read them by section (in "fits & spurts"), you'll apprecaite one of the other shaker books more. But if you are a Shaker student or really serious about building authentic Shaker pieces, you'll be happy to add this book to your library.

good reference
These are all small measured line drawings/tight sketches that show a wide variety or Shaker built furnishings with their basic dimensions.
Only the major forms are shown with different views and details where helpful.

I 've found them useful in replication of actual furniture as well as duplication of patterns that I can apply which are Shaker inspired.
I own the entire set of 3 and often refer to them when I want to duplicate patterns of drawers or doors and proportions for built-ins, as well as recreate individual pieces of furniture.

A very useful collection of Shaker furniture drawings
As a master woodworker, I've used this book many times as an aid to create several wooden Shaker replicas in my shop.It contains details and accurately scaled drawings, given in inches (rather than metric).For adrawing book it is very good, but the book could be larger.Noconstruction or technique is given, as the book is intended for layout andgraphics.The book is really one book in a set of three. ... Read more