As an antique dealer and collector for many years and the author of numerous pictorial works on early American life, Wallace Nutting possessed an unusually broad knowledge of early American furniture pieces, and this study, one of his most important works, is an indispensable sourcebook, containing much information that cannot be located elsewhere. Primarily it is a collection of plates - more than 1500 photographs and drawings (between the two volumes) of representative furniture pieces of American origin. Each plate is keyed to a descriptive caption in the text that gives details about the owner, features of design, dimensions, historical facts, and other curious bits of information.