To our new curator,
Welcome aboard! Here at the Ocean State Historical Society, we are particularly proud of our collection of historic houses. Perhaps even more, we take great pride in the collection of period antique furnishings, textiles and art that have been painstakingly assembled and displayed in order to bring the 18th and 19th centuries to life for our visitors. In light of this, I have prepared a list of online resources and current journals to help you keep abreast of any new information or research relevant to our collection.
Print Journals
Art & Antiques
While primarily intended for the private collector, this magazine does contain useful information on a wide variety of topics. They also have an e-newsletter and a website, http://www.artandantiquesmag.com
Early American Life Magazine
This magazine is primarily geared toward those who craft or build furniture in 18th and early 19th century American styles. While our collection focuses in contemporary pieces, rather than reproductions, this journal can provide excellent research and insight into period construction methods. The annual directory if traditional crafts may also prove to be a valuable resource for finding artisans to consult with or make period-accurate repairs. They are also online at www.ealonline.com.
Online Resources
The Rhode Island Historical Society
As a peer organization that also curates historic buildings, the RIHS's website can help provide a valuable rubric for comparison.
Textile Society of America
This website includes valuable information on and links to a wide variety of historical textile organizations and museums, including those specializing in embroidery, quilts, printed fabrics, tapestries and fashion. It also has a listserv, which is a great resource for discussions and current developments.
CINOA
CINOA is an international organization dedicated to art and antiques. Although their focus is quite broad, they do have useful information regarding the trade, including legal information, guides on care for a variety of objects such a silver, furniture, textiles and paintings and data on sales.
The American Folk Art Museum
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Both of these museums have excellent collections of early American art, furnishings and decorative objects and both have searchable online catalogs with excellent pictures. Great for research and identification.
Ask Art
We have a membership to this fantastic online art database. (Please email me for the user name and password.) It is an excellent resource for auction results and valuation, but in addition it has signature images and short lbiographies for many artists.
Kovels Komments
I'm sure you are familiar with Kovel's antiques books as a standard resource. Their blog is full of interesting tidbits on care, repair, identification, styles and other things. The only caveat is that it is inconsistently updated. Probably still a good resource to check in on once in a while.
I hope these resources are a good starting point for you. Please let me know if there are any topics you would like to delve into more deeply or if there is anything else I can help you find.
Patty
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