Clean, elegant lines and honest functionality make Shaker furniture one of the most popular and enduring furniture styles. The Shaker Legacy presents the unique perspective of Chris Becksvoort, a leading expert in Shaker furniture design, restoration, and reproduction.

The heart of The Shaker Legacy is an extensive visual tour of more than 140 classic Shaker pieces, many of which have never been previously photographed for publication. Photographs taken on location at various communities as well as rare material from Shaker archives enrich the sections on Shaker history and belief.

Becksvoort explains how Shaker belief inspired the design principles exemplified in Shaker furniture and how to recognize the careful craftsmanship and signature details that define Shaker style. Becksvoort also discusses the largely unknown Victorian period of Shaker design and explains how Shaker furniture has influenced other furniture styles.

For everyone who loves Shaker furniture and wants to deepen their appreciation of this classic style, this is a beautiful book to be treasured.

Introduction

1 THE SHAKER CONTRIBUTION: An Enduring Legacy

2 THE SHAKER CULTURE: Building Heaven on Earth

3 THE SHAKER STYLE: A Reflection of the Spirit

4 CLASSIC SHAKER FURNITURE
Cases Chairs, Benches, and Stools
Tables and Stands
Built-ins
Desks
Beds
Clocks
Miscellaneous Pieces

Bibliography

Glossary

Index

Customer Reviews from Amazon

This is a truly excellent book that should be on the shelves of all who work with wood, even those of you who, like myself, are not particularly keen on shaker furniture.

The first part of the book overviews the Shakers and their attitudes to working with wood, their seeking of elegant simplistic functional beauty and their enjoyment of the process of working with wood - these are an inspiration to the modern woodworker, all of whom I suspect share the same enjoyment of the process and attention to detail, regardless of their chosen style. The Shakers themselves are quite interesting, and their attitudes of constantly improving and making work easier, more joyful and freeing time for better pursuits than toil are a mantra we all should live by, perhaps. Although the Shakers were very minimalist, I believe many other great craftsmen of the past shared their attitudes and enjoyment of the process of making furniture.

The second part of the book details many fine examples of Shaker furniture. These are great items, well made, well designed, and even if the style is not your preferred one, they still may inspire you.

Note that it is NOT a "how-to" book as another reviewer pointed out, although if you have some skill you could easily reproduce the items in it ? more importantly, be inspired by them.

I have an extraordinary library of woodworking and furniture books covering all styles and all ages and I would definetely recommend this one as being in the top 10% - but I have to stress, it is not a how-to book, look elsewhere if you are looking for that.

Finally, thanks to all the other reviewers here who convinced me to purchase it, I had seen it in the shops before but passed it over (not preferring Shaker style). I will now go tick all your reviews as being helpful.

Did I mention it is absolutely full of colour photos, sidebars of interesting information and very readable and interesting?

This book is an interesting and pleasant blending of American history, philosophy, furniture design, and woodworking.
I have read/studied several other books concerning Shaker furniture. This hardcover printing of Mr. Becksvoort's book has, by far, the finest and clearest photography and printing.

I have many books, new and old, on various styles of furniture, their designers, and construction techniques. This was a great addition to my library. I have learned much from it. I appreciate the detail the author went to in this work. It is not your typical lightweight coffee table book, but shows an understanding of, and respect for, the various Shaker communities and their many contributions to our way of life, not the least of which is their beautiful furniture.

Aways had an interest in making Shaker Furniture;and it's origin .Found this Book very formative and informational;enjoyed.

" 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." ~Amazon review
This attractive volume does not attempt to give directions on how to build Shaker style furniture. What it does do, and does it very well, is to describe the philosophy of the Shakers in relation to their work. The book has as its focus the Shaker's most visible and well-known product - their furniture. Each piece in the book was carefully examined by Mr. Becksvoort and photographed by Mr. Sheldon. Some pieces are not available to the public. Construction, finish, and accurate description of each piece distinguish this work. Mr. Becksvoort knows what he is looking at, he has had the privilege of restoring and closely examining the furniture of the Sabbathday Lake, Maine, Shaker Village. What he does not do is tell you how to build each piece. But if you are a clever and intelligent woodworker, perhaps you will be inspired to design your own project with an eye to the timeless design of the Shakers. Take the challenge, inspire yourself!

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