If you like 17th to 19th century furniture this a book you will enjoy. To think that people created such beautiful furniture by had without the aid of power tools, precision measuring devices and sophisticated jigs is amazing. To look at the pictures of finely crafted furniture art is inspiring.This is not modern, simple flowing furniture. This is intricate detail and personal vision at its finest. Thanks for putting these pictures into our home for us to enjoy the craftsmanship of people who worked by candlelight using their muscles and brains to create beautiful furniture.What a great book. This is my favorite semi- permanent collection at the National Gallery, but the literature available at the museum is inadequate. This book was released right after the Kaufman gift and is just perfect for reading up on my favorites, and the picture quality is great.Just a fantastic book. If you study, love and/or build traditional furniture, this book neefsbyo be in your library.If you like visiting museums, art, beautiful furniture; if you build furniture get this book! The photography is near perfect and the descriptions of each piece include measurements, provenance, and much more.ThanksExcellent book. Great photosI may have confused a "dust jacket" and the "cover" of this book. Without a picture, I was surprised at the appearance of the book when it arrived. There were others of similar price that I would have purchased first. Buyer be better informed and beware.This book is a catalog of a superlative quality American funriture collection. The objects from Kaufman collection covered in this book are diverse (in both origin and period), rare, and beautiful including many important labeled pieces.The large full-page colored photos provide bright and crisp images of objects along with detailed scholarly discussion by Mr Flannigan. Each piece is described separately with its illustration(s). Of course, we're always curious about the interiors of case pieces. Some pieces are photographed from multiple angles. In addition, the appendix includes several plates depicting frames underneath upholstered furniture pieces. Illustrations themselve can do only so much, so the main benefit and joy comes from Mr Flannigan's fluent description of each piece that you read along. He points out nuances and characteristics of pieces.It's a great reference for American furniture, though, of course, not many objects of such quality come up for sale. Although Mr Kaufman has passed away, but I don't remember items from the collection have been put on sale. I think the collection has been promised to the National Gallery.-Mohammad Arif