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Irish Country Furniture and Furnishings 1700 - 2000
This major illustrated study investigates farmhouse and cabin furniture from all over the island of Ireland. It discusses the origins and evolution of useful objects, what materials were used and why, and how furniture made for small spaces, often with renewable elements, was innate and expected. Encompassing three centuries, it illuminates a way of life that has almost vanished. It contributes as much to our knowledge of Ireland’s cultural history as to its history of furniture. This is a is a substantially different book from Irish Country Furniture, 1700-1950, published by Yale UP in 1993 and reprinted several times. The new book now incorporates the findings of a lot of recent research. Nearly all the black and white pictures in the 1993 book are now in colour, or have been changed for the better, and now include different examples (except archive pictures). Many of the author's fieldwork photographs from the late 1980s, have been digitised and will now be published for the first time. The extent has almost doubled; there are an extra 120 illustrations; the main text has been fully updated and revised; there is a new chapter ‘Small Furnishings and Utensils’ and there is a new Preface by Louis Cullen. Reflecting the considerable addition of new material, the time scale is also broadened to include discussions of objects and interiors up to 2000. It represents extraordinary value. The book looks at influences such as traditional architecture, shortage of timber, why and how furniture was painted, and the characteristics of designs made by a range of furniture makers. The incorporation of natural materials such as bog oak, turf, driftwood, straw, recycled tyres or packing cases is viewed in terms of use, and durability. Chapters individually examine stools, chairs and then settles in all their ingenious and multi-purpose forms. How dressers were authentically arranged, with displays varying minutely according to time and place, reveal how some had indoor coops to encourage hens to lay through winter. Some people ate communally or slept in outshot beds, in the coldest north-west, all this is illustrated through art as well as surviving objects.
547 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 15, 2021
I was mistaken to think this would be a dry inventory of museum collections of quaint, polished furnishings. What I got instead was a fascinating study of Irish history and culture--humble and useful stools, tables, beds, clothespresses, nice photos and engaging text. But what I came away with: the extreme poverty and deprivation of much of the country for most of the time period studied; the meager and uncomfortable accommodations (forget the charming cottage) of damp earth floors and ever present peat smoke. Ireland had been all but deforested, so wood for furniture was scarce. Moonlighting craftsmen--no such think as a fulltime furniture builder--salvaged shipwrecks, scrounged the hedgerows and made do with straw, willow wands and hemp. The best furniture was multi-purpose: a bench that converted to a bed, or space-saving: a table that folded up against the wall, or built-in, to save space and lumber. And my favorite--the Donegal stools with legs of different lengths so they would sit level on the sloped floor around the hearth. Because it was subject to rot and wear and because overseas collectors have spirited much away, the vernacular furniture of Ireland is rare in its home. This book is both a tribute and a precious record.
April 17, 2022
My go to reference book for Irish vernacular furniture. Wonderful insight into past ways of life. On a recent house clearance, with the help of information gathered from this book, we obtained some incredible, untouched pieces of Irish furniture, dating to the early 19th century. In conversation with the homeowners, we explained how, when and why some of the furniture came to be. They were fascinated. I pick this book up for a 10 minute read every night, but rarely put it down within the hour. I love it!
June 25, 2021
Fascinating book with loads of illustrations, and full of insights into the social life and customs of 19th and 20th century rural Ireland. Makes me want to peer through the cobwebby windows of every abandoned farmhouse I come across on my walks
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews