If you want to see what collectors of American antique furniture could find in the first half of the 20th century, this is a great book. It contains many, many (black & white) photos of wonderful pieces in all major categories of furniture. Each category is chronologically organized from the Puritan period up to late Federal (nothing really from Neo-classical on however). Note that there is very little data provided for each item - this is really a photographic reference. Even so, for the novice this is a great book because it provides so much variety to view in one place. For the expert it is a great place to see rare and highest quality pieces. No collector of American period furniture should be without this book.