Cherished Objects

"How the Victorians loved things!" So exclaims Allison Kyle Leopold in Cherished Objects: Living with and Collecting Victoriana, a collector's cornucopia of 330 full-color photographs of every conceivable object for the home: ornately carved loveseats, lacy antimacassars, pressed-glass candy dishes, silver napkin rings, ginger-bread dollhouses, majolica, samplers, and walking sticks, among a host of others. Author of Victorian Splendor and a renowned scholar of Victoriana, Leopold conveys the warmth and romantic appeal of Victorian antiques as well as a vivid sense of American domestic history. Leopold is also an avid collector, and here she inspires Victorian fans to scour antiques stores, auctions, and flea markets for such beautiful 19th-century inventions as Parian ware and photographic portraits and such curiosities as hair receivers and mustache cups. She shares her pleasure in the Victorian sense of whimsy, too, with board games and seashell-studded picture frames. For the sophisticated Victorian buff, Cherished Objects offers new ways to enjoy and expand established collections; for the newcomer to Victoriana, it opens a window onto a past filled with intimate and endlessly varied treasures. Cherished Objects not only documents the historical background of Victorian collecting and decorating and highlights the range of Victorian styles from grand to exotic to period-perfect, but it also reveals valuable tips on finding, preserving, and displaying. Anyone who shares the Victorian passion for things will welcome this delightful compendium of their ancestors best-loved knick-knacks, gadgets, and elegant antiques.