The Tapestry Book

Helen Churchill CandeeProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.6

Word count: 436K words
Chapters: 44

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Tapestry Book by Helen Churchill CandeeAuthor: Candee, Helen Churchill, 1861-1949,Language: English, Class: NK: Fine Arts: Decorative and Applied Arts, Decoration and Ornament, Release Date: Jul 30, 2008

Editor's review

The Tapestry Book is Helen Churchill Candee's dedicated work on tapestries, classified under decorative and applied arts and freely available from Project Gutenberg. Its value lies in elevating tapestry from mere home decoration to a systematically knowable art category, discussing weaving techniques, pattern styles, and appreciation points, making it suitable as an introductory reader for Western decorative art history. The author writes for general readers rather than a purely academic circle, with the unhurried tone of early twentieth-century art writing and moderate information density. Reading it helps develop basic judgment about tapestry materials, composition, and period styles, with practical benefits for visiting museums, antique shops, or decorating a home. Limited by the era in which it was written, some market information and craft descriptions in the book are now outdated; readers should focus on the art appreciation framework and verify specific data against newer sources.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in tapestries, textile art, and decorative history
General readers seeking to improve their appreciation of home soft furnishings
Enthusiasts wanting basic knowledge before visiting museums or antique shops
Art students with reasonable English reading ability

Not a good fit for

Professionals needing the latest market prices and contemporary craft data
Readers expecting extensive high-resolution plate comparisons
Readers who only want light fiction and have no interest in art history

Reading tips

Read the overview chapters first to build a framework, then read the style chapters in detail.
Compare with images of museum collections while reading to deepen understanding of patterns and techniques.
Compile the book's appreciation points into a checklist and compare them item by item when visiting exhibitions.
Mark outdated price and market descriptions and check newer sources separately.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for complete beginners in art?

Yes. The author writes for general readers and starts from basic concepts and appreciation perspectives of tapestries, requiring no professional background. Complete beginners can read the overview section first, then skip through specific style chapters according to interest, preferably with images of actual pieces.

Is the information in the book still valuable for reference today?

The art appreciation framework, pattern styles, and general craft knowledge remain valuable, but content involving market prices, the whereabouts of specific collections, and craft conditions at the time is outdated. Treat the book as an introduction to appreciation and verify specific data against contemporary sources.

What supplementary materials should I prepare for reading this book?

It is best to have a device or picture album for looking up images, because tapestry is a visual art and text alone makes it hard to form impressions of patterns and textures. Reading before visiting a museum, or searching for images of related collections while reading, will make understanding noticeably smoother.

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About the author

Helen Churchill Candee Author · American · 1861–1949

Helen Churchill Candee (1861–1949) was an American writer and art historian. Her writings deal with the decorative arts and the history of furniture. In The Tapestry Book she traces the origins and development of tapestry craft and sets out the key points of connoisseurship, while Jacobean Furniture and English Styles in Oak and Walnut focuses on the evolution of Jacobean and English oak and walnut furniture, showing her close attention to materials, patterns, and the tastes of each period. She survived the sinking of the Titanic, an experience often mentioned alongside her scholarly writing. Public information about her early education, professional career, and social activities is limited. Two of her works are held in this collection, offering readers two lines of entry into her research: craft and furniture.