Robert Shaw

Brand new! Order yours today!

Electrified: The Art of the Contemporary Electric Guitar offers a visually stunning selection of guitars by the finest builders at work today, showcasing instruments by 125 master artisans and custom shops from fifteen different countries. More than 250 spectacular color photographs, many of them full page, of killer guitars by luthiers who have custom-built instruments for the likes of George Benson, Eric Clapton, Billy F. Gibbons, Kirk Hammett, Steve Miller, Keith Richards, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. All but a handful of the guitars in the book have been built within the last few years, so it offers a spectacular overview of the current scene. A must for every guitarist, this is a substantial (11 1/4 x 10 3/8 inches, 272 pp.) hardcover with a dust jacket.

Electrified dust jacket

Expressions of Innocence and Eloquence: Selections from the Jane Katcher Collection of Americana Volume II has just been published. I contributed three essays to the book: "Dat So La Lee and Her Baskets," "A Fame Weathervane," and "Jewish American Folk Art: Between Two Worlds."

This handsome book, the second volume of selections from the Jane Katcher Collection, presents a superlative group of American folk and decorative arts created primarily in New England, New York, and Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries. Familiar categories of Americana—portraits, quilts, weathervanes, boxes, trade signs, miniature portraits, schoolgirl art, furniture, and Shaker objects—are joined here by new directions in collecting, represented by objects such as love tokens, friendship albums, and rewards of merit. Noted scholars, including Paul D'Ambrosio, Deborah Child, Robin Jaffee Frank, Richard Miller, David Schorsch, Robert Shaw, Richard Stevenson, and Robert Wilkins, discuss the historical, economic, and social context in which the objects were created, as well as their aesthetic qualities and their makers' craft methods. Lavishly illustrated with 470 color illustrations, this book, like its companion volume, is essential for anyone interested in American folk art, Shaker craft, early American furniture, and Native American artistry.

Inspired Traditions: Selections from the Jane Katcher Collection of Americana, which includes many of the objects studied in the book, is on view at the Fenimore Art Museum in Coopertown, New York through December 31, 2011.

BIRD DECOYS OF NORTH AMERICA: Nature, History, and Art

Available now.The definitive book on antique bird decoys, a gorgeous hardcover volume illustrated with stunning color photographs of more than 300 classic decoys from all over North America, plus Audubon bird prints, historic black and white photos, nineteenth century prints, and more.

American Quilts: The Democratic Art

"A rich and beautifully crafted introduction to American quilts from the Colonial period to the present, Shaw's American Quilts offers an engaging and sophisticated synthesis for readers who wish to learn about the art of the quilt in its many contexts. Readers new to the field will discover the quilt as a remarkable art form; readers knowledgeable in histories of the quilt will discover fresh information and insight. An enduring work. "
-Bernard L. Herman, George B. Tindall Professor of American Studies, University of North Carolina, CHOICE, May 2010.

"Surely the most important quilt book ever! I hope it will get people talking more about quilts as art."
-Laura Fisher, author of Quilts of Illusion and Home Sweet Home: The House in American Folk Art

"American Quilts: The Democratic Art, 1780-2007 is so outstanding that words practically fail me. Robert Shaw's writing, as always, is eloquent and enjoyable, and the quality of the photography (so sharp and consistent!) is a joy. I thought Bob had pretty much covered 'definitive' with his previous writing about quilts, but he has re-defined definitive with this wonderful new book. It is just amazingly good!"
-Mary leman Austin, former Executive Editor, Quilter's Newsletter

American Quilts: The Democratic Art 1780-2007 is the first truly comprehensive study of the art of American quilts and quiltmaking.

“American Quilts: The Democratic Art, 1780-2007 is a must-have book at a bargain price. There are a good number of thick books, stuffed with photos, purporting to detail the history of quilts in America. Many are pretty, few are complete, and none can match this new book by curator, collector and writer Robert Shaw."
-Meg Cox, author The Quilter's Catalog and President, The Alliance for American Quilts

Sumptuous, informative, and engaging, this is the ultimate book on American quilts as art. Written by one of the leading scholars in the field, it’s a fascinating chronicle of the growth and evolution of an art form with a rich heritage, as well as a revealing portrait of how quilts have expressed what it has meant and what it means to quilters to be an American. Not only does author Robert Shaw provide a keen, insightful look at quilting aesthetics, he places the craft in its historical, cultural, and socioeconomic context every step of the way, providing a visually lush journey through American history.

Hardcover with dust jacket. 10 x 10 inches. 384 pages, More than 350 stunning images.

Signed and personally inscribed copies are available for $45 postpaid (in the US). Send a check to me at 435 Longmeadow Drive, Shelburne, VT 05482 or you can use a credit card to send a payment to my email address via PayPal. Be sure to let me know how you would like the inscription to read.

Amish Abstractions, inside

Amish Abstractions: Quilts from the Collection of Faith and Stephen Brown was on view at the de Young Museum in San Francisco through June 6, 2010. The exhibition featured 48 full-size and crib quilts made in Amish communities in Pennsylvania and the Midwest and dating from the 1880s to the 1940s.

The exhibition catalogue explores the origins, techniques, and context of these visual masterpieces. More than seventy-five quilts originating in communities throughout Pennsylvania and the Midwest from the 1880s to the 1940s are presented in full color along with contributions by three quilt experts: Joe Cunningham, a well-known quilt artist, author, and lecturer; Robert Shaw, an independent curator of numerous quilt exhibitions; and Janneken Smucker, a doctoral candidate at the University of Delaware specializing in quilts from the Amish and Mennonite traditions.

Scholarly Perspective: An Interview with Robert Shaw by Quilter's Newsletter

Hawaiian Quilt Masterpieces

First brought to the islands by missionaries and traders in the late 19th century, quilting in Hawaii adapted to the physical and cultural environment of the islands to become a distinctive art form. The earliest quilt in this collection of Hawaiian masterworks dates from 1874 and the most recent from 1995. Following the format of his earlier Quilts: A Living Tradition, Shaw includes a detailed color photograph, a historical introduction, and a critique for each of the 48 quilts. Essential for textile history collections."
-Library Journal

Hardcover, 12.1 x 9 x 0.9 inches, 120 pages, 48 full page color photos.

Had Nade, Hand Played

HAND MADE, HAND PLAYED:
THE ART & CRAFT OF CONTEMPORARY GUITARS

We are living in a golden age of guitarmaking, and this gorgeous new book offers a definitive look at the work of the most skilled artisans at work today. From reproductions of Renaissance and Baroque-era instruments to the wildest looking and most technically advanced electric guitars on the planet, this book covers it all. More than 300 color photos of guitars of every kind imaginable—classical guitars, flattops, archtops, harp guitars, Hawaiian lap guitars, Dobros and metal bodied resonators, acoustic and electric basses, hollow and solid bodied electrics, and more. A must have for every guitarist you know and for anyone interested in contemporary instrument building and hand craftsmanship.

Soft cover with folding flaps. 11 x 8.5 x 1.3 inches, 416 pages, more than 300 color images!

"Wow! A really unique book that takes a breathtaking tour of more than 300 of today's most creative, imaginative, and gorgeous hand-made guitars -- all illustrated in vibrant full color photos with specs for each guitar and personal statements and anecdotes from the luthiers who made them. The past 25 years have seen an explosion of craftspeople who build guitars by hand, employing an attention to detail, higher quality materials and more technical skill than in any previous era. This book showcases an incredible variety of guitars made by these luthiers, from elegant parlor guitars and innovative classicals to wildly shaped electrics and guitars with seven, ten, twelve or more strings. It's a feast for the eye, mind and soul of anyone who loves guitars."

- Elderly Instruments

"Music making aside, readers of this large book could be convinced that the guitar primarily exists as an art form. It is a lavishly illustrated book for the guitar connoisseur and will be treasured as such. Over 300 one-offs made by some of what the author terms the ‘explosion of craftspeople who build guitars by hand’ over the past 25 years are presented. This is not a how-to-make-a-guitar book. There are mostly one page ‘profiles’ of an instrument, its specs and its maker. The specs list the woods and materials used, the dimensions and suggested retail price. The shapes, use of timber, inlays, scrolling and detail work on these acoustic and electric instruments is astounding."

-Australian Woodworking

"Five stars! A beautiful book that honors the guitars and the luthiers. The first thing you notice is the elegant, artistic layout and spectacular photographs. Then you start to read a little here and there, soon finding that there is great research and writing to support the guitars. Although it is the sort of book that you usually flip through and read casually, I was so fascinated by the history and the philosophies of the guitar makers, I started reading every page from the beginning! It gives you a taste and makes you want to visit the shops and talk to the luthiers. I started fantasizing a road trip going from shop to shop, talking, playing, wishing I could buy... This is not a simple coffee table picture book - it is a beautiful celebration of guitars and their makers."

-studyscores.com

Drawing by Susan SHie

Drawing by Susan Shie, www.turtlemoon.com

This magnificent book, which has been called "a museum without walls" by Maine Antique Digest, presents stunning photographs of more than 200 objects from the extraordinary collection of Jane Katcher, along with scholarly essays by a distinguished group of experts, including yours truly. I contributed four essays and particularly encourage you to read "Humanizing the Mundane," an exploration of how and why great utilitarian objects engage and move us.

For more information, please visit the extensive Expressions of Innocence and Eloquence web site.