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PREFACE 
EARLY in the year 1877 the writer began to collect 
pieces of old furniture in and about Hartford, Conn., 
a region rich in the carved oaken woodwork of the 
seventeenth century.  There were at that time a 
few others quietly engaged in the same pursuit. 
The number of collectors gradually increased, and 
the amount of old furniture gathered by them soon 
became quite considerable. What is here described 
as taking place in Hartford was also going on in 
many other places in New England. 
With these rich possessions naturally came the 
desire to know something more about them. When, 
however, we began to inquire into the origin and 
history of the various objects and styles represented, 
it was found either very difficult or impossible to 
obtain ready and satisfactory answers to many of the 
questions which arose. 
About the year i88o the writer commenced a 
somewhat systematic study of this old furniture. 
This included among other things an examination