Below is information on the BERNICE BIENENSTOCK FURNITURE LIBRARY - in High Point N.C. The library is devoted exclusively to furniture and design. It covers every imaginable style of furniture - including - but not limited to Victorian. Very large research library and selection available at their on site book store - books for sale are also available by mail order. I spent a day and a half there a few years ago when passing through the area to visit relatives. I left the bookstore a few hundred dollars lighter, but found some great books I've never seen before. Very enjoyable and worth seeing if you like furniture books.
Link to website: http://www.furniturelibrary.com/research.htm woodwright
Bernice Bienenstock Furniture Library
Public non-profit with over 7000 books on-site for use by the public, plus over 600 current, and out of print titles on furniture and design for sale.
BERNICE BIENENSTOCK FURNITURE LIBRARY
Address: 1009 North Main Street, High Point, NC 27260
Phone: 336-883-4011
Fax: 336-883-6579
E-Mail: [email removed]
Main Website: www.furniturelibrary.com
Purpose: The Bernice Bienenstock Furniture Library was founded in 1970 by FURNITURE WORLD MAGAZINE and its Publisher Sandy Bienenstock as a not for profit library serving the home furnishings industry.
Goals: To be a study, information and research resource for anyone interested in furniture styles, design, construction or architectural detail
Hours of Operation: Tuesday - Saturday 10AM - 5 PM, Sunday 1PM-5PM
Many rare and out of print books in the permanent collection .
8000 Volumes: The Furniture Library contains over 8,000 volumes on furniture and design dating back to 1620. Included in the collection are many rare and out of print volumes including first editions of works by Chippendale, Sheraton, Hepplewhite and Eastlake, the only complete set of Diderot's Encyclopedias in the US, and thousands of current volumes.
Facility: The Library is located in a beautifully restored stone house near the market center in High Point. It contains many rooms for study and meeting rooms.
Scholarships- The Library awards over 25 scholarship annually to institutions including: Art Center College of Design at Pasedena, Auburn University, Carteret Community College, Catawba Valley Technical College, Davidson County Community College, High Point University, Kansas State University, Kendall College of Art & Design, NC School of the Arts, Pratt Institute, Randolph Community College, Rhode Island School of Design, Rockingham, Community college, University of Cincinnati, University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Book Sales- The Library stocks and sells more than 600 volumes on furniture style, design and construction for sale through mail-order, and also at several additional locations during the International Furniture Market in High Point. You can request a complete list by faxing a request or calling.
Furniture Book Library High Point N.C. 7,000 + Volumes. Many Out of Print
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General Discussion thread on victorianforum.com · started April 23, 2008 by woodwright · 5 posts · discussion in 2008.
Below is information on the BERNICE BIENENSTOCK FURNITURE LIBRARY - in High Point N.C. The library is devoted exclusively to furniture and design. It covers every imaginable style of furniture - including - but not limited to Victorian. Very large research library and…
Great information Woodwright. You're forcing me to travel there now.
One thing that I am searching for is an original catalog from Phoenix Furniture Company of Grand Rapids. They were a big producer and made a lot of Renaissance Revival. I'm reading Kenneth Ames' dissertation on Renaissance Revival furniture from 1970 and the images are horrendous, but I can see profiles on some and there are pieces we commonly see by Phoenix in there. It would be nice to be able to spot their furniture definitively when they hit the market.
One thing that I am searching for is an original catalog from Phoenix Furniture Company of Grand Rapids. They were a big producer and made a lot of Renaissance Revival. I'm reading Kenneth Ames' dissertation on Renaissance Revival furniture from 1970 and the images are horrendous, but I can see profiles on some and there are pieces we commonly see by Phoenix in there. It would be nice to be able to spot their furniture definitively when they hit the market.
You may want to e-mail them to ask about a specific book/ subject (if you can't make the trip) - to see if anything is available. The furniture library in N.C. also will photo copy anything in their collection for you for a very nominal charge.
You might also want to check with the Historical Society of Grand Rapids - A ton (actually many tons) of great Victorian furniture was made and I'd bet they have much info/ catalogs to share w/ interested parties - maybe even photocopy some info for you?
Link: http://www.grhistory.org/
Also check out the Related Links @ the Historical Society. The public Library in Grand Rapids also has a special collections section w/ a section for Furniture Design Collection w/ 4,000 + books:
Link: http://www.grapids.lib.mi.us/collections/grhsty_spcoll/furniture/index.html
Trade Catalogs info link: http://www.grapids.lib.mi.us/collections/grhsty_spcoll/finding_aids/abstracts/232.html
Also, a couple of other sources that I have been aware of for a long time, but have never personally checked into - I'd love to hear from anyone that has regarding quantity & quality of material available. (They are both in Philadelphia - right in RareV's backyard - would love a review if you go).
1st is the Athenaeum of Philadelphia:
Links:
http://www.philaathenaeum.org/libcollections.html
http://www.philaathenaeum.org/library.html
Just click the black header at the top to take you to their home page. They also have an online search for books/ catalogs.
The Athen?um is a member supported, not-for-profit, special collections library founded in 1814 to collect materials "connected with the history and antiquities of America, and the useful arts, and generally to disseminate useful knowledge" for public benefit.
Annually the Athen?um's nationally significant collections attract thousands of readers: graduate students and senior scholars, architects, interior designers, museum curators, and private owners of historic buildings.
The research library is open to qualified readers without charge, and membership is not required to gain access. The Athen?um receives no public funding, but it provides the Philadelphia region with a resource of first resort on matters of architecture and interior design history, particularly for the period 1800 to 1945.
2nd is The Victorian Society in America - (also in Philadelphia)
Link: http://www.victoriansociety.org/index.html
The Victorian Society In America is the only national non-profit organization committed to historic preservation, protection, understanding, education, and enjoyment of our nineteenth century heritage.
Either may be able to steer you in the right direction for your search if they cannot personnaly help you. woodwright
You might also want to check with the Historical Society of Grand Rapids - A ton (actually many tons) of great Victorian furniture was made and I'd bet they have much info/ catalogs to share w/ interested parties - maybe even photocopy some info for you?
Link: http://www.grhistory.org/
Also check out the Related Links @ the Historical Society. The public Library in Grand Rapids also has a special collections section w/ a section for Furniture Design Collection w/ 4,000 + books:
Link: http://www.grapids.lib.mi.us/collections/grhsty_spcoll/furniture/index.html
Trade Catalogs info link: http://www.grapids.lib.mi.us/collections/grhsty_spcoll/finding_aids/abstracts/232.html
Also, a couple of other sources that I have been aware of for a long time, but have never personally checked into - I'd love to hear from anyone that has regarding quantity & quality of material available. (They are both in Philadelphia - right in RareV's backyard - would love a review if you go).
1st is the Athenaeum of Philadelphia:
Links:
http://www.philaathenaeum.org/libcollections.html
http://www.philaathenaeum.org/library.html
Just click the black header at the top to take you to their home page. They also have an online search for books/ catalogs.
The Athen?um is a member supported, not-for-profit, special collections library founded in 1814 to collect materials "connected with the history and antiquities of America, and the useful arts, and generally to disseminate useful knowledge" for public benefit.
Annually the Athen?um's nationally significant collections attract thousands of readers: graduate students and senior scholars, architects, interior designers, museum curators, and private owners of historic buildings.
The research library is open to qualified readers without charge, and membership is not required to gain access. The Athen?um receives no public funding, but it provides the Philadelphia region with a resource of first resort on matters of architecture and interior design history, particularly for the period 1800 to 1945.
2nd is The Victorian Society in America - (also in Philadelphia)
Link: http://www.victoriansociety.org/index.html
The Victorian Society In America is the only national non-profit organization committed to historic preservation, protection, understanding, education, and enjoyment of our nineteenth century heritage.
Either may be able to steer you in the right direction for your search if they cannot personnaly help you. woodwright
Woodwright, are you located in North Carolina? I am in Raleigh which is only about an hour from High Point, so I might just take a trip over there to see what they have.
Michael
Michael
I'm in upstate N.Y. (near Binghamton/ Elmira). I stopped there on the way to Florida to visit relatives. If you like furniture & know how to read or can at least look at the pictures - (and if you can't answer yes to both - you're on the wrong website), I can pretty much guarantee you'll like the Furniture Library @ High Point. If I lived closer, I'd go there several times a year. If I were only an hour away like Michael, I'd be a regular. I was there for a day and a half - just enough time to wet my appetite, would have liked to spent more time but was en route to Fla. w/ my wife (she spent the first half day looking @ books, the next day w/ a cousin in Charlotte), much to see. I kept checking my watch to pace myself - trying to look at as much as possible. I will probably stop again next time I'm headed south.
Don't go there expecting to see nothing but Victorian, or even all antique books - not the case. There are books of every style of furniture - including (GASP!) Modern, some are extremely old and fragile - but still available to the public to view. Books in foreign languages, German, French, many languages - most are in English. There was/ is a great series of very old books in French with pictures of spectacular French furniture (I like a lot of styles, but high style American Victorian is my favorite). The collection is housed in a very nice restored stone house with nice woodwork - which makes a nice frame for the picture so to speak. I've always felt that you shouldn't display a masterpiece in a frame from Kmart. They are open 6 days a week, pay attention to their hours and plan on at least a full day to attempt to take it in. It is free of charge, they just ask you to sign in and sign out. Hope you make it there - it's well worth the trip. woodwright
Don't go there expecting to see nothing but Victorian, or even all antique books - not the case. There are books of every style of furniture - including (GASP!) Modern, some are extremely old and fragile - but still available to the public to view. Books in foreign languages, German, French, many languages - most are in English. There was/ is a great series of very old books in French with pictures of spectacular French furniture (I like a lot of styles, but high style American Victorian is my favorite). The collection is housed in a very nice restored stone house with nice woodwork - which makes a nice frame for the picture so to speak. I've always felt that you shouldn't display a masterpiece in a frame from Kmart. They are open 6 days a week, pay attention to their hours and plan on at least a full day to attempt to take it in. It is free of charge, they just ask you to sign in and sign out. Hope you make it there - it's well worth the trip. woodwright