What Other Resources are Available?
UpdatedIn addition to the resources already listed, there are several other sources of information available on the technical/decorative aspects of preservation:
American Association for State and Local History
(615) 255-2971; www.aaslh.org
The American Association for State and Local History is a nonprofit, member organization providing leadership and support to organizations dealing in American history. AASLH publications include topics on identifying American furniture, American architectural style, and caring for antiques and historical collections. The AASLH web site offers information about the organization as well as links to regional, state, and national historic resources, and historical societies in your area.
American College of the Building Arts
The college is modeled on a European guild system, and offers students intensive training in the lucrative fields of building arts. The college can be a resource for finding experts in the architectural metal, architectural stone, carpentry, masonry, plastering and timber framing trades.
American Bungalow Magazine
The web site for the American Bungalow Magazine is a wonderful resource for people who own or are interested in historic bungalows. The site offers tips on restoration and interior design, helps you determine what style a bungalow is, has information on publications, and keeps you up to date on the Arts and Crafts movement.
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects provides information on architects, publishes guidelines to help you verify an architect's and contractor's credentials, and provides publications on restoring your home. The AIA offers technical assistance and educational workshops in the areas of historic preservation.
The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works
The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of the profession of conserving cultural property. Their website has many useful resources including information on caring for various historical objects, tips for finding a conservator in your area, conservation workshops, and technical assistance.
The American Society of Interior Designers
The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) has several design resources listed on their website which can help you locate local designers, color palettes and product suppliers. They also have links to other organizations and design directories.
Arts and Crafts Society
The Arts and Crafts Society's online marketplace is a virtual home for the arts and crafts movement. The site contains information on companies in architecture, design, antiques, restoration products and services, wall paper, furniture, metalwork, lighting, textiles and more; there is also links to other preservation related sites, and publications on architecture, interiors, furniture, glass and lighting, and metalwork.
Association for Preservation Technology International
The Association for Preservation Technology International provides information and services to professionals working in the area of preservation technology. Membership to APTI includes access to an international network as well as up-to-date information on preservation technology. APTI also offers publications on preservation technology, an annual conference, a directory of APTI members, and a professional journal.
Community Revitalization Training Center (CRTC)
CRTC is a national training and technical assistance center for housing rehabilitation and community development professionals. Current sessions include topics such as construction management, codes and standards, and hazards of lead-based paint.
Daughters of the American Revolution Museum
http://www.dar.org/museum/default.cfm
The Daughters of the American Revolution Museum is the largest Decorative Arts museum in the United States. Their exhibits include historic furniture, textiles and glass works along with other household items. The museum's website includes resources for taking care of your antiques.
Ian Evans's World of Old Houses
Ian Evans's world of old houses is an online guide to caring for and restoring old homes. The web site contains preservation product directories for the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. There are also sections for frequently asked restoration questions, essays about preservation technology, and technical tips.
The Interactive Old House Network
The Interactive Old House Network offers historic homeowners a place to buy and sell historic properties, antiques, and historic hardware; find companies which specialize in historic preservation, building technology, or supply restoration materials; and ask other historic homeowners questions about their restoration projects.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
www.metmuseum.org/visitor/index.asp
The collection of American decorative arts at the Metropolitan Museum extends in date from the late seventeenth to the early twentieth century and includes approximately 12,000 examples of furniture, silver, glass, pewter, ceramics, and textiles. Present in the collection are objects made on American soil from the early colonial period, reflecting the settlers' keen desire to reproduce as faithfully as possible the material world they had left behind.
Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts
http://www.oldsalem.org/index.php?id=55
The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) is the only museum dedicated to exhibiting and researching the regional decorative arts of the early South. With its 24 period rooms and seven galleries, MESDA showcases the furniture, paintings, textiles, ceramics, silver, and other metalwares made and used in Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee through 1820. The Research Center and Library are open to scholars and researchers. Inquiries can also be e-mailed to staff using their "Contact Us" page: http://www.oldsalem.org/index.php?id=82.
National Park Service - Technical Preservation Services
http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/presbhom.htm
As mentioned earlier, the National Park Service is an excellent resource. Free publications, known as Preservation Briefs, are available on line at the website listed above. Titles include:
- Preservation Brief #9: The Repair of Historic Wooden Windows
- Preservation Brief #18: Rehabilitating Interiors in Historic Buildings
- Preservation Brief #28: Painting Historic Interiors
- Preservation Brief #34: Applied Decoration for Historic Interiors
National Park Service - Division of Historic Furnishings
http://www.nps.gov/hfc/products/furnish/index.htm
The DHF researches and documents the historical appearance of houses, shops, ships, military barracks, courtrooms, taverns, and other structures in the National Park System
National Park Service - National Center for Preservation Technology and Training
The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training works with organizations and institutions to advance preservation technology and conservation. NCPTT provides research, training, and education for preservation professionals.
National Preservation Institute
The National Preservation Institute is a nonprofit organization providing specialized information, education, and professional training in the field of preservation technology. NPI offers technical assistance to owners of historic properties, particularly corporations and public agencies, and works with manufactures to authenticate and reproduce materials for historic architectural preservation projects.
Old House Interiors
Old House Interiors is a journal, design center, and sourcebook with period-inspired design and home products.
Old House Journal
The web site for the Old House Journal provides information on the magazine, allows you to view their classified section, presents information on new preservation related products, as well as tips for historic building preservation. You can also see historic house plans, visit the journal's publication store, and post preservation-related questions on a bulletin board. Old House Journal's Find-A-Pro area of their website will help you locate a local architect, contractor, or lender for your restoration project. The Restoration Directory webpages list preservation and building products and services from over 1900 companies across the country. The printed version of this directory can also be purchased at bookstores.
The Old House Web
The Old House Web contains reviews of new restoration products, lists historic hardware suppliers, and offers tips on financial assistance, technical problems, and historic gardening.
"This Old House"
www.pbs.org (look up This Old House under the programs A-Z section)
This is the web site for the well known restoration show "This Old House." The site contains articles from This Old House magazine, discusses topics recently aired on the program, and has a resource directory for supplies and tools used on the show.
Olde Good Things
http://www.oldegoodthings.com/
The company has an online store of antique and salvaged items and also has storerooms in New York, Los Angeles and Scranton, PA.
Preservation Resource Group
Preservation Resource Group is a mail order company catering to preservationists. Preservation Resources provides publications on architecture, preservation, conservation, inspection, interiors, maintenance, masonry and stone, metalwork, wood and rehabilitation. Also available through their catalog are tools and preservation products. To order a catalog, call (301) 309-2222 or visit their web site.
Preservation Trades Network
The Preservation Trades Network provides the opportunity for both experienced and novice members of the preservation trades community to share information. PTN sponsors an annual
conference which includes sessions on preservation technology.
Second Chance Inc.
Sells just about anything from buildings that have been slated for demolition. Second Chance also runs a training program to teach workers the complexities of piece-by-piece preservation of the past.
The Smithsonian Institution
The Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Library contains 55,000 volumes which document and support the Museum's collection of 250,000 objects in decorative arts including textiles, wall coverings, metalwork, furniture, ceramics, glass, jewelry, and prints and drawings.
Society of Architectural Historians
The Society of Architectural Historians promotes research and preservation of historic American architecture. The SAH is a good place to contact to find out information about the historic architecture in your area and about architects who have experience working on historic properties. Call the Chicago office or visit the SAH web site for the address of the SAH chapter covering your state.
Traditional Building Magazine/Traditional Building Exhibition and Conference
The Traditional Building Exhibition and Conference includes seminars and workshops in preservation technology. Traditional Building magazine is a resource for historic products. The magazine was designed for those involved with restoring old buildings and who are looking for historic products. One of the highlights of the magazine is its product reports that contain information about a specific product, its suppliers, pictures of that product, and guidelines for determining its quality. Their website contains information on the magazine including an online directory of product suppliers, a product database, online articles and product reports.
The Victorian Society in America
http://www.victoriansociety.org/about.htm
The Victorian Society in America is a national non-profit organization committed to the preservation and protection of nineteenth-century heritage and historic buildings. The site offers information about publications, resources, summer schools, symposia, and architectural study tours devoted to fostering education and appreciation of Victorian heritage.
Winterthur
Winterthur, an American country estate, is the former home of Henry Francis du Pont. Today Winterthur is home to 85,000 objects made or used in America between 1640 and 1860, displayed in 175 period rooms.
