Wood Use in the American Furniture Industry

I making in America. In addition to its natural beauty and warmth, wood can be shaped both by hand and by power-driven tools; it may be painted, glued, bent, and otherwise worked, and generally it has been available near the centers of population that served as prime furniture markets. Three characteristics influenced the choice of wood used in furniture manufacture: function, style, and availability of the wood itself. Although a large number of tree species are usable for furniture making, a relatively limited number of woods, mainly hardwoods, have natural properties that make them preferable to others. Since colonial times, the most prized have been American walnut, mahogany, rosewood, white oak, black cherry, maple, beech, and, to a lesser extent, gum. Preference for specific woods has varied from period to period, mainly due to changes in consumer preference, location of particular manufacturing centers, and furnituremaking techniques. There have been four major periods in the development of the American furniture industry: Early Colonial (1620-1700), Late Colonial (1700-1790), Classical (1790-1900), and Modern (1900 to present). Each of these periods coincided with a stage in the history of the nation, and the technology and popular culture of each stage had a distinct influence on furniture styles and the types of wood preferred by the industry. In this sense, the development of American furniture mirrors the development of America as a nation. Furniture making in America started before 1650 as a handicraft, with individual pieces handmade from local woods by craftsmen with limited skills and tools. The isolation of the American colonies from Europe and the high cost of shipping bulky items encouraged the manufacture of furniture in the early colonial settlements. Seventeenth-century furniture styles were strongly influenced by those in