Colonial Homes and Their Furnishings

Doorways, hearths, bedsteads, and looking glasses become evidence of domestic history in Mary Harrod Northend's illustrated study of colonial homes. Drawing on houses and family collections in Salem and other New England towns, she connects architectural details with the objects kept inside. Her opening traces changing house forms, from early log cabins to framed dwellings, gambrel roofs, and larger mansions.

The chapters move through rooms and furnishings, including chairs, clocks, lighting, china, glass, pewter, and silver. In the discussion of four-posters, Northend records differences in carving and construction alongside family ownership and historic associations. The section on mirrors links imported household goods to Salem's shipping trade and uses old inventories as evidence. For readers interested in antiques or the history of interiors, the book offers detailed examples of how buildings and possessions were valued, preserved, and brought back into fashion.