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Title: Chasing Rainbows: Collecting American Indian Trade & Camp Blankets by Barry Friedman ISBN: 0-8212-2758-0 Publisher: Bulfinch Pub. Date: January, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $50.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (20 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: BUY THIS BOOK! GENIUS AT WORK!
Comment: It's time a female voice chimed in on this amazing book. There is almost no point comparing previous works on Indian blankets with Barry Friedman's "Chasing Rainbows: Collecting American Indian Trade & Camp Blankets" because there is no comparison. This book trumps the competition on every level. If anything, it's almost too beautiful for its own good. The pictures of the blankets are so dazzling that I fear people will just see it as a colorful adornment for a coffee table and neglect to read the text.
That would be a tragedy, because I wholeheartedly agree with the Amazon reviewer from San Francisco who proclaimed this the best book he has ever read on any collectible subject. I have NEVER read a book on antiques or collectibles written by an author with Friedman's combination of knowledge, enthusiasm and remarkable comic sensibility.
This is not to say he doesn't take his subject seriously. It's doubtful anyone takes it more seriously. The previous books on the subject read like Cliff's Notes compared to Friedman's penetrating portrait. So while I repeat that there is no comparison with earlier stabs at this topic, the differences must be mentioned to understand why this book is the new gold standard.
Robert W. Kapoun's worthy "Language Of The Robe: American Indian Trade Blankets" came out in 1992 and has been the reference in the field until now, but in the wake of Friedman's effort it is offically dethroned. Virtually all of the blankets Kapoun listed as manufacturer unknown in his book are conclusively identified here and Friedman offers histories of blanket manufacturers Kapoun doesn't even know existed.
The Kapoun blanket collection obviously was acquired by the glass artist Dale Chihuly and the result was the book "Chihuly's Pendletons". Chihuly also acquired Charles Lohrman, the writer that co-authored Kapoun's book. Chihuly's unfortunate introduction reveals he knows less than nothing about Indian blankets and Lohrman takes over from there with a rehash of the Kapoun text that is so abbreviated you'd think it was commissioned by Reader's Digest. The book consists of photos of 60 or so blankets (some misidentified and most already seen in Kapoun, but photographed much more beautifully by Chihuly) along with some exceptional historic photos of Native Americans wearing trade blankets. This is followed, inevitably, by a section that is the real reason for this book: a cavalcade of Chihuly glass vessels called Blanket Cylinders which the glassmeister states were inspired by the blankets. Chihuly may well have a genuine passion for the blankets, but he is overreaching here. Assuredly, glass photos are no doubt lusted after by his legions of fans, but their presence here makes the blankets appear to be nothing more than colorful excuses for yet another Chihuly glass book. While Chihuly may clearly see the historic link between his glass and Indian blankets, blanket collectors will find his book a self-serving contrivance.
Neither Chihuly or Kapoun bother with cotton Indian style blankets, but the subject is handled amiably in Jerry and Kathy Brownstein's "Beacon Blankets Make Warm Friends", a study of the leading maker of cotton camp blankets. Many vintage Beacon blanket catalogs are reproduced in their entirety (although in pictures so small that magnification is definitely recommended). Some attractive Beacon blankets are shown, but picture quality is fair at best. The Brownsteins know their subject, but they also attempt to be a price guide and their prices are often ridiculously low.
So that's the competition and brings me full circle to our Mr. Friedman, who is the real deal as both as a blanket expert and a writer. One senses he would be compelling writing about any subject. His is a unique voice that can be completely serious one moment and then instantly launch into inspired silliness a la Bill Murray the next. He mentions in his Author's Note that he is a professional comedy writer by trade and obviously his humor even extends to his book jacket photo. He states he's been immersed in the Indian blanket hunt for more than thirty years, but he appears to be 25 in his photo. Vanity may well be an issue here. Whatever his age, I don't think he will outlast the shelf life of this book. Young or old, Barry Friedman has produced a classic.
Rating: 5
Summary: You say you want a revolution
Comment: A quick read of the reviews for this book reveal a Barry Friedman cult is already in full bloom. Tally yet another convert in me. I am delighted this singular volume found a home at the very prestigious Bulfinch Press. Bulfinch is the exclusive home of Ansel Adams and boasts multiple titles by the likes of Herb Ritts, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Robert Mappelthorpe. What's a collector/dealer of commercially manufactured Indian blankets doing in exalted company like this? Bulfinch decided he belongs and indeed he does. Friedman's artistry is in his words. He has an absolute mastery of his subject and a sense of humor that is quirky and completely audacious. One senses he KNOWS text like his is never found in books like this and somehow induced an editor to became a co-conspirator. A magnificently illustrated collecting book written with spirit and wit is just not done and certainly not by the likes of a high-toned publishing house like Bulfinch Press. Until now, that is. This is more than a book - it's a gorgeous act of rebellion!
Rating: 5
Summary: Tremendous!
Comment: I received this book as an early Christmas gift and now I'm buying a dozen copies to give to friends and family. This is the most beautiful and interesting collecting book I've ever read. The author is remarkably funny while delivering all the information on the subject anyone could possibly absorb. Just a fantastic effort.
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Title: Chihuly's Pendletons: And Their Influence on His Work by Dale Chihuly, Charles J. Lohrmann ISBN: 1576840158 Publisher: Portland Pr Pub. Date: January, 2001 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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Title: Language of the Robe: American Indian Trade Blankets by Robert W. Kapoun, Charles J. Lohrmann ISBN: 0879058110 Publisher: Gibbs Smith Publisher Pub. Date: February, 1997 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Blanket Weaving in the Southwest by Joe Ben Wheat, Ann Lane Hedlund ISBN: 0816523045 Publisher: University of Arizona Press Pub. Date: October, 2003 List Price(USD): $75.00 |
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Title: Spruce Root Basketry of the Haida and Tlingit by Ron Reeder, Sharon J. Busby, Ronald H. Reeder, Margaret Davidson ISBN: 0295983175 Publisher: University of Washington Press Pub. Date: May, 2003 List Price(USD): $55.00 |
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Title: One Hundred Years of Navajo Rugs by Marian E. Rodee ISBN: 0826315763 Publisher: University of New Mexico Press Pub. Date: June, 1995 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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