This wide-ranging book examines the compelling subject of death and burial in varied cultures, societies, and ages. Covering all periods in history and religions, The History of Death also examines the differing approaches to funerals, whether solemn, celebratory, drunken or even sexually promiscuous. It illuminates the combination between earthly and spiritual funeral rites, the practices of human sacrifice and ritual killing, as well as the processes of grieving, burial, cremation, remembrance, and the differing concepts of life after death. Learn More

Author Carol A. Johnson has lived in New Paltz all her life and is the coordinator of the Elting Memorial Library's Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection. Using mostly images from the library's extensive archives, she hopes to instill the importance of history collections in the preservation of local heritage and make local history accessible to everyone.

Beginning with the Huguenots and Huguenot Street, Johnson gives us glimpses of the town's history and the determined families who founded New Paltz. Chocked full of carefully selected photographs and detailed text. A trip down memory lane for some, an entertaining journey for others.
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From one of the most beloved authors of our time—more than six million copies of his books have been sold in this country alone—a fascinating excursion into the history behind the place we call home. Learn More

In this biography first published in 1894, Durand’s son John reconstructed the artist’s life from family records and documents and his own recollections, creating what has become an essential source of biographical data on Durand, his paintings, his engravings, and his patrons. Learn More

This is an exact reproduction of the first American-written cookbook published in the United States. Authentic recipes for colonial favorites—pumpkin pudding, winter squash pudding, spruce beer, Indian slapjacks, and more. Introductory essay and Glossary of colonial cooking terms.

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This book, the town’s first official history when published in 1959, documents the run-up of events that culminated in the iconic Woodstock Festival a decade later, and serves as a reminder of the values and artistic impulses that underpinned a more idealistic era. It tells the story of the town from the time of the Amerindians, up through Revolutionary days, the glass-making era, the down-rent war, and the establishment of a utopian arts enclave during the early 20th century. With an artist’s eye, a worldly sophistication and a you-are-there charm, Smith weaves in tales of witches, farmers, mountain folk, Second World War veterans, and an astonishing array of fellow artists, neighbors and visitors that include Eleanor Roosevelt, John Burroughs, George Bellows, Helen Hayes, James T. Shotwell, John F. Carlson, Thomas Mann, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Edward G. Robinson, John Dewey, Pete Seeger, Carl Walters, Philip Guston and many others. Learn More

Superb, finely detailed full-color reproductions of rare portraits, the first of their kind by an American painter. These cards comprise an extraordinary gallery of realistically depicted American Indians of various tribes, shown in authentic costumes and regalia. Identifying captions and descriptive notes. Learn More

Now available from Abrams, this popular book offers a rare, close-up look at the exquisite, labor-intensive details seen in fine historical clothing. Perfect decorative seams, minute stitching, knife-sharp pleats, and voluptuous drapery-all are here, alongside more unusual techniques such as stamping, pinking, and slashing. Most of these effects cannot be replicated by machine, yet many of today's fashion designers take their inspiration from the past, adapting these details to a more contemporary idiom, and to the realities of modern manufacturing. Drawing from the Victoria and Albert Museum's world-famous collections, the book contains a gallery of exquisite photographs, accompanied by clear line drawings showing the construction of the complete garment and a text that sets each in the context of its time. This book will appeal to anyone interested in fashion, historical costume, or textile history, from cut and construction to fabric and trimmings. Learn More

This handsome book showcases the Metropolitan Museum’s superb collection of 151 American quilts and coverlets. First published in 1990 and revised in 2007 to feature 32 new acquisitions and updated scholarship, this volume chronicles the development of quilt and coverlet production in the United States from the 18th through the 20th centuries, provides a glimpse into the lives of the makers and recipients of these pieces, and discusses their emergence as works of art. Learn More