Antiques at Home: Cherchez’s Book of Collecting and Decorating with Antiques by Barbara Milo Ohrbach (1989) Ex Libris

For years, collecting antiques has been Barbara Ohrbach’s favorite pastime. Cherchez, the elegant home furnishings shop she owned in New York City, reflected her exquisite taste and impeccable eye. In this very personal book, she gives practical advice about collecting and living with antique objects. As she says, all of these treasures from the past are what “give a room its personality and style and a house its soul.

“Antiques at Home is filled with more than 300 photographs of beautiful old objects and rooms, and provides a wonderful look at the world of collecting — from flea markets to elegant stores. Ms. Ohrbach discusses many types of antiques, including ceramics, silver, and textiles. In each chapter, she interviews some of the most respected people in the antiques business and includes tips for what to look for when buying antiques and ideas on how to decorate with them. Each chapter ends with a special section on how to care for and preserve these objects.

Ms. Ohrbach shares her enthusiasm in searching for antiques and tells us where to find them in an international source guide that reveals her favorite antiques shops, fairs, markets, unusual museums, and historic homes. Decorative arts societies, reference books, decorating periodicals, and restorers are also listed.

Beautiful objects that were used and loved in everyday life in the past have become very special to us today. For everyone who has already discovered the warmth that old things bring to our homes, as well as for newcomers to collecting, this book will be a treasured guide.