In St. Paul’s Catherdral in London, England, on the tomb of the architect, Sir Christopher Wren, is written this epitaph: Lector, si monumentum requiris circumspice (Reader, if you seek his monument look around you). I was reminded of this while reading Tom Meiller’s book, Inspiration: Gene Landon and seven hearths. The biography of the reproduction period furniture maker, who died last year, focuses on his house, Seven Hearths, near Williamsport, PA. Taking a tour is like stepping back two hundred years with the only thing missing being period costumes. All the furniture was made by Landon and it is interesting seeing his skill progress from unadorned, basic Queen Anne chairs to high-style Philadelphia pieces embelished with top-of-the-line carvings.

There are over 200 full color pages, 400 photos, a hard cover binding, and an introdution from Charles Hummel, former curator and adjunct professor at Winterthur Museum. The book is available as a print on demand publication at http://www.lulu.com/product/hardcover/inspiration-gene-landon-and-seven-hearths/18818672 where you can preview some of the pages. The price is $79.95 but if you use this coupon code before 1/31/2012 you can get 25% off: LULUBOOK305.

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