William and Mary Period: William of Orange, a Dutchman, and his wife, Mary, daughter of James the Second, became King and Queen of England in 1689. The furniture from this period reflects the Dutch influence.

Queen Anne Period: Queen Anne, a sister of Queen Mary, reigned for twelve years. Queen Anne furniture is sometimes referred to as the Dutch style, reflecting the connection to the style of furniture introduced during the William and Mary period.

Chippendale Period: Thomas Chippendale of England (1718-1779), the twice married father of eleven children and a cabinetmaker of some renown in London, published the Gentleman and Cabinetmaker's Director in 1754. His early work was heavily carved and richly ornate. Hardware was important to his pieces.

Federal Period:

George Hepplewhite, an Englishman, is know to have worked for the firm of Gillow and began to make furniture in London about 1760. After his death, his widow published his book, The Cabinet Maker's and Upholsterer's Guide.

Thomas Sheraton, also an Englishman, was making furniture about the same time as Hepplewhite. His design books were published in sections, the first part in 1791, generally referred to as his Drawing Book.

Duncan Phyfe, a Scotsman born in 1768, immigrated to America in about 1783. He settled in New York in 1792 and worked there until 1847. It has been established that he is the only American cabinetmaker whose work has been proven through documents. He died in 1854.

American Empire Period: Hitchcock of Connecticut began his wood-turning shop in 1818, at first making only spindles and chair legs. Later he produced complete chairs and rockers in the Empire style. When he retired, his factory was making over a thousand chairs each month. He became well-known for these chairs which were sturdy and inexpensive. His work was comparable to the assembly line, and because of this his chairs are not quite accepted as a true class of antiques.