Toward the end of the nineteenth century one finds a mix of the spiritual and the temporal in Christmas celebration among the Shakers. Traditionally, from the earliest days in their settlement at Niskayuna, the Shakers devoted Christmas day to spiritual matters, setting asi...

Pieces of furniture made by the Shakers do not necessarily remain in the form in which they were made. Some merely show wear and tear, some have been refinished, and some have had decorative and structural changes made to them. These changes may have been done by the Sha...