IN THIS BOOK we have brought together treasures from the past and a wealth of ideas for their use and enjoyment in the present. Like The ANTIQUES Treasury of Furniture and Other Decorative Arts published in 1959, to which it is a companion, this volume is full of information about antiques, but while the previous volume concerned itself with the collections of seven great American museums, this is devoted to American private homes. It makes no recommendations as to what should be done, but it shows what has actually been done by some of America's most discriminating collectors to bring beauty and also a sense of stability and continuity into their homes. For to these collectors living with antiques does not mean living in the past: it means preserving and enjoying the best of the past in order to add an extra dimension to the present.