"A decorative-arts adviser and specialist, Ms. Wheeler Brown found herself spellbound when asked to appraise a vast collection of Delftware unceremoniously stored in the Manhattan headquarters of a Gilded Age-era women’s group. As important to the longevity of Delftware as its quality has been the appetite for collecting and commissioning it. Ms. Wheeler Brown delves into the roles women have had shaping, patronizing and protecting the pottery over the centuries. Beyond Blue and White taps into what every collector of antiques knows to be true: The decorative arts are more than mere objects where beauty meets function—they are the tactile messengers of histories forgotten." —The Wall Street Journal

"When Brown is asked to review a large, private collection of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Delftware, she finds herself on a search for the stories of its creators and collectors. These are stories that go beyond descriptions of the pieces and their provenance. Instead, they are about the women who ran potteries and the women who acquired and assembled collections of the Delftware they made. Brown’s bibliography is extensive: She consulted archival collections, numerous histories, and scholarly articles. Museum- and academic-library collections will want to add this title, as will public libraries whose patrons include Delftware devotees."  —Booklist