All state names are entered in the standard two-letter format, with one exception: NE is New England, Nebraska is NEB (there are only eight Nebraska entries).

Dates

Dates are usually birth and death or working dates (b. and d.; b.c and d.c., for born or died circa; w. and w.c., for working or working circa).
A single date usually means a date marked on the form; c. is an approximate or circa date; and a range of dates, (c.1800-1820) indicates an approximate date of manufacture.

Period and Styles

Periods or Styles are written out in the initial field, abbreviated in other fields:

When dimensions are given, h. is height, w. width, l. long, etc. (w. also means with when used in a description, as in "w.label and bill-of-sale").

Main References

All unattributed entries in Main References by title, author, and date are from The Magazine Antiques (sometimes entered and abbreviated as TMA).
Other magazine sources are MAD, for Maine Antique Digest, and AAW, for Antiques and The Arts Weekly (The Newtown Bee).
Museum or similar organization names have sometimes been abbreviated, but their identification is obvious. For example, a book on New Hampshire cabinetmakers by NHHS was published by the New Hampshire Historical Society. Winterthur Museum DAPC is a specific photograph and card file collection at Winterthur Museum. MESDA is the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts.

Top to Bottom

Furniture descriptions almost always begin at the top and end at the bottom or feet, thus a highboy description may read: "PA QA mahog bonnet-top, shells on top, bottom drawers, cutout skirt, cabriole, pads", which is shorthand for: "Pennsylvania Queen Anne mahogany bonnet-top highboy with carved shells on both top and bottom drawers, the skirt is cutout, with cabriole legs and pad feet".
All unattributed entries in Advertisements came from The Magazine Antiques. Prices came from published auction house prices-received lists, or were reported in major trade sources, or came from direct observation by someone at the sale.