Using the Catalogs
Basic Reference Volumes
General Works
Historical Studies
Spirituality
Material Culture
Comparative Studies of Shakerism with Other Religious Groups
Researching Shakerism in Scholarly Periodicals
Print a Copy of This Guide
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Basic Reference Volumes

An excellent introductory essay (with bibliography) is "Shakers," by Lawrence Foster, in the Encyclopedia of Religion (New York: Macmillan, 1987), volume 13, pages 200-201. *RR-ZAB 87-828.

A comprehensive bibliography of published sources by and about Shakers (listing the major repositories which hold each item) is Mary L. Richmond's Shaker Literature: A Bibliography (Hanover, N.H: University Press of New England, 1977), 2 vols. JXF 77-12.

Another important bibliography is Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum. The Edward Deming Andrews Memorial Shaker Collection (New York: Garland, 1987). This catalog of a collection devoted to Shakerism includes printed materials by and about Shakers as well as manuscript materials and artifacts. There is an index arranged by author and title.