European colonization of North America began in earnest from the early 17th century. On the Atlantic Seaboard, English influences were strong and it was these areas of settlement - Puritan New England in the North, the middle colonies focused on New Amsterdam (later New York), and the plantations of Virginia in the South - which became the core of the future United States. As the eastern colonies developed, so there emerged the distinctive style of architecture and decoration known as American Colonial. This work represents a source of examples of English-influenced American Colonial exteriors, interiors and decorative arts between 1620 and 1780. Wendell Garrett, vice-president of American decorative art at Sotheby's, New York, takes the reader on a visual tour of restored colonial houses and interiors, from Maine to Georgia. The accommpanying text covers the social history of New England, the Hudson River and the Virginia colonies.