Here is a collection of books that will help you to better understand and appreciate fine furniture and antiques.
Michael Bennett, Discovering and Restoring Antique Furniture. A practical illustrated guide for the buyer and restorer of period antique furniture, Cassell 1995.
Martyn Bramwell (ed.), The International Book of Wood, Colporteur Press 1984.
Tim Forrest, Paul Atterbury (cons. ed.), Know Your Antiques. The illustrated guide to assessing period furniture, Little, Brown and Company 1996.
Charles H. Hayward, Antique or Fake?, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company 1981.
Anthony Hill, Antique Furniture in Australia, Penguin Books 1988.
Aidan Walker (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Wood, Viking 2005.
Roy Williams and Martin Lloyd, The Australian Room, Thomas C. Lothian 1999.