Harold Rothstein, a collector inspired by Eighteenth Century American arts, architecture and lifestyle, died peacefully at his home in Bucks County, on April 13. He was 86 years old.

Harold had a lifelong appreciation for pure, unadulterated beauty. Above all, this translated into his love for Margie, his wife of 64 years, and their daughters Toni Richards and Erica Rothstein. Beyond them his proudest achievement was his home, an authentic reproduction of an Eighteenth Century New England saltbox, which Harold and Margie built and furnished 30 years ago in Doylestown.

Harold and Margie scoured the New England countryside to study numerous period homes, many at Deerfield Village, and to find the appropriate period materials to create their authentic saltbox. Doors, windows, glass, floors, beams, boards and hardware all had to be period. A true Eighteenth Century man, Harold was fanatical about maintaining authenticity in their home and its furnishings over the decades. There could be no Nineteenth, Twentieth or Twenty-First Century intrusions!

Harold collected furniture for the saltbox with a well-trained eye for form, but he particularly enjoyed searching for Windsor chairs. Nothing surpassed Windsors for their simple, sculptural beauty and their well-turned legs. And, there was no such thing as too many Windsors. For Harold a day spent reading and doing research about a favorite antique was a great day.

Harold never tired of showing off his and Margie’s home to those who might appreciate it. It was featured and recognized for its pure interpretation of Eighteenth Century living by a number of publications over the years, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, Country Living, Bucks County Town and Country, and, most recently, Antiques and Fine Art.

Harold will be greatly missed not only by his family and scores of friends, many of them lifelong, but also by many dealers and fellow collectors. ⁓andy Cluthe, Blue Bell, Penn.