Edward “Ned” Cooke, Jr. is a scholar specializing in American material culture with a focus on furniture. Cooke often acknowledges that his approach to the study of things is at odds with more aesthetically minded connoisseurs. For him, the interest and value of an object lies within its narrative capacity, rather than its pleasing appearance or financial value. Cooke was introduced to interdisciplinary academics as a student at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut. He continued to pursue this style of scholarship as an undergraduate at Yale University (BA, 1973 – 1977). At Yale, Cooke gained firsthand experience in craftsmanship while working as an assistant to the school’s lead boat builder. This introduction to highly skilled handcraft – coupled with coursework in decorative arts under professor and curator Charles Montgomery – set Cooke on his professional path. He went on to complete his MA at the University of Delaware as part of the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture (1977 – 1979) and his PhD in American and New England studies at Boston University (1979 – 1983). Cooke taught for several years at Boston University before accepting a position as an assistant curator of American decorative arts and sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1985. After several years working at the museum, Cooke returned to academia, landing again at Yale, where he remains the Charles F. Montgomery professor of American decorative arts. As a professor, Cooke incorporates haptic interactions with objects into his coursework and has continually pursued the perspective of a maker, often trying his hand at the potter’s wheel or in the glass studio. His writing has been widely published and includes several books on American furniture. Additionally, he is a founding co-editor of the Journal of Modern Craft. In honor of his scholarly achievements, he received the Iris Foundation Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Decorative Arts in 2010 and the Furniture Society’s Award of Distinction in 2016. Edward Cooke, Jr. was elected an Honorary Fellow of the American Craft Council in 2016.