If you have even the slightest penchant for antiques, chances are you’re familiar with Judith Miller. An expert on collecting who boasts a fabulous site called “Miller’s Antiques & Collectibles”, Miller’s straightforward style and use of crisp photographs instill even a novice with confidence in her ability to brave the flea markets. As an author, her work includes pocket guides and encyclopedias, as well as glossy coffee table tomes on topics ranging from pottery to porcelain to shoes to how to price and care for antiques. Her newest work is Chairs,  an elegant hardcover published this month by Conran, with a foreword by Terence Conran, the famed British designer and entrepreneur. The book details 400 years of seating, featuring 108 of Miller’s personal favorites, including 25 of her very own chairs.

We caught up with Miller by phone (her British accent is to-die-for) last week, at the start of her promotional book tour. (She had taped the Martha Stewart Show in New York City the day before and had just touched down in our capital to attend the Washington, DC Antiques, Art & Jewelry Show.) We interviewed her about the book and her chair collection, and then asked her to choose her top ten chairs that are for sale on eBay right now.

TIS: Why an entire volume on chairs? Why not tables or lamps?

JM: Chairs are one of my obsessions. The chair is without doubt the best indicator of style during a period. To quote Mies van der Rohe, “A chair is a very difficult object. A skyscraper is almost easier. That is why Chippendale is famous.”

TIS: Is the book a survey of chairs through time, or an ode to your personal favorites? 

JM: This book is very personal to me. There is not a single chair in it that I don't like. Some would say there are styles missing, but that’s because I don't like them. I can't tell you how difficult it was to get it down to 108 from 450.

TIS: How many chairs do you own personally?

JM: I have a tremendous number of chairs at home. Before I go out shopping, my husband makes me say “We do not need one single chair.” A chair isn’t like a dress—you can’t hide it away and pull it out months later, claming “oh, this old thing…”

TIS: Do you use chairs in pairs, or in sets, or do you prefer to mix and match?

JM: I like the contrast that you get from mixing them. If they were the same, you wouldn't notice them as much. In my parlor, I have a Philippe Starck Lord Yo chair opposite a George I chair from about 1720, and they look great together. Around my dining table, I have all different chairs, thought they’re all from the 1780s. And around the kitchen table, I have Arne Jacobsen Series 7 Chairs , in all different colors.

TIS: What chair are you coveting right now?

JM: I love the [stack-laminated plywood chair by Julia Krantz. She is a modern Brazilian designer who I discovered last year. I can't tell you how comfortable that chair is. Whenever I see it in the gallery, I want to stroke it; I've seen people do it. There’s something about its contours. 

Judith Miller’s Top 10 Mid-Century Modern Chair Picks from eBay

Marni Elyse Katz is a Boston-based freelance writer who covers style, art, and design for a variety of publications, including the Boston Globe Magazine, Boston Home and her own blog, www.stylecarrot.com.