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The nineteenth century produced more varied forms of furniture than any previous period in British history. Whereas about half a dozen names such as Chippendale, Hepplewhite, Adam and Sheraton dominated eighteenth century designs, the nineteenth century produced dozens of independent designers particularly towards the end of the period. As the furniture trade developed. so manufacturers and retailing split. Catalogues began to be used in retail shops as they are today.
Competition between retailers and the use of the new design books, resulted in a large number of designs, not only new ones but also a constant looking backwards to earlier centuries for inspiration.
This change in the structure of the industry made full use of highly individual interpretations of Gothic, Renaissance, Elizabethan, ‘Naturalistic’ styles, Egyptian. Old French, Louis Quatorze, Louis Quinze, and Italian decorations, all applied to a wide variety of furniture, and one can understand that the complexity of the subject is best explained by a very large number of illustrations. This is the reason why over 6,000 appear in this book.
Other books so far written on the period have tended to concentrate almost entirely on the names of leading designers and pieces made for the few important exhibitions, which, while relevant to taste at the top end of the market, had little influence on the vast flow of furniture produced for the wealthy middle class market, the type of furniture that one finds today in market shops and at auctions. The Dictionary is made up from forty-nine contemporary design and pattern books. Each piece of furniture has been sorted into its physical characteristics (e.g. table with three legs), so that it is only necessary to glance down the list of contents to identify into which category any particular piece belongs.
This simple format has avoided the pitfalls of using contemporary nomenclature interlaced as it is with later fashionable terminology (for example, dressoir and ‘Glastonbury’ chair). Within each category the pieces are arranged in chronological order so that the evolution of each type is clearly seen. This provides the first major study of the very wide range of furniture produced in this prolific century and should become the standard work of reference on this subject.
A scholarly introduction by the late Edward Joy, the eminent furniture historian, gives a fascinating review of the design trends of the period.
isbn 0902028472
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