The 19th century in Western culture was a time of both confidence and turbulence. Industrial developments resulted in a number of benefits from a growing middle class to efficiency, convenience and innovation across a range of fields from engineering to architecture.
Alongside these improvements, the century began with the extended period of the Napoleonic Wars and was further disrupted by rebellions and revolutions both within Europe and in India, South America and other parts of the world.
Slavery was abolished and urbanization increased dramatically.
These myriad developments were reflected throughout the period in the proliferation of types of furniture, along with their categorization as 'industrial art' at the international exhibitions and world fairs and the increasingly adventurous range of materials that were sometimes used in their construction.
Nonetheless, a strong antiquarian/historicist strand also prompted interest in the revival of past styles in areas of art and design, including furniture.
Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume
presents
essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of
the period
on the themes of Design and Motifs; Makers, Making, and
Materials; Types
and Uses; The
Domestic Setting; The Public Setting;
Exhibition and
Display; Furniture
and Architecture; Visual
Representations; and Verbal
Representations.
List of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Series Preface Introduction, Catherine L. Futter and Christina M. Anderson 1. Design and Motifs, M. B. Aldrich 2. Makers, Making, and Materials, Christina M. Anderson 3. Types and Uses, Camille Mestdagh 4. The Domestic Setting: Self, Stories, and Furniture in the Nineteenth-Century, Amy G. Richter 5. The Public Setting, Sylvain Cordier 6. Exhibition and Display, Catherine L. Futter 7. Furniture and Architecture, David Oakey 8. Visual Representations, Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth 9. Verbal Representations: Writing Tables and Reading Chairs - Verbal-Textual-Intertextual Representations of Furniture, Emma Ferry Notes Bibliography Index
Catherine L. Futter is Director of Curatorial Affairs and Senior Curator of Decorative Arts, Brooklyn Museum, USA Christina M. Anderson is Principal Research Fellow, SELCS-CMII, University College London, UK
