Furnishing the Eighteenth Century

<p><em>Furnishing the Eighteenth Century</em> provides an illuminating, interdisciplinary look into European and American furniture during the century that connoisseurs and collectors consider its golden age. Lavishly illustrated, this eclectic and lively collection of essays by historians, art historians, and literary scholars examines the many ways furniture of this period reflects the complex social and cultural issues that shaped this century in both Europe and America. In addition to furniture and portraiture, this diverse compilation considers literature, account books, and handbooks, allowing for a revealing look at how these furnishings created, contested, and subverted their cultures on both sides of the Atlantic. Ultimately, these essays make the past come alive, showing us what made this furniture meaningful in its own time, and why it is still meaningful today.</p> <p>Acknowledgements, Introduction, Dena Goodman and Kathryn Norberg, Part 1: Mapping Meaning Globally 1. Orientalism, Colonialism, and Furniture in Eighteenth-Century France, Madeleine Dobie, Columbia University, 2. Luxury Markets in Saint Domingue: Mahogany as a Case Study, Chaela Pastore, California State University, San Marcos, 3. A Wanton Chase in a Foreign Place: Hogarth and the Gendering of Exoticism in the Eighteenth-Century Interior, David Porter, University of Michigan, Part 2: Diffusion, 4. Fashion, Business, Diffusion: An Upholsterer’s Shop in Eighteenth-Century Paris , Translated by Kathryn Norberg & Dena Goodman , Natacha Coquery, Université de Tours, 5. Sideboards, Side Chairs, and Globes: Changing Modes of Furnishing Provincial Culture in the Early Republic, 1790-1820, David Jaffee, University of North Florida, Part 3: Social Meaning and Social Power, 6. Color Schemes and Decorative Tastes in the Noble Houses of Seventeenth-Century Dauphiné, Donna Bohanon, Auburn University, 7. Tea Tables Overturned: Rituals of Power and Place in Colonial America, Ann Smart Martin, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 8. Goddess of Taste: Courtesans and their Furniture in the Late Eighteenth Century, Kathryn Norberg, 9. Decoration and Enlightened Spectatorship, Mary Salzman, Stanford University, Part 4: Hidden Meanings: Psychology and Security, 10. The Joy of Sets: The Uses of Seriality in the French Interior, Mimi Hellman, Skidmore College, 11. The Secretaire and the Integration of the Eighteenth-Century Self, Dena Goodman, 12. Looking at Furniture Inside Out: Strategies for Concealment and Secrecy in Eighteenth-Century French Furniture, Carolyn Sargentson, Victoria and Albert Museum, Notes on Contributors, Index</p>