Illustrated History of Furniture

In the following pages the Author has placed before the reader an account of the changes in the design of Decorative Furniture and Woodwork from the earliest period of which we have any reliable or certain record until the present time.. A careful selection of illustrations has been made from examples of established authenticity the majority of which are to be seen either in the Museums to which reference is made or by permission of the owners; and the representations of the different interiors will convey an idea of the character and disposition of the furniture of the periods to which they refer. These illustrations are arranged so far as is possible in chronological order and the descriptions which accompany them are explanatory of the historical and social changes which have influenced the manners and customs and directly or indirectly affected the Furniture of different nations. An endeavour is made to produce a panorama which may prove acceptable to many who without wishing to study the subject deeply may desire to gain some information with reference to it generally or with regard to some part of it in which they may feel a particular interest.. It will be obvious that within the limits of a single volume of moderate dimensions it is impossible to give more than an outline sketch of many periods of design and taste which deserve far more consideration than is here bestowed upon them; the reader is therefore asked to accept the first chapter which refers to Ancient Furniture and covers a period of several centuries as introductory to that which follows rather than as a serious attempt to examine the history of the furniture during that space of time.