The Dictionary of Furniture is the most authoritative and comprehensive guide on the subject. More than 2,000 entries -- most of them illustrated -- detail the latest research and developments in the study of furniture, including specifics in furniture styles, design, and materials; details of construction; esthetic terminology; architectural style; and cultural significance. A buying guide and a directory of places of interest to furniture aficionados are provided.

Entries include:
-- Furniture designers and key figures
-- Schools and movements, such as Bauhaus in Germany, Federal style in the United States, and Art Nouveau in Europe
-- Periods and styles, such as the elegant neo-classical Adams style, and the simple lines of Art Deco
-- Decorative details, such as rosettes, foots, hinges, and moldings.

Reviews

Designed to be the comprehensive reference tool in the field, this ambitious work includes stylistic forms, construction and materials, and designers and manufacturers, throughout the world, from ancient to post-modern times. To do this in more than 2000 entries in only 331 pages precludes any in-depth treatment, but the volume is a very useful dictionary for ready reference. Each entry provides a definition or identification, dates and pertinent material, and appropriate cross-references. The care with which the work was prepared is evident in small details, e.g., Chinese entry titles are given in Pinyin transcription and then in Wade-Giles when they differ. The marginal line drawings are clear and simple. An attractive, easily handled reference book of this quality, at this price, is a rarity. Recommended for all subject collections. Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib., New York