This collection of 122 photographs from the early 20th century displays the range and beauty of Art Deco ironwork. From lamps, hotel sideboards, and sinuous staircase balustrades to screens that look almost Moorish and balcony railings where detailed animal figures seem about to spring to life, each piece is a unique masterpiece of decorative art. This photographic treasury is a rich source of inspiration and an invaluable resource for architects, creative ironworkers, and lovers of antiques.

Edgar Brandt: Master of Art Deco Ironwork is the first book to document the life and work of the premier metalsmith of the twentieth century. A member of a group of extraordinary artist-craftsmen that included Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Jean Puiforcat, and Jean Dunand, among others, Edgar Brandt (1880-1960) was a leading force during a period of great achievement in French decorative arts and design, creating an entirely new aesthetic for the medium of wrought iron.

Art Deco—the term conjures up jewels by Van Cleef & Arpels, glassware by Laique, furniture by Ruhlmann—is best exemplified in the work shown at the exhibition that gave the style its name: the Exposition Internationale des Art Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, held in Paris in 1925. The exquisite craftsmanship and artistry of the objects displayed spoke to a sophisticated modernity yet were rooted in past traditions. Although it quickly spread to other countries, Art Deco found its most coherent expression in France, where a rich cultural heritage was embraced as the impetus for creating something new. the style drew on inspirations as diverse as fashion, avant-garde trends in the fine arts—such as Cubism and Fauvism—and a taste for the exotic, all of which converged in exceptionally luxurious and innovative objects. While the practice of Art Deco ended with the Second World War, interest in it has not only endured to the present day but has grown steadily. Based on the Metropolitan Museum's renowned collection French Art Deco presents more than eighty masterpieces by forty-two designers. Examples include Süe et Mare's furniture from the 1925 Exposition; Dufy's Cubist-inspired textiles; Dunand's lacquered bedroom suite; Dupas's monumental glass wall panels from the SS Normandie; and Fouquet's spectacular dress ornament in the shape of a Chinese mask. Jared Goss's engaging text includes a discussion of each object together with a biography of the designer who created it and is enlivened by generous quotations from writings of the period. The extensive introduction provides historical context and explores the origins and aesthetic of Art Deco. With its rich text and sumptuous photographs, this is not only one of the rare books on French Art Deco in English, but an object d'art in its own right.

Invaluable source of information for art historians, craftspeople, dealers, collectors, and preservationists includes hundreds of finely detailed illustrations of garden seats, candelabras, moldings, gates, balcony grilles, vases, crosses, funerary ornaments and monuments, finials, doorknobs and many other ornamental features. A rich source of inspiration and royalty-free graphics, as well, for commercial artists and designers.

Forty plates of meticulously rendered hinges, grilles, railings, latches, door knockers, and more — selected from English chapels, tombs, castles, and other structures — span more than 600 years of metalworking history.

Sumptuous treasury of 320 lavish examples of architectural ornamentation from the 1920s and '30s by Paul Kiss, Raymond Subes, Edgar Brandt and other artisans. Meticulously reproduced photographs from three rare portfolios depict magnificent designs for doors, grilles, gates, lamps, balustrades, chandeliers, screens, mirrors, and other objects.

From cigarette cases and watches to compacts and lighters, a range of portable, exquisitely crafted classics from the Art Deco era In the 1920s and 1930s Art Deco style influenced everything from art and architecture, interiors and furnishings, automobiles and boats to the small, personal objects that were part of everyday life: cigarette cases and lighters; powder compacts, minaudieres, and cosmetic accessories; watches and jewelry; and even cameras. Featuring high-quality photography and carefully sourced period illustrations and ephemera, Art Deco Collectibles brings these objects to life in all their exquisite detail for the first time. The objects in this thematically structured book encompass Deco style at its most alluring, as well as the modernity, excitement, and social revolution of the Jazz Age. These items were the height of fashion then and are highly prized collectibles today. They remind us of an era of closer cooperation between designers and manufacturers, who aimed to produce goods that were not only useful but also beautiful and well made. This showcase of portable Art Deco classics from Britain, Europe (particularly France), and the United States will appeal not just to collectors but to anyone with an interest in Deco style and the history of fashion, design, and small, beautiful things.s.