"Arts & Crafts" has come to be a name for a style of decorative arts, but just try to pin it down. It's a huge challenge, because it encompasses such a broad variety of work. Early pieces, such as some of those by William Morris, draw from more ornate Victorian artifacts. Contrast these with the simpler, medieval-inspired work of Morris, the austere elegance of chairs and built-in cabinetry by Voysey, or furniture produced by the Barnsleys--never mind the clear Art Nouveau influences in much of Mackintosh's work. It quickly becomes clear just how broad this period in design history really is. English Arts & Crafts Furniture explores the Arts & Crafts movement with a unique perspective on furniture designs inspired by English Arts & Crafts designers. Through examination of details and techniques as well as projects, you'll learn what sets English Arts & Crafts apart and gain a deeper understanding of the overall Arts & Crafts movement and its influences. In this book you'll find: • Insight into the history and culture surrounding the Arts & Crafts movement • An examination of influences that set English Arts & Crafts designers including William Morris, Charles Francis Annesley Voysey, Ernest Gimson, Ernest and Sidney Barnsley, and Charles Robert Ashbee apart from their American counterparts • 3 complete furniture projects that illustrate traits representative of English Arts & Crafts: a Voysey chair, a hayrake table designed by Ernest Gimson and a sideboard design from the Harris Lebus company, England’s largest furniture maker at the time Equal parts design survey and project book, English Arts & Crafts Furniture is a must-read for any serious fan of Arts & Crafts furniture.

Charles Rohlfs (1853-1936) ranked among the most innovative furniture makers at the turn of the twentieth century. Praised by the international press and exhibited throughout the United States and Europe, his beautiful works grew out of an interesting mix of styles that included Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, and proto-modernism. This book presents the first major study of this important American designer and craftsman, drawing upon new photographs and fresh sources of information. Alongside traditional historical approaches, the book presents detailed formal, structural, and stylistic analyses of Rohlfs's well-known masterpieces from major museums, together with lesser-known objects in public and private collections. Topics include discovering the contribution of Rohlfs's wife--mystery novelist Anna Katharine Green--to his designs; the far-ranging sources of his idiosyncratic motifs; his influence on Gustav Stickley's designs; his commissioned interiors; his efforts at self-promotion and marketing; and his attempts to define a conceptual framework for his artistic endeavor. Handsomely designed and illustrated, the book also features a complete set of unpublished period illustrations of over seventy works.

"Arts & Crafts" has come to be a name for a style of decorative arts, but just try to pin it down. It's a huge challenge, because it encompasses such a broad variety of work. Early pieces, such as some of those by William Morris, draw from more ornate Victorian artifacts. Contrast these with the simpler, medieval-inspired work of Morris, the austere elegance of chairs and built-in cabinetry by Voysey, or furniture produced by the Barnsleys--never mind the clear Art Nouveau influences in much of Mackintosh's work. It quickly becomes clear just how broad this period in design history really is. English Arts & Crafts Furniture explores the Arts & Crafts movement with a unique perspective on furniture designs inspired by English Arts & Crafts designers. Through examination of details and techniques as well as projects, you'll learn what sets English Arts & Crafts apart and gain a deeper understanding of the overall Arts & Crafts movement and its influences. In this book you'll find: • Insight into the history and culture surrounding the Arts & Crafts movement • An examination of influences that set English Arts & Crafts designers including William Morris, Charles Francis Annesley Voysey, Ernest Gimson, Ernest and Sidney Barnsley, and Charles Robert Ashbee apart from their American counterparts • 3 complete furniture projects that illustrate traits representative of English Arts & Crafts: a Voysey chair, a hayrake table designed by Ernest Gimson and a sideboard design from the Harris Lebus company, England’s largest furniture maker at the time Equal parts design survey and project book, English Arts & Crafts Furniture is a must-read for any serious fan of Arts & Crafts furniture.

This beautifully produced volume is the first to survey the Metropolitan Museum's world-renowned collection of European furniture. One hundred and three superb examples from the Museum's vast holdings are featured. They originated in workshops in England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Russia, or Spain and date from the Renaissance to the late nineteenth century. A number of them belonged to such important historical figures as Pope Urban VIII, Louis XIV, Madame de Pompadour, and Napoleon. The selection includes chairs, tables, beds, cabinets, commodes, settees and sofas, bookcases and standing shelves, desks, fire screens, athéniennes, coffers, chests, mirrors and frames, showcases, and lighting equipment. There is also one purely decorative piece, a superb vase made for a Russian noble family who, according to one awestruck viewer, "owned all the malachite mines in the world." The makers of some of the objects are unknown, but most of the pieces can be identified by label, documentation, or style as the work of an outstanding European designer-craftsman, such as André-Charles Boulle, Thomas Chippendale, David Roentgen, or Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

Is a famous queen of Britain really bured beneath platform 10 at King's Cross station in London? What is the telephone number of the National Theatre? what is the best place to eat in Worcester? Where is the National Bagpipe Museum? (Hint: not in Scotland) Was Pointius Pilate born in Pitlochry? The answers to these questions and literally thousands more are to be found in David Kemp's fascinating guidebook, The Pleasures and Treasures of Britain. Nowhere else will the discerning traveller find so much diverse and essential information about British culture gathered together in one volume. With the author as your witty and knowledgeable guide, take a tour through nearly fifty cities, from Penzance to Perth, from London to Cardiff and Belfast. Each city section begins with a concise, readable history and a guided walk around the town, planned to take in as many of the significant local sights as can comfortably be included. Next are exhaustive listings, including telephone numbers and addresses, of everything a culturally curious visitor might want to seek out: theatre, art galleries, museums, antique markets, antiquarian and other bookstores, restaurants, lcoal fairs and festivals and more. Finally, under the headings of Artistic Associations and Ephemera, each section concludes with an entertaining collection of local lore, gossip, legend and anecdote.