Customer Reviews

Chairs: A History

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No one who has seen my home would expect me to have anything to do with a furniture book. But some perceptive friend gave me this book and now I get it! Under Ms. de Dampierre's tutelage, I have grown to understand how pieces of furniture are a reflection of the times in which they were created. This study of chairs is no less fascinating than any great work of art history and the author does an incredible job of detailing changes in social and political currents which impact the design and use of each chair in her exhaustive chronology. As importantly, the pictures are beautiful; the book is worth buying for them alone.

Florence de Dampierre has produced what will certainly be not only the definitive guide to the chair itself but also a witty and learned look at how modes of communication in differing cultures governed the kind of furniture people invented for themselves. The scope of the book is huge, ranging from the cradle of civilization in Mesopotamia and Africa to the chair as modern art. I recommend it highly, both for serious collectors as well as anyone who has ever thought twice about the provenance of the place they've just sat down in. The book is copiously and beautifully illustrated, so it makes a lovely gift.

I have read Chairs; A History and find it to be fasinating from two view points. One is that it is more than a history of furniture, it is a social history of the people who sat in the chairs and their times and their culture. Secondly I will retain it for years as one of the most complete reference books on the cultural periods discussed. Finally it is beautifully illustrated and written and should be in everyone's library.

In this fascinating book, De Dampierre brings a fresh perspective to world history by describing it through one of the most ubiquitous items in our daily lives: chairs. In doing so, she has produced a highly enjoyable read for both the sophisticated antique collector and the general student of history.

I have a weird obsession with chairs. I'm fascinated by them and their history and this was a great compilation with great tidbits of history and great photography. In my undergraduate class of Modern History of Interiors, I used this book religiously as an outside source and used it for a few projects. It definitely outweighed my textbook, which wasn't that resourceful for furniture. I still love seeing it on my shelf and will take it down from time to time just to flip through the pages and brush up on my history of my favorite chairs.

Lets face it some us are simply in love with furniture and for a great deal of us the true great love is chairs. I also love history and this book gives you both. This book has a permanent home on my living room coffee table and I never tire of looking through it and neither will you.

A very well written book with lovely and truly beautiful illustrations. Highly recommended!