Customer Reviews

Sotheby's Concise Encyclopedia of Furniture

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This is a review of the first edition, 1989, hardcover. While there are no objections to the material presented, it is just that there is not quite enough to be called an encyclopedia. Only important high-style pieces are pictured, mainly from England, France and the United States. There are some examples from Spain, Italy, Russia, etc., but they are in the minority. The text starts with ancient Egypt and ends with "modern times" of the 1980s. There is a Select Bibliography, A Guide to Recognizing and Dating Furniture, The Anatomy of Furniture, and an Index. Most of the photos are in color and are very precise, like for an auction catalog, but others, even more interesting, show the furniture in its original architectural setting. Readers might find it an acceptable basic reference, a platform from which more in-depth study can grow from additional sources.