Turning Houses into Homes: A History of the Retailing and Consumption of Domestic Furnishings (The History of Retailing and Consumption) [Hardcover]

Clive Edwards (Author)

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Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2005 | Series: The History of Retailing and Consumption

From the earliest times, people have striven to turn their houses into homes through the use of decoration and furnishings, stimulating in turn a major commercial sector dedicated to offering the products and services essential to feed the ever-changing dictates of domestic fashion. Whilst there is plentiful evidence to show that this phenomena can be traced to medieval times, it is arguable that the eighteenth century witnessed the birth of a widespread and sophisticated consumer society. With a comparatively wealthy and socially mobile society, eighteenth-century Britain proved to be a fertile ground for ideas of home improvement and beautification, which were to persist to the present day. Turning Houses into Homes not only maps the history, changes, development and structure of the retail furnishing industry in Britain over three centuries, but also examines the relationships between the retailer and the consumer, looking at how retailers helped stimulate and shape the demand of their customers. Whilst work has been done on specific aspects of the home, very little has been written on the interaction between the retailer and consumer, and the pressures brought to bear on them by issues such as gender, education, status, symbolism, taste, decoration, hygiene, comfort and entertainment. As such, this book offers a valuable conjunction of retail history and consumption practices, which are examined through a multi-disciplinary approach to explore both their intimate connections and their wider roles in society.

#outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } From the earliest times, people have striven to turn their houses into homes through the use of decoration and furnishings, stimulating in turn a major commercial sector dedicated to offering the products and services essential to feed the ever-changing dictates of domestic fashion. Whilst there is plentiful evidence to show that this phenomena can be traced to medieval times, it is arguable that the eighteenth century witnessed the birth of a widespread and sophisticated consumer society. With a comparatively wealthy and socially mobile society, eighteenth-century Britain proved to be a fertile ground for ideas of home improvement and beautification, which were to persist to the present day. Turning Houses into Homes not only maps the history, changes, development and structure of the retail furnishing industry in Britain over three centuries, but also examines the relationships between the retailer and the consumer, looking at how retailers helped stimulate and shape the demand of their customers. Whilst work has been done on specific aspects of the home, very little has been written on the interaction between the retailer and consumer, and the pressures brought to bear on them by issues such as gender, education, status, symbolism, taste, decoration, hygiene, comfort and entertainment. As such, this book offers a valuable conjunction of retail history and consumption practices, which are examined through a multi-disciplinary approach to explore both their intimate connections and their wider roles in society.

Product Details

Hardcover: 294 pages
Publisher: Ashgate Pub Ltd (June 30, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0754609065
ISBN-13: 978-0754609063
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,056,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
There is currently a growing interest in the histories of consumption, interiors, the home and retailing. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
complete house furnisher, retail furnishers, house furnishers, furniture retailing, furnishing trade, rank consumers, furniture trade, furnishing company, furnishing retailers, textile furnishings, furnishing businesses, modem furniture, genteel living, furniture retailer, specialist retailers, fashionable goods, concept stores, domestic furnishings, press beds, trade card

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Street, Pepys Diary, The Complete Tradesman, Furniture Gazette, Working Party Report, Design Council, Select Committee, Ideal Home Exhibition, Middle Ages, Regional Furniture, The Cabinet Dictionary, English Decoration, Living Space, Shaw Sparrow, Social History, Thomas Chippendale, United States, Board of Trade, Covent Garden, Fable of the Bees, Household Taste, John Ruskin, New Bond Street, New Exchange

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Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats

Citations (learn more)

This book cites 100 books:

Consumption and the World of Goods (Consumption & Culture in the 17th & 18th Centuries) by John Brewer on 8 pages
The Complete English Tradesman by Daniel Defoe on 6 pages
The Fable of the Bees: And Other Writings by Bernard Mandeville on 6 pages
Ideal Homes?: Social Change and the Experience of the Home by Tony Chapman on 6 pages
Acknowledging Consumption (Material Cultures) by Daniel Miller (Series Editor) on 5 pages

See all 100 books this book cites

2 books cite this book:

Cultures of Selling: Perspectives on Consumption And Society Since 1700 (The History of Retailing and Consumption) (The History of Retailing and Consumption) by John Benson on page 130
American Furniture 2005 (American Furniture Annual) by Luke Beckerdite on page 263

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