Illustrated with 1115 photographs and many line cuts Everyone who buys or uses furniture, who makes, designs or sells it, collectors, architects, decorators, and students must feel frequently, the singular lack of a handy reference work for the checking of details, the verification of periods, the inspiration of designs, the nature of materials, etc., etc. This work presents a balanced condensation of the vast body of furniture, history and technique. The major part of this book consists of monographs of the important items of furniture knowledge, supplemented by some 2500 separate definitions and descriptions. The larger subjects or classifications?America, Chairs, Construction, France, Gothic, Modern, Woods, etc. are treated at some length and are related to the arrangements of pictures. More than half of the book is devoted to photographs, in the hope of affecting the economy suggested by the Chinese proverb: One picture is worth 10,000 words.