Furniture: World Styles from Classical to Contemporary
*Starred Review* Marry a well-established subject-matter expert to a publisher recognized for its lavish four-color and educational tomes, and the honeymoon will last forever. Antiques maven and collector Miller talks all about furniture in what could easily be dubbed the best reference book of 2005. Twelve information-packed chapters divide and conquer, starting with 4000 B.C.E. to 1600 C.E and ending with postcontemporary and modern in 1970 to the present. There is nary a second to pause and linger: page after page describes the period, its defining elements of style, and its famous artisans and books and offers historical time lines and a collection of sample chairs, tables, case pieces, desks, and the like. The 3,000 photographs are superb, each with brief description, date of manufacture, dimensions, provenance (when known), occasional price (from $200 to more than $450,000), and sometimes the dealer code. More than enough education to prompt an even larger stampede of collectors. Useful addresses, further reading, dealer codes, and glossary are appended.Barbara JacobsCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved