The Paris Salons, 1895-1914. Volume III: Furniture.

This is the third in a multi-volume collection providing a visual catalogue record of the decorative arts of the Paris Salons. Included in this volume are reproductions of the catalogue illustrations of furniture at the Exposition Universelle of 1900, the annual Salons du Mobilier, and the celebrated 1903 and 1904 expositions of the Ecole de Nancy in the French capital. This chronological record clearly shows the revolution in furniture design that transpired in France at the turn of the century. The illustrations trace precisely the emergence of the art nouveau style in the 1890s, its high point between the 1900 Exposition Universelle and the 1903 Salons, its demise between 1905-1909, the return to period revivalism and the transitional art nouveau - art deco style of 1910-1912 with the proto - art deco style of the immediate pre-war years (1911-1914). Many examples of non-art nouveau works from the period are also included. Hundreds of these contemporary illustrations include views of complete ensembles, groups and individual pieces with a selection of the original furniture sketches, many never before published. The works of hundreds of furniture designers, cabinetmakers, interior designers, architects and ensembliers who participated in the annual salons are also included. Volumes I and II are already available and are a key both to design ideas and the jewellery of the period. Subsequent volumes will cover objets d'art, glass and ceramics, lighting, architectural work, sculpture, leatherwork, bookbinding and textiles.