Furniture" and covers a period of
several centuries, as introductory to that which follows, rather than as a
serious attempt to examine the history of the furniture during that space
of time. The fourth chapter, which deals with a period of some hundred and
fifty years, from the time of King James the First until that of
Chippendale and his contemporaries, and the last three chapters, are more
fully descriptive than some others, partly because trustworthy information
as to these times is more accessible, and partly because it is probable
that English readers will feel greater interest in the furniture of which
they are the subject. The French _meubles de luxe_, from the latter half
of the seventeenth century until the Revolution, are also treated more
fully than the furniture of other periods and countries, on account of the
interest which has been manifested in this description of the cabinet
maker's and metal mounter's work during the past ten or fifteen years.
There is evidence of this appreciation in the enormous prices realised at
notable auction sales, when such furniture has been offered for
competition to wealthy connoisseurs.

In order to gain a more correct idea of the design of Furniture of
different periods, it has been necessary to notice the alterations in
architectural styles which influenced, and were accompanied by,
corresponding changes in the fashion of interior woodwork. Such comments
are made with some diffidence, as it is felt that this branch of the
subject would have received more fitting treatment by an architect, who
was also an antiquarian, than by an antiquarian with only a limited
knowledge of architecture.

Some works on "Furniture" have taken the word in its French
interpretation, to include everything that is "movable" in a house; other
writers have combined with historical notes, critical remarks and
suggestions as to the selection of Furniture. The author has not presumed
to offer any such advice, and has confined his attention to a description
of that which, in its more restricted sense, is understood as "Decorative
Furniture and Woodwork." For his own information, and in the pursuit of
his business, he has been led to investigate the causes and the
approximate dates of the several changes in taste which have taken place,
and has recorded them in as simple and readable a story as the
difficulties of the subject permit.

Numerous acts of kindness and co-operation, received while prep