This is a comprehensive, compact, and authoritative historical survey of the evolution of English furniture. In recent years interest in its makers has been growing. Legends have been dispelled, and new facts and material correlated so that our knowledge of the history of furniture design is now very much more exact. Chippendale, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton, for example, are seen no longer as fabulous, isolated figures, but in true perspective; and their famous pattern books (the Director, the Guide, and the Drawing Book), which have been known to collectors for many years, have been studied very closely. Quotations from old memoirs, diaries, and letters, which are often entertaining and very illuminating, help to re-create the social conditions under which the designers and makers were working. The book has several useful appendices, including glossaries of makers, woods, and specialized terms, and is illustrated by over 100 line drawings and 64 pages of plates.