"The eighteenth century has been seen as a Golden Age of design and craftsmanship. This book goes well beyond these ideas and investigates the various developments in the infrastructure of the eighteenth-century furniture world." "By tracing the changing factors involved: design, materials choice, manufacturing, business organisation, retailing and consumption, an original analysis of the whole process of furniture supply is made." "Previous works on eighteenth-century furniture have often been involved with the description of objects and discussions of the place of furniture within interiors. Although much work has been done on detailed aspects of eighteenth-century furniture, this book aims to bring a multi-disciplinary approach to furniture history and build on the existing studies of objects and makers by taking an overview of the elements of this important aspect of material culture."--BOOK JACKET.