A Cultural History of Furniture

Furniture is an artifact so what can it tell us about culture? What social, religious, political, and economic factors have shaped its form and functions? How does furniture demonstrate the transformations in private and public life across time and cultures?

In a work that spans 4,500 years, 60 experts chart across six volumes the changing cultural framework within which furniture was designed, produced, and used in Western Europe. Individual volume editors ensure the cohesion of the whole and, to make it as easy as possible to use, chapter titles are identical across each of the volumes. This gives the choice of reading about a specific period in one of the volumes, or following a theme across history by reading the relevant chapter in each of the six.

The six volumes cover: 1 - Antiquity (2500 BCE - 500 CE); 2 - Middle Ages and Renaissance (500 - 1500); 3 - Age of Exploration (1500 - 1700); 4 - Age of Enlightenment (1700 - 1800); 5 - Age of Empire and Industry (1800 - 1900); 6 - Modern Age (1900 - present).

Themes (and chapter titles) are: design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.

The total extent of the pack is 1,792 pages. Each volume opens with a series preface, an introduction, and notes on contributors and concludes with notes, bibliography, and an index.

The Cultural Histories Series
A Cultural History of Furniture is part of The Cultural Histories Series. Titles are available as hardcover sets for libraries needing just one subject or preferring a tangible reference for their shelves or as part of a fully searchable digital library. The digital product is available to institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access via www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com . Individual volumes for academics and researchers interested in specific historical periods are also available in print or digitally via www.bloomsburycollections.com .

• Publication date: 8 January 2026
• Dimensions: Height 254 mm; Width 177 mm; Thickness 97 mm
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Format: Multiple-component retail product
• ISBN-13: 9781350595743