Twentieth-Century Furniture : Materials, Manufacture, and Markets

The range of furniture available in the 20th century has increased dramatically, from antique chaise longues, to one-off designer chairs.

Between these extremes lies a wide range of mass-produced furniture, from MFI to Habitat, designed and priced to suit a variety of tastes. This detailed analysis of the developments of 20th-century furniture concentrates on production, retailing and consumption within a social, cultural and economic context.

One of the main challenges facing furniture design in the 20th century has been the move towards smaller living spaces, necessitating the development of multi-functional furniture, such as the sofabed and stacking chairs.

Edwards covers this, alongside detailed discussion of new technology and materials, the growth of niche marketing, the rise of credit and the changing tastes of the public from 1900 to the 1990s.