Thomas Chippendale, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director ... . London: Printed for the author ... also by T. Osborne, 1754.
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1st edition.
This work, essentially a trade catalogue, represents the most important collection of furniture designs published in eighteenth-century England, and it was popular both there and in Colonial America. Although architects in the early modern period had published such specimen books, Chippendale was the first to issue a comparable catalogue devoted entirely to furniture and furnishings. He published three editions during his lifetime (1754, 1755 and 1762), and its publication likely has contributed considerably to his subsequent renown.
Gift: Susan Dwight Bliss.