An invaluable resource on French furniture, interiors, and household objects, drawn from antique pattern books, swatch books, and manufacturers` and retailers` catalogues. For centuries, French furniture, textiles, ceramics, and glassware set the highest standards of fine design in the decorative arts. Sevres porcelain, Gobelins tapestries, and Baccarat crystal are synonymous with a taste for the good things in life, as are traditional printed cottons from Provence, silks from Lyons, glass by Galle and Daum, and furniture and interiors by Guimard and Ruhlmann. This profusely illustrated reference offers a panoply of original sketches, engravings, and printed patterns, representing French interior design and decoration from the Baroque, Rococo, Louis XVI, and Empire periods through the nineteenth century to Art Deco and Modernism in the twentieth century. The wealth of artistry and technical ingenuity illustrated here dates back to 1685, when Andre-Charles Boulle`