How have interior spaces been affected by changing aesthetic philosophies and shifts in Western culture from antiquity to the present day? How have processes, materials and technologies evolved and shaped trends in interior fashion?

In a work that spans 4,500 years, these ambitious questions are addressed by 55 experts, each contributing their overview of a theme applied to a period in history. The volumes locate the interior within its evolving social, cultural and design contexts, taking into account global movements as well as changes in the private sphere to provide a thorough understanding its relationship with art and society.

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 (2,500 BCE - 1000 AD); 2. -Medieval Age (1000 - 1400); 3. - Renaissance (1400 - 1650) ; 4. - Age of Enlightenment (1650 - 1800); 5. - Age of Empire (1800 - 1920); 6. - Modern Age (1920 - 2000+).

Themes (and chapter titles) are: Expressions of Beauty; Technological Advancements; Designers, Professions, and Trades; Global Movements; Private Spaces; Public Spaces; Gender and Sexuality; The Interior in the Arts.

The page extent is approximately 1,800pp with c. 360 illustrations. Each volume opens with Notes on Contributors, a series preface and an introduction, and concludes with Notes, Bibliography and an Index.



The Cultural Histories Series
A Cultural History of Interiors is part of The Cultural Histories Series. Titles are available both as printed hardcover sets for libraries needing just one subject or preferring a one-off purchase and tangible reference for their shelves, or as part of a fully-searchable digital library available to institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access (see www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com).

John C. Turpin is the Dean of the School of Art and Design and Professor of Interior Design at High Point University, USA.