Victorian Splendour: Australian Interior Decoration 1837-1901
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Step inside the opulent world of colonial Australia, where drawing rooms draped in velvet and parlours adorned with gilded flourishes tell the story of a society determined to transplant the grandeur of Victorian England to the antipodes. Victorian Splendour: Australian Interior Decoration 1837–1901 chronicles the rich and often extravagant aesthetic sensibilities that shaped domestic life across Australia's Victorian era, presenting a meticulously researched survey of interiors that range from the modest homestead to the palatial urban mansion. Suzanne Forge details the prevailing tastes, fashions, and cultural aspirations that drove Australians to fill their homes with elaborate wallpapers, ornate furniture, and layers of decorative excess, all captured in vivid photographs by Irvine Green. Beyond its role as a visual record, this landmark work argues that the domestic interior was a powerful site of identity, class, and colonial ambition — a stage upon which Australians performed their connection to British culture while simultaneously forging something distinctly their own. Forge's authoritative prose and sharp curatorial eye illuminate the social history embedded within every antimacassar and mantelpiece arrangement, making this an indispensable reference for historians, designers, and anyone captivated by the decorative arts. For those who have ever wondered what secrets lie behind the closed doors of Australia's Victorian homes, this extraordinary volume provides a sumptuous and revelatory answer.
Author: Suzanne Forge
Format: Hardback
Published: 1981, Oxford University Press
Genre: Interior design
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Step inside the opulent world of colonial Australia, where drawing rooms draped in velvet and parlours adorned with gilded flourishes tell the story of a society determined to transplant the grandeur of Victorian England to the antipodes. Victorian Splendour: Australian Interior Decoration 1837–1901 chronicles the rich and often extravagant aesthetic sensibilities that shaped domestic life across Australia's Victorian era, presenting a meticulously researched survey of interiors that range from the modest homestead to the palatial urban mansion. Suzanne Forge details the prevailing tastes, fashions, and cultural aspirations that drove Australians to fill their homes with elaborate wallpapers, ornate furniture, and layers of decorative excess, all captured in vivid photographs by Irvine Green. Beyond its role as a visual record, this landmark work argues that the domestic interior was a powerful site of identity, class, and colonial ambition — a stage upon which Australians performed their connection to British culture while simultaneously forging something distinctly their own. Forge's authoritative prose and sharp curatorial eye illuminate the social history embedded within every antimacassar and mantelpiece arrangement, making this an indispensable reference for historians, designers, and anyone captivated by the decorative arts. For those who have ever wondered what secrets lie behind the closed doors of Australia's Victorian homes, this extraordinary volume provides a sumptuous and revelatory answer.