Le Garde-meuble

http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/Art-Design/garde-meuble/

Le Garde-meuble, ancien et moderne (Furniture repository, ancient and modern), bi-monthly periodical published Paris, promoted French styles in furniture, fabrics, & many other interior decorations for about a century, featuring the historic revival style (i.e., Louis XIV, Lous XV, Gothic, & Renaissance) and current ones. The Smithonian Institution Libraries' online document include more than 400 colorful images, which is SIL's almost complete set of the early issues of Le Garde-meuble (1841-1851).

Collection Principles: French style furniture, fabrics, & interior decoration featured in the bi-monthly periodical, Le Garde-meuble, are the main focus of this rare collection. The installment of the periodical includes 9 loose plates of lithographs (i.e., three seating furniture, three case furniture, non-seating objects such as cabinets, chests, and tables, and three picturing tentures such as bed and window hangings. The French pre-Revolutionary guild tradition is the dividing point between seating furniture and non-seating furniture. Occasionally, the periodical supplied printed floor plans & illustrations of rooms. The intricate details in Le Garde-meuble such as the carving, marquetry, inlay, fabric patterns, trimmings, braids, tapes, and tassels are extraordinary. This rare collection is browsable & searchable by plate type: Floor plans, other furniture, seating furniture, and window treatment; furniture type (broad & narrow); styles.

Metadata: Metadata includes plate number, description of the object, and style. The prevailing styles of the seating furniture are Rococo Revival & Renaissance Revival. As to other furniture such as beds, sideboards tables, side tables, console tables, etc, the prevalent style is Renaissance Revival & Rococo Revival as well.

Characteristics of Objects: The images are viewable in thumbnail; and also the collection site provides "enlarge image" option. The objects are browsable by plate type, furniture type (broad & narrow), and styles.

Target Audience: This furniture images collection from the bi-monthly periodicals provide a variety of rich resources for furniture restorers, set designers, decorators, architects, cabin makers, historians, curators, historic preservationists, upholsterers, and interior decorators.