About Furniture Information!
Before the advent of industrial design cabinet makers were responsible for
the conception and the production of any piece of furniture. In the last half of
the 18th century, cabinet makers such as Thomas Sheraton, Thomas Chippendale and
George Hepplewhite also published books of furniture forms. These books were
compendiums of their designs and those of other cabinet makers.
With the industrial revolution and the application of steam (through rod and
belt devices) and electrical power to cabinet making tools, mass production
techniques were gradually applied to nearly all aspects of cabinet making, and
the traditional cabinet shop ceased to be the main source of furniture, domestic
or commercial. In parallel to this evolution there came a growing demand by the
rising middle class in most industrialised countries for finely made furniture.
This eventually resulted in a growth in the total number of traditional cabinet
makers.
The arts and craft movement which started in the United Kingdom in the middle of
the 19th century spurred a market for traditional cabinet making, and other
craft goods. It rapidly spread to the United States and to all the countries in
the British empire. This movement exemplified the reaction to the eclectic
historicism of the Victorian era and to the 'soulless' machine-made production
which was starting to become widespread.
After World War II woodworking became a popular hobby among the middle classes.
The more serious and skilled amateurs in this field now turn out pieces of
furniture which rival the work of professional cabinet makers. Together, their
work now represents but a small percentage of furniture production in any
industrial country, but their numbers are vastly greater than those of their
counterparts in the 18th century and before.