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London Interiors: From the Archives of Country Life

London Interiors: From the Archives of Country Life
By John Cornforth

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Product Description

London's historic houses and domestic interiors have suffered greater loss and change than most of their provincial counterparts due to political and social change, war, and a tradition of continuous rebuilding. The photographic archive accumulated over the past century by the magazine Country Life forms a remarkable and evocative record of houses as they were. In this latest collection, the vanished magnificence of the great 18th-century houses of the aristocracy, from the glamorous Rococo interiors of Norfolk House to the Gothic Pomfret Castle. Other houses are seen at key moments in their history: Robert Adam's Home House occupied by Samuel Courtauld and his celebrated collection of Impressionist masterpieces; the monumental Classical interiors of Dorchester House, photographed shortly before they were swept away. In addition to many images of spectacular turn-of-the-century opulence, the book also reflects fashionable taste between the wars: Lady Diana Cooper's bathroom, Chips Channon's staggering dining room, and Lord and Lady Louis Mountbatten's elegant apartment.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #501471 in Books
  • Published on: 2000-04-01
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 192 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Cornforth is the author of Early Georgian Interiors.

Customer Reviews

Lost Interiors in Black and White4
The book is an exquisite capsule of magnificent interiors of London buildings, most of which have been destroyed or dismantled. As a reference book it is invaluable but there are also ideas that can be adapted by anyone who wants to learn more about classical proportions. My only regret is not to have been able to have seen these interiors in color. M. Boyd

A must for any person interested in great architecture.5
It's hard to believe that we, as a people, once created the kind of interiors that are so splendidly recalled by this book. It's even harder to believe that so many of the interiors presented have been demolished. Will architects and artisans and craftspeople ever again create such impressive works? The answer, likely, is no. As such, should we not, absolutely, save all such remaining treasures? This book makes an excellent case for this argument, with its beautiful images, beautifully printed. The text is crisp, and the author nicely opinioned. All this volume lacks is a map showing the houses and neighborhoods discussed (helpful to us non-Londoners).

An overview of "London interiors."5
London interiors: from the archives of Country Life is the ideal source for those interested in interior design from the late l9th to mid 20th century England. Excellent black and white photographs reveal changing tastes of the upper class, and the accompanying text provides informative histories of these homes, and the people who both built and furnished them. This is a book to be enjoyed again and again.