as a general rule, abandoned the
control of the decoration of interiors, and the result was one which--when
we examine our National furniture of half a century ago--has not left us
much to be proud of, as an artistic and industrious people.

Some notice has been taken of the appreciation of this unsatisfactory
state of things by the Government of the time, and by the Press; and, as
with a knowledge of our deficiency, came the desire and the energy to
bring about its remedy, we shall see that, with the Exhibition of 1851,
and the intercourse and the desire to improve, which naturally followed
that great and successful effort, our designers and craftsmen profited by
the great stimulus which Art and Industry then received.

[Illustration: Venetian Stool of Carved Walnut Wood.]

[Illustration: Sideboard in Carved Oak, with Cellaret. Designed and
Manufactured by Mr. Gillow, London. 1851 Exhibition.]

[Illustration: Chimneypiece and Bookcase. In carved walnut wood with
colored marbles inlaid and doors of perforated brass. Designed By Mr. T.
R. Macquoid, Architect, and Manufactured by Messrs. Holland & Sons.
London, 1851 Exhibition.]

[Illustration: Cabinet in the Mediaeval Style. Designed and Manufactured
by Mr. Grace, London. 1851 Exhibition.]

[Illustration: Bookcase in Carved Wood. Designed and Manufactured by
Messrs. Jackson & Graham, London, 1851 Exhibition.]

[Illustration: Grand Pianoforte. In Ebony inlaid, and enriched with Gold
in relief. Designed and Manufactured by Messrs. Broadwood, London. 1851
Exhibition]

Chapter IX.

From 1851 to the Present Time.

THE GREAT EXHIBITION: Exhibitors and contemporary Cabinet
Makers--Exhibition of 1862, London; 1867, Paris; and
subsequently--Description of Illustrations--Fourdinois, Wright, and
Mansfield--The South Kensington Museum--Revival of
Marquetry--Comparison of Present Day with that of a Hundred Years
ago--AEstheticism--Traditions--Trades-Unionism--The Arts and Crafts
Exhibition Society--Independence of Furniture--Present
Fashions--Writers on Design--Modern Furniture in other
Countries--Concluding Remarks.

[Illustration]

In the previous chapter attention has been called to the success of the
National Exhibition in Paris of 1849; in the same year the competition of
our manufacturers at Birmingham gave an impetus to Industrial Art in
England, and there was about this time a general forward movement, with a
desire for