Miller's 20th Century Design: The Definitive Illustrated Sourcebook

By Judith H. Miller

Judith Miller takes on the 20th century with this new, expansive handbook for both beginning and established collectors. Modern design is beautiful, functional, idiosyncratic, increasing in value, and still relatively affordable. Now, Judith Miller introduces a extensive sourcebook, written specifically for the 20th century collector. From the birth of modern design, through modernism, art deco, mid-century modern, and the post-modern and contemporary years, 20th CENTURY takes a close look all the most important design and collectible categories, including ceramics, glass, furniture, lamps and lighting, clocks, silver and metalwares, sculpture, textiles, jewelry, domestic wares and posters. Including 5,000 photographs and in-depth analysis, collectors will get the inside track on which designs are the true classics and how to make the smartest purchases for the future.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1845335163
• ISBN13: 9781845335168
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: Mitchell Beazley
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 4.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.3" x 1.3" x 9.8"
• Grade Range: Preschool to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

A good deal

My book arrived wihtout any mark inside and with its book jacket. Only damage is a small cut through the jacket and the book edge. For the price, it was a very good deal.

Middle Market

There are two things I like about this book. 01. It covers many of the lesser known 20th Century designers like Frederick Carder of Steuben Glass. 02. It covers a lot of the middle market. It has many beautiful pictures of museum pieces, but it also has lots of content about the middle market. Objects that a collector like myself will really find in the market place and can actually buy.

Making sense of all those terms in Art History, and fun, too!

I'm the type of learner who thrives on having an overall framework in which to place individual pieces of information, so this book was exciting to me. I have taken Art history classes, and yet never got a real sense of the broad sweep of 20th century design, especially when it came down to the meanings behind the names of the different styles and movements. This book gives me a much better grasp on the chronology of the design of the last century, and the individuals who represented the different styles. The explanations are clear and succinct, not overwhelming. It's a visually stunning book, fun to just flip through as a coffee table book and wow at the numerous photos of objets ranging from kooky to sublime. It's also great to read cover to cover and/or use as a reference book. The photography is top-notch, and the details of glass, ceramic, and other textural objects are crystal-clear. I particularly enjoy the international perspective of the book. I'm sure that there are individuals, schools of thought or types of work that may have been left out, but the variety is impressive, and there are lots of surprises here, artists and types of work I've never seen before. I disagreed with the selection of images for some of the artists, particularly Dale Chihuly, the glass artist -- I thought some of his most iconic forms were omitted. But this type of criticism pales in comparison to my overall enjoyment of this gorgeous book.