Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World's Fairs, 1851-1939

World’s fairs were the most important vehicles for debuting advancements in modern living. These renowned international expositions were showcases for design on a national and global level, and they democratized design, unlike any previous forum.

Inventing the Modern World is lavishly illustrated with two hundred examples of woodwork, metalwork, ceramics, glass, jewellery, and textiles from private and public collections, primarily in America and Europe, many never before published or seen outside of their respective collections. Incredibly diverse but all representing the pinnacle of scientific and artistic achievements of their time, these extraordinary creations range from a monumental 1850s Gothic Revival cabinet to a streamlined glass chair from 1939, to masterpieces of jewelry and objects in glass, silver, and porcelain by Baccarat, Tiffany, Gorham, Cartier, Sèvres, and Herman Miller.

This unprecedented volume, edited by Jason Busch and Catherine Futter, and with contributions by them and many other specialists and scholars, breaks new ground in the study of decorative arts.