Gelfer-Jørgensen, Mirjam: The Dream of a Golden Age. Danish Neo-Classical Furniture 1790-1850.
Translated by W. Glyn Jones.
Copenhagen: Rhodos, 2004. ISBN 87-7245-898-4.
This extensively illustrated work examines the entire spectrum of Danish neo-classical furniture art between 1790 and 1850. The author, Dr Mirjam Gelfer-Jørgensen, analyses furniture not only as design artefacts, but also as an expression of ideological and social developments within Danish society at the time. The aim is to provide a fresh interpretation of stylistic forms in an international context and to make conscious design decisions visible.
Numerous pieces of furniture are presented, taking into account their formal, material and constructive characteristics. Questions of attribution are addressed as well as the difficulties of research due to the patchy archival situation. The volume is based on intensive source research in museums, archives and private collections and is aimed equally at design historians, artisans, collectors and curators. The English edition makes this hitherto little-studied period of Danish furniture history internationally accessible.