First published in 1975, Liberty’s is the biography of a shop and its various owners in London. Responding to the social pressures, class patterns, and governmental policies, the developments in the shop mimic the social changes taking place in London. It is affected by war and depressions, by trade booms and enemy bombs, by changes in fashions and taste. Liberty’s not only reflected these changes but also contributed to the artistic movements and the development of fashionable taste. This book will be of interest to students of history, fashion and sociology.
Foreword 1. The Oriental Warehouse and the Artists 2. The First Half-shop; Japanese Bonanza 3. The Aesthetic Movement; Whistler; Oscar Wilde, ‘Patience’ 4. The Shop Expands; Howell & James; Merton Abbey 5. Chesham House; the Moorish Craze; Isadora Duncan 6 Godwin and the Costume Department; Antique Embroideries 7. Decorating Contracts; Plagiarism; Paris Branch 8. Into the Nineties; the Public Company; the Pedigree 9. Art Nouveau; Jewellery, Silver and Pewter 10. The Belle Epoque – in London and at the Lee 11. Merchant Adventuring; Overseas Contracts; World War I 12. Tempo of the Twenties; the New Buildings 13. From the General Strike to World War II 14. Post-war Renaissance; into the Seventies Index
Biography
Alison Adburgham
