Schrijfmeubel en buffetkast 1895

Léon Laroche made this print of a writing desk and buffet cabinet. It was part of a series of prints titled, ‘L’Ameublement,’ which translates to ‘furnishings,’ and was printed in Paris. The prints provide examples of fashionable domestic furnishings. By the nineteenth century, Paris was a centre for the design and manufacture of luxury goods. A consumer culture flourished that was increasingly organized around printed catalogues and department stores. Prints like these were a part of that development. They offered patterns for furniture in styles that are labeled, ‘genre Anglais,’ or ‘English style,’ appealing to a market that wanted to consume foreign fashions. As a historian, I’m interested in how these prints fit into the history of design, consumerism, and the way the printing press was used to distribute design ideas. To find out more, I'd compare this print with others from the series and research the printing firm that produced it.