eishiya reviewed Hints on household taste by Charles L. Eastlake
You already know if you need this
3 stars
This is a solid reprint of the classic that launched a thousand furniture-makers, containing the 1878 fourth edition, two plates removed from the original fourth edition, and an introduction by John Gloag explaining the context and influence of this work in England and the United States. This edition's one big flaw is that the colour plates showing tile, wallpaper, and parquetry designs are reproduced in greyscale.
Is "Hints on Household Taste" useful as reference for artists and writers? If you have to ask, the answer is "no". This is not a descriptive work, not even of the homes it influenced, and it does not detail the attitudes and styles it critiques. Instead, it lays out an approach to decoration that emphasises honesty of function and material instead of disguise and imitation, and solidity and longevity over flimsy trend-chasing. Ironically, Eastlake's designs were quickly imitated by mediocre furniture sellers, and this …
This is a solid reprint of the classic that launched a thousand furniture-makers, containing the 1878 fourth edition, two plates removed from the original fourth edition, and an introduction by John Gloag explaining the context and influence of this work in England and the United States. This edition's one big flaw is that the colour plates showing tile, wallpaper, and parquetry designs are reproduced in greyscale.
Is "Hints on Household Taste" useful as reference for artists and writers? If you have to ask, the answer is "no". This is not a descriptive work, not even of the homes it influenced, and it does not detail the attitudes and styles it critiques. Instead, it lays out an approach to decoration that emphasises honesty of function and material instead of disguise and imitation, and solidity and longevity over flimsy trend-chasing. Ironically, Eastlake's designs were quickly imitated by mediocre furniture sellers, and this later edition contains condemnations of them.
"Hints" isn't all philosophy and criticism, though. It offers many specific suggestions, such as what patterns and colours are appropriate in different contexts, that friezes should be used instead of hanging patterns all the way up to the ceiling, and which items are appropriate to display in different rooms.
If you thrive on primary sources or have characters in your stories that would read a book like this, it's well worth a look. Eastlake's writing style is clear and easy to follow and, like many of his contemporaries, he's not afraid to throw shade, which makes non-fiction from this period a delight to read.
If, on the other hand, you find these older books a drag and prefer more descriptive sources, your time will probably be better spent on modern books that show the influence this and other design books of the period had.