Bookcase

This Gothic Revival bookcase is very close in design to one illustrated by Charles Locke Eastlake in his 1868 book "Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery, and other Details." Like William Morris, Eastlake believed that the objects with which people decorated their homes should be hand-made by skilled artist-craftsmen, rather than mass produced by machines. The bookcase includes hand-painted panels whose forms resemble stained glass windows. The figures in these panels represent "art," "science," "commerce," "literature," "music," and "agriculture."