A Cultural History of Craft: Volumes 1-6

by Clive Edwards (Editor)

Overview

Craft has a complex past. It is woven into the histories of materials, techniques and technologies, but also the histories of gender, class, politics, production, and consumption. The distinctions between craft practices – from the studio to the trade to the amateur - and the relationship of craft with art, design and technology have also altered the history of its practice. A Cultural History of Craft presents the first comprehensive history of the subject. The work is divided into 6 volumes, with each volume covering the same topics, so readers can either study a period/volume or follow a topic across history. The volumes are:

The 6 volumes cover: Antiquity (c.800 BCE-500 CE); the Medieval Age (500-1450); the Renaissance (1450-1650); the Age of Enlightenment (1650-1800); the Age of Industry (1800-1920); the Modern Age (1920-present).

Themes (and chapter titles) are: concepts and perceptions of craft; society and politics; trade and exchange; fibres,textiles & dress; building and construction; ceramics and glass; woodworking and furniture; metal and jewelry; painting, graphics, printing and paper; representations of crafts

The page extent for the pack is approximately 1500pp. Each volume opens with Notes on Contributors and an Introduction and concludes with Notes, Bibliography, and an Index.

The Cultural Histories Series
A Cultural History of Craft is part of The Cultural Histories Series. Titles are available both as printed hardcover sets for libraries needing just one subject or preferring a one-off purchase and tangible reference for their shelves, or as part of a fully-searchable digital library available to institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access (see www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350165342
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/19/2026
Series:	The Cultural Histories Series
Product dimensions:	1.00(w) x 1.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Clive Edwards is Emeritus Professor of Design History at Loughborough University, UK. He is editor of The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Design (2015) and author of Turning Houses into Homes: A History of the Retailing and Consumption of Domestic Furnishings (2017); The Twentieth Century Interiors Sourcebook (2013); Interior Design: a critical introduction (2010); How to Read Pattern: A Crash Course in Textile Design (2009); Encyclopedia of Furnishing Textiles, Soft Furnishings and Floor Coverings (2007); British Furniture: 1600-2000 (2006); and Encyclopedia of Furniture Materials, Trades and Techniques (2001).

Table of Contents

Volume 1: A Cultural History of Craft in Antiquity
Edited by Ben Russell, University of Edinburgh, UK

Volume 2: A Cultural History of Craft in the Medieval Age
Edited by Heidi Gearhart, George Mason University, USA

Volume 3: A Cultural History of Craft in the Renaissance
Edited by Thomas Max Safley, University of Pennsylvania, USA

Volume 4: A Cultural History of Craft in the Age of Enlightenment
Edited by Tessa Murdoch, V&A Museum, London, UK and Heike Zech, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremburg, Germany

Volume 5: A Cultural History of Craft in the Age of Industry
Edited by Stana Nenadic, University of Edinburgh, UK

Volume 6: A Cultural History of Craft in the Modern Age
Edited by Clive Edwards, Loughborough University, UK