Shire Publications Chinoiserie

This publication should be described not as a book, but as a booklet. While the size and scope are accurately described by other reviewers (more so than by the product description) I was still taken aback by how insubstantial it is. Aside from the short length, it is also very small. The photos and printing quality are fine, but limited by the dimensions of the book. This seems more a very slight catalog of an exhibit rather than an actual book. I bought it because of the low price as compared to the high price of books on the same subject (which all seem to be out of print) and it is fine for the price I paid. Certainly no one should pay even as much as $10 for this, though.

Not as expected…nil value

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I was disappointed by this thin little book. The only other Shire book I have is John Bly’s 2010 English Furniture, an altogether more substantial and better produced book, and I had been hoping for something similar. If Chinoiserie is typical of what Shire is producing these days I won’t being buying any more of their books.The blurb on the back cover boasts that it “explores the profound impact of Chinoiserie on the material culture of the West.” It doesn’t live up to this billing, being very much limited to Britain (and mostly England) - no mention of Ireland, or the Chinoiserie treasures of Italy, Germany or the rest of Europe or the wider Western world. If you’re looking for a more heavyweight and wider view of Chinoiserie’s impact, put your money towards buying Dawn Jacobsen’s book, Chinoiserie, from 1993.On the plus side, this slim volume is an easy read (an hour, tops), nicely illustrated and not too dear.

When I pre-ordered this book I was excited and wondered why it was priced so low. And then it arrived and I felt like I had overpaid. This would be a glorious coffee table book, but it’s not. It is a very small thin book that does not do justice to the pictures and illustrations in it. The writing is good and would be very informative to a beginner collector.