Catalogue

Not one of those concise guides that offer only frustratingly brief entries, this modest-sized volume provides, in 200 pages and at a reasonable price, a focused encyclopedia of 20th-century design and designers, more American than international in scope, but with a significant number of illustrations, bibliographic references, a chonology, and an index. Entries are clearly written and consistent and usually offer more than a simple introduction to the topic. Illustrations of design objects, popular furnishings, and the like are numerous and well chosen. Encyclopedias of 20th-century design are not plentiful: Simon Jervice's Facts on File Dictionary of Design and Designers (CH, Dec'84) is more biographically focused and totally lacks illustrations or graphics, and John Pile's Dictionary of 20th Century Design (CH, Apr'91), while more comprehensive than Julier, is not so compact. Pile and Julier are complementary, offering different interpretations of designers or design elements; both will be wanted in most collections. Recommended for basic library reference collections and personal libraries. J. Gelfand; University of California, Irvine