Art Deco et sim

This album contains a selection of cards with romantic images like this, including designs by well-known Art Deco illustrators Cecily Elmslie Shand (1898-1979) and Florence Hardy (1860-1933). Other artists represented here include William Barribal (1874-1952), Achille Mauzan (1883-1952) and Adolfo Busi (1891-1977).

Art Deco, sometimes referred to as simply Deco, was a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War I and flourished mainly in the 1920s and 1930s.  Art Deco influenced the design of buildings, furniture, jewellery, fashion, cars, movie theatres, trains, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as radios and vacuum cleaners.   It took its name, short for Arts Décoratifs, from the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) held in Paris in 1925.   It combined modern styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress.