Thames & Hudson.

With a masterly blend of erudition, insight and wit Maria Praz, noted scholar, art critic and author, has written a lively and informative history of interior decoration from Roman times onward. Not only is this a book reference and up-to-date knowledge on the styles of furnishing an decorating, it is also a sophisticated work about the oddities and domestic environment of the human race, an historical-sociological study of man in relation to his furnishings. The author believes that a man's home is a physical extension of himself, a retreat and an indication of his personality and life.