Leading expert Vivienne Becker provides an account of the movement that spread through Europe and the United States, acquiring different decorative characteristics in England, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Russia and Spain.

For the collector, comprehensive biographies on more than 300 designers are included, followed by a guide to identification, with over 200 makers’ marks and signatures. Each part of the book is richly illustrated with plate sections of dramatic illustrations, from the sinuous elegance of the French masters - Vever, Lalique and Fouquet - to the linear, geometric designs of the Viennese - Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser.