'Antique Dealer & Collectors Guide' 01.01.04
	François Linke, born in Pankraz, Bohemia and trained under the strict disciplines of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the 1860's is considered by many to have been the greatest Parisian cabinetmaker of his day, at a time when the worldwide influence of French fashion was at its height. The ancien régime had been a main source of inspiration for artistic design in France, and towards the end of the 19th century, furniture in the styles of Louis XV and Louis XVI was being revived to wide popular appeal. Linke wanted to create a fresh new style and his association with the enigmatic sculptor Léon Messagé resulted in highly original designs, based on the rococo style fused with the latest fashion in Paris, l'art nouveau. This style Linke was received to critical acclaim at the Paris Exposition Universelle, 1900. In compiling this book, Christopher Payne has created a unique oeuvre in the history of furniture-making. Drawing from the extradordinary original source material in Linke's own archives and family records, he has written one of the most searching and comprehensive works about a furniture-maker of any period or nationality. Tracing Linke's rise to international acclaim from humble origins, the development of his career is outlined in considerable detail, from the earliest furniture of the 1880s to the supplying of the King of Egypt in the 1920s and '30s. In addition, the appendices give a rare insight into the technical processes and materials involved in the production of bronze mounted furniture and marquetry. Many of Linke's original sketches, design calculations and costings are reproduced from his daybooks, together with specially commissioned photographs of the exceptional furniture, showing with a wealth detail the work of this meticulous cabinetmaker whose long career continued in Paris until the 1940s.