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Furniture by the Book: BOOK-FORM FURNITURE

BOOKS ARE OFTEN sold as furniture. Stop by the local salesroom, and see for yourself. You are likely to find leather-bound sets mixed in with the dining tables, buffets, and armchairs. Sometimes though, books really are furniture. For more than two centuries, bindings-and faux bindings-have been used to make objects both decorative and practical.

The fashion dates back to the second half of the 18th century when there emerged a taste for boxes disguised as a few stray volumes. They are sold today as tea caddies, though there could have been any number of uses for these small hideaways.

It is likely the novelty got its start as a way to make use of cast-off bindings. For proof it is worth ...

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