I’m not always in the mood for the filigree excesses of the rococo era but this French collection of 200 engravings from the reign of the hated Louis XV (1710–1774) is a treat. Peter Jessen is the compiler and the publisher is Guérinet, the house responsible for Friedrich Hottenroth‘s book of costume through the ages. The rococo I prefer is often at the weirder end of the scale where animals start crawling out of the foliage, ogees sprout webs and the sweeping flourishes seem to take on a life of their own. Jessen’s selection includes a number of such examples, in addition to designs for furniture and architectural decoration. Ludwig II would have eagerly taken this as a guide book.
