Acanthus Press celebrates the publication in April 2010 of Syrie Maugham: Staging the Glamorous Interior by author, lecturer, and authority in the preservation and restoration of late 19th and early 20th century American interiors, Pauline C. Metcalf. Maugham - trendsetter, fashion maven, and wife of internationally-renowned novelist, Somerset Maugham - created a world of ultra-chic style and elegance that was uniquely Syrie. With verve and flair, Metcalf takes the reader on a transatlantic voyage, from the drawing rooms of Mayfair to the interiors of New York, Chicago, and Hollywood as Syrie refines her famous "all-white room" style of the 1920s. With over three hundred photographs and illustrations, Syrie Maugham profiles the decorator's international clientele that included European aristocrats, American socialites, and Broadway stars who discovered in Syrie's blend of traditional elegance and the Style Moderne - console tables floating on dolphin bases, fringed sleigh beds, leather dining chairs, sheep skin rugs and miles of mirrors - a perfect expression of their own joie de vivre. AUTHOR: Pauline C. Metcalf has spent her career researching, preserving, and restoring late 19th and early 20th century interiors. She has written and lectured widely on architecture, interiors, and collecting, particularly on influential women in these spheres. Ms. Metcalf has a masters degree in historic preservation from Columbia University and has served on the boards of various cultural organisations, including the Preservation Society of Newport County, Rhode Island, and the Victorian Society of America. Her historical research benefits from her added perspective as a practicing interior designer. SELLING POINTS: Metcalf takes the reader on a transatlantic voyage, from the drawing rooms of Mayfair to the interiors of New York, Chicago, and Hollywood 300 colour illustrations
