This was the Jazz age, the time of cocktails, flapper girls, Odeon cinemas, ocean liners and skyscrapers

Art Deco was design for a new century, it's sharp, geometric lines inspired by speed an travel, and made of exciting new materials.

Although it was not until the 1960's that the term Art Deco was coined by the writer Bevis Hillier. It was at the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes that the genious of the Art Deco style was seen in all its power.

French Designers such as Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann, Jules Leleu, Sue et Mare, Paul Follot, Maurice Dufrene and René Lalique created masterpieces of their period. In Britain. leading names included Epstein, Hillie, Maurice Adams, and Clarice Cliff.

Art Deco Iconography drew from myraid influences: Africa, Cubism, Egyption Revival, the Orient, Mexico were all rich sources for designers. Concrete and steal were employed by architects and chrome, Bakelite, lacquer and erotic veneers were utilised by designers.

In Germany, during the 1920's, the Modernist Movement emerged within the Bauhaus School, featuring minimalist designs without the Art Deco decorative embellishments.