History is often best studied as the evolution of mankind and his cultures. Seldom, if ever, do historical events occur out of nowhere. Rather, significant cultural events or change arise from previous happenstances and are often simply a reconfiguration of what has come beforehand. In short, something borrowed, (becomes) something new.

Henry Ford, for example, is usually credited by historians as the inventor of the automobile. However seen in the above light, Ford’s “invention” was preceded by the evolutionary development of steel, rubber, oil refining (to make gasoline), and even the Industrial Revolution itself. And so what Ford did was to reconfigure these elements into something “new”.

The intent of this paper is to trace the evolution of Queen Anne furniture by looking at its roots through history and culture. A starting point in this development is chosen as the Renaissance period, although one could begin as early as the Egyptian civilizations.

We will also see that furniture styles of a particular period often overlapped from previous periods and extended into others.

The reader will at times be directed to illustrations on the page that highlight what is being discussed, and special care will be taken to focus the reader’s attention on specific aspects of the picture that illuminate the uniqueness of the furniture piece.

The history of furniture is the stuff of many books, and the most we can hope to achieve in this paper is an all too brief synopsis of the major periods and players.

In conclusion, it is hoped that the reader will be able to visualize an understanding that the history of furniture is vitally linked to the history of the period(s) being discussed, since the designs of the furniture people built gives a great insight into the way they lived.