# Lives of the Great Makers: 500 Years of Creative Excellence \(V&A\)

Years Creative Excellence: Lives of the Great Makers is an illustrated V&A anthology of biographies about craftspeople and the history of the decorative arts. Its forty profiles range from well-known furniture makers and ceramicists to less familiar practitioners, with thematic introductions spanning the Renaissance to the post-war craft revival.

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- Market: UK
- Language: en-GB
- Currency: GBP
- Category: Books, Music & Hobbies > Books, Music & Movies > Books & Comics
- Price: 20.13 GBP
- Previous price: 35.00 GBP
- Discount: 42%
- Price checked: 2026-11-14T19:25:57.821Z
- Rating: 4 / 5
- Reviews: 2

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## At a glance

- Forty illustrated biographies of makers represented in the V&A collection.
- Profiles cover decorative-arts practitioners including furniture makers, woodcarvers, textile artists, ceramicists, goldsmiths and enamellists.
- Chronological coverage from the Renaissance to the present is paired with thematic introductions to decorative-arts history.
- The stated focus is on makers in Europe and North America, with international influences also included.

## Pros

- Combines individual maker biographies with wider historical context, making it useful for readers interested in both people and craft movements.
- The illustrated profiles span multiple applied-art disciplines rather than focusing on a single medium.

## Specifications

### Publication
- Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd
- Publication date: 25 Sept. 2025
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 384 pages
- ISBN-10: 0500481040
- ISBN-13: 978-0500481042
### Dimensions and installation
- Dimensions: 19.56 x 4.32 x 25.4 cm
- Weight listed: 1.4 kg

## A good fit for

- Readers interested in decorative arts, craft history and illustrated artist biographies.
- Those seeking context on movements including industrialization, the Arts and Crafts Movement, modernism and the post-war craft revival.

## Customer feedback

The supplied rating evidence is based on a very small number of ratings and is split between five-star and three-star categories. It offers only a limited signal about reader experience and does not identify what readers liked or disliked. The book's stated scope and illustrations may suit readers seeking craft biographies with historical context, but that is a fit assessment based on the listing, not reported customer feedback.

## Frequently asked questions

### What does the book cover?
It presents forty illustrated biographies of craftspeople alongside thematic introductions to decorative-arts history, from early modern craft and industrialization through modernism and the post-war craft revival.
### Which makers and disciplines are represented?
The listing names furniture makers, woodcarvers, textile artists and ceramicists, as well as goldsmiths and enamellists. Examples include Thomas Chippendale, Grinling Gibbons, Gunta Stölzl and Lucie Rie.
### How long is the book?
The listing gives a print length of 384 pages.

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## Images

![Lives of the Great Makers: 500 Years of Creative Excellence \(V&A\) — 1](https://bargainpostbox.co.uk/i/cLG5cB0AElL0Ueqk_Dsbn9ULKoO6m2HJGlDciCkg6vSL1RWzxrTSspbdA6RRLLpQlclUg3x9X71AqTfaXSAwWj8W_22mtzi4K6Zcpqd1rleoUiod33L3.jpg)

![Lives of the Great Makers: 500 Years of Creative Excellence \(V&A\) — 2](https://bargainpostbox.co.uk/i/FmVPYPK2FvZ4rUDNEZZ94A22EbZ6NWgns3gUMldsnvKcAKKTtF7IS8DjyHU6EPrT5TJ6c1duS6Lj8-WQnU-A_-bPO6ZgooHDTH66r8ZdOj6YWSgGFzkj.jpg)

![Lives of the Great Makers: 500 Years of Creative Excellence \(V&A\) — 3](https://bargainpostbox.co.uk/i/ynNLzzTolNAhsLQHEKwDzeYJ7Ot9W18swzVqAr0OFElV18Etm6rT9GgDuY10i4y32U3eTWvyTmVFn_dAzRwIzo8_gW4rNqT638fLBODZ9zPifdEXlkEh.jpg)

![Lives of the Great Makers: 500 Years of Creative Excellence \(V&A\) — 4](https://bargainpostbox.co.uk/i/LI5LRAiXkEfhsmWcsqH91QcRdYM9XYFKeTemXTG9kxpW75bslgWCjr2crng_RbmwsFYtHv5dgm1hsL91n8SAqKVWlmW0XqDrryvKpcJM4DS3KOtbzwB-.jpg)

![Lives of the Great Makers: 500 Years of Creative Excellence \(V&A\) — 5](https://bargainpostbox.co.uk/i/DB2V2E8wgO2lrTsMMcJT1VShinEvrJRbJ6H-wGdi7fBbX1pZB_GWRbgYZVveL4sDorxoa7Qpr2uSuLkompn6KhxYvgOxo97zkFZHbHuvhawMiMGHwcfC.jpg)

![Lives of the Great Makers: 500 Years of Creative Excellence \(V&A\) — 6](https://bargainpostbox.co.uk/i/3o8c7azo6zh076NBVL6OQCJVwyMBj_-lI8weiuu9s_59_ZPS1kVjcN8G105IGdjIV_r0r7FaGA0145gvto_p-iVWSe4gQSHODzYv4iu6yN6Rrul-5yYQ.jpg)

![Lives of the Great Makers: 500 Years of Creative Excellence \(V&A\) — 7](https://bargainpostbox.co.uk/i/lx86X1b1uAyHOT0jwOAVJTAREl6x7lY-4DtoiszyBGTjk_JBH0UW2m7lFX66Vmb-xGusu_uT3FG7Tx2SpYmKkEmQWm0e0-UDM_PYLS-3090tZJMrIl6C.jpg)