Social valuation of institutional office furniture during the first of the 20th century

Abstract

The documentation of cabinetwork in Madrid at the turn-of-the-century has allowed for the study of the social conditions implied in the development of institutional office furniture in public buildings. It can been seen as representative of the different levels existing especially on the ministerial plane, the evolution of which will establish the guidelines for systems of modern furnishings. This study has been carried out using the documentary and graphic materials preserved in the Spanish Treasury Department (Ministerio de Hacienda), on three coordinated actions in the local offices of this Department, thereby allowing for the registration of a full list of commercial firms and workshops active between 1900 and 1936.