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, its sharp, geometric lines inspired by speed and 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 genius 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 the time. In Britain. Leading names included Epstein, Hille, Maurice Adams, and Clarice Cliff.

Art Deco iconography drew from myriad influences: Africa, Cubism, Egyptian Revival, the Orient, and Mexico were all rich sources for designers. Concrete and steel were employed by architects and chrome, Bakelite, lacquer and exotic veneers were utilised by designers.

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