Over the past hundred years, "chintz" has come to mean any floral printed furnishing fabric, usually made of cotton, and often glazed. Its origins as a hand-drawn and dyed fabric from India are often forgotten, but it is with these rare earlier chintzes that this book is concerned. This stunning album explores in detail the background and development of this beautiful technique and looks at the use of chintz in Europe from the early seventeenth century to the mid-nineteenth century, first as bed curtains and wall hangings and later for popular men's and women's fashions. The Victoria and Albert Museum's collection, published for the first time in glorious color and including close-up details, will interest interior designers, textile students, and those involved in fashion.