Trade literature making advertising claims, give instructions in using products, provide testimonials from satisfied customers, and include detailed descriptions of sale products. Trade catalogs first appeared in the 18th century, with the expansion in trade, commerce and consumption. The distinguished English cabinet maker, Thomas Chippendale published a book of his designs in 1754, entitled "The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director" and regarded as the "first comprehensive trade catalogue of its kind". The designs were regarded as reflecting the current London fashion for furniture, and set the standard for his competitors in the market. Chippendale followed this up with a virtual reprint in
Mark Wilkinson (designer) Mark Wilkinson (designer) Mark Roger Wilkinson OBE, OLM (1950 – 5 July 2017) was an English furniture designer. Wilkinson was the founding designer of Mark Wilkinson Furniture and Smallbone of Devizes. Both companies make fitted furniture and became divisions of Canburg Ltd. He was a visiting lecturer in Design Creativity at the University of the West of England (UWE) and contributed to design teaching at the Rotherham College of Arts and Technology, Rycotewood College, and the Chelsea-based KLC Design School. Wilkinson was described by Eliot Nusbaum, writing in the "Sunday Times", as the "Mozart of Kitchen Cabinet Makers" while the