Eclectic is often used in association with the Victorian era, from which the majority of the objects featured in this book originate. They range from ceramics, glass, and furniture, to silver, wood carving, and paintings of both secular and religious subjects. The authors provide thorough documentation for the artifacts chosen as well as essays outlining the context in which each object was made. The variety of styles and materials in the collection reflects popular trends of the era and creates a vivid picture of bourgeois life in Montreal during the nineteenth century.