In the 1920s and 1930s one of the most fashionable furniture styles was named Art Deco, after L'Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes. Several American designer found inspiration in this new optimist style with the premise that progress could resolve most of the social problem of the time .The finest Art Deco furniture was luxuriously  , made of exotic woods like macassar ebony and Caucasian burr walnut, and decorated with ivory and shagreen, an untanned leather.The greater informality of the period is reflected in the low chairs and the development of the cocktail tab.