> When ornamentation became cheap and mass producible, it also frequently became _ugly_. Tacky knockoffs of appealing designs became far more common than the or

> When ornamentation became cheap and mass producible, it also frequently became _ugly_. Tacky knockoffs of appealing designs became far more common than the original decorations. My observation of taste has been that most people have little. Consequently, they'd just as soon buy an imitation of the thing they think they need rather than the real thing, if they can save a buck. (See: vanilla, modern McDonald's) As a result, there's a race to the bottom as soon as a thing is being sold in mass quantities. Because there is little quality differentiation, it's mostly judged on price. Consequently, you get Amazon-fancy. Which is some cost-optimized pastiche of what a tasteless manufacturer perceives historical luxury to be. Exhibit A: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=decorative+books https://www.amazon.com/s?k=decorative+books