g|=ii=ii=igi=iFJr=if=Jr:jr=iid|-j r^ 
 
 DESIGNS 
 
 FOR 
 
 S 
 
 Q 
 Q 
 Q 
 Q 
 C 
 Q 
 
 B fT/r/r DESCRIPTIVE LETTEK PRESS. 
 C 
 
 0 
 
 C TWENTY-SEVEN PI.ATE8. 
 
 0 PRICE ONE POUND, TEN SHILLINGS. 
 
 01 ^ 
 
 GOTHIC FURNITURE, 
 
 By PUGIN, ■ 
 
 D 
 0 
 Q 
 D 
 Q 
 Q 
 Q 
 Q 
 
 n 
 
 0 
 D 
 i! 
 
 2 
 Q 
 
9- P> /L "^ 
 
 ISA xKi.i y lys Tirn -tk.) 
 
 FRANKLIN INSTITUTE LIBRARY 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 CUs^L^M.. . Book^..&.1^.5 Accession /6 9 O 
 7 ^ 
 
 ^niiui^E 0. ine Actury snail have authority to loan to'Members of fhp 
 
 ouSfoT.L^"-^^'^''"'' ^'P"™'"''^'° ^■'''^ '"o^e '•'''"tvvo books 
 out at one time, without a written permission, signed by at least two Mem 
 
 weeVs EutVr n"'"^ Com„.ittee, nor shall a book 'be kep't out ml Zn two 
 
 weeks, butifno one has applied for It, the former borrower may renew the 
 
 ''"Z P"«°" ^^'^ '^PPl'ed for it. tlie latter shall have the preference. 
 
 of everv honk h ^1^7 "^"'f "^""^ "^'^^^^'^ ^'>' detention 
 
 thrpp i ?K ^^n !''^''™'ted time; and if a book be not returned within 
 
 ffin? f r ? '''^",'"'*''"'""'^'"^'' '""^ i" addition to 
 
 ni8 hnes, forfeit its value. 
 
 Section 4. Should any book be returned injured, the borrower shall pay for 
 the mjury, or replace the book, as the Library t ommittce may direct: and 
 
 tLrfnl? v"/"'^ r^f ' t° ^ «r be lost, the borrower shall pay 
 
 the full value of the set or sets, and may take the remaining volumes. 
 
 ARTICLE 7. Any person removing from the Hall, without permission from 
 he proper authorities, any book, newspaper, or other property in charge of 
 the Library Committee, shall be reported to the Committee, who may inflict 
 any fine not exceeding Twenty-five Dollars. ^ 
 .i.n'tiV""'^ ^- , ^° Member, whose annual contribution for the current year 
 shall be unpaid or who is in arrears for fines, shall be entitled to the p"rivi. 
 leges of the Library or Reading Room. ^ 
 
 Article 9 If any member shall refuse or neglect to comply with the fore 
 fee 0^ tl"e tib'r'arv ""''""^ '''''' '"^ ^o-nh- 
 
 1 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2015 
 
 https://archive.org/details/gothicfurniturecOOpugi 
 
CONSISTING OF 
 
 TWENTY-SEVEN ' COLOURED ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 FROM 
 
 DESIGNS BY A. PUGIN. 
 
 WITH DESCRIPTIVE LETTER-PRESS. 
 
 ^ LONDON: 
 PUBLISHED BY R. ACKERMANN, 96, STRAND; 
 
 AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERSt 
 
LONDON: 
 
 J. MOYBS, TOOK'S court, ( HAMCEIIY LANE. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 From the most remote antiquity, man has shewn a propensity to decorate 
 his abode. As the early inhabitants of the earth became civilised, new 
 arts sprung up among them — new luxuries and improvements were from 
 time to time added, until the furniture and decorations of our houses have 
 arrived at the state of perfection in which we now see them. Notwith- 
 standing the height to which the arts were carried by the Greeks and 
 Romans, still they were totally ignorant of many of those conveniences, 
 nay, we might say, indispensable necessaries, to which modern ingenuity 
 has given birth. 
 
 A love of change is inherent in the human mind : in consequence, 
 new customs and new fashions are continually succeeding the old ; and 
 instead of being satisfied with what we at present possess, we are con- 
 stantly looking forward to what may yet be accomplished. 
 
 In nothing is this principle more strikingly displayed than in the dress 
 and decoration of our persons and apartments. In the composition of 
 furniture there are three principal points requiring consideration : the size 
 of the apartment in which it is to be placed, the destination of the room, 
 and the object of the articles themselves. To these considerations all 
 others must be made subservient. The drawing-room, the dining-parlour. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 the boudoir, the gallery, the hall, have each its peculiar and different 
 character; and unless the furniture be made to correspond with that 
 character, we lose the harmony and beauty which it is the study of 
 architectural science to produce. 
 
 The present Work is devoted exclusively to Gothic furniture ; and its 
 chief object is to demonstrate that this style is not less adapted to the 
 interior than to the exterior decoration of houses, and that, when properly 
 understood, it is capable of affording greater variety than the Greek and 
 Roman. Some of the royal palaces, as well as several of the mansions 
 of our nobility and gentry, lately erected, and now building, furnish 
 triumphant proofs of these positions, in the magnificence and richness 
 which they display ; and they must serve to convince every enlightened 
 mind that we have models enough in our reach, without borrowing from 
 other countries. 
 
 It is believed that this attempt to illustrate a style which is evidently 
 rising in public favour, is the first regular work on the subject ; and it 
 is presumed that it will furnish many useful hints to decorators and 
 upholsterers, as well as to those who may have occasion for their services. 
 
irrSZar-Jiy{CZEmcim-sSFFCSTreXrcf.MTSk£Jidr.JpnllJgZ7. 
 
A G-OTHIfeC BOOKCASE , 
 
3 aK-CASE . 
 
J'/. 7 7. /;./. m. 
 
n.itt>a. rai.m. 
 
 FJLOWEM STANIUS 
 
-GOTHIC FcriOTITtrME , 
 
 2f?5'j^fRA:mmi%'jisivsn-9ia-'jfARJS&i-.fia.jiiM 
 
Gothic Fummtume. 
 
A GOTMIC BE© . 
 
IFOR A HAtl. . 
 
r 
 
GOTHIC FURNITURE 
 
 GOTHIC APARTMENT. 
 
 The Frontispiece exhibits collectively those articles of furniture which have already 
 been represented in detail. It displays the appearance of an apartment fitted up in 
 the general style of the fifteenth century, but with those improved forms and elegant 
 contrivances which the superiority of modern art and ingenuity has introduced. The 
 combination and fitness of the whole are highly pleasing ; and the decorations, being 
 less massive than those in use among our ancestors, produce a lightness of effect 
 better suited to the apartments of our gay and lively fashionables than the solemn 
 gloom which accompanied the grandeur of the middle ages. 
 
 I 
 
CABINET. 
 
 The annexed plate represents a cabinet in the florid style. This piece of furniture 
 has long since been introduced, not only in the palaces of the great, but in the 
 humble habitations of the citizen and artisan. It is equally appropriate for the 
 drawing-room and boudoir, and is capable of assuming different forms and characters, 
 according to the style and destination of the room in which it is placed. Many of 
 those made in the reign of Queen Elizabeth still remain to astonish the spectator 
 by the intricacy of their parts, and to call forth his admiration by the beauty of 
 their execution j but we believe few, if any, constructed prior to that period, are 
 still extant. 
 
 The most beautiful specimens of cabinets, however, are to be found among those 
 denominated buhl and Florentine. The latter sort are particularly magnificent, the 
 most costly woods, such as ebony, rose, mahogany, and cedar, being employed in 
 their construction ; whilst lapis lazuli and other precious stones are not unfrequently 
 found in their decoration : and such is their costliness, that on the execution of one 
 alone many thousand pounds have been expended. His present Majesty, we believe, 
 has in his possession the most costly and extensive collection of any potentate in 
 Europe, many of which are intended to enrich the new palaces at Windsor and in 
 London. The design is in the Gothic character, and it is hoped will shew that that 
 style is not inappropriate for its decoration : it is in rose-wood, and its ornaments 
 and figures are in or-molu. 
 
 2 
 
BOOKCASE. 
 
 The library now constitutes one of the principal apartments in the country-seats of 
 our noblemen and gentlemen. No style can be better adapted for its decoration than 
 that of the middle ages, which possesses a sedate and grave character, inciting the 
 mind to study and reflection. The rays passing through its variegated casements 
 cast a religious light upon the venerable tomes on either side, the beautiful arrange- 
 ment of its parts combining to produce an impressive grandeur in the whole design. 
 Every thing proclaims it an apartment consecrated to learning. All mansions, however, 
 are not sufficiently capacious to admit of devoting a whole apartment to this purpose : 
 bookcases, which form a most excellent substitute, have therefore been resorted to ; 
 as, while fulfilling the purpose of a library, they form handsome pieces of furniture, 
 which can be well applied in filling up recesses and other inequalities in a room. 
 
 The Gothic style, it must be allowed, for the same reason as it is the most 
 appropriate for a library, is also the best adapted for the decoration of a bookcase. 
 In the design here given, the ornaments and details have been taken from the cele- 
 brated Chateau Fontaine le Henri, a mansion in Normandy, erected in the beginning 
 of the sixteenth century. This edifice affords more studies for the decorator than 
 perhaps any other of the same period. From the peculiarity of its forms and the 
 richness of its parts, it may be considered as one of the best models of its kind. 
 
 3 
 
BOOKCASE. 
 
 Towards the latter end of the fourteenth century and the commencement of the 
 fifteenth, that style of architecture commonly called Gothic became excessively rich. 
 Every space was fitted up with tracery and ornaments; and though it wanted repose, 
 yet it had such an elegant and picturesque appearance, that it was considered worthy 
 of imitation in the bookcase represented in the engraving. Being on a small scale, 
 no kind of turrets are here introduced, but simply four buttresses and pinnacles, with 
 a sort of parapet at the top. The arches are made very flat, which form is considered 
 more appropriate for domestic architecture than the pointed, which seems better 
 calculated for ecclesiastical purposes. A figure, the symbol of Meditation, has been 
 placed at the top, and is supported by a rich bracket. Though coloured glass should 
 be used only where light can be admitted behind, in order to relieve it, still it has 
 a pleasing effect, and gives to the whole a fanciful appearance. This piece of furni- 
 ture may be made use of for holding other things than books, such as antiquities, &c. 
 
 4 
 
CANDELABRA. 
 
 If the merit of the invention of candelabra is due to the Greeks, the Romans are 
 certainly entitled to great praise for the perfection to which they brought this kind 
 of decoration ; most elaborate and beautiful specimens of which have been discovered, 
 not only in the excavations of Pompeii, but in other parts of Italy. 
 
 They are generally either of bronze or marble, and their richness corresponds with 
 the magnificent character of the Roman architecture. This sort of decoration seems 
 not to have been employed in the middle ages; indeed there is no record by which 
 we can form any certain criterion to judge of the manner of lighting apartments at 
 that period. The most probable conjecture is, that as candles were so much used in 
 the religious ceremonies, they were also introduced for other purposes. In many 
 cases, perhaps, the only light diffused through the apartment proceeded from either a 
 blazing fire or fir-spUnters ; and to this very day, in some northern countries, this latter 
 method is still practised. 
 
 At the time when the Roman style .of architecture was adopted in this country, 
 candelabra were also introduced, and have since formed a conspicuous part of elegant 
 furniture. We now employ them in halls, staircases, libraries, and even drawing- 
 rooms. Their height may be regulated by the dimensions of the apartment in which 
 they are placed ; and from their vertical form they are well adapted to the Gothic 
 style. In the annexed plate the plan of the first is a triangle, supported by three 
 griffins ; and the two octagonals are decorated with pinnacles and flying buttresses. 
 
 5 
 
FLOWER-STANDS. 
 
 Among the various decorations of modern apartments, we can reckon none, perhaps, 
 more pleasing than a flower-stand : it diversifies and enUvens the appearance of almost 
 any room; and the perfume proceeding from the flowers, and the beautiful appearance 
 of their variegated hues, tend at once to delight and charm the senses. There is no 
 style more appropriate for this sort of decoration than the Gothic : its crockets, finials, 
 foliage, pendants, &c., all flowing and pliable, seem to be a continuation of nature ; 
 while its open and fanciful traceries contribute to the lightness of its eflfect. 
 
 Whether the flower-stand is of any great antiquity or not, we cannot pretend 
 to determine; but of this we are certain, that if of modern introduction, it is one of 
 the greatest improvements in the decorative style, and is now almost universally 
 adopted. But different situations have been assigned to flower-stands in apartments : 
 some place them in the windows, others in niches or recesses ; and, indeed, their position 
 is regulated entirely by taste. 
 
 It is hoped that the designs in the annexed plate will, in some measure, exemplify 
 our observation, that Gothic is the most appropriate style for this sort of decoration. 
 Two different designs are given ; they are both square in their plan, and may be 
 executed either in fancy-wood or metal. 
 
 6 
 
TOILETTE. 
 
 There are now extant very few articles of furniture, if any, beyond the time of 
 Queen Elizabeth, the style of which, it is well known, differs widely from that of 
 the early part of Henry VIII., as at that period a total change took place in archi- 
 tecture, and, of course, m all the minor branches. The Roman and Gothic were 
 united, and formed a sort of mixed style, possessing neither the grandeur of the 
 former nor the taste of the latter; therefore, for want of examples, the decorator 
 must select from architectural remains, and from combinations which unite fitness 
 with truth of character. 
 
 In the annexed design, which represents a lady's toilette, or dressing-table, the 
 artist has endeavoured to preserve the true domestic Gothic form and details, and 
 to avoid the ecclesiastical style, which has too often been adopted in some of the 
 mansions of our noblemen and gentlemen. As the pointed arch is a leading feature 
 of the ecclesiastical architecture, the flat or elliptical should be adopted in preference ; 
 for which reason the top of the glass is made of a four-centred arch, surmounted 
 with crockets and a finial, having a perforated projection on each side, adorned with 
 traceries, which serve both as a support and ornament. The drawers placed under 
 the glass, as well as the table, partake of the same character : the latter is supported 
 at the four corners by slender pillars, surmounted in front by three very flat arches, 
 above which a great variety of tracery is introduced. Rose or fancy-wood may be 
 used ; a few of the principal ornaments to be in or-molu. The tracery requires very little 
 projection. 
 
 We have now so many skilful workmen in Gothic, that very elaborate pieces of 
 furniture may be made at a moderate price, compared with what it was a few years ago. 
 
 7 
 
LOOKING-GLASS. 
 
 The design in this plate is intended to represent an upright, moveable looking-glass, 
 decorated in the florid style. 
 
 A looking-glass or mirror was a luxury unknown to our ancestors, as we learn 
 from authentic sources that the Romans and other nations of antiquity used plates 
 of brass, steel, and even silver, made perfectly smooth, and highly polished. But 
 although they produced a strong reflection, they are by no means comparable to this 
 invention, by which, not only the labour of continual brightening is saved, but a much 
 clearer reflection is produced. There is some uncertainty with respect to the actual 
 period when mirrors were introduced ; but it is well known that they were never brought 
 to such perfection as at the present time. 
 
 Venice was formerly the emporium of this manufacture, but France has for some 
 time past furnished the greatest quantities ; and, latterly, England equals (if not sur- 
 passes) any other nation in this kind of produce. 
 
 Great attention must be paid, in designing this piece of furniture, to give it a 
 frame sufficiently solid to support the weight of so large a glass, without appearing 
 heavy and ponderous. The artist has endeavoured to accomplish this object in the 
 present design by the introduction of flying buttresses, which, while adding to the 
 strength of the frame, detract nothing from the lightness of its character. The wood 
 may be either rose or mahogany, and the ornaments of the same wood, or in or-molu. 
 
 These moving glasses are now generally introduced in the sleeping apartments and 
 dressing-rooms of our nobility and persons of distinction. 
 
 8 
 
BED. 
 
 There is not, perhaps, any piece of furniture which has been more varied in its 
 naaterials and ornaments than a bed, though there is no example of its having deviated 
 from a square or parallelogram form ; but the canopies are of infinite variety in their 
 shape. 
 
 It is not at all surprising, that an object which contributes so much to the comfort 
 of mankind, should have been so much attended to, and adorned with great richness 
 and taste; and, indeed, this appears to have been the case even from the most remote 
 antiquity. Respecting the decoration of the beds of the ancients, we have little or no 
 information ; but, judging from the magnificence of the Greeks and Romans in their 
 cities, mansions, and dress, we may naturally infer that their beds were very superb. 
 
 In the dark ages which immediately followed the fall of the Roman empire, we 
 have but very little account of the manners, customs, and architecture, of the barbarians 
 who then inhabited the now enlightened Europe. 
 
 The next important era in history was the conquest of England by William the 
 Norman. The Normans at that period had begun to cultivate the civil arts and 
 sciences, which made such rapid progress in the succeeding centuries ; but even then 
 they had but a very rude idea of that luxury which so eminently distinguished the 
 fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which is proved by a bed recently discovered in a 
 castle near Lynn, Norfolk, supposed to be coeval with the Conquest. It was made 
 of iron, of great solidity and massiveness. 
 
 We will now turn to the above-mentioned centuries, when the beauty of the florid 
 style shone in its full lustre — when every detail, however small, was finished with the 
 greatest delicacy and taste : it is of this date that we may reckon that superb relic 
 of ancient art, the bed of Richard III., which, as a whole, is grand, and the details 
 are both rich and elegant. This bed may therefore be considered as one of the best 
 models for modern decorations. Those of the Elizabethan era are but bad copies of the 
 Roman style mixed with Gothic, and therefore not worthy of our imitation. 
 
 The present design is of the period which is termed florid : the griffins introduced 
 at the angles are from the monument of Thomas Bouchier, in Westminster Abbey, and 
 the rest of the details are taken from ancient specimens. 
 9 c 
 
A BED. 
 
 The foregoing design represented a bed for a single person; the annexed is intended 
 as a double or state-bed. It has long been a, custom with the nobility of this country 
 to be provided with a bed of this description, used only in case of being honoured with 
 a visit from majesty or any other distinguished personage. As this custom is of very 
 great antiquity, and as it existed at a time when Gothic architecture had attained 
 the highest state of perfection, it may be presumed that no style can be more ap- 
 propriate for decoration. It has been generally considered that the architecture of 
 the middle ages possesses more playfulness in its outline, and richness in its details, 
 than any other style : it is capable of being divided into two distinct classes, eccle- 
 siastical and domestic ; and it is among the latter that we must refer for examples. 
 From the ravages of time, few specimens of this kind earlier than the reign of 
 Henry VII. are now remaining; therefore, in our decorations we must conform as 
 much as possible to the character of that period. To this effect, the artist has 
 introduced the low, four-centered arch, so often found in edifices of that time, sur- 
 mounted by a richly-carved finial : the posts at the four angles are of an earlier date, 
 and resemble the carving on the tomb of Richard III. in Westminster Abbey. 
 
 The best materials for executing this design would be rose-wood and or-molu, as 
 mahogany is liable to become of too dark a tint. The colour of the draperies is left 
 to the taste of the decorator, but they ought generally to correspond with that of the 
 hangings. 
 
 10 
 
A LANTERN. 
 
 Every article that is used as the furniture of a nobleman's mansion is now expected 
 to have the benefit of chaste design, and not, as formerly, to be manufactured according 
 to the crude notions of the mere workman : in fact, there is no trade that will admit 
 of the employment of the artist but he is called upon to exert his talent; and thus 
 the most common materials are made valuable by the art that is displayed in them. 
 This art will be still more usefully encouraged when the fashion, lately so common, has 
 quite passed away, of making every thing in the old French style of works executed 
 in the reign of Louis XIV. ; a style so little in accordance with good sense and real 
 taste, that it would rarely meet with patrons if it were not thrust before the public 
 by manufacturers, in consequence of its easy execution and defiance of correct drawing, 
 which enable the clumsiest workman to pass for an accomplished one. 
 
 The annexed design is for a Gothic lantern, destined for the hall of a nobleman, 
 in the same character of architecture : it is intended to contain six Argand lamps. 
 The whole is in lackered brass and plate glass, each square being twenty inches wide 
 and fifty inches high. 
 
 11 
 
CHAIRS. 
 
 In the annexed plate are represented three chairs, one for a hall, and the other two for a 
 drawing-room. It is not, perhaps, generally understood, that it is to a comparatively 
 modern period that we owe the great addition to our domestic comforts derived from this 
 kind of seat. The Romans at their meals usually lay in a reclining position on couches ; 
 and it is well known, tliat among the eastern nations no other posture but that of reclining 
 on cushions or sofas has ever been practised : it may be, therefore, inferred that it is in 
 Europe this invention took its rise. In England, at so late a period as the reigns of 
 Henry VII. and VIII., chairs appear to have been but very little used ; and it was not till 
 the reign of Queen Elizabeth that they became more generally employed. To this day, in 
 the halls of our universities, the master alone is seated in a chair, the fellows and students 
 being accommodated with forms and benches. 
 
 Some of the remaining specimens of ancient chairs are remarkable for the beauty 
 of their design and the richness of their ornaments. Such is that at St. Mary's-Hall, 
 Coventry, which has so justly excited the attention of the curious and the admiration of the 
 decorator. This chair, which is of the style termed florid, is carved in oak, and has a high, 
 rising back, which is divided into three panels of tracery, surmounted by two richly-carved 
 string-courses. At each end of these rises a sort of bracket, on which are placed the 
 armorial bearings of the person for whom the chair was designed. The seat part is sup- 
 ported by tracery ; the elbows are formed by figures on a ridge of oak leaves, which has a 
 very rich effect ; and the whole is designed in an harmonious and agreeable manner. But 
 while we admire the beauties of this design, we are not insensible to its defects ; its massy 
 form renders it much too cumbrous to be moved ; and, after the numerous modern improve- 
 ments that have been made in furniture, it would be folly implicitly to copy the ancient 
 examples, though, at the same time, care may be taken to preserve and introduce those 
 parts of the design which are most suited to our purpose. 
 
 We have particularly referred to this specimen, because it is the most deserving of our 
 attention ; but besides it there are many other examples, such as the two coronation-chairs 
 in V/ estminster Abbey, which, though inferior in workmanship and design, have, notwith- 
 standing, a good Gothic character. 
 
 There is, perhaps, no part of furniture which has required more reflection in its con- 
 struction than a chair. Having constantly a weight to support, strength was one of the 
 principal considerations; and, at the same time, a certain degree of lightness was requisite 
 to fit it to be easily moved. Curves were therefore selected as answering two ends ; 
 namely, ease to the body, and strength to support it. It is, therefore, not without great 
 study that this piece of furniture has been brought to the state of perfection in which we 
 now see it. The present designs need no particular illustration ; they are composed on the 
 improved principles, with some few decorations to give them a more Gothic character. 
 12 
 
CHAIRS. 
 
 There is no piece of furniture which is in more constant use than a chair: comfort 
 ought, therefore, to be the principal consideration, at the same time blending so much 
 elegance in its design as to render it a pleasing object in an apartment. The decoration 
 of chairs ought, undoubtedly, to correspond with that of the situation in which they are 
 placed : hence, those for a hall, dining-parlour, or drawing-room, should possess a 
 totally different character: the first, that of simplicity j the second, a certain solidity, 
 ornamented with appropriate decorations ; and the third should combine elegance with 
 lightness. The Gothic style will fully admit of these variations ; and in the annexed 
 plate a design for each has been given. There are but few specimens of the furniture 
 of the sixteenth century remaining ; those which once belonged to Cardirfal Wolsey 
 and a few others, now in the possession of His Majesty, are the only ones known to 
 be extant ; and even these are far from being pure in their details. They are executed 
 in ebony, with ivory occasionally introduced in the heads of the figures, animals, &c. 
 They are totally unfit for imitation, being clumsy in their design, and very heavy. The 
 use of chairs was hardly known to our ancestors, stools and benches being generally 
 substituted in their place ; so that in designing them for modern use, we must greatly 
 deviate from their original character. 
 
 13 
 
WHIST-TABLE. 
 
 Tables, like other pieces of furniture, are capable of a great variety of combination 
 in form, as well as in ornament, being intended for various purposes ; and afford a 
 great scope for the display of ingenuity and science in the mode of their support, 
 as well as by enlarging or reducing them to any size. Till within these few years, 
 they were confined nearly to the same form, generally supported by four or more legs 
 for the dining-room ; but now a table of the largest size has often but one support, 
 placed in the centre, obviating by that means the inconvenience arising from a number. 
 From the parallelogram to the circle, every form has been used ; and it is well known 
 that the circular form was adopted to avoid distinction among the guests. 
 
 The table represented in the plate is of a square form, for the purpose of playing 
 at whist, having a projection at the angles, in order to place the candlesticks, which 
 otherwise would be in the way of the persons engaged at play. The style of its 
 decorative parts is that of the fifteenth century. Great Britain exhibits more mag- 
 nificence in this kind of furniture than any other country in Europe, particularly in 
 the style, being the only country at present where this beautiful style of architecture is 
 understood. 
 
 14 
 
LIBRARY-TABLE. 
 
 In the accompanying plate is given a representation of a Gothic table, adapted for a 
 library or place of study. As the workmanship of tables is carried to a greater degree 
 of perfection in this country than any other, this specimen, it is hoped, will be useful to 
 the upholsterer. 
 
 Tables, indisputably, are of great antiquity; those used by the Romans were of 
 stone or marble, of which several examples have recently been found in the excavations 
 of Pompeii and Herculaneum. But we may trace them to still hihger antiquity, since 
 Moses, in the Book of Exodus, chap. xxv. 23, 24, 25, mentions the table of show-bread 
 as being made of shittira-wood, overlaid with plates of pure gold. 
 
 In the earlier part of the middle ages, from the few examples now remaining, 
 tables are supposed to have been constructed with iron ; but in the more refined 
 era of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the materials employed were oak or 
 chesnut-wood, carved with great delicacy and taste. It is from this period that our 
 design has been formed. Beneath the top, the artist has introduced the square 
 quatrefoil, an ornament greatly in vogue at that time, and which forms a pleasing 
 variation to the eye from the usual circular quatrefoil. The griffins to support the 
 base are taken from that most elegant Gothic edifice of the latter end of the fifteenth 
 century, the Palais de Justice, at Rouen. The shape of the table is circular; and 
 in this respect it differs from ancient examples, which are generally of the paral- 
 lelogram shape. 
 
 15 
 
LIBRARY-TABLE AND CHAIR. 
 
 The form and decorations of tables are infinitely varied; and as they are equally 
 introduced in the library, boudoir, dining, drawing, dressing-rooms, &c., they partake 
 of different characters suitable to the destination of the apartment in which they are 
 placed. It is in France that the most elegant tables have been designed and executed, 
 of which that of porcelain, presented to the Emperor Napoleon, is a magnificent 
 specimen. The richest materials are sometimes employed in their construction ; but 
 mahogany and rose-wood are generally used, and sometimes ivory and other materials. 
 
 Respecting the tables of the middle ages, little is known ; but from the few docu- 
 ments which remain, they appear to have been very plain ; and the rude state of the 
 arts in those times amply justifies this opinion. Hence, in designing them in that 
 style, the decorator is obliged to apply the Gothic decorations to modern forms. 
 
 The present design is intended for a library, to which is subjoined a chair in the 
 same style. They may be executed either in light oak or rose-wood, and the ornaments 
 in or-molu. 
 
 16 
 
UPRIGHT PIANO-FORTE, MUSIC-STAND, AND CHAIR. 
 
 In the annexed plate are represented an upright piano-forte, a music-stand, and chair. 
 
 Having occasion in a succeeding article to treat of the horizontal piano, we shall 
 here only mention some peculiarities of an upright one. 
 
 From the little space which this instrument requires, it is admirably calculated for 
 a small apartment, in which a horizontal piano would be heavy and inconvenient ; it 
 has also a very pleasing appearance when placed in a recess, such as that formed by 
 the projection of a chimney; and though so different in its form from the grand piano, it 
 is, nevertheless, capable of producing the same pleasing sounds, but not in so powerful 
 a tone. 
 
 The second subject in the plate is a music-desk. In consequence of the Roman 
 Catholic service being chanted before the Reformation, a music-stand was to be found in * 
 all ecclesiastical edifices, from the chapel to the cathedral ; but when, under Henry VIII., 
 the mutilation and plunder of these edifices took place, few of the desks, which 
 were mostly constructed in brass, escaped the rapacious and sacrilegious hand of avarice. 
 But those few which still remain claim the admiration of every lover of ancient art. 
 Among them there is none more entitled to our consideration than that of King's 
 College, Cambridge, which, for beauty of workmanship, is not surpassed by the pro- 
 ductions of the present day : but elegant as these specimens are, we have been obliged 
 to differ from them in the present design, in order to render the stand more easy of 
 removal ; taking care, however, at the same time, to preserve the general character, so 
 beautiful in the originals. 
 
 The music-chair is constructed with a screw, so as to be capable of being raised or 
 lowered like a stool ; and it is decorated in the same style as the other pieces of fur- 
 niture represented in the plate. 
 
 The material to be employed is rose-wood, inlaid with brass, and the space withid 
 the large circle, as well as that in the two square quatrefoils in the base, is of crimson 
 silk. 
 
 17 D 
 
EPISCOPAL CHAIR, DRAWING-ROOM CHAIR, 
 AND TABLE FOR A BOUDOIR. 
 
 In the time of Henry VII. and in the early part of the reign of Henry VIII. archi-r 
 tecture was pecuUar for its lightness and richness of parts, which are well suited for 
 furniture. The style of the episcopal chair is of that date, and its parts are chiefly taken 
 from King's College Chapel, Cambridge. The two arms supported by angels are from 
 Henry VII. 's Chapel, Westminster Abbey. In order to preserve unity of character, 
 the wood is of Hght oak with gilt mouldings, relieved by rich crimson velvet cushions 
 and tassels. This chair may be introduced with propriety into a church, prelate's 
 mansion, or an extensive library. In order to prevent heaviness, the ornaments at top, 
 as well as the quatrefoils, are kept open. 
 
 The drawing-room chair may be considered of the florid style. On account of the 
 fulness and richness of its ornaments, and also on account of the flatness of the arch 
 which is introduced in the back, this chair would require a great nicety of execution, 
 the parts being very delicate. The wood is light oak, and the mouldings giltj the 
 tracery should be filled up with velvet of the same colour as the room : perhaps it would 
 be more appropriate if it were of rose-wood or cedar. 
 
 The table, of a circular form, may be either of oak or of rose-wood. Upon it a 
 reading-desk is introduced, in the style of those formerly used in churches : this has 
 been partly taken from one kept in the library on the side of King's College Chapel. 
 An ornament is introduced in the top to receive the light, as also on the side of it an 
 inkstand in the form of a Gothic tower. A missal is here represented, to express that 
 the room is kept chiefly for religious meditations : the word boudoir, being very inde- 
 finite in the French language, gives room to admit of its being adapted particularly to 
 this purpose. 
 
 18 
 
HORIZONTAL GRAND PIANO-FORTE. 
 
 The knowledge of music is now so generally diffused, that musical instruments are 
 almost become an essential part of furniture, and among them we can reckon none more 
 frequently used than the piano. The annexed plate represents a horizontal grand piano- 
 forte ; and as this instrument, from its size, would be a leading feature in any apartment, 
 it ought to partake of the style of decoration adopted for the latter. 
 
 The piano-forte having been totally unknown to our ancestors, and only invented 
 within the last half century, we can merely decorate the given forms by traceries and 
 other Gothic ornaments best calculated to assist the sound, and to fulfil the intent of 
 the instrument. We have chosen the style of the fifteenth century, as being the most 
 applicable to our purpose, and admitting the greatest variety of arrangement. 
 
 The stool partakes also of the same character. 
 
 I 
 
 19 
 
WINDOW-CURTAINS. 
 
 The annexed plate represents one side of a small room fitted up in the Gothic style. 
 
 There is, perhaps, no part of Gothic decoration which requires more reflection than 
 the interior of a room. Among the few remaining specimens which can convey any idea 
 of the ancient splendour of the interior of rooms, is that of the abbess at the abbey of 
 St. Amand, at Rouen, in Normandy ; and even this, elegant as it is, affords but a very 
 slight conception of the luxury of the middle ages. The decorator must, therefore, 
 consult ecclesiastical architecture. But here a new difficulty occurs; which is, that 
 were he to take the arrangement of a whole, and to adapt it to the space of almost any 
 apartment, it would appear more like the model of part of a building than an archi- 
 tectural composition ; and, on the other hand, were he to place the details in their real 
 proportion, they would appear large and overpowering ; and it is that medium and 
 beauty of proportion, so difficult to attain, which alone is pleasing to the eye. 
 
 Curtains, although not an architectural ornament, form, nevertheless, a very essential 
 part of interior decoration. The various arrangements of which they are susceptible, the 
 pliancy of their forms, and the different effects that may be produced by their com- 
 binations, render them peculiarly useful to the decorator. Of late, the curtain-rod, as 
 in the present design, has been continued the whole length of the room, and in this 
 instance, passes behind a Gothic ornament. The curtain-pins are also in unison 
 with it. 
 
 20 
 
WINDOW-CURTAIN. 
 
 In the annexed plate is given a representation of an oriel window, well adapted for the 
 termination of a gallery or drawing-room ; and as this elegant part of Gothic archi- 
 tecture was never employed in ecclesiastical buildings, it may be introduced with the 
 greatest propriety in modern Gothic houses. But to enable the architect the better to 
 place this decoration, it may not be amiss to enter into a few historical particulars 
 respecting it. It has been supposed, and with very good reason, by men of great anti- 
 quarian knowledge and research, that the oriel is derived from the Moorish and Persian 
 styles : they allege that oriel means east, and that as those nations were worshippers of 
 the sun, they constructed small projecting cabinets, where they might pay their early 
 devotions to that rising luminary. Most certainly it was first introduced in this country 
 as an oratory, or place of prayer ; it was then built upon a richly-carved bracket, pro- 
 jecting from a bed-chamber, and containing just space enough for one or two persons : 
 but in the reigns of Henry the Seventh and Eighth it took a different character, and 
 became the accompaniment of halls and places of festivity, when it was, without ex- 
 ception, built upon the dais, and projected from one of the sides of the building. It 
 was then considered as the place of honour; and in the universities it was the usual 
 seat of the master and as many of the fellows as could conveniently sit within it. By 
 the occasional introduction of stained glass, a most pleasing effect is produced by the 
 rays of the sun ; and this will give a cheerful appearance to a room which otherwise 
 might appear gloomy. In fine, it may be considered as one of the great beauties with 
 which the style of architecture of the middle ages is replete. 
 
 In the accompanying plate the window takes the whole width of the room, and 
 shews three sides of an octagon ; and in order to admit the whole of tlie light, the 
 curtains are placed at a little distance from it. 
 
 It is well known that the brilliant colours and richness of ornament of the fourteenth 
 and fifteenth centuries never were surpassed : it is attempted to be imitated in this 
 design by introducing velvet curtains, enriched with appropriate ornaments and 
 coloured glass. With the surrounding decorations, it is adapted for a boudoir on the 
 east or south side of a private mansion. 
 21 
 
DRAWING-ROOM SOFA. 
 
 This piece of furniture, in which the modern form is preserved, is embellished ac- 
 cording to the style of the thirteenth century ; or rather, the parts are adapted from 
 Gothic tracery executed at that period, so as to combine the peculiar features of Gothic 
 art with the form that is now considered to afford the best accommodation for its 
 purpose. 
 
 The frame-work may be executed in oak, and partially gilded, or in other materials, 
 and wholly finished in mat and burnished gold ; the covering and cushions of velvet or 
 satin. The chairs and other furniture should be corresponding in style, of course, and 
 the apartment of the same character, although it may be much more simple in its 
 parts. 
 
 The fashion of making the coverings of furniture similar in point of colour to the 
 walls of the room has at length subsided, and the colour now chosen for them is such as 
 will form harmonious combinations : the colour selected should be, therefore, governed 
 by this circumstance. 
 
 22 
 
SOFA. 
 
 The annexed plate represents a second specimen of a sofa decorated in the Gothic style. 
 This piece of furniture is comparatively of modern date, and undoubtedly of eastern 
 origin ; but in adapting it to European customs, it has been found necessary to vary the 
 decoration in some degree from that of the original model. 
 
 In the oriental coiintries, a sofa is but little elevated from the floor, and consists of 
 soft cushions covered with silk and other costly materials. Two of these are generally 
 piled upon one another, and a third is placed against the wall to recline upon. These 
 cushions are thus ranged round an apartment, and the heat of the climate renders them 
 indispensable, both for public meetings and private assemblies. They are also well cal- 
 culated for the sitting posture of the eastern nations, which requires an easy couch. 
 As none of these conveniences are adapted to the climate and customs of Europeans, 
 the artist has been obliged to make some change from the original; so that the modern 
 sofa presents a quite different appearance from its oriental original : it nevertheless 
 possesses a comfort which entitles it to rank among useful furniture. From its flowing 
 and easy form, it is more calculated for the Italian than the Gothic style : the latter 
 character has, nevertheless, been attempted to be given in the present design, which is 
 composed from the best authorities in the florid style. 
 
 23 
 
SIDEBOARD. 
 
 The artist is aware that Gothic furniture has been objected to on account of the 
 multiplicity of its angles, for which (it is needless to observe) there is no occasion. 
 
 The subject of the annexed plate is a sideboard, which at once proves the truth of 
 this assertion. In the present example it will be found that the style of the time of 
 Henry III. has been mixed with that of the fifteenth century : though the writer is well 
 aware that unity of character should prevail, he thinks, notwithstanding, that in objects 
 simply of fancy and fashion it may be deviated from, if symmetry and harmony of 
 deta''s are observed. It is almost superfluous to add, that the general colour of the 
 room directs that of the furniture, which should be ornamented with or-molu or 
 rose-wood. 
 
 24 
 
A BUREAU. 
 
 The annexed plate is a bureau decorated in the Gothic style. It is appropriate either 
 for a library or study, and is generally used for containing papers. 
 
 The centre part is divided into three equal compartments, terminating in pointed 
 arches, and divided by buttresses, ending in crocketed pinnacles, and above them the 
 same divisions with very flat-headed arches : betw^een these two tiers of panels are 
 sliding drawers, the handles of which are formed out of the ornament in the quatrefoils. 
 
 The openings of these six compartments are filled up with silk, which should 
 correspond with the colour of the apartment. At each extremity is a wing adorned 
 with more complicated tracery, which is filled up with wood instead of the silk: these 
 wings, which are terminated at each end with a buttress similar to the others, are 
 surmounted by traceries in the form of flying buttresses. The ground-work may be 
 of rose-wood or light oak, and the moulding and ornaments either gilt or in or-molu. 
 
 25 
 
 B 
 
CHIMNEY-PIECE AND STOVE. 
 
 V 
 
 It is of considerable importance, where several manufacturers are engaged in forming 
 a whole, that they should all perceive the relative connexion which the several parts 
 ought to have with each other : thus, from the annexed design, the statuary (so called 
 merely because he works marble of which sculptors make statues,) will form the 
 chimney-piece, so as to receive gracefully the works of the sculptor destined to adorn 
 the tabernacles in the design ; the smith will perceive the necessity of making his 
 stove conformable to the peculiarity of style ; the maker of the fender and its acces- 
 sories will also follow the example ; and all will unite in obtaining an effect of pro- 
 priety, which propriety is an object of the first importance to architectural beauty. But 
 to enable these different manufacturers to produce this necessary concordance, it is 
 evident that the architect must precede their labours, by laying down a guide in this 
 way for their observance and regulation ; for witliout this first preparation, as many 
 varieties of style may be expected as there are articles employed, and instead of a 
 uniform whole, the result will be a jumble of incongruities, equally offensive to the 
 eye and to the judgment. 
 
 26 
 
GOTHIC UTENSILS. 
 
 The annexed plate represents various utensils, such as keys, hearth-broom, bell-pull, 
 &c. Sec. The two keys were made in the early part of the sixteenth century, and are in 
 the writer's possession ; the other articles are in imitation of the florid Gothic style, 
 which is better calculated for small objects, from the variety and intricacy of its 
 ornaments. Owing to the discovery of the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum, we 
 possess some specimens of the furniture and utensils of the Greeks and Romans ; but 
 there are very few left of the middle ages. Many of the age of Elizabeth are now in 
 perfect preservation, but scarcely any previous to her time. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 ). MOVES, TOOk'S court, CHANCERY LANE. 
 
Date Due 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
«