I 
 
 Mm 
 
 m 
 
 i 
 
 THE PRESENT STATE 
 
 OF OLD ENGLISH 
 
 FURNITURE 
 
 R. SYMONDS 
 
ft FRENCH & CO. 
 
THE PRESENT STATE OF 
 OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2014 
 
 https://archive.org/details/presentstateofolOOsymo_0 
 
A, walnut Armchair surmounted by carved and gilt eagle; arms terminating 
 in lion heads ; splat and rails of back overlaid with burr walnut veneer. 
 (Height 6 ft. 9 in.) 
 
 Circa 1725. 
 
 Pig. 1. Col. C. 
 
THE PRESENT STATE 
 
 OF 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 FURNITURE 
 
 BY 
 
 R. W. SYMONDS 
 
 WITH 116 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 NEW YORK 
 FREDERICK A. STOKES 
 PUBLISHERS 
 
 COMPANY 
 
PRINTED BY MORRISON AND GIBB LTD. OF EDINBURGH, GREAT BRITAIN 
 
PREFACE 
 
 WHEN the Author first became interested in Old English furniture 
 he found that the various books on the subject, though excellent 
 from an historical point of view, were of no real assistance to him 
 either for determining the desirable pieces to buy or for the recognition of 
 genuine " untouched " examples ; and the essential knowledge he so much 
 required he had to obtain solely by practical experience. The difficulties 
 which the Author encountered at the outset will be experienced, doubtless, 
 by many others in seeking that understanding of Old English furniture which 
 is all-important to those desirous of purchasing only genuine examples 
 worthy of appreciation and acquisition. 
 
 This book is the outcome, therefore, of a desire to help the collector by 
 pointing out the lines along which the Author worked and which have led 
 him to the conclusions presented in these pages, so that the amateur may 
 begin his career as a collector with a certain knowledge which the author 
 ventures to think could otherwise only be obtained by long experience. 
 
 The Author wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to all those who 
 have so kindly permitted the illustration of pieces of furniture from their 
 collections, and especially to Mr. Percival D. Griffiths, who has been more 
 than generous in this respect. His thanks are also due to Mr. J. de Haan, 
 for some valuable information concerning recipes used by the imitator ; 
 to Mr. Cooper of Messrs. Cooper & Humphries, for his care and skill in 
 photographing most of the examples illustrated ; and, finally, to Mr. J. H. 
 Elder-Duncan and Mr. J. Chichele Plowden, for their suggestions during the 
 compilation and revision of the manuscript. 
 
 R. W. SYMONDS. 
 
 Little Hertford House, 
 off West Chapel Street, 
 Mayfair, London. 
 
 V 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface ......... v 
 
 Illustrations ........ xi 
 
 Chapter I. Introductory ...... i 
 
 Chapter II. Spurious Furniture: The Imitation of Old Pieces with 
 
 INTENT TO DECEIVE . . . . 1 3 
 
 Chapter III. Furniture of the Oak Period . . . .20 
 
 Chapter IV. Furniture of the Walnut Period . . . -35 
 
 Chapter V. Lacquer Furniture . . . . . .54 
 
 Chapter VI. Gesso and Gilt Furniture . . . . .61 
 
 Chapter VII. Mirrors . . . . . . .67 
 
 Chapter VIII. Furniture of the Early Mahogany Period . . 74 
 
 Chapter IX. Furniture of the Middle Mahogany Period . . 85 
 
 Chapter X. Late Eighteenth Century Furniture . . .96 
 
 Chapter XI. Irish Furniture . . . . . .115 
 
 Chapter XII. Continental Furniture compared to English . 117 
 
 Chronological Survey . . . . . . .119 
 
 Index .......... 122 
 
 vii 
 
The following are the Names of the Owners from whose Collections 
 have been taken the Examples illustrated : 
 
 V-/ VJllKZ K. LlWll 
 
 
 A. 
 
 H. R. Brunt, Esq. 
 
 B. 
 
 T. H. Cobb, Esq. 
 
 c. 
 
 Percival D. Griffiths, Esq. 
 
 D. 
 
 M. Harris, Esq. 
 
 E. 
 
 Patrick. Hastings, Esq., K.C. 
 
 F. 
 
 The Hon. Arthur Holland-Hibbert. 
 
 G. 
 
 Frederick. C. Johnson, Esq. 
 
 H. . 
 
 C. H. F. Kinderman, Esq. 
 
 I. 
 
 Mrs. W. J. Masser-Horniman. 
 
 J. 
 
 W. M. Mulville, Esq. 
 
 K. 
 
 Frank Partridge, Esq. 
 
 L. 
 
 Sir William Plender, G.B.E. 
 
 M. . 
 
 Sir John Prestige. 
 
 N 
 
 C Tj Kotph Fsn 
 
 O. 
 
 Author. 
 
 P. 
 
 J. Thursby Pelham, Esq. 
 
 Q. . 
 
 Various Owners. 
 
 R. 
 
 The Victoria and Albert Museum. 
 
 S. 
 
 t Arthur S. Vernay, Esq. 
 
 T. 
 
 Hansard Watt, Esq. 
 
 U. 
 
 Joseph Wild, Esq. 
 
 V. 
 
 Mrs. T. D. Wilson. 
 
 ix 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 (The numbers given in this Index are those of the Figures and not 
 of the pages on which they appear.) 
 
 ARMCHAIR: Beech, 42; Elm, 41; Mahogany, 43, 64, 82, 90; Oak, 6, 11; 
 
 Satinwood, 102 ; Walnut, 1, 18, 40, 65. 
 BOOKCASE : Wing Mahogany, 84, 99. 
 BUREAU : Mahogany, 35 ; Walnut, 32, 33, 34, 44. 
 BUREAU WRITING CABINET. See « Cabinet." 
 CABINET : Bureau, Mahogany, 83 ; Walnut, 31, 36. 
 
 „ Lacquer, on stand, 48, 49. 
 
 „ Lacquer Writing, 50. 
 
 „ Mahogany, 66. 
 CANDLE STAND : Mahogany Tripod, 85, 86, 87. 
 
 CARD TABLE : Lacquer, 30 ; Mahogany, 93, 112 (Irish) ; Walnut, 29, 45. 
 CELLARET : Mahogany, 116 (Irish). 
 
 CHAIR : Single, Mahogany, 62-63, 89 ; Walnut, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 37. 
 
 „ Arm. See "Armchair." 
 CHEST : Oak, 3. 
 CHEST-ON-STAND : Walnut, 38. 
 CHEST-WITH-DRAWERS : Oak, 7. 
 CLOCK : Long Case, Lacquer, 24 ; Marquetry, 22, 23. 
 COFFEE TABLE : Mahogany Tripod, 69, 70. 
 COFFER : Oak, 3. 
 
 COMMODE : Mahogany, 97, 98 ; Satinwood and Harewood, 107 ; Satinwood 
 
 painted, 106. 
 CONSOLE TABLE : Mahogany, 68. 
 CUPBOARD : Corner Walnut, 39. 
 „ Court Oak, io, 12. 
 
 „ Dole Oak, 2. 
 
 DAY-BED : Walnut, 17. 
 
 xi 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 DRESSER : Oak, 13, 14. 
 
 DUMB WAITER : Mahogany Tripod, 72. 
 
 GESSO WORK: 56. 
 
 MARQUETRY : Long Case Clocks, 22, 23. 
 
 „ Framed Mirror, 52. 
 
 MIRROR: With Glass Borders, 51; with Carved Gilt Frame, 53, 54, 55; with 
 
 Marquetry Frame, 52. 
 READING STAND : Mahogany Tripod, 91. 
 SCREEN : Mahogany Tripod Pole, 73, 74. 
 
 SETTEE: Mahogany Chair-back, 60, 61, 81, 100; Mahogany upholstered, 101 ; 
 
 Walnut Chair-back, 46. 
 SETTLE : Oak, 8. 
 SIDEBOARD: Mahogany, no. 
 
 STAND : For Lacquer Cabinet, 48, 49 ; Gilt Gesso, 56. 
 
 STOOLS : Beech, painted, 25, 27 ; Mahogany, 79, 80, 114 (Irish) ; Walnut, 26, 28. 
 TABLE : Card, Lacquer, 30 ; Mahogany, 93, 112 (Irish) ; Walnut, 29, 45. 
 
 „ Centre, Mahogany, 94. 
 
 „ Coffee, Mahogany, 69, 70. 
 
 „ Console, Mahogany, 68. 
 
 „ Dining, Mahogany, 71, in. 
 
 „ Dressing, Mahogany, 92, 95, 96 ; Satinwood, 108 ; Walnut, 47. 
 „ Drawer-top, Oak, 4. 
 Long, Oak, 5. 
 
 „ Side, Carved and Gilt, 57 ; Deal, 58 ; Gilt, 104 ; Mahogany, 59, 67, 
 105, 113 (Irish) ; Oak, 9 ; Painted and Gilt, 109 ; Satinwood painted, 
 103 ; with Marble Top, 57, 58, 59, 104, 105. 
 „ Tripod, Mahogany, 75, 76, 77, 78, 115 (Irish). 
 TALLBOY : Mahogany, 88. 
 WRITING CABINET. See « Cabinet." 
 
 Xll 
 
OF 
 
 THE PRESENT STATE 
 OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 THE sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries saw English 
 domestic furniture attain its highest level of achievement and artistic 
 development. It is, therefore, of pieces made during these three 
 hundred years, from 1500 to 1800, that the collector should seek to acquire 
 genuine and " untouched " examples. Furniture of an earlier date than 
 1500 he is not likely to meet with, and by 1800 the standard of design had 
 begun to decline, although certain of the late eighteenth century designs 
 continued into the nineteenth century, and, along with English Empire 
 furniture, may be included as worthy of consideration. 
 
 Only within the last twenty-five to thirty years has the furniture of our 
 forefathers received the attention and appreciation due to its merits. Yet its 
 comparatively recent study has already produced an extensive literature, 
 chiefly in the form of historical and chronological surveys, reviews of the 
 progress of design, and theoretical treatises assigning certain styles or 
 examples to particular craftsmen or designers, whose names are better known 
 than their definite influence and activities. Details of the lives of the old 
 cabinetmakers and designers, which would have been helpful in determining 
 their individual merit and influence, are very scanty or entirely lacking ; 
 and, unfortunately, their contemporaries in literature are strangely silent 
 concerning them and their works. In the absence of definite data, therefore, 
 it is not surprising that modern writers are often ruled by personal pre- 
 dilection when discussing the old designers ; and, in consequence, some 
 craftsmen have been accorded a status and influence in regard to the furniture 
 a 1 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 of their time that, in the light of the latest researches, appears misplaced or 
 open to question. 
 
 In a guide to the collector, such as this book aspires to be, controversy 
 as to the exact influence of this or that designer or cabinetmaker is of 
 less moment, however, than the consideration of the old furniture as it 
 exists and appears to-day ; and in furtherance of this belief an attempt has 
 been made in the following pages to assist the collector in forming his 
 judgment on pieces he may come across, and to show him how, by training 
 his powers of observation and deduction, he should be able to discern 
 important qualities and features in order to arrive at a just assessment of 
 their artistic and material value. For, in the final test of purchasing, he 
 must depend, not on the printed page or on labels affixed by others, but on 
 his own critical faculties. 
 
 In a brief survey of the general characteristics of old English furniture 
 as it is to-day, it may be helpful to consider, first, what is implied by the 
 terms " genuine " and " untouched," advanced in the first paragraph as 
 qualifications of the pieces which the collector should seek to acquire. To 
 show the significance of these terms it is necessary to put forward three 
 governing factors, applicable to all old furniture, in the following order : 
 
 A. Colour and surface condition of the wood. 
 
 B. Design, proportion, and ornamentation. 
 
 C. Quality of workmanship. 
 
 COLOUR AND PATINA 
 
 The colour and surface condition of the wood are of supreme im- 
 portance, as they constitute one of the principal safeguards against the 
 imposition of spurious pieces, and it is essential, therefore, that the collector 
 should realise what they are and understand how they have been produced. 
 The rubbing and dusting of old bronzes over a long period of time 
 produces a beautiful surface effect called " patina " ; and old furniture, by 
 the same processes, acquires a surface condition that, to the connoisseur, 
 constitutes its greatest asset, and makes it worthy alike of his attention and 
 possession. The similarity of appearance between the " patina " on old 
 bronze and the rich metallic lustre on good specimens of old oak, walnut, 
 and mahogany furniture has led to the general adoption of the word 
 
 2 
 
COLOUR AND SURFACE CONDITION 
 
 " patina " as descriptive of surface condition on old furniture, and it is so 
 used throughout this book. 
 
 Good patina is no prerogative of what, originally, were the finest and 
 most expensive pieces : a simple piece of cottage furniture may be 
 equally endowed with a fine surface condition. But to-day so greatly does 
 the possession of good patina dominate the mind of the advanced collector, 
 that he may readily prefer a simple piece with a fine patina to an important 
 piece without it. The merits of old furniture are not confined to good 
 proportion, beauty of form and line, excellence of workmanship. Such 
 virtues a piece of new furniture could boast when it first left the 
 maker's hand ; and a skilful craftsman in these days could produce articles 
 possessing all these qualities. The distinguishing characteristic of fine old 
 pieces, as found to-day — the property which renders them more beautiful 
 and valuable than when originally made — is the patina that the processes 
 of time and human care can alone have given them. All pieces of antique 
 furniture in an original "untouched " condition, i.e. with a surface untreated 
 in any way save by the ordinary operations of household dusting and 
 polishing, will have a patina, the quality of which will depend on the 
 amount of the rubbing, polishing, dusting, and handling they have received 
 during their lifetime. It is through atmospheric influence and the effect 
 of domestic care and cleaning that the old pieces have changed their 
 appearance since they left the workshop, where their freshly-cut raw surfaces 
 had been treated with a simple dressing of either linseed oil or beeswax. 
 
 Exposure to the air gradually hardens the surface of the wood, and 
 also changes its colour, so that oak turns in time to a rich dark tone, 
 the yellow shades of walnut assume a more golden hue, and the red 
 tinge of mahogany is mellowed into tawny shades of brown. Dust and 
 dirt, escaping the duster and polishing-cloth on the more inaccessible 
 cornices and mouldings and in the backgrounds and interstices of carvings, 
 adhere to the polish and harden into the pores of the wood, so that they 
 cannot later be rubbed off ; and these dark parts contrast with the 
 projecting portions of carving and mouldings on which no dust or dirt 
 has been allowed to remain. 
 
 The continual polishing and the materials used for the polishing have 
 also had their share in this hardening effect. The old oak furniture was 
 treated simply with raw linseed oil, both when originally made and 
 afterwards in household cleaning. This treatment enriched the colour 
 of the wood and helped to form a hard surface. Old mahogany table 
 
 3 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 tops (which are not easily scratched to-day) were invariably finished 
 with a dressing of oil, and mahogany furniture in general was usually 
 slightly stained to enrich and equalise the colour, and then beeswaxed 1 or 
 oiled. 
 
 This modification of the original colour of the wood gives varied 
 gradations of tone which, with the patina, make a combination that defies 
 the best efforts of the imitator. He cannot obtain in a few weeks or months a 
 result which has taken one hundred and fifty to two hundred years of normal 
 existence to achieve. The colour and patina of genuine furniture, when 
 understood, constitute the collector's greatest protection against spurious 
 imitations. 
 
 The individual vicissitudes of old pieces necessarily differ so much that 
 the quality of colour and surface condition to-day vary very greatly, intro- 
 ducing a factor that may go far to make or mar material value. If, for 
 instance, on leaving the workshop, an old piece was put away and never used, 
 it would not possess the patina that has been described, although changes 
 would have occurred in one hundred to two hundred years by the ordinary 
 process of the wood maturing and changing its colour. On the other 
 hand, there is the piece that has continued in the possession of the same 
 family, receiving every possible protection and care. Between these two 
 extremes of neglect and attention it will be apparent that there are many 
 variations of treatment and influence to which old pieces have been sub- 
 jected during their long existence, and these have a profound effect on their 
 present condition and value. Unfortunately, all genuine old furniture has 
 not come down to us in an untouched condition. About the middle of the 
 nineteenth century a great quantity of furniture of the preceding centuries 
 was ruined by the French polisher at the instance of the owners, who pre- 
 ferred a highly polished surface to the mellow patina of the untouched piece. 
 Before the French polish could be applied it was necessary to clean off the 
 original surface by a solvent ; and the patina thus destroyed was replaced by 
 a cold, impenetrable, glassy surface, filling up and obscuring the grain and 
 figure of the wood and giving an even deadness of colour. 
 
 The French polishing referred to was done openly with the idea of 
 renovating the old furniture, and must not be confused with the more subtle 
 use of this polish in the modern method of imitating genuine patina, to 
 which reference will be made later. The effect of French polish is one that 
 
 1 The beeswax and turpentine, so largely used for polishing in the households of the eighteenth century, 
 came into general use when turpentine was imported from the East on a commercial scale. 
 
PATINA 
 
 neither age, atmosphere, nor rubbing will alter ; and pieces so treated are 
 not worthy of the collector's notice. To the raw surface of the wood on 
 which it must be applied, the French polish acts as a protective coat against 
 all influences of time and atmosphere, so that it has a definite and fixative 
 effect on the colour of the piece. If the French polish is removed, and the 
 raw surface of the wood thus exposed is rubbed and beeswaxed, in the course 
 of time it will gradually acquire a fresh patinated surface, similar to the 
 patina of old untouched pieces of to-day ; but this result will not be 
 obtained until many years have elapsed. 
 
 How French polish depreciates the value of old furniture may be 
 exemplified by an instance from a recent auction sale. A pair of mahogany 
 chests of drawers of identical design and workmanship were put up for sale. 
 One, however, of a dark nut-brown colour was in its original condition ; the 
 other, which had been French polished, was a light tawny yellow. But for 
 the polishing, they would to-day have been identical in appearance and 
 value. Yet, while the untouched chest fetched thirty guineas, the French 
 polished one was sold for fourteen guineas, or less than half. 
 
 This goes to prove how important the question of surface condition and 
 colour is to the collector, who buys not only from the point of view of taste, 
 but also from that of investment. Yet, despite its importance, it has received 
 very casual attention in the majority of books on old furniture. Even a piece 
 of bad proportion with coarse carving and poor workmanship may be saved 
 from inferiority by the possession of good patina and colour. Naturally the 
 fact of its design and poor workmanship will depreciate it, but the quality of 
 the patina would make the piece of more interest to the collector than if the 
 qualities were reversed, and while possessing good proportion, fine carving, 
 and excellent workmanship, the surface condition and colour were bad 
 through renovation at the hands of the French polisher. 1 In comparison 
 with workmanship, patina must be adjudged the more important factor. 2 
 
 1 Although foremost in the work of destruction, the French polisher was not the only destroyer of patina. 
 Pieces are found to-day heavily coated with thick mastic varnish, obscuring the grain and colour of the wood, 
 and forming a surface impossible to patinate, however much it is rubbed and polished. These pieces were 
 probably " renovated " before French polish was introduced. 
 
 2 As it is difficult, if not impossible, to convey in words the appearance of good patina or colour on any 
 particular wood, occasion has been taken, when dealing later with the various classes of furniture, to indicate 
 examples possessing good patina and colour in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, which the collector 
 may study, and so form mental impressions by which to compare other examples that come before him. 
 
 5 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 DESIGN AND ORNAMENTATION 
 
 The standard of design, proportion, and ornamentation in old English 
 furniture was generally high, sometimes mediocre, and very seldom bad. 
 These qualities together constitute an important factor from the collector's 
 point of view ; but he will find excellence in this respect less rare than the 
 possession of good patina, since that depends only on age and care, while 
 any merit under this heading has been possessed by a piece since it was first 
 made. 
 
 There are, of course, degrees in these qualities determined by the 
 original standard of a piece in cost and importance. The furniture of such 
 a designer as Robert Adam, made to his drawings by an expert cabinet- 
 maker like Chippendale, was produced for his very rich clients, and the 
 question of cost was not a primary consideration. The ornamentation was 
 lavish, and the highest quality workmanship, whether in carving, inlaying, 
 veneering, or decorative painting, was employed in its production. So the 
 collector will find that, in all periods, there were several grades of furniture. 
 The highest was intended for the nobility and wealthy classes, and made 
 often, to a special design, of the most costly material in use at the time, and 
 by the most skilled workmen. The other grades were produced in a 
 descending scale of value, as regards ornamentation and material, to suit the 
 incomes of various classes of customers. Although there are one or two 
 exceptions to this rule of original cost governing present value, the same 
 standard of value in regard to these pieces holds good to-day. 
 
 One turns on the question of dimensions. Small examples of old 
 furniture are always more highly prized and valued than large examples of 
 the same article. A small walnut bureau bookcase, for instance, measuring 
 2 ft. in width, is more valuable than one 3 ft. 6 in. in width. A sideboard 
 measuring 4 ft. is more valuable in comparison than one of 6 ft. The 
 houses of our forefathers had larger rooms generally than those of modern 
 houses, and the dimensions of furniture were therefore on a proportionate 
 scale. Small pieces of furniture of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries 
 were, therefore, an exception, and, in addition to their being more suitable 
 for the requirements of to-day, are appreciated for their rarity. This is not 
 to say that fine pieces of large dimensions are depreciated in value merely 
 on account of their size, but that pieces of smaller dimensions than the 
 general run fetch a higher proportionate price. The value of an old piece 
 
 6 
 
PROPORTION 
 
 depends, too, not only on excellence in design and workmanship, and on 
 the wood employed for its construction, but on the nature of the article. 
 Fashions in furniture have changed with the years, and articles that were 
 required and largely used by our forefathers are no longer in vogue. For 
 instance, the architect's table, of which numbers were made in the eighteenth 
 century, is of little domestic use to the collector ; and furniture made for 
 bedrooms is not so interesting to him as pieces suitable for display in re- 
 ception rooms. This question of use or disuse is an important factor in 
 the appreciation of the discerning collector, and often exercises an arbitrary 
 influence on the prices of to-day compared with those of the past. 
 
 Other points for the attention of the collector may be more briefly 
 noted. Not every individual is gifted with a sense of proportion ; only to 
 some is it given to be able to detect good and bad proportion at first sight. 
 The collector not so gifted should study all the good examples that he can, 
 and even make note of the dimensions of their respective parts, for he must 
 be able to discern any inconsistency or clumsiness in design and find a satis- 
 factory explanation of it before passing a favourable judgment. Apart from 
 any question of aesthetics, the detection of bad proportion in a piece may 
 lead to the discovery of a spurious reconstruction. 
 
 In assessing the value of a design, it may be taken as an axiom that the 
 main constructional lines should never be obscured or attenuated in effect by 
 carving or any other decoration ; and with fine old pieces of good design 
 it will invariably be found that the main constructional lines impress them- 
 selves on the eye before the decoration is noticed. 
 
 Much of the old furniture designers' success lay in the fact that they 
 set out first to design a piece of furniture to supply a human want, and then 
 considered how it might be improved and beautified by decoration. They 
 followed one of the most important tenets of the craft by decorating a con- 
 struction instead of constructing a decoration. Their embellishment of a 
 piece, whether by mouldings, flutings, or carving, was always subservient, 
 therefore, to the purpose and the construction of the article. In judging a 
 design, the collector will bear in mind that the decorative motifs employed 
 should first of all be in consonance with that of the style or period of which 
 the piece appears to be an example ; and, secondly, that the execution and 
 quality of the carving should be typical of the workmanship of the time ; 
 and, lastly, that the decoration should convey its due effect of enrichment. 
 Over-ornamentation, by not leaving sufficient plain surfaces to act as a foil, 
 defeats its object. 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 The collector should endeavour to obtain pieces which are not only 
 perfect as regards genuineness and surface condition, but which have also a 
 certain amount of character or individuality not found in ordinary specimens. 
 This question of character applies not only to the costly piece made for the 
 nobility, but also to the piece made originally for the farmhouse or cottage. 
 A piece possessing one or two features that are unusual is not only more 
 esteemed, but is of greater intrinsic value ; and it is the acquisition of such 
 pieces of unusual character that proclaims the collector of taste and discern- 
 ment. Individuality is a marked characteristic of old English furniture, 
 probably because many of the finest pieces were produced to special order ; 
 and, certainly, because articles were not turned out by scores to one pattern 
 as under modern commercial methods. And as there were no stereotyped 
 designs, examples even of the same period will exhibit considerable differ- 
 ences in their dimensions, form, treatment, and decoration. 
 
 WORKMANSHIP 
 
 Quality of workmanship in the consideration of old furniture embraces 
 the standard of cabinetwork shown in the construction of a piece, and the 
 quality of the carving or other ornamentation employed for its decoration. 
 In judging a piece in either respect, regard should be paid to the period in 
 which the piece was, or appears to have been, made. Methods of con- 
 struction during the three hundred years of production with which this 
 book deals were progressive in refinement ; and as both the cabinetwork 
 and the ornamentation were, to a large extent, particular and different in 
 the case of each wood, it has been found more convenient to deal with the 
 details affecting the quality of workmanship in the respective chapters 
 following, to which reference should be made. The collector should not, 
 however, lose sight of the general statement as to quality of workmanship 
 affecting present-day value, on which special emphasis has been laid in the 
 previous notes dealing with " design and ornamentation." 
 
 The questions of seasoning and shrinkage are of special importance in 
 their effect on furniture of all woods. The abnormal consumption of 
 timber at the present day permits of little time being given to the necessary 
 preparation of the wood, and various processes have been devised artificially 
 to shorten the operation. In the eighteenth century timber would not be 
 used until eight or ten years after the trees had been felled. The Dutch 
 
QUALITY OF WORKMANSHIP 
 
 laid their trees in water with their heads up for a period of two years until 
 all the sap had been driven out. Mahogany, which originally came to us 
 as ballast for ships in the West India trade, was felled in the backwoods 
 near the streams and rivers of Central America and rolled into the water to 
 drift down stream. Months often passed before it reached the coast, this 
 prolonged immersion forming a valuable part of the seasoning process. 
 
 The technical processes of seasoning will not, perhaps, be of special 
 interest to the collector ; but he should understand that wood is, in the 
 words of an expert, " always working," and is peculiarly liable to atmospheric 
 and temperature influence, even after being made up into furniture. A 
 plank, in the course of years, will shrink both in width and thickness, but 
 not in its length, which is the direction of its grain. Walnut shrinks most, 
 and oak probably next in order. This shrinkage has to be allowed for by 
 the cabinetmaker, and necessitates the adoption of particular methods of 
 construction. Drawer bottoms, for instance, were originally made larger 
 than would otherwise have been necessary, and when inserted were glued at 
 the front but not at the back, to allow for the contraction which would 
 naturally take place. Where shrinkage has not been allowed for, defects 
 may often be found in old pieces to-day. In the late eighteenth century, 
 when furniture was often designed by men who were not cabinetmakers, 
 shrinkage was not so fully considered. The ends of " Sheraton " type side- 
 boards are often found cracked, as also are the tops of fine satinwood pieces, 
 such as tables. In the walnut veneered bureaux, the fall flap was constructed 
 of a centre panel framed in on the two ends by cramp pieces with the grain 
 running in the opposite direction to that of the panel. An examination of 
 the side cramps will often show them to project up to T ] 6 in. beyond the edge 
 of the panel, the panel having shrunk across the grain, the side cramps 
 preserving their original length. Cracks will also show in the veneer over 
 the joints of the panels and cramps. The tops of oak refectory tables are 
 often found with a gap, sometimes £ in. wide, between the planks of which 
 they are made. This also is due to shrinkage across the grain. 
 
 Carving 1 can be done as well to-day as in the eighteenth century, but 
 the treatment is not so sure, since the modern carver follows no tradition. 
 The modern commercial factory method of confining a workman to one 
 
 1 For many details of construction and of the quality of carving as it affects furniture of the various woods, 
 reference should be made to the chapters dealing with them ; also, for points of constructional interest, which, 
 for reasons of space, cannot be duplicated in these general notes on workmanship, to the notes following on 
 spurious furniture. 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 branch of his work is a great hindrance to an all-round knowledge of carving. 
 One workman may devote his whole time to fruit, flowers, and birds, in the 
 naturalistic style of Grinling Gibbons, while another spends his days in 
 turning out carved mouldings. The same drawback applies also to the 
 cabinetwork, in spite of the better tools and woodwork machinery now 
 available. The old cabinetmaker, turning out a piece in its entirety, and 
 overcoming by his skill the deficiencies of his tools, perforce put more of his 
 own personality into his piece, and personality is the great factor in success, 
 whether displayed in the man or his work. 
 
 Compared with old furniture, the modern often loses by its unerring 
 accuracy. The Greeks counteracted a defect to the human eye by slightly 
 curving the lines of the Parthenon that were to appear straight ; and 
 machine-cut moulding, for analogous reasons, may lose its effect compared 
 with that cut by the plane of the eighteenth century workman. The expert 
 woodcutter can detect machine-cut moulding by the marks left on it, which 
 are troublesome to eradicate. A conscientious cabinetmaker would first wet 
 the machine-cut moulding, then glass-paper it and repeat the process ; but 
 commercial costings seldom permit so much time to be spent over the work. 
 
 It has already been remarked that the old cabinetmakers worked with 
 tools that were markedly inferior to those of the present day, both as 
 regards number and quality. Veneers that were cut with the saw to a 
 thickness of ^ in. can now be cut speedily with a knife to ^ in. The old 
 lathe was primitive in its conception beside the modern appliance, and its 
 tendency to an elliptical plunge in turning had fo be counteracted by the 
 skill of the workmen. Mouldings were wrought by hand instead of by 
 machine, and the carver's chisels were fewer in number and less well 
 tempered than they are to-day. The wonderful results achieved by the 
 eighteenth century cabinetmaker therefore are an unfailing tribute to his 
 skill. 1 
 
 CHRONOLOGICAL DATA 
 
 To the enthusiastic collector every item of information concerning his 
 hobby will be of interest, but the dates when particular craftsmen lived and 
 
 1 The craft of the cabinetmaker was not generally recognised until after the middle of the eighteenth 
 century, prior to which there had been much rivalry between the joiners and the cabinetmakers as to their 
 respective merits in the production of furniture. Even as late as 1740, Batty Langley's books contain diatribes 
 against the cabinetmakers of the day for the inferiority of their work ; and many of the furniture makers were 
 described as joiners or " upholders " in the London Directory and other books of reference. 
 
 IO 
 
CHRONOLOGICAL DATA OF IMPORTANCE 
 
 flourished, or produced catalogues of designs, may be of less concern than an 
 indication of the period in which certain woods were in vogue for the best 
 and most expensive furniture, or the approximate dates at which various 
 articles were first made or came into fashion, or certain motifs of design 
 came into and went out of use. There are certain dates in the histories of 
 Fine and Applied Arts which cannot be lightly disregarded ; and in the 
 study of old furniture the memorising of certain chronological facts may 
 save the collector from a mistake, or may be of material assistance in judging 
 the genuineness of the pieces which he finds. For the assistance of the 
 collector, therefore, a table has been compiled of dates of the more im- 
 portant events and developments in the history and design of old English 
 furniture, and this will be found at the end of the volume. 
 
 The old craftsmen were conservative people, and slow to initiate 
 startling innovations, confining their efforts more to developments in the 
 design of the existing article. New articles appeared mostly in fulfilment 
 of a definite order from some rich or aristocratic patron ; and until the 
 other well-to-do members of contemporary society demanded similar articles 
 in sufficient numbers, such pieces would hardly be produced to form part 
 of the ordinary stock-in-trade. This will explain in some measure why 
 certain types of articles are to-day very rare and difficult to acquire. 
 
 The insistent demand by collectors for articles in a wood or style 
 of a period prior to the date when they were first introduced is a direct 
 provocation to the production of spurious examples which may result 
 eventually in their own undoing. The moral follows, that a collector 
 should never seek to acquire articles of a date prior to that at which they 
 came into vogue ; and that close scrutiny not unmixed with suspicion should 
 be exercised upon such pieces if in style or material they appear to be of an 
 earlier period. 
 
 So far as significance is attached to the word " period " in this book, it 
 indicates the years in which any particular wood was used for the best pieces 
 of furniture. From Tudor to late Stuart days oak enjoyed this distinction. 
 In the reign of William and Mary it gave place to walnut, which in the 
 time of George i. was displaced by mahogany. But the introduction of a 
 new wood did not immediately close down the production of furniture in 
 the material it superseded or in other cheaper woods. The use of oak for 
 furniture has continued from mediasval times to the present day, when, in 
 point of fact, it is more largely used than ever. 
 
 1 1 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 PRESENT CONDITION 
 
 The condition of old furniture as it is found to-day demands the con- 
 sideration of the collector, because it may determine the desirability of pur- 
 chasing. In the course of two hundred years or more, furniture has, naturally, 
 suffered from wear and bad usage ; and the collector will find pieces in all 
 states of repair or disrepair, so that it will be necessary for him to judge 
 whether a piece is not too far gone to purchase. It should be a cardinal 
 rule to purchase only pieces which are in an untouched condition. But the 
 collector should also make a point of not adding to his collection any piece 
 of which there is an important member missing, such as the leg or flap of a 
 table and leg or arm of a chair, even though there is a reduction in the 
 price. It is better to pay a higher price to secure a complete article. 
 Missing members can be replaced, but if the remainder of the piece has a 
 good colour and patina, it will be impossible to bring the restored parts up 
 to the level of the old. Missing mouldings or pieces of veneer, if small, can 
 often be replaced by a careful repairer so that they are hardly noticeable. 
 The collector will generally find that the pieces of old furniture he comes 
 across have been repaired or restored before he sees them. He has not, 
 therefore, the satisfaction of knowing exactly what is original and what is 
 new, and must rely on his knowledge and judgment to avoid buying a piece 
 with a new leg or a new arm. By training his powers of observation, he 
 will be able to detect any serious restoration carried out on a piece offered 
 to him, and, by studying surface condition, patina, and workmanship 
 minutely, be able to tell exactly what repairs have been effected since a piece 
 was made, and also to detect any restorations which are not in keeping and 
 harmony, or of the same period as the original parts. 
 
 Note. — To preserve and improve the patina on old pieces of furniture, there is no better polish than the 
 old-fashioned beeswax and turpentine. The various special preparations sold to-day for furniture polishing 
 contain chemicals that, if not actively injurious to the old patina, in no way assist it like the beeswax polish, 
 for the latter, though slower in process, is more lasting in its effects. 
 
 12 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 SPURIOUS FURNITURE : THE IMITATION OF OLD 
 PIECES WITH INTENT TO DECEIVE 
 
 I 
 
 APART from any question of sentiment, the collector should recognise 
 that in buying a spurious piece he is simply paying for the cost of 
 labour and material at present prices, with a large profit added on ; 
 and that for his money he obtains an article that will not be so well made 
 and will not possess the quality of workmanship, patina, or beauty of line of 
 the genuine piece. In short, he acquires a purely commercial article which 
 is neither a work of art nor a rarity. 
 
 To reproduce old specimens of furniture for frank sale as reproductions 
 is a legitimate commercial enterprise, and no concern of a work which is 
 devoted solely to the consideration of genuine old examples. But the 
 imitation of old pieces with intent to deceive is a matter that obviously 
 demands the collector's attention, and is accordingly dealt with at some 
 length throughout these pages. The reproducer naturally devotes his 
 attention to those specimens or particular types which are rare, costly, and 
 in great demand, as the value of these alone affords sufficient financial 
 margin to repay with profit the trouble and expense to which he is put. 
 The ways in which the imitation of an old piece may be attempted are dealt 
 with more particularly in the consideration of the articles themselves ; but, 
 in general, spurious pieces made to deceive may take any of the following 
 forms : 
 
 A. Imitations of entirely new construction. 
 
 B. Imitations made up partly of genuine old pieces with additions 
 
 or restorations carried out in new or old material, usually 
 the latter. 
 
 C. The carving of plain but genuine old pieces to increase their 
 
 value. 
 
 13 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 D. The transformation of genuine old pieces or parts of such pieces 
 into articles of much higher value by amalgamation with 
 other genuine old articles or parts of them. 
 
 II 
 
 It has already been stated that genuine patina cannot be reproduced by 
 artificial processes, and that it constitutes the principal safeguard against the 
 imposition of spurious pieces. In devising spurious pieces the efforts of the 
 imitator are mainly directed to obviating or minimising, as far as possible, 
 the difficulties of patinating surfaces. For this reason the capable man, 
 aiming at deception, would not work in any but old material. Then, how- 
 ever, he is faced with the difficulty of concealing all evidence of its previous 
 use. Old oak floor boards used for the top of a spurious refectory table will 
 have the original nail-holes at regular intervals, and these have to be filled 
 up and disguised. A mahogany bookcase, recently examined, had unusual 
 scratches and some ink-stains on the sides which showed that the wood had 
 once formed part of a Victorian table top. Unexplainable nail-holes or 
 joinings in carcase work will generally disclose prior use for another purpose. 
 It can be seen, therefore, that while the use of old material, where not cut, 
 may obviate some of the difficulties of patinated and unpatinated surfaces, it 
 will not avoid all of them. 
 
 Old oak beams and planks have the right colour and surface condition 
 for unexposed surfaces, such as the undersides of table tops, underframing 
 and stretchers, or for the insides of cupboards. But the exposed sur- 
 faces and any cut edges or new carving will require a patinated surface. 
 Similarly, an old mahogany table top may be cut up to form the sides of a 
 bookcase, which will have the genuine patina of the old top ; but here again 
 the cut edges and any new carving will require treatment. For faked 
 veneered pieces new veneer must be used, since the transfer of veneer from 
 an old carcase to a new one would involve damaging or destroying its 
 patina. It might be possible to remove veneer from, say, an old walnut 
 chest of drawers and utilise it for a smaller piece ; but it is very seldom 
 attempted. Spurious pieces usually have new veneer. Old oak, deal, or 
 pine would, however, be used for the new carcase and for any drawers it 
 possessed. 
 
 There are various ways, more or less effective, of imitating the right 
 
 14 
 
SPURIOUS FURNITURE 
 
 colour of old furniture in the various woods, and probably every producer of 
 spurious pieces has his particular recipe. The best colour on oak is obtained 
 by the use of lime, although potash salts are sometimes employed to get a 
 dark colour. Steeping the wood in a solution of washing soda, Brussels 
 earth, bichromate of potash, and ammonia, is another method, but in the 
 course of a few months this occasions a bloom or mould on the surface, due 
 to the soda working out. Mahogany may be merely stained, and walnut 
 treated with lime like the oak ; but walnut, mahogany, and satinwood are 
 generally coloured by the use of nitric acid, which is stopped and removed 
 by subsequent washing with a solution of washing soda. An improved 
 method of using the acid involves first boiling it, and during this operation 
 a small quantity of a secret ingredient is introduced. Ammonia is good for 
 colouring veneers when used in a fume cupboard, as it will then colour them 
 right through. It will stain oak and mahogany, but not walnut. 
 
 The requisite colour having been obtained, the next step is to imitate 
 the genuine patina on exposed surfaces, particularly on the newly-cut 
 raw surfaces which have an open grain. To fill up the grain and obtain 
 the hard bronze-like appearance of patina, French polish is employed. The 
 method followed is not the ordinary commercial method of rilling up the 
 grain with plaster of Paris and then applying the polish — which would give 
 the piece a bleached appearance ; nor is it a straightforward polishing by 
 which a high gloss is left, as such a piece would be disdained by the 
 advanced collector. The parts to be patinated are coated with French 
 polish in which dirt or colouring matter is mixed, so as to produce the 
 light and shade effects already described in Chapter I. Better results are 
 obtained by treating the surface with linseed oil before applying the 
 French polish, the oil being left on for a day and the surface afterwards 
 thoroughly rubbed down to remove every trace of it ; but the imitator 
 seldom goes to the trouble of this preliminary oiling. After the application 
 of the French polish the whole is " brushed down " with pumice-stone and 
 oil to remove the high gloss and to dull the appearance. The surface is 
 then beeswaxed, and dirt is introduced into the wax to simulate the natural 
 dark tone in the interstices of the carving of a genuine piece caused by the 
 gradual accumulation of dust. Mouldings are treated in the same way. 
 The wax is then left to harden. This stained or dirtied wax can be scratched 
 or removed with the finger nail, or even rubbed off, and its presence is a sure 
 sign of a faked surface. The interiors of drawers and cabinets are stained 
 and dirtied to give them an appearance of age. Being unpatinated they are 
 
 l 5 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 more difficult to imitate than the exposed surfaces. Old drawer sides and 
 bottoms, obtained from pieces in too dilapidated a state to repair, will some- 
 times be used for making drawers of a spurious piece, so careful examination 
 should be made to discover any newly cut edges (which will be disguised 
 by rubbing down and staining). The runners of the drawers should also be 
 examined for signs of wear, as it is very difficult to reproduce this. The 
 imitator errs in simulating age in these unexposed parts by signs of dirt 
 and not by signs of wear. 
 
 It is surprising how clean and fresh-looking are the interiors of the 
 drawers and cabinets of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This 
 appearance the imitator fails to reproduce. Sometimes the difficulty of giving 
 the appearance of age to the interiors of cabinets is overcome by painting 
 them in oil-colour, generally green or brown. Drawers are sometimes 
 pasted over with old newspapers or with a blue paper, it having been a 
 fashion of the time to line drawers in this way ; yet another practice is to 
 spill ink inside the drawers, especially those of a bureau. 
 
 Ill 
 
 The troubles over patina are greatly reduced in another kind of spurious 
 article, produced by "carving-up" genuine old pieces to increase their value, 
 a finely carved piece being naturally of greater value than a plain one. This 
 carving is largely adopted for oak and mahogany furniture. In this direc- 
 tion the imitator has, unfortunately, a large field for his energies ; the fact 
 that he has an old surface to work upon obviates the use of new material, 
 and some very elaborate deceptions are the result of his handiwork. It 
 should be borne in mind, however, that the newly carved surface will have 
 an open grain, which must be filled up with wax and dirt, and the surface 
 doctored with colouring matter, to get the new portions the same colour as 
 the old. Careful examination in a strong light of a piece thus tampered with will 
 show up the variations in the colour of the new and old parts, owing to the inability 
 of the imitator to disguise his work completely. 
 
 The close inspection of carving should be directed also not only to 
 determine the quality of the workmanship, but to see whether it is in keeping 
 with the design of the piece and with the period of which it is supposed to be 
 an example. And in regard to all carved work very careful attention should 
 be paid to the wear of the carving. The imitator, in the effort to simulate 
 
 16 
 
SPURIOUS FURNITURE 
 
 age, gives his carving a worn or rounded effect all over ; but in genuine 
 work it will be found that while some of the more prominent parts of the 
 carving through long handling have become blunted, other and less promi- 
 nent parts are as crisp and sharp as when originally executed. This unequal 
 wear of the carving is very noticeable when compared with the level, 
 worn appearance of the imitation. To give an appearance of age to his 
 carving, the imitator usually brushes down oak carving with a hard metal 
 brush and mahogany carving with a soft wire brush. Glass-paper is also 
 freely used, although genuine old carving was never treated in this way. 
 He cannot spare time, however, to consider carefully what parts of the 
 carving would naturally be worn in the course of time and what parts 
 would preserve their pristine sharpness, and to treat each accordingly. 
 
 IV 
 
 Unless he produces an exact replica of an old piece, the maker of 
 spurious furniture invariably commits some solecism in the proportion or 
 design of his wares. He is torn between the desire to turn out a passable 
 sham antique and the desire to increase its selling possibilities by making 
 it of small dimensions to suit the rooms of to-day, or else a little unusual 
 or unique ; so that it appears of greater value than the general run of such 
 articles. 
 
 Not only will he err in his over-all dimensions, but in the size of the 
 doors, the spacing of the legs, the proportion of a top to its stand and of 
 width to height, he will usually blunder badly. He will also jumble up his 
 styles of decoration and use late eighteenth century decoration on a mid- 
 eighteenth century piece. It is only by careful study of genuine pieces that 
 the collector will become familiar with the general proportions peculiar 
 to each period ; and will then be quick to note any piece that is not in 
 harmony with his impressions of furniture design in the respective woods. 
 
 The popular belief that worm-holes are introduced into faked furniture 
 by firing small shot at it, is one that dies hard. Certainly it may have 
 been done in the past, but it is a method that is seldom if ever resorted to at the 
 present day. The advanced collector would prefer genuine furniture without 
 this sign of supposed age, for he realises that a piece affected by the worm is 
 being slowly depreciated both in strength and value ; and also that eradicat- 
 ing the worm is extremely difficult and involves such radical measures of 
 b 17 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 treatment as will probably destroy the patina, thus depreciating the value of 
 the piece. The imitator is hardly likely, therefore, to simulate a condition that 
 may diminish the value of his wares. But in touching on the question of 
 worm-holes, it may be mentioned that the imitator in turning a bulbous leg, say, 
 out of an old oak beam, has been known to cut through a worm burrow, not 
 sectionally but longitudinally, and this long tunnel of the worm appearing on 
 the surface has to be filled up with wax for its concealment. Sooner or later the 
 filling sinks in or falls out, this minute defect serving to disclose the whole 
 deception ; as, naturally, worm-holes on genuine pieces would only show 
 the round orifice on the surface and not the long burrowing into the interior. 
 This applies to oak, walnut, and also to old deal, when the latter is used for 
 carcase work. The collector should always be wary of any piece that shows 
 a worm-hole longitudinally on its surface, or on the carcase work inside. 
 
 The faking of metal work is a comparatively simple matter. Iron lock 
 plates, straps, hinges, etc., for oak pieces will quickly become rusted and pitted, 
 if buried in common salt. Brass mounts can acquire an antique appearance 
 in a single night if shut up in a box of mahogany shavings saturated with 
 sal ammoniac. They come out green, but are of an antique colour when 
 rubbed up. New handles and other mounts can sometimes be detected by 
 the screws used to secure them. Old screws were cut by hand with the file, 
 and show an uneven spiral very different from the regular angular thread 
 cut by a modern machine. It is inevitable, however, that many genuine 
 old pieces will have lost some of their mounts ; and the restoration of these, 
 if well made and of pattern for the piece, will not depreciate its value. 
 
 Apart from a critical examination to detect fakes, details of which are set 
 out in regard to various articles in succeeding chapters, there is one test that can 
 be immediately applied. Genuine patina is always warm to the touch ; while faked 
 patina is invariably cold to the hand. This coldness is attributable to the French 
 polish used. Wood is naturally warm to the touch, but any glaze, such as 
 French polish, applied to it has the same effect as that of glass, and strikes 
 cold in comparison. The same difference in warmth may be experienced be- 
 tween carved wood and composition ornament applied to the surface of wood. 
 
 Resilience in a piece is another simple test. A genuine old piece will 
 invariably give a little under stress. A chair when sat in or a table when 
 pressed down will give a little or rock slightly and then gather itself together, 
 as it were, and firmly resist further pressure. This is due to slight shrinkage 
 at the joints. During a long existence the mortice and tenon or dovetail 
 joints shrink and become slightly loose, so that a sudden stress will cause 
 
 18 
 
SPURIOUS FURNITURE 
 
 them to give a little and produce a sensation of springiness ; but a newly 
 constructed piece if picked up, pressed down, or dragged across the floor will 
 always be hard, rigid, and unyielding, since the joints are still fresh and have 
 not shrunk. 1 This is an example where the question of the shrinkage of 
 wood helps the collector to detect a spurious piece. 
 
 In succeeding chapters will be found particulars of other tests based on 
 shrinkage, which may be applied for the discovery of spurious furniture. 
 Signs of shrinkage in an old piece are a further proof of its genuineness, 
 such as the cracking of the veneer in panels of wardrobes, bookcases, etc., 
 particularly in walnut and late eighteenth century furniture, caused by the 
 shrinkage of the carcase on which it is glued. In some faked furniture, 
 however, this effect of shrinkage does not appear, either because old wood, 
 which has already shrunk, is employed ; or because, the piece being new, 
 defects due to shrinkage have not had time to develop. 
 
 Another rough test turns on weight, but is not so certain. Old pieces 
 are invariably much heavier than modern pieces of similar size and design ; 
 and old pieces of satinwood, especially if solid, like chairs, are often 
 surprisingly heavy when picked up. 
 
 In examining furniture nothing helps the collector more than the strong 
 light of day. In artificial light it is very difficult to perceive gradations of 
 colour which in daylight can be observed with ease. The difference in the 
 colours of the wood of old and new parts, and the differences in their surface 
 condition are more easily discerned in full daylight, and the efforts of the 
 copyist to mask restored parts by staining the wood will then become 
 apparent. 
 
 1 Occasionally, of course, an old piece in a rickety condition may have been taken to pieces and glued 
 up afresh. But this would be an exceptional case, and the test is a good one for furniture of all woods, except 
 large pieces, such as bookcases, to which it cannot well be applied. 
 
 10 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 FURNITURE OF THE OAK PERIOD 
 
 i 500-1700 
 
 HISTORICAL SURVEY: (*) GOTHIC 
 
 FROM a study of illustrations of French and Italian contemporary 
 interiors, and of the finely made and carved pieces of furniture of other 
 nations which have survived from the same period, it is clear that English 
 domestic equipment of the fifteenth century lagged far behind that of the 
 Continent. Authorities on English mediaeval life agree that only in the 
 Royal palaces, the castles of the nobility, and the monastic houses was 
 furniture of any pretensions to be found, and this was of a crude character, 
 made by carpenters, and sufficing only for the simplest needs. Purely 
 Gothic in design and inspiration, this pre-Renaissance oak furniture com- 
 prised chests, coffers, hutches or movable cupboards, the early and simple 
 form of buffet, tables of the trestle type, beds, benches, and stools. 
 
 Even chairs were rare, and regarded more as an attribute of high estate 
 than as ordinary articles of domestic use ; and not more than one or two, for 
 the use of the lord and his lady, would be found in a great household. The 
 low standard of domestic comfort was a reflex of the hard life and coarse 
 manners of the day ; and latent hostilities, and the waters of the English 
 Channel, barred any ameliorating influence which could have resulted from 
 closer intercourse with the more refined and civilised standards of the 
 Continental peoples. 
 
 This Gothic oak furniture can only possess an historical interest for the 
 collector, since examples of it are, to-day, practically unprocurable. The 
 few existing pieces to be found in museums and private collections are seen 
 in two different conditions, one showing the wood in a natural dry and un- 
 polished state, and the other having a polished and patinated surface. 
 It is probable that all this early oak, following the usual treatment of wood- 
 work of the time, was originally decorated in bright colour, and this 
 
 20 
 
RENAISSANCE OAK FURNITURE 
 
 supposition is borne out by some of the existing pieces still having traces of 
 colour discernible on them. But the colour, having been applied mostly in 
 the form of tempera, has perished or worn away, leaving the wood in the 
 dry unpolished state in which it is now seen. Those pieces with a patinated 
 surface probably acquired it after the colour had disappeared. 
 
 (b) RENAISSANCE 
 
 When the Turks captured Constantinople in 1453, tne Greeks, with 
 their classical learning and traditions, fled to Italy, where the highly 
 trained craftsmen, ripe for fresh inspiration, quickly adopted the ideas of the 
 refugees. From Italy the classical influence spread rapidly to Burgundy, 
 Spain, and France, for the fugitive Greek workmen and their apt pupils 
 sought work where they could, and thus spread the new movement. 
 During twenty-four years' exile in France, Henry vn. of England had ample 
 opportunity to become conversant with the " new learning " and the greater 
 domestic comfort and refinement of that country ; and, on his accession to 
 the throne, he brought over Italian and Burgundian workmen to build his 
 palaces at Sheen and Molesey. Sheen is said to have been built in 
 " Burgundian style," but nothing now remains of either dwelling. It is 
 probable that much of the furniture used for them was, like their style, 
 imported from abroad. The influx of foreign workmen and motifs of 
 design had a material effect on native taste, just as the classical study under- 
 lying the Renaissance affected learning everywhere. But the new influence 
 permeated English design very slowly, probably because most of the 
 skilled workmen were enrolled in the Ecclesiastical Building Guilds of the 
 monastic houses and were steeped in the Gothic tradition. It was not until 
 the following reign that the renaissance in classical design began to move 
 perceptibly. 
 
 The vanity of Henry vm. led him into a competition of extravagance 
 and splendour of state with his near neighbour, Francois 1. of France ; and, 
 like his father, by liberal offers of pay, he attracted foreign workmen to this 
 country for the further embellishment of his palaces and the building of the 
 new one of Nonesuch. The Royal example in house building and domestic 
 luxury excited a spirit of emulation among the great nobles, who com- 
 menced building and furnishing new dwellings on a lavish scale, employing 
 the designers and craftsmen who had been working for the king. 
 
 21 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 COLOUR AND PATINA 
 
 The value of genuine old oak furniture depends largely on its patina, 
 colour, and carving. The patina should be hard and lustrous ; the colour 
 should be a dark rich brown, turning to a tone nearly black in the crevices of 
 the mouldings and the background of the carving, by reason of the harden- 
 ing of the dust and oil in these parts. This effect of the darker parts acting 
 as a setting to the lighter portions is a prominent feature of a piece with a good 
 patina. As mentioned in Chapter I, the dark colour and hard surface of oak 
 are mainly due to the use (prior to the introduction of the beeswax polish) 
 of raw linseed oil, both for the first dressing and subsequent household 
 polishing. 
 
 Many pieces of oak of the Elizabethan and seventeenth century periods 
 are found to-day with their surfaces coated with a thin transparent varnish. 
 It is rather a moot point whether the varnish was applied long after the 
 piece was made or whether it was done by the maker after the surface had 
 first received a dressing of oil. The former seems more probable, as these 
 varnished pieces appear to have a certain accumulation of dirt, formed by 
 age, under the varnish, thus showing that it could not have been applied 
 when the piece was new. The effect of this varnish is not detrimental to 
 the patina ; if anything, it has helped to enrich it, and therefore it must not 
 be confused with the thick, treacly variety mentioned in Chapter I. 1 
 
 DESIGN AND ORNAMENTATION 
 
 English oak furniture separates itself rather naturally into two phases. 
 The earlier, or Tudor phase, often exhibiting lingering traces of the Gothic 
 tradition (as in the linen-fold panel, which persisted up to about 1560), 
 shows a progressive advance in quality and achievement from the time of 
 Henry vm. until it reached its greatest development in the later period of 
 Elizabeth's reign. 2 The second phase (seventeenth century oak furniture) 
 
 1 As an example of good colour and patina in oak, the court cupboard W 32, 191 3, in the Victoria 
 and Albert Museum, South Kensington, may be studied. 
 
 2 The Elizabethan furniture makers, hampered by lack of tradition and experience in dealing with Renais- 
 sance forms of decoration, turned for inspiration to the Low Countries, where the Flemish Renaissance had 
 then reached its fullest development. One of the most famous Flemish designers, Hans Vredemann de Vries, 
 published in 1 580 a collection of his designs of furniture, gardens, fountains, armour, gold and silver work, etc. A 
 
 22 
 
WORKMANSHIP 
 
 shows an equally progressive decadence from the reign of James i. to that 
 of William and Mary, when walnut came into general vogue and oak 
 furniture ceased to be made except in the country districts and for the 
 cheaper markets. 
 
 The decoration of oak furniture by carving is of three varieties. 
 Carving in relief is the most valuable form, of which the frieze and small 
 cupboard doors on the court cupboard, Fig. 10, are good examples. 
 Arabesque carving, as seen on the frieze of the refectory table, Fig. 5, 
 is also frequently met with. In this style of carving, the design is cut 
 in square with a flat background — the effect being that of an applied fret — 
 and to enrich its appearance the background is matted. The third variety 
 consists of incised or shallow gouged lines, usually in a geometrical pattern ; 
 and where this constitutes the only decoration, it was probably done by 
 the joiner who made the piece and not by a carver. Carving on a genuine 
 old piece that is shallow and crudely done is not a sign that it is an early 
 example, but rather that it is a poor one of country make. 
 
 Inlaid marquetry was also a favourite method for the decoration of 
 panels, friezes, etc. ; in Elizabethan and early seventeenth century oak 
 furniture, holly, sycamore, and box-wood were the woods generally employed 
 for this purpose. This inlay was deeply cut and coarse in its execution, 
 architectural, floral, arabesque, and geometrical designs being those most used. 
 
 Pieces of oak furniture are sometimes found inscribed with a date, thus 
 showing the year they were made. This feature naturally adds a considerable 
 amount of interest and value to a piece and is peculiar to oak furniture of the 
 seventeenth century. 
 
 WORKMANSHIP 
 
 Although some sort of glue must have been used for inlaid marquetry 
 and for the application of applied mouldings, bosses, pendants, and split 
 balusters, the construction of oak furniture was mainly dependent on tenon, 
 mortise, and pegging without the use of glue. Mortises were cut in the 
 uprights or stiles, the ends of the horizontal members or rails were tenoned 
 into them, and oak pegs were driven from the outside through both. If the 
 
 comparison of the English furniture of this period with that of the Low Countries will clearly show that the 
 English craftsmen freely copied and adapted these designs. And this similarity, which is more in ornamenta- 
 tion than in general form, also resulted from the considerable importation of Flemish furniture into this country 
 at the same period. 
 
 2 3 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 holes bored through the tenon were a shade out of line with those of the 
 mortise, it had the object and effect, when the pegs were driven home, of 
 drawing or forcing the tenon more tightly into the mortise. The spaces 
 between the stiles and rails were filled with panels on accepted building lines, 
 and probably with the knowledge that this method provided most suitably 
 for the inevitable shrinkage in the wood. 
 
 Drawers in furniture of the Oak period from late Tudor times to the 
 middle of the seventeenth century, and considerably later than this in pieces 
 of country make, differed from the later drawers in the fact that they worked 
 on runners, fixed to the carcase, and sliding in grooves cut in the drawer sides. 
 These early drawers were made without dovetailing, being lipped and nailed 
 together. The nails used were of drawn iron, cut and pointed by the smith, 
 and entirely different from the cut nail or brad in modern use. 
 
 SPURIOUS OAK FURNITURE 
 
 The collector will have to deal with a large number of spurious pieces 
 that have been, and are still being, made from beams, floor boards, etc., origin- 
 ally belonging to old houses and ships. The antique appearance of these 
 modern pieces is obtained in various ways, as briefly described in Chapter II. 
 The reproduction of a patinated surface, however it is done, usually results in 
 a dull and lifeless appearance, the colour being a yellowish brown, and in 
 some cases a tinge of green being noticeable. The collector must learn to 
 distinguish the cold, soft, waxy feeling of the spurious piece from the hard 
 metallic surface and rich lustre of the genuine example. Although these 
 spurious articles have at first a more or less passable imitation of the 
 genuine patina, the effect is only transitory, as stain, French polish, and 
 wax which are thickly coated on to the wood will, in the course of seven 
 or eight years, sink in and perish, leaving the piece dry and bare-looking 
 without a trace of the antique appearance originally obtained. Rubbing 
 and beeswaxing will not have any effect on this false patina or prevent its 
 premature decay. 
 
 Spurious pieces of oak furniture are generally imitations of Gothic and 
 Tudor articles, as these, being the most costly and rare, will be the less 
 difficult to sell. The notes given above refer only to spurious pieces with 
 a patinated surface. In the brief survey of Gothic furniture at the beginning 
 of this chapter it was mentioned that these very early pieces were generally 
 
 24 
 
SPURIOUS OAK FURNITURE 
 
 found to-day with the wood in a dry and unpolished state. Of this fact the 
 imitator is well aware, and Belgium is mainly responsible for the importation 
 in a raw state of many copies in old oak of rare pieces, such as chests, stools, 
 chairs, and tables elaborately carved with Gothic ornament. The treatment 
 of these pieces with lime to obtain the grey colour of old unpolished oak. is 
 done after its arrival in this country. Careful examination of these pieces 
 should reveal to the collector their spurious nature. The mere fact of 
 their being Gothic pieces, genuine examples of which, as previously stated, 
 are practically unprocurable, should arouse strong suspicion at once. These 
 pieces, being of foreign manufacture, are ornamented with carved decoration 
 of a much more elaborate and flamboyant character than is found on the 
 English furniture of the Gothic period. 
 
 The wide difference in value between carved and uncarved pieces 
 naturally brings oak into the category of furniture of which the imitator seeks 
 to enhance the value by " carving-up," and the collector must accordingly be 
 on his guard against articles so treated. Arabesque carving is generally 
 resorted to for this type of deception, as it has the important advantage that 
 the face of the new ornament is left with the original surface ; only the sides 
 of the design and the background will be freshly cut. The newly cut surfaces 
 will then be stained and dirtied so as to give them every appearance of age. 
 
 The articles of which spurious examples are most frequently made, and 
 details of the methods adopted for making them, are described in the following 
 notes. 
 
 Hutches and Dole Cupboards. — The Gothic hutch or dole cupboard 
 with pierced ornaments on the front and door was crudely constructed of 
 planks mortised and nailed together. The timber forming the sides of these 
 pieces is roughly hewn, and the thickness of the wood may differ by an inch 
 between the top and the bottom. No great care or skill is apparent in the 
 workmanship, and it is evident that these pieces, contrasted with the work of 
 the eighteenth century, were but the first feeble efforts in the great tradition 
 of English cabinetwork. 
 
 The dole cupboard with ornaments of pierced Gothic design when found 
 to-day is usually spurious. The rarity of the genuine piece is an irresistible 
 temptation to the imitator, who finds a means to his end in the plain oak 
 cupboard of the seventeenth century, which, being very similar in form to 
 
 2 5 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 the dole cupboard, is easy to adapt to a semblance of its more valuable 
 prototype by piercing its front with Gothic ornamentation. 
 
 Court Cupboards. — One of the most important and handsome articles 
 of the Oak. period is the court cupboard. The earliest known examples of 
 this piece of furniture date from about the end of the first quarter of the 
 sixteenth century. These early specimens, of which only a few are in exist- 
 ence, show lingering traces of Gothic design in their decoration, such as the 
 linen-fold pattern. 
 
 The court cupboard dating from the Elizabethan period is similar in 
 shape and form to the example illustrated (Fig. 10), which dates from the 
 second half of the seventeenth century. In earlier examples the cornices 
 rest on carved bulbous supports standing on the platform formed by the top 
 of the lower portion ; in the seventeenth century these supports lost their 
 bulbous form and were replaced by plain turned ones of a vase or baluster 
 shape ; and still later in the seventeenth century these supports were omitted 
 altogether and their place was taken by turned pendants similar to the two 
 examples shown, Figs. 10 and 12. 
 
 The earlier examples of the court cupboard with carved bulbous 
 supports are naturally the rarest and most desirable. The presence of inlaid 
 marquetry of a floral design, such as is sometimes found on the cupboard 
 doors or panels in the upper portion, also adds considerably to the value and 
 interest of a piece, while the addition of carved terminal or caryatid figures 
 is another feature which makes a piece more important. 
 
 Another form of court cupboard is called the tridarn. This has the 
 addition of a hooded canopy fitted to the top and is generally of Welsh 
 origin. Most existing examples are either plain or else decorated with 
 incised or crude carving showing that they are of country make. The 
 majority found to-day date from the late seventeenth century. 1 Many of 
 these tridarns are found carved with a design composed of dragons, which 
 was a favourite Welsh motif. 
 
 Buffets. — In addition to the court cupboard another article of furniture 
 called the buffet was made, and, from the examples now existing, buffets 
 would appear to date from the last quarter of the sixteenth century to the 
 first half of the seventeenth century. 2 Unlike the court cupboards, there 
 
 1 The manufacture of tridarns, with that of other plain oak. furniture, continued into the eighteenth century. 
 
 2 These dates do not include the rare Gothic cupboard on square legs, sometimes called a buffet. 
 
 26 
 
Fig. 2. 
 
 An oak Dole Cupboard, with pierced and carved Gothic decoration. 
 Late I 5th Century. 
 
 Col. R. 
 
BUFFETS AND CHAIRS 
 
 do not seem to have been many buffets made after the Restoration, and 
 therefore existing examples to-day are rare and (having only been made 
 during the best period of oak furniture) are usually finely carved and 
 sometimes decorated with inlaid marquetry. 
 
 In shape, the buffet is a piece of furniture formed of two tiers, 
 which are upheld in the front by bulbous supports ; these being after- 
 wards altered to the plain baluster or vase-shaped supports similar to 
 those of the court cupboard. The upper tier has a cupboard with a 
 single door set in the middle ; the sides of the cupboard are sloped at an 
 angle from the front to the back. The lower tier is an open shelf with 
 the back usually left open, no doubt because such pieces of this date 
 would have been placed against an oak panelled wall. Sometimes these 
 buffets are found without the cupboard, but with a shelf like the bottom 
 portion. 
 
 The buffet, being a very difficult piece to find to-day, has received the 
 attention of the maker of spurious furniture, who has produced many 
 elaborate specimens with richly carved bulbous supports and finely carved 
 and inlaid panels to the cupboard. Besides these spurious pieces of modern 
 construction, there are many reconstructions of forty or fifty years ago, made 
 up of pieces of old oak furniture which bear a slight resemblance in shape 
 to the Tudor or Jacobean buffet. The top part of these adaptations is 
 generally formed of an old oak chest which is placed on a stand with turned 
 legs. But the collector should be able to discover the character of this kind 
 of " made up" piece without much trouble or acumen. 
 
 Chairs. — Oak chairs of the Gothic period are extremely rare. Stools 
 and benches were the usual form of seat, and oak chests were also utilised 
 for this purpose. There are extant, however, a number of oak armchairs 
 of late Elizabethan days, characterised by the design and richness of the 
 carving and by the fact that the top rail of the back is between the two 
 uprights, whereas, from the reign of James i. the top rail rested on the 
 uprights ; for examples of this, compare the chair of Elizabeth's reign (Fig. 6) 
 with the one of the time of Charles II. (Fig. 11). The cresting on the 
 top rail in the early armchairs was small, but in the seventeenth century 
 it gradually increased in size, eventually having the addition of ear-pieces 
 to support it where it overlapped the uprights. 
 
 From the time of the Commonwealth a number of single oak chairs 
 appear to have been made, and they are more plentiful to-day than the 
 
 27 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 armchairs. Those generally found, however, date from the Restoration 
 period. The front stretchers and legs are either decorated with knobbed 
 turning in the Commonwealth manner or, in later specimens, with the 
 turned baluster or spiral twist of the Restoration. The design of the backs 
 of these single chairs often indicates the locality in which they were made. 
 The type, for instance, with the colonnade back, having round arches with 
 inverted drops and the split baluster decoration on the uprights, was very 
 popular in Yorkshire and Derbyshire. 
 
 The accession of Charles n. saw the gradual introduction of chairs, 
 stools, and day-beds made of walnut and beech, but this innovation did not 
 stop the manufacture of oak chairs and settles, as a large number dating 
 from this period have survived. 
 
 It should be noted that all these oak chairs have stretchers, and if the 
 collector comes across an example without stretchers, he should recognise 
 that they have been lost and consequently the chair is imperfect. In such 
 cases the ends of the legs have often been cut off to remove traces of the 
 mortises into which the stretchers were tenoned. 
 
 Upholstered furniture made its first appearance in England in the reign 
 of James i. So far as the collector is concerned this fact is only of historical 
 interest, for but a very few specimens, in the form of chairs, stools, and 
 couches, have survived. This furniture, in its various forms, is quite unlike 
 the contemporary English furniture. It was either imported from France 
 or was copied here from French examples to special orders given by the 
 wealthy nobility. The upholstering was invariably carried out in velvet, 
 studded with large gilt-headed nails and trimmed with gold or silver 
 fringes ; the legs and stretchers of the chairs and stools are generally of 
 beech and sometimes ornamented by painting or gilding. In some of the 
 examples at Knole, the velvet is pasted over the entire frame of the chair so 
 that no woodwork is visible. 
 
 This early Stuart upholstered work seems to have been an exotic phase 
 which died out, leaving no apparent effect on the design of the subsequent 
 oak furniture. It was not until the Commonwealth that upholstery again 
 made an appearance on chairs and couches. These were upholstered 
 with stamped or painted leather which was stretched and secured to 
 the framework by brass-headed nails. Like all Puritan furniture, these 
 upholstered leather chairs are plain and severe in design with low square 
 backs, the only ornamentation consisting of the turning to the stretchers 
 and legs. 
 
 28 
 
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Fig. 9. 
 
 An oak Sidetable, with carved bulbous front legs. 
 Circa 1595. 
 
 Col. A. 
 
SETTLES AND JOINT STOOLS 
 
 Settles. — Most of the settles of the Oak period that are in existence 
 to-day date from the last three-quarters of the seventeenth century ; a typical 
 example, dated 1681, is shown in Fig. 8. Sometimes settles are found 
 with movable backs, which can be let down to rest on the arms and 
 so form a table. These table-settles in their original condition are very 
 rare. They date from the Cromwellian period and are known as " Monks' 
 Benches." Chairs are also found with the same arrangement. 
 
 Joint or Coffin Stools. — Joint or "joyned" stools- of the first half of 
 the sixteenth century are of Gothic construction and different in form 
 from the stools of late Elizabethan days, which were of an oblong shape 
 with four legs connected by stretchers. This late sixteenth century type of 
 stool continued to be made in the same form all through the seventeenth 
 century, and must have been made in considerable numbers in the country 
 well into the eighteenth century. 
 
 The most valuable joint stools found to-day (with the exception of 
 Gothic specimens, which are of great rarity) are those dating from the time 
 of Elizabeth and James 1., and these generally have fluted legs and friezes 
 decorated with carving. Examples dating from the Cromwellian period 
 with plain turned legs and moulded or plain friezes are more frequently 
 found. The carved examples of the earlier period have seven or eight times 
 the value of the later type, and it is therefore of this early stool that counter- 
 feits are made out of old timber. Many genuine joint stools have been 
 fitted with new tops, which naturally depreciate their value. To ascertain 
 whether a top is new, carefully examine its edges. For a restoration of 
 this kind, the new top would be made out of an old piece of oak, such as the 
 top of an old gate table, having the genuine patina ; but the wood would 
 have to be cut, and it is by the staining and rubbing of the cut edges that it 
 may be detected. Sometimes these stools have been made from a dilapidated 
 gate table, beyond repair, which affords all the necessary material. This 
 copy is of the class in which genuine old pieces or parts of pieces are trans- 
 formed into articles of a much higher value. Careful examination will show 
 the changes in the original construction, as it will be impossible to hide these 
 in every particular. 
 
 Stools are also found with the addition of oval tops, converting them 
 into small tables. These tops are not part of the original article, but have 
 been added at some later stage of their existence. They are usually of deal 
 or elm with two drop flaps which rest on supports that pull out, and these 
 
 29 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 supports are cut into the frieze, a further proof that these stools were not 
 originally made as tables. 
 
 Refectory and Draw-top Tables. — The earliest form of table was the 
 trestle table. This type of table persisted throughout the fourteenth and 
 fifteenth centuries to the middle of the sixteenth century. The few examples 
 which have survived are of crude construction, long and narrow, the top 
 being formed of three or four roughly hewn planks fixed on to two or three 
 trestle supports according to the length. 
 
 The trestle table was followed by the draw-top table. This was the 
 favourite type of table during the reign of Elizabeth, and a good example is 
 illustrated in Fig. 4. In this table a leaf is drawn out at each end from 
 under the top centre leaf, so as to extend the length of the table when 
 required ; on the side leaves being drawn out the centre leaf drops to the 
 same level. This invention was copied from the contemporary Flemish 
 tables. 
 
 Draw-top tables are generally found with the bulbous legs of the 
 Elizabethan period ; but in the next reign this type was superseded by the 
 table with the fixed top and plain turned legs of a baluster or vase-shape 
 design (Fig. 5). These tables with the fixed tops which were not capable 
 of enlargement were made sometimes with six or eight legs according to 
 their length. Another variation in design between the earlier and later 
 tables is that the former have their stretchers T-shaped in section, whilst 
 the later examples have a square, four-sided stretcher similar to the tables 
 illustrated. 
 
 Tables with fixed top and plain baluster legs were made throughout the 
 seventeenth century and genuine specimens exist in considerable numbers 
 to-day. The most valuable are those with a carved frieze on all four sides, 
 thus showing that they were meant to stand in the centre of a room ; more 
 often, however, they are found with the frieze carved on one side only, 
 denoting they were originally meant to be used as side tables. Naturally the 
 former are the more valuable, and, for this reason, many genuine side tables 
 have in recent years had carved friezes added to the three plain sides. 
 
 It is the Elizabethan draw-top table with carved bulbous legs and an 
 inlaid or carved frieze that is rare, and genuine examples are to-day few and 
 far between ; on the other hand, spurious tables of this type are numerous 
 and widespread. In these imitations the bulbous legs are often seen with 
 wide cracks due to the timber splitting ; this is not a sign of age, but rather 
 
 30 
 
An oak court Cupboard, decorated with carving in conventional design, and split baluster ornaments, bosses, and 
 applied mouldings. The carved terminal figures each side of the centre panel of the upper part portray a man and a 
 woman with their hair dressed in the fashion of the time. These figures probably represented the original owner of 
 the cabinet and his wife. 
 
 Circa 1 660. 
 
 Fig. 10. Col. I. 
 
TABLES 
 
 an indication of new turning worked out of an old oak beam. The tops are 
 often made from old oak floor boards, in which case careful examination will 
 disclose nail-holes at regular intervals. On a genuine top, gaps should show 
 between the planks owing to shrinkage of the wood over a long period ; and 
 in the absence of these gaps suspicion should be aroused. The Elizabethan 
 table illustrated in Fig. 4 has a considerable gap between the planks 
 which in recent years has been filled in with a strip of wood. Spurious tops 
 often have a rough and uneven surface ; and the veins of the wood appear to 
 stand out in relief. This is due to the softening of the fibre between the 
 veins or year rings of the wood by alkalies used for obtaining the old colour ; 
 and, when the subsequent brushing down with a steel brush was done, this 
 softened fibre was worn away, leaving the veins projecting. The surface of 
 a genuine top with a good patina is generally smooth. Another reason why 
 the veins appear so prominent arises from the fact that the soft porous fibres 
 are altered in colour by the stain, but the veins remain unaffected by it. 
 The end grain of the cut edges, too, will show a grey colour, however much 
 they are rubbed or stained. 
 
 In spurious examples, the appearance of wear on the stretchers is 
 generally done very irregularly and made as deep on the inside of the 
 stretcher as on the outside. In genuine pieces the wear will be found to 
 be deeper on the outside than on the inside edge, and the line of wear will 
 be more regular. 
 
 Many genuine tables have lost their original stretchers, which have been 
 replaced. The stain and French polish used on these restored stretchers to 
 give them a patinated surface will soon become marked and scratched by the 
 feet. This would not occur on a genuine stretcher. 
 
 Gate-leg Tables. — The oak gate table, with its top comprised of a 
 centre leaf on which are hinged two side flaps supported by gates swinging 
 on pivots, was made in considerable numbers in the Cromwellian days up to 
 the end of the Oak period. 
 
 These tables are similar in form and construction throughout this period 
 and only vary in the turning of the legs, which altered in fashion in a similar 
 manner to the legs of chairs. The most desirable and rarest type of turning 
 is the spiral twist, which was in vogue from about 1655 to 1680. In other 
 tables the stretchers are decorated with turning similar to the legs ; while in 
 ordinary types the stretchers are four-sided and generally decorated with a 
 grooved moulding on the top edge. 
 
 3 1 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 Another rare type of gate-leg table is the large example with two gates 
 on each side instead of one. There is also the small gate table measuring 
 2 ft. or less across the top. One variety of this small table is known as 
 the " Harlequin Table," which has the centre leaf supported by two turned 
 legs mounted on a base board, instead of four connected by stretchers. 
 
 These small tables, owing to their size and rarity, are in comparison 
 much more valuable to-day than those of medium size ; most of them date 
 from the Restoration period. They are also found made of elm or pear 
 wood ; those made from pear wood usually have a fine patina of a reddish 
 colour, as the surface of this wood patinates more readily than any other 
 of the woods used for furniture making. 
 
 The tops of gate-leg tables are generally oval, although a square variety 
 is sometimes found, and the edges of the tops are square or rounded in 
 section, as the moulded edge did not come into fashion during the Oak 
 period. The side flaps have bead joints (except in very early specimens) 
 which, when the table is open, fit into a groove in the centre leaf ; the 
 absence of this bead joint generally points to the top being modern, as many 
 gate-leg tables are found to-day without their original tops. Sometimes 
 the tops are found decorated with a shallow carved design. This carving 
 is not contemporary, as no tables of the Oak period ever had their tops 
 decorated in this manner. 
 
 Another type of oak table which was made in large numbers is an 
 oblong table with the top measuring about 3 ft. by 2 ft. This, having one 
 drawer in front, was intended to stand against the wall. The examples 
 now in existence of this table appear to have been made from the beginning 
 to the end of the seventeenth century. Like the gate-leg tables, these 
 oblong oak tables vary only in the design of the legs. 1 
 
 Chests. — Of oak chests the rarest examples are those of the Gothic 
 period. These are generally of rough construction and decorated with 
 crude, shallow carving. The finest examples of the time of Elizabeth and 
 James 1. usually have their fronts decorated with arches and sometimes with 
 caryatid or terminal figures. The panels are found inlaid with marquetry 
 in a floral design and the carving is in high relief and rich in appearance. 
 Chests of the seventeenth century, similar to the example illustrated in Fig. 3, 
 show decadence by the profusion of carved ornament which completely 
 covers the whole front. 
 
 1 Towards the end of the seventeenth century they are also found made of walnut and fruit wood. 
 
 3 2 
 
CHESTS AND DRESSERS 
 
 There is another type of chest dating from the last half of the 
 seventeenth century, in which the front is decorated with shaped panels 
 of varying design formed by applied mouldings. Sometimes these chests 
 have the panels inlaid with bone and mother-of-pearl. This style of 
 decoration is usually found to-day on chests with drawers, similar to the 
 example illustrated (Fig. 7). 
 
 In judging the quality and value of a chest, attention should be paid 
 to whether the carving is " relief," " arabesque," or " incised." 
 
 The plain oak chest of the seventeenth century, of which large 
 quantities must have been made, is often found to-day with its stiles and 
 panels carved up to increase its value. Very often the plain panels of these 
 chests are inlaid with marquetry of floral design, in imitation of Elizabethan 
 examples. 
 
 Oak Dressers. — Judging from the design of the earliest oak dressers 
 that exist to-day, it would appear that they were not made in any great 
 quantity before the Restoration, while the majority hardly come within the 
 scope of this chapter, since they were made in the eighteenth century. 
 The early examples are found with legs of spiral twist or baluster pattern, the 
 fronts of the drawers being decorated with small shaped panels formed by 
 applied mouldings, and the framing dividing the drawers being ornamented 
 with bosses or split balusters, a method of decoration much in vogue at 
 this period. In addition to the dresser with legs, another type existed 
 without legs, similar to Fig. 14. 
 
 From the beginning of the eighteenth century, oak dressers, with top 
 parts formed of open shelves, were made in considerable numbers. 1 In the 
 reign of Queen Anne the spiral twist and baluster legs of the earlier 
 examples gave way to cabriole legs, and these in turn were superseded, in 
 the late eighteenth century, by straight, square legs. The dresser without 
 legs, but with drawers and cupboards in the lower part, was also made 
 throughout the eighteenth century. A good example, of about 1760, of 
 this type, is shown in Fig. 13. 
 
 These dressers of the eighteenth century were generally of provincial 
 and country make, for the farmhouse and village inn. They are therefore 
 very seldom found in any other wood but oak, elm, apple, and yew, and are 
 but rarely decorated with carving. The early ones of the Restoration 
 period rely for their decoration on the turning of the legs and the moulded 
 
 1 The seventeenth century dresser with top part of shelves is very seldom met with. 
 
 c 33 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 panelling on the drawer fronts. The early eighteenth century examples are 
 sometimes found with the knee of the cabriole leg decorated with a carved 
 shell, and the apron, under the cornice moulding of the top part, shaped and 
 pierced. On some specimens the corners of the lower portion are canted 
 and decorated with a fret in the Chinese taste, denoting that they date from 
 the second half of the eighteenth century, since this form of decoration was 
 not in vogue before 1745. In an eighteenth century dresser of good quality 
 the drawer fronts and cupboard doors were usually edged with a border of 
 cross-banded mahogany veneer of about f in. in width. For an example 
 of a dresser showing a pierced and shaped apron under the cornice, canted 
 fret corners decorated with Chinese fret, and drawer fronts cross-banded with 
 veneer, see Fig. 1 3. The drawer fronts and cupboard doors of dressers of 
 about 1780 are sometimes found inlaid with shells or stars in coloured woods 
 according to the prevailing fashion. 
 
 The shelves should always be carefully examined, as many dressers, 
 having lost their original shelves, have had them restored. These dressers 
 of the eighteenth century and other articles of oak furniture of this period 
 are invariably found to be of a much lighter colour than the oak pieces 
 of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This difference in colour is 
 mainly caused by the later oak furniture being polished or beeswaxed instead 
 of being treated with linseed oil, as was the case with the earlier oak. 
 
 34 
 
An oak Dresser ; fronts of drawers decorated with shaped panels of various design. 
 
 Circa 1 690. 
 
 Fig. 1 4. Col. O. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 FURNITURE OF THE WALNUT PERIOD 
 
 1660-1735 
 
 HISTORICAL SURVEY 
 
 THE accession of Charles 11. to the throne of England freed the 
 social life of the country from the Puritanism of the preceding 
 years. A reaction in favour of what was artistic and amusing 
 immediately set in, and everything that had been condemned by the Puritan 
 was now exalted by the reinstated Cavalier. As is invariably the case 
 after Civil War, the arts and crafts of the country had fallen in abeyance 
 and reflected, where they existed at all, the gloomy outlook of their 
 originators. With the advent of " The Merry Monarch " the cropped 
 hair gave way to flowing curls, broadcloth to lace and ruffles, the itinerant 
 preacher to the strolling player, and the spirit of change laid its hand, also, 
 upon furniture. 
 
 The new king and his courtiers whilst in exile both in Flanders and 
 in France must have been influenced by the arts of those countries. On his 
 arrival at Whitehall it was not long before Charles 11. instituted changes in 
 decoration and furnishing, making them more in accord with that to which 
 he had been accustomed. Finding in this country no native talent for the 
 changes he desired, he brought over artists and craftsmen from Holland and 
 France. Thus it was that the beginnings of the new style were influenced 
 by foreign taste which, radiating from the king's palaces and the mansions 
 of his courtiers, gradually permeated the whole country to the exclusion of 
 the previous English types. 
 
 Chairs, stools, and dav-beds are the earliest articles showing the new 
 fashion which exist to-day in any large numbers. This is accounted for by 
 the fact that the new chairs and stools, having cane seats and backs, were 
 far more comfortable than the former hard-seated chairs and benches of oak, 
 and therefore were made in considerable numbers to meet the immediate 
 
 35 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 popular demand; while tables, cabinets, and chests-with-drawers were not 
 made under the influence of the new taste and in the new fashionable 
 walnut wood until 1675-80. These articles were veneered with walnut or 
 inlaid with marquetry of various woods, both of which processes had no 
 transitional phase in England : they appeared suddenly, being brought bodily 
 from abroad by the Dutch craftsmen. At the same time, the French 
 influence was accentuated to a great extent by the Revocation of the Edict 
 of Nantes in 1685, which caused the emigration of Huguenot artisans and 
 craftsmen in large numbers to Holland and England. 
 
 On the accession of William 111. in 1689, the Dutch influence was 
 increased and cemented, the growing commerce between the two countries 
 being responsible for the importation of large quantities of Dutch furniture. 
 With William ill. came Daniel Marot, architect and designer. Marot, 
 being a Huguenot, had fled from France in 1685 and entered the service 
 of William of Orange before he became King of England. During this 
 four years' sojourn in Holland the style of his work was modified by the 
 Dutch environment, although it remained fundamentally in the French 
 manner of Louis xiv. On his arrival in England he was appointed Architect 
 to the King. In this capacity he also designed furniture and apartments. 
 This furniture is a blending of the Dutch and the French styles, and there 
 exist to-day chairs, stools, mirrors, and beds of his design. 1 
 
 By 1702, when Queen Anne came to the throne, walnut had become 
 the popular wood for better-class furniture, and oak. furniture, which was 
 now gradually adopting the line and form of the walnut, was being made 
 only in the provinces and for the cheaper markets. Therefore most of the 
 walnut furniture that has survived dates from the early eighteenth century, 
 pieces of marquetry and walnut of earlier date than 1700 being to-day 
 distinctly rare. This furniture of the Queen Anne period was simple and 
 plain, without the richness of design which was characteristic of the walnut 
 furniture of the preceding reigns. Marquetry became decadent in design 
 and gradually went out of fashion. 
 
 This decline continued until about 1720, when furniture again became 
 more ornate in character, owing in part to French influences and in part 
 also to the introduction of mahogany. The salient feature of the new style 
 was the decoration of the legs and arms of chairs and settees with the lion 
 and satyr masks and eagle heads. Pieces of this period, both of walnut and 
 of mahogany furniture, are found with this feature. Besides this type of 
 
 1 Fine examples of his mirrors and beds are at Hampton Court Palace. 
 
 36 
 
FURNITURE OF THE WALNUT PERIOD 
 
 walnut furniture, the earlier and plainer type still persisted and in the 
 provinces was made up to 1735 or even later. 
 
 COLOUR AND PATINA 
 
 The colour and patina of walnut furniture in a great measure account 
 for the esteem in which furniture made of this wood is held by the collector 
 at the present day. The colour of untouched pieces varies over a wide 
 range from very dark nut-brown to a light brown of an almost grey shade, 
 this being caused by the walnut having faded and become bleached by the 
 sun. 1 Although preference of shade is really a matter of taste, yet of all 
 the attractive colours in which walnut furniture is found to-day, the lighter 
 hues are the more prized in veneered or marquetry furniture. 2 On the other 
 hand, the most desirable colour in chairs, stools, and day-beds of the seven- 
 teenth century, which are made in the solid wood and rely for their 
 decoration on carved ornament rather than on figure and grain, is a dark, 
 rich brown. Untouched specimens of these pieces are invariably of this 
 colour. 
 
 A great quantity of this walnut furniture was varnished, the varnish, 
 which was transparent and of a very fine quality, 3 being applied when the 
 piece was new. 4 On the other hand, although varnishing seems to have 
 been the usual custom, many pieces are found to-day with their surfaces 
 unvarnished, in which case they were most probably only lightly oiled 
 and waxed. 
 
 The patina on pieces of untouched walnut furniture, when found 
 to-day, varies considerably. On solid walnut, the patina is similar to 
 that found on oak (see p. 22), except that oak is hard and walnut a soft 
 wood. If the finger nail is pressed into the surface of walnut, it leaves a 
 slight indentation, whereas if the same experiment is made with oak no 
 result is visible. 
 
 1 Low pieces, such as small chests-with-drawers and tables, are often found with light-toned tops, while 
 the front and sides are dark in comparison. This has been caused by the piece of furniture standing in a 
 window where the sun has bleached the top without reaching the front and sides. 
 
 2 For pieces in this colour, see Figs. 31 and 47. 
 
 3 In fact very similar to that used on violins. 
 
 4 The varnish, which has already been noticed (p. 22) as having been applied to oak furniture at a 
 date subsequent to its manufacture, may have been of the same quality as that found on walnut ; in which case it 
 is very probable that it was added, in this period, to oak of the preceding period. 
 
 37 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 It is only on carved walnut that the light and dark effect caused by the 
 accumulation of dust is observed. No dust can adhere to the plain surfaces 
 of the veneered pieces, except in the crevices of the mouldings. In fact it 
 is a feature of some of the light colour walnut furniture that the wood 
 appears almost bare, with only a thin coating of varnish to protect it. 1 
 
 The effect of French polish on walnut is to cause the wood to become 
 a yellow colour. The surface will have a high polish and in some cases 
 the grain of the wood will be obscured. 
 
 DESIGN AND ORNAMENTATION 
 
 As already stated, the radical change in the design of English furniture 
 when it began to be made in walnut was entirely due, directly and indirectly, 
 to foreign influences. It is for this reason that the furniture of the Walnut 
 period is complex and varied in its design and ornamentation. 
 
 In the case of chairs, stools, and day-beds of the earlier period, the spiral 
 twist and baluster turning were the chief features of legs, stretchers, and 
 uprights. The crestings and front stretchers of the chairs and day-beds 
 were generally carved in the design of amorini supporting a crown, and the 
 seats and backs were filled with panels of cane. The chairs of William and 
 Mary's reign had upholstered seats, the backs either being decorated with 
 elaborately carved splats or caning or else being upholstered, while the legs 
 were turned and connected by serpentine stretchers centred by a finial in the 
 middle where they joined. 
 
 The walnut chairs of the William and Mary period had their crestings 
 placed on the top of the uprights, whilst the chairs of the Charles n. and 
 James n. periods had the cresting between the uprights. 2 
 
 The design of some of these walnut chairs so closely resembles that of 
 the contemporary Dutch that in some cases it is hard to say to which 
 country a chair belongs. The art of decorating furniture by marquetry 
 was imported about 1675 from Holland, where it was much in vogue at 
 this period. The earliest designs were floral in small panels, as in the 
 clock case (Fig. 22). A few years later the floral design was used, not 
 in panels, but completely covering the top of a table or the door of a clock 
 
 1 As an example of this, the flap of the bureau W 88, 1910, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, should 
 be examined. 
 
 * This 16 not invariable, but is a good general rule. Cf. the same distinction in oak chairs, p. 27. 
 
 38 
 
FURNITURE OF THE WALNUT PERIOD 
 
 as in the clock case (Fig. 23). The next variety that came into vogue was 
 that known as "Seaweed" marquetry, or, as it is sometimes called, "Endive" 
 marquetry. Another type of marquetry design is the " Arabesque," which 
 consists of a design similar to the brass and tortoise-shell designs of Boulle : 
 this, however, is generally found later than either of the floral or seaweed 
 varieties. The earlier floral marquetry is most often found with the leaves 
 of the design stained green ; while arabesque marquetry was not stained 
 but shaded. This shading was done by the pieces of marquetry being laid 
 in hot sand, which burnt and discoloured the surface of the wood. 
 
 Marquetry, to judge from examples surviving to-day, was generally used 
 for decorating centre tables, clock cases, chests-with-drawers, mirror frames, 
 cabinets on stands, writing-cabinets with " let-down " fronts, the early type 
 of writing bureaux on legs, and bureaux with drawers. Seaweed marquetry 
 is also occasionally found in small panels decorating the splats of walnut 
 chairs of the time of Queen Anne. The articles in marquetry most 
 frequently found to-day are the long case clocks and chests-with-drawers ; 
 the centre table on twisted or baluster walnut legs, the mirror frame, and 
 the writing cabinet or bureau are not so common. Another article of 
 which great numbers must have been made and decorated with marquetry 
 at this period is a flat box with a lid, sometimes called a lace box, generally 
 measuring about 2 ft. by 1 8 in. 
 
 All these articles of furniture decorated with marquetry were much 
 more extensively made in plain veneered walnut, and the article which 
 is most abundant to-day is the bureau, sometimes with the top part (as in 
 Fig. 31), but more often without. Bureaux on baluster legs (Fig. 44) 
 and writing cabinets with let-down front (Fig. 50) were the first pieces 
 of furniture in England that were specially designed for the purposes of 
 writing. The bureau with the sloping front and drawers must have been 
 made in considerable numbers from the time of William and Mary, and 
 continued to be made throughout the eighteenth century in more or less 
 the same form, altering only in its wood and decoration according to the 
 prevailing fashion of each period. 
 
 This veneered walnut furniture relied for its decoration on the fine 
 figure and grain of the wood. The veneer was applied in the form of 
 panels surrounded by narrow bands of herring-bone or feather inlay and 
 cross-banded edges. The decorative effect was also increased by well- 
 defined mouldings, all of which were cross-banded. 1 
 
 1 Cross-banded : i.e. with the grain of the wood running across the length of the moulding. 
 
 39 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 One of the distinctive features of this period was the introduction of 
 the cabriole leg for chairs, tables, and stands. It first appears in William 
 and Mary's reign, in chairs showing French influence in their design, and 
 generally terminated in a hoof or scroll foot (Fig. 21). But in the reign 
 of Queen Anne it became bolder and ended in a club foot, 1 the knee often 
 being carved with an escallop shell ornament, a favourite motif of this 
 period. The club foot in its turn was succeeded by the claw and ball foot 
 
 ( Fi g- 37)- 
 
 With the advent of the cabriole leg and the club foot, the backs 
 of chairs altered from the elaborately carved solid walnut of the pre- 
 ceding reign to the veneered hoop back with splat. This type of chair, 
 sometimes known as the Hogarth chair, persisted in walnut until the 
 introduction of mahogany about 1720, and after that date it was still made 
 in both woods. It was the custom to make en suite with these chairs two- 
 chair-back settees and stools, while occasionally three-chair-back settees 
 were made. Other innovations in design which came into fashion about 
 1720 were the eagle and lion heads and the lion and satyr masks. Eagle 
 and lion heads were often used as a form of decoration for terminating the 
 ends of the arms of chairs and settees, and the lion and satyr mask was 
 utilised for the decoration of the knee of the cabriole leg in place of the 
 former shell. 2 
 
 Pieces of walnut furniture with these carved motifs of decoration are 
 of great rarity to-day, and when found are highly prized by the collector. 
 
 Pieces of furniture can be dated approximately by the beads and 
 mouldings around or on the drawer fronts. The earliest type of drawer 
 found in walnut furniture has a half-rounded, cross-banded beading applied on 
 the carcase round the drawers (Fig. 50). This moulding dates from 1690 
 to 1 705. 3 The next type is the double half-round beading on the carcase 
 (Fig. 31). This dated from 1700 to 171 5. In the third example the 
 drawer front overlaps the carcase, concealing the crack between them (Fig. 38). 
 This dates from 171 5 to 1735. The last type is the cock bead surrounding 
 the edge of the drawer front, which is generally found on mahogany and 
 was used throughout the remainder of the eighteenth century. It therefore 
 dates from 1735 to 1800 (Fig. 34). 
 
 1 See Fig. I. 
 
 s With the lion mask the lion paw foot is generally found instead of the claw and ball foot. See Fig. 46. 
 
 3 These dates are of course only very approximate, for pieces were undoubtedly made, especially in the 
 country, which considerably overlap the periods given. Country cabinetmakers were often working in styles 
 that had long been discarded by their confreres in London and in the big towns. 
 
 40 
 
WORKMANSHIP 
 
 WORKMANSHIP 
 
 It has already been mentioned that furniture of the Walnut period was 
 veneered — that is to say, the walnut wood was cut into veneers and glued 
 on to the surface of the carcase of a piece generally made in deal and 
 oak. 1 This veneering was done on the flat surfaces and large shaped mould- 
 ings of the furniture. But in the Queen Anne period 2 chairs, stools, and 
 settees would have their legs and arms made in the solid wood with the 
 backs and seat rails veneered. 
 
 The bottoms of the drawers of pieces of walnut furniture are generally 
 found with the grain of the wood running from back to front. It was not 
 until later in the eighteenth century (about 1740) that the drawers were 
 made with the grain running from side to side. 
 
 When applying the veneer to a piece of furniture the cabinetmaker 
 would take speeial pains to adjust the figure of the veneer, so that it 
 would be symmetrical. For instance, on the drawers of the bureau, Fig. 31, 
 it will be seen that each long drawer is divided into two panels, the figure of 
 the wood being identical in each. A careful matching of these veneers 
 denotes a piece of high quality. The chest on stand (Fig. 38) also very 
 clearly shows this feature. In pieces of inferior quality, the matching of the 
 veneer was not taken so much into consideration. 
 
 Another feature of a piece of good quality is that the front and most 
 prominent parts would be veneered with burr walnut, which is the veneer 
 cut from the root of the tree. The sides of the piece, which are less 
 important, would be veneered with walnut cut from the trunk. This, being 
 cut with the grain and not across it, will show the grain in streaks on the 
 surface of the veneer, as in Fig. 33, whereas burr walnut is cut across the 
 grain, and, being from the root, will show a finely marked figure, as in 
 
 Fig- 47- 
 
 Another favourite method of utilising the variation in the grain of 
 walnut wood was by cutting the smaller branches of the tree transversely. 
 The figure of the grain thus obtained was circular in form, and veneer cut in 
 
 1 A bureau bookcase, for example, would have the top carcase made of oak, as the interior of this part 
 would be exposed to view, while the carcase of the bottom portion would be made of deal, as this would be 
 hidden by the drawers. The sides, backs, and bottoms of the drawers in a good quality piece would be made 
 of oak, in a piece of inferior quality they would be of deal. This employment of two different woods for the 
 making of the carcase was undoubtedly due to the question of cost, oak being more expensive than deal. 
 
 2 Before this these articles, being decorated with carving, were made entirely in the solid walnut. 
 
 41 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 this manner was called " oyster-shell." This type of veneer was often made 
 of laburnum wood for use in conjunction with marquetry, generally for the 
 decoration of spaces between the inlaid panels (Fig. 22). This oyster-shell 
 veneer was also very often used for decorating tables, cabinets, and chests with 
 drawers during the late seventeenth century. 
 
 The mouldings were formed by applying a strip of walnut to a deal 
 foundation, so that the grain was across the length, and then planing it to 
 the required section. 
 
 The herring-bone or feather banding, which was extensively used as an 
 edging to the panels of drawer fronts, table tops, etc., consisted of narrow 
 bands of veneer cut on the slant ; these were set side by side, so that the grain 
 met in the middle at an acute angle. Poor quality pieces of walnut furniture 
 are not as a rule found decorated with this feather banding, but inlaid with 
 a line of boxwood, a much cheaper method. The walnut veneer was gener- 
 ally about ^ in. in thickness ; the burr walnut was, however, thicker, being 
 sometimes as thick as £ in. These veneers were all saw-cut. 
 
 The woods used in marquetry were generally boxwood, holly, or syca- 
 more. In the design of marquetry the inlay was either of light-coloured 
 woods upon a dark background, or vice versa. Inlay of light woods upon 
 a light background was seldom employed. 
 
 The collector will realise, even from the very brief description given 
 above, the amount of care and labour that was devoted to the making and 
 adornment of pieces of furniture of the Walnut period. He will also realise 
 how examples of this furniture vary in quality, a knowledge essential for the 
 proper understanding of those old pieces that exist to-day. 
 
 SPURIOUS WALNUT FURNITURE 
 
 Walnut furniture to-day is imitated, " improved," or adapted by the 
 faker in all the four categories detailed in Chapter II, with the exception 
 perhaps of category C. Most of the spurious pieces are those in category A 
 — i.e. imitations of entirely new construction. 
 
 These pieces are made in the manner briefly described in Chapter II. 
 They generally take the form of articles of a kind which are extremely rare 
 in walnut furniture, such as the bureau on turned or twisted legs, the small 
 2 ft. bureau on stand, the walnut china cabinet, rare early card tables inlaid 
 with panels of seaweed marquetry, marquetry centre tables on turned legs 
 
 42 
 
SPURIOUS FURNITURE 
 
 with stretchers, and all articles which, if genuine, would to-day be worth 
 considerable sums of money, as competition amongst collectors would be 
 keen and prices would soar accordingly. 
 
 These imitations are made to supply a demand, as many people to-day 
 who are desirous of furnishing a room entirely in walnut go in search of a 
 walnut china cabinet, which is one of the rarest pieces of furniture of this 
 period ; in fact, there are only a few genuine examples extant. 
 
 The explanation of the scarcity of these walnut cabinets with glazed 
 doors is that, in the days of William and Mary and Queen Anne, it was not 
 the fashion to display china in cabinets, but to place it on tables and over the 
 chimney pieces, which were sometimes built up in tiers of varying heights, 
 for the better display of the Oriental and Delft china so fashionable at this 
 period. In the time of Queen Anne and later, niches with shelves were 
 let into the walls of rooms specially for china ; so that, generally speaking, 
 cabinets for china were not used. Hence the few genuine examples that 
 survive to-day are of high value. 
 
 Bookcases also exist of this period, but are exceptionally rare, and the 
 two or three earliest known specimens, which are of oak, are similar to the 
 bookcases once belonging to Samuel Pepys, and now in the Pepys Library at 
 Cambridge. Therefore, owing to the very small quantity of china cabinets 
 and bookcases in walnut, the imitator has supplied the demand by spurious 
 cabinets, the design, proportion, and ornamentation being entirely of his own 
 conception. They generally have all the desirable and unusual features 
 only found on rare specimens of walnut furniture, such as the double- 
 domed top and the stand with turned cupped legs, connected by serpentine 
 stretchers, and carved mouldings which he will invariably gild, as it is easier 
 for him to obtain an appearance of age on a gilt surface than on that of 
 wood. 
 
 Another article in constant demand, which the imitator readily supplies, 
 is the walnut cheval glass to match the walnut furniture in a Queen Anne 
 bedroom. The earliest known genuine example of a cheval glass dates from 
 about 1785, and was invented by a designer of that period ; it is therefore 
 impossible to obtain a genuine cheval glass of walnut wood of the time of 
 Queen Anne. 
 
 Among other imitations in walnut are those of the rare examples with 
 the lion masks carved on the knees of the legs and the paw feet, similar to 
 the card table and settee shown in Figs. 45 and 46. These imitations take 
 the form of settees, armchairs, and especially stools. In comparison with 
 
 43 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 genuine specimens they are over-ornamented with carving and are ponderous 
 and vulgar in appearance. In this type of imitation the chairs and settees 
 are often made with upholstered backs, with the legs and arms only of walnut. 
 By carrying out the design in this manner, the imitator has less surface to 
 patinate, whereas, if the back was also in wood, it would increase the cost 
 and add considerably to his labour. He obtains the appearance of age 
 on these pieces with French polish, stain, and wax, in the manner already 
 mentioned. 
 
 In these imitations of new construction, the underframing of the seat 
 should be carefully examined. A genuine chair or stool will have this 
 underframing made of beech, from about an inch up to two inches in 
 thickness ; the beech will be unpolished and only darkened in colour by age, 
 the rails will be nicely finished and not rough in appearance ; in some cases, 
 however, the imitations will have the seat rails much thicker and roughly 
 hewn as a supposed sign of age. Any indication of a white mould or bloom 
 on this underframing is due to the working out of the soda with which 
 the wood has been treated to acquire the right colour of age. In these 
 imitations the figure of the walnut wood — which is so important a feature in 
 the genuine piece — will be obscured and hidden by the stain and polish 
 applied to it. This is very noticeable in pieces with veneered surfaces. As 
 already mentioned in Chapter III on oak, these spurious pieces in many 
 cases lose their appearance of age in the course of seven or eight years. 
 This applies also to spurious walnut furniture, and what is then specially 
 noticeable is that the wood has a tendency to change its colour after a time 
 and become a light yellow. 
 
 A very useful test can be applied to chairs and settees with splat backs. 
 In the genuine old piece, the splat where it joins the back seat rail is kept 
 in position by a shoe piece, which is glued on to the top of the rail. On 
 examining the chair from behind, it can be seen that the seat rail and the 
 shoe are two different pieces of wood, and the line where they join can be 
 distinctly seen. The imitator does not go to this trouble, but makes his shoe 
 and seat rail all in one piece, thus saving cost and labour. Sometimes he will 
 gouge a line across the seat rail at the back so as to imitate the joint, but 
 generally he does not even take the trouble to do this. Chairs and settees, 
 therefore, with the seat rail and shoe in one should be viewed with strong suspicion. 
 This test refers not only to walnut furniture, but to mahogany furniture and 
 all chairs made in the eighteenth century with the splat joining the seat rail. 
 
 Sometimes the imitator, in making spurious pieces with drawers, will 
 
 44 
 
CHAIRS, STOOLS, AND DAY-BEDS. 1 660-1 700 
 
 copy the drawer of the early seventeenth century, with the runner grooved 
 in the drawer side, but genuine pieces of walnut furniture will hardly ever 
 be found with the runners of the drawers made in this manner. It was a 
 method that had gone out of fashion before walnut furniture started to be 
 made. 
 
 Several examples of imitations according to categories B and D will be 
 shown in the following notes on the various articles of walnut furniture. 
 
 Chairs, Stools, and Day-beds. 1 660-1700. — A very large quantity of 
 these must originally have been made, as owing to their fragile construction 
 and the fact that they are made in walnut wood, so liable to the ravages of 
 the worm, very many must have perished in the course of time ; yet a large 
 number are still in existence. 
 
 Of the chairs a large number of single ones exist in proportion 
 to the number of armchairs. Originally they were undoubtedly made in 
 sets, but to-day anything like a complete set of chairs is very seldom met 
 with. The armchair is naturally of considerably more value than the single, 
 and the day-bed, which is rarer than either, is still more highly prized. 
 Examples with spiral twist stretchers, legs, and uprights are more desirable 
 to-day than the later ones in which the baluster turning has taken the place 
 of the spiral twist. 
 
 The degrees of quality in the carving of the cresting and the front 
 stretchers and the turning of the spiral twists are considerable. For an 
 example of a chair of good quality, the one in the Victoria and Albert 
 Museum, which is illustrated (Fig. 18), should be examined. In the inferior 
 specimens the cresting and front stretcher are not pierced through but are 
 decorated with shallow carving. In addition to examples found in walnut, 
 a quantity of furniture, mostly single chairs and stools, has survived, made 
 in beech. The reason for the manufacture of these was undoubtedly because 
 they could be made more cheaply, beech being a less expensive wood than 
 walnut. Unlike the walnut furniture it was painted black, instead of being 
 left in the natural wood. For examples of this type see the chair and stool 
 illustrated (Figs. 42 and 25). Naturally pieces of beech furniture are of 
 considerably less value to-day than those made in walnut. 
 
 Chairs of the William and Mary period with elaborately carved 
 backs are very scarce, and are generally of greater value than those of the 
 Charles 11. period. This especially refers to the chairs showing the influence 
 
 45 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 of Daniel Marot in their design (Figs. 19 and 21). These are sometimes 
 met with in pairs or small sets of four or six. The armchair of this type is 
 especially prized ; indeed, judging from its scarcity to-day, only a very few can 
 have been made. Stools 1 similar to these chairs are also extremely scarce. 
 
 The chair with the upholstered back and seat dating from the William 
 and Mary period is also met with to-day, but generally the legs and stretchers 
 are of painted beech and not of walnut. The same refers to the early wing 
 armchair, as an early specimen in walnut of the William and Mary period is 
 a rarity. Couches with upholstered backs of this period are by far the most 
 uncommon articles of upholstered furniture ; few specimens exist, and these 
 in most cases belong to the descendants of those for whom they were origin- 
 ally made. They have elaborately carved walnut stretchers and legs, and the 
 seat and backs are sometimes covered in Genoese velvet. 
 
 The majority of these chairs, stools, and day-beds are to-day in a more 
 or less restored state. The part most usually found restored in the chairs 
 is the front carved stretcher, which, owing to its position, has been broken 
 and lost. Many armchairs, too, have a new arm. Special care, therefore, 
 should be taken in examining these parts. The seat rails and subsidiary 
 turned stretchers are also often found to have been restored ; but these natur- 
 ally do not affect the value of a chair so much as a new arm or new front 
 stretcher. This also applies to the caning, which is very seldom found in its 
 original state. 2 
 
 These chairs, stools, and day-beds are not extensively reproduced to-day 
 by the imitator, with the exception of some examples in beech. This furniture 
 being painted, its surface can be copied and made to look old much more 
 easily than the patinated surface of the walnut wood. The imitator generally 
 confines his copies to the wing armchair with turned legs and elaborately 
 carved front stretcher or serpentine stretcher and the couch with high 
 upholstered back. To add to their semblance of age, these pieces are often 
 upholstered in old damask or such-like material. The single chair and 
 stool, being less saleable articles, are not so frequently imitated. A number 
 of stools with twisted legs and two carved stretchers have been made up 
 from the front legs and stretchers of two single Charles 11. chairs, the backs 
 of which have been broken beyond repair. The type of stool with cane 
 seat of the Charles 11. period, when original, is rarer to-day than most other 
 
 1 See Fig. 27. 
 
 2 Old caning will be brittle, whilst the modern caning is soft and pliable, with its newness toned down by 
 staining. 
 
 46 
 
A walnut Chair. 
 Circa 1675. 
 
 Fig. 15. 
 
 Col. M. 
 
 A walnut Chair, with twisted spiral 
 legs, stretchers, and uprights. 
 Circa 1658. 
 Fig. if). Col. M. 
 
 A walnut Day Bed with two backs. 
 Circa 1675. 
 
 Col. Q. 
 
A very fine walnut Armchair of the Restoration period. The crouching lions on 
 the arms are very unusual. This chair is said to have been made originally for 
 Nell Gwyn, and until recent years was in the possession or her descendants. 
 
 Circa 1670. 
 
 Fig. 18. Col. R. 
 
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CHAIRS, STOOLS, AND SETTEES. 1700-173 5 
 
 types of seventeenth century stools, which are found, generally, in painted 
 beech and not in walnut. 
 
 Sometimes these chairs with spiral twist legs and carved crestings 
 will be found in oak ; these are either modern imitations or made about 
 i860, when a considerable amount of oak furniture stained black was made, 
 based on the design of the chairs of the Restoration period. They were not 
 imitations meant to deceive, but the revival of an old design. The resemblance 
 is only slight, as they are by no means faithful copies like the imitations made 
 at the present day ; but some of these i860 chairs, during the last fifty or sixty 
 years, have obtained a certain appearance of age, and therefore it is quite 
 possible for the uninitiated to mistake them for those of the Stuart period. 
 
 Chairs, Stools, and Settees. 1700- 173 5. — Most of these extant 
 to-day are of the plain type with the cabriole leg ending in a club foot. 
 Examples with the carved cabriole leg and the claw and ball foot have 
 survived in fewer numbers, and these, from the point of view of the collector, 
 are naturally the most desirable, especially the armchair and two-chair-back 
 settee. The chairs were undoubtedly made originally in sets consisting of 
 six, eight, or ten single chairs with two or four armchairs, but to-day it is 
 seldom that a set of more than six single chairs is found intact. Unfortu- 
 nately a great number of these chairs and settees with the hoop back are found 
 with their surfaces French polished. 
 
 The quality of the carving and the figure of the grain of walnut veneer 
 varies considerably. In fine examples, the backs in many cases will be found 
 veneered with burr walnut, although, more often, plain walnut veneer would 
 be used for this purpose. Majiy examples will also be found with their 
 backs in the solid wood ; these generally are not of such good quality. The 
 quality of the carving is especially noticeable in the execution of the claw 
 and ball foot. In a fine example similar to that shown on the front legs of 
 the chair, Fig. 63, it will be seen that the claw has a firm grip of the ball 
 and the curve of the leg is graceful and definite. In a poor specimen the 
 cabriole leg will be clumsy and ill-defined, and when it terminates in a claw 
 and ball foot the latter will have a pinched and mean appearance out of all 
 proportion to the leg. The claws are sometimes found webbed, this un- 
 desirable feature, however, being in the main peculiar to Irish mahogany 
 furniture. 
 
 As already mentioned, walnut chairs, stools, and settees with the knees 
 of the legs decorated with lion masks are of very great rarity, although 
 
 47 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 within recent years the number of existing examples has been consider- 
 ably augmented by the imitator. The plainer type of walnut chair and 
 settee has also been extensively copied, especially the latter, which, as 
 previously pointed out, is a piece of furniture much in demand to-day. 
 The arms of these spurious settees are often decorated with an eagle's head, 
 as this is a salient feature of the genuine piece. In order to enhance the 
 value of plain walnut armchairs, also, the imitator carves the ends of the 
 arms with eagle's heads ; as, however, the supply of these armchairs is 
 to-day by no means plentiful, it is the corner armchair, which exists in far 
 greater numbers, that is generally chosen for this treatment. It is generally 
 possible to detect when this feature has been added to the chair, because 
 the imitator has been unable to reproduce the worn appearance of the 
 original eagle head, which, owing to its position on the arm, will have been 
 subjected to constant handling which will have worn away the sharp edges. 
 
 The corner or writing armchair was a very favourite one in the 
 eighteenth century and exists in large numbers to-day. Sometimes it was 
 made with another splat fitted on to the back, as in Fig. 40. This type is 
 called a barber's chair, as the high back formed a rest for the head during 
 shaving. Walnut barber's chairs are rare to-day, those extant being 
 generally of country make, in either elm, oak, or cherry wood. 
 
 The favourite covering for the upholstered seats and backs of the chairs 
 and settees of this period was needlework. Owing, however, to its delicate 
 nature few examples are found to-day with their original coverings. Many 
 old chairs and settees have had their seats and backs upholstered in modern 
 needlework, the difference between the old and new being very apparent, 
 as the original is thin in texture with a smooth and even surface, whilst the 
 reproduction is thick, and in places lumpy. This modern needlework is also 
 anaemic in colour, whereas the old is often bright and fresh-looking. 
 
 Writing Tables and Writing Cabinets. — The earliest form of 
 bureau was on legs similar to those shown in Fig. 44, and is a particularly 
 rare piece of furniture. 
 
 The later type with drawers underneath has survived in considerable 
 numbers in walnut, both with and without the top part. The latter is 
 known as the bureau bookcase. These bureaux and bureau bookcases were 
 made in varying widths, the usual type measuring 3 ft. 6 in., whilst the 
 narrowest and rarest type measures 2 ft. or under (Fig. 36). In the bureau 
 bookcase the cupboard doors of the top part have their panels generally 
 
 48 
 
A long case Night Clock, 
 inlaid with floral mar- 
 quetry in panels. Very 
 rare movement by Fid ward 
 East, London. 
 
 Circa 1685. 
 Fig. 22. Col. T. 
 
 A very rare Grandmother 
 Clock ; case inlaid with 
 floral marquetry. Flight- 
 day movement by Chris- 
 topher Gould, London. 
 
 Circa 1 700. 
 Fig. 23. Col. N. 
 
 A long case Clock, decorated in 
 black and gold English lacquer. 
 Circa 174O. 
 
 Fig. 24. Col. M. 
 
V 
 
WRITING TABLES AND WRITING CABINETS 
 
 fitted with old Vauxhall mirror plates with bevelled edges, which add greatly 
 to the decorative effect of this piece of furniture. Many bureau bookcases, 
 however, were made with veneered walnut panels to the doors instead of the 
 mirrors, in order, no doubt, to lessen the cost, as glass at this period was very 
 expensive. Needless to say, the presence of these mirrors adds considerably 
 to the value of a bureau bookcase ; therefore many examples originally made 
 with the wooden panels have had them replaced by mirrors. These new 
 mirrors are generally plain without bevelled edges, but if their edges are 
 bevelled the new bevelling will be entirely different from the old. This subject 
 of old and new bevelling on mirrors is more fully described in Chapter VI. 
 
 The most valuable type of these bureau bookcases is the very narrow 
 one, especially if the top part has two doors instead of one, which is the 
 more usual. The value of these pieces to-day depends on the importance of 
 the design ; those with a straight top and mirror panels with square instead of 
 shaped tops are much more plentiful and less valuable than the examples 
 with the broken arch or double dome (Fig. 31). 
 
 The interest and value of these bureau bookcases is increased by a 
 cross-banded ogee moulding around the bottom part just above the drawers, 
 as this is only found in the early examples, or by the bottom part having 
 cupboards with doors instead of the more usual drawers, or if the top part 
 is fitted with small drawers, pigeon-holes, and compartments, as shown in 
 the mahogany example, Fig. 83. 
 
 In most walnut bureaux there is a well in the centre of the writing 
 space, which is closed by a sliding top. This is a feature which is peculiar to 
 the walnut bureau, as in the later mahogany examples the space of this well 
 is taken up by drawers. Both the bureau and the bureau bookcase are some- 
 times found with a knee-hole. This peculiarity is more often met with in 
 the bureau, but is extremely rare. Another kind of bureau is the small one 
 on a stand with legs, about 2 ft. in width, similar to the three examples 
 illustrated (Figs. 32, 33, and 34). The stands of these small bureaux vary in 
 design according to the fashion of the period in which they were made. 
 
 All the walnut bureaux of this type that have survived to-day are of 
 very good workmanship, showing that they were expensive pieces originally 
 and only made for the well-to-do. Hence to-day they are very scarce and 
 valuable. 
 
 As already stated, this small bureau is a piece of furniture which the 
 faker delights to imitate, usually in the early form with the turned cupped 
 legs and flat stretchers. 
 
 d 49 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 Another type of writing cabinet is one with a let-down front, similar to 
 the example illustrated in lacquer (Fig. 50). In plain veneered walnut 
 these cabinets are not to-day valued so highly, most probably because they 
 are ill adapted for practical use, but being of an earlier date than the bureau 
 bookcase, the early examples are sometimes found decorated with floral or 
 seaweed marquetry. From the design of examples extant to-day, they would 
 appear to have been made not later than 1720. 
 
 The flat-top walnut pedestal writing table, with a knee-hole and drawers, 
 was an article of furniture made in very small numbers in the Walnut period, 
 and most of the examples extant date towards the end of the first quarter 
 of the eighteenth century. They are generally of large dimensions with 
 drawers on two sides ; the tops were not veneered, but covered with leather or 
 sometimes velvet. Another type of writing table with a flat top was one on 
 legs, a very fine example of which is in Kensington Palace. This table has 
 double scroll legs connected by flat stretchers, and dates from the period of 
 William and Mary. The top is covered with green silk velvet. 
 
 Another pedestal knee-hole table with drawers, found in walnut, is the 
 small table with a top generally measuring about 3 ft. by 2 ft. As these 
 tables have veneered walnut tops, they were probably originally intended for 
 dressing tables and not for writing tables. Considerable numbers of them 
 must have been made in the early eighteenth century, as many examples have 
 survived. Besides this table there is another small type, on cabriole legs 
 generally with three drawers, which also exists to-day in large numbers. This 
 is generally found with plain cabriole legs ending in club feet, but sometimes 
 examples are found with carved cabriole legs and claw and ball feet, which 
 naturally are of much greater interest and value. 
 
 Bookcases and China Cabinets. — Attention has already been drawn 
 to the great rarity of the china cabinet and bookcase in walnut ; therefore 
 the collector must always look askance at those specimens which he comes 
 across. A type of walnut bookcase of which a certain number is found 
 to-day dates from about 1725. It has glazed doors of rectangular panes set 
 in heavy bars. The bottom, which contains drawers, is low in proportion 
 to the upper part. These walnut bookcases were not made with more 
 than two doors, as the bookcase with the centre and two wings did not 
 come into fashion until later in the century. 
 
 The earliest cabinets are those with solid doors, generally inlaid with 
 floral or seaweed marquetry, supported by a stand with spiral twist or baluster 
 
 SO 
 
A Bureau Writing Cabinet, overlaid with burr walnut veneer. 
 Circa 1715. 
 
 Fig 3'- Col. V. 
 
A Bureau veneered with burr walnut. 
 Circa 1735. 
 
 Fig. 34. Col. C. 
 
 A mahogany Bureau. 
 Circa 1740. 
 
 Fig. 35. Col. C. 
 
TABLES AND CARD TABLES 
 
 legs with flat stretchers. They will also be found veneered with oyster- 
 shell of walnut, lignum vitas, or laburnum wood. The interiors of these 
 cabinets generally contain a number of small drawers of various sizes, the 
 fronts of the drawers being decorated similarly to the exterior of the cabinet. 
 
 This type of cabinet on a stand dates from about 1685 to the first years 
 of the eighteenth century, and when found to-day on its original stand is 
 a particularly valuable piece. Unfortunately, however, many of the stands, 
 owing to their fragile construction, have been destroyed, and the majority 
 of these cabinets when met with to-day are mounted on modern stands. 
 
 This type of cabinet was also made with a bottom part composed of 
 drawers. It rather resembles in this form the writing cabinet with let-down 
 front, already described, except that the two doors take the place of the 
 front of the other. As this in no way approaches in value the cabinet 
 on stand, the imitator often mounts the upper portion of these cabinets on 
 spurious stands with spiral twist or baluster turned legs. 
 
 Tables and Card Tables. — A most desirable table of the Walnut 
 period is that with the top measuring about 3 ft. by 2 ft., generally with a 
 drawer in one of the long sides, and supported on spiral twist or baluster 
 turned legs connected by flat stretchers. This type of table, the earliest 
 of which dates from about 1675, is found sometimes inlaid with mar- 
 quetry of floral or seaweed design, sometimes veneered with oyster-shell 
 veneer of walnut or laburnum woods, but generally veneered with plain 
 walnut. Genuine specimens are seldom found to-day in perfect condition, 
 the tops and stretchers often being defective. 
 
 Spurious specimens of this type of table are numerous, especially those 
 decorated with marquetry. They are generally of new construction 
 throughout, the carcase, drawers, and stretchers being made of old deal, and 
 the legs turned out of solid walnut. 
 
 This type of table in marquetry must not be confused with the Dutch 
 examples. The English table is light and delicate in appearance, whereas 
 the Dutch is larger, with heavy, massive legs and stretchers. The tops of 
 these Dutch tables are also thicker, and ivory is more often introduced into 
 the marquetry. 
 
 The earliest card tables are of the William and Mary period, similar 
 to the example in lacquer shown in Fig. 30. The top was circular when 
 open, and the legs were turned and connected either by stretchers or a base 
 board. Only a few specimens of this early type of table have survived. 
 
 5i 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 The card table of Queen Anne's reign had the circular top and the cabriole 
 leg, but no stretchers (Fig. 29). The next type had a square top and the 
 cabriole leg ending either in the claw and ball or club foot, similar in shape 
 to the example with the knees decorated with lion masks shown in Fig. 45. 
 
 Walnut card tables are to-day hard to find, especially with their original 
 patina, as so many have had their surfaces French polished. A feature which 
 adds to their value is that the folding flap is sometimes supported by the two 
 back legs, in which case the card table when open will have a leg at each 
 corner ; this is known as the " Concertina movement." Generally these 
 card tables are found with the folding top supported by one leg, which is 
 hinged on to the framework of the table. Other points of value are seen 
 when shallow wells for counters are let into the top and the corners are 
 fitted with circular places for the candlesticks ; and when the back and front 
 legs are the same. 1 
 
 The top of the walnut card table was invariably covered originally with 
 green silk velvet trimmed with narrow gold braid on the edge and fastened 
 in position by small gilt-headed nails. A few very rare examples have 
 survived with their tops covered in gros or petit point needlework. The 
 design of these needlework covers is either floral or a landscape scene, or else 
 a design of playing cards. 
 
 Chests-with-Drawers, Double Chests, and Dressing Tables. — The 
 chest-with-drawers, sometimes with a stand and sometimes without, was a 
 piece of furniture of which the earliest specimens date from about 1680. 
 These early chests with drawers are generally decorated with marquetry and 
 are the most usual pieces of marquetry furniture found to-day. Of much 
 greater rarity, however, is the chest-with-drawers on stand, especially the 
 early examples in marquetry. In these chests the top is inlaid with 
 marquetry as well as the front and sides, the earlier specimens with the 
 floral design and the later with the seaweed variety. 
 
 The early examples on stands have three legs with spiral twist or 
 baluster turning in front and two behind connected by the flat stretcher of 
 the period, the stands generally having a shallow drawer fitted just above the 
 legs. The stands of the William and Mary period have four turned legs 
 in front instead of three, and in the early eighteenth century the chests 
 on stands became higher and the turned legs and stretchers gave way to 
 cabriole legs (Fig. 38). 
 
 1 Many card tables were made with claw and ball feet on the front legs but with plain club feet on the back. 
 
 5 2 
 
A corner Armchair ; splats and scat rail over- 
 laid with burr walnut veneer. 
 Circa 1730. 
 
 Fig. 40. Col. C. 
 
 An elm Writing Chair of exceptional design, 
 with five legs ; back, and seat rail overlaid with 
 elm veneer. 
 
 Circa I 74O. 
 Fig. 41. Col. C. 
 
 A painted beech Armchair. 
 Circa 1 690. 
 
 Fig. 42. Col. Q. 
 
 A mahogany Winged Armchair, upholstered in 
 petit point needlework. 
 Circa 1735. 
 Fig. 43. Col. C. 
 
A Bureau of veneered walnut on baluster-turned legs ; the two front 
 centre legs swing forward to support the writing flap. 
 Circa i fujo. 
 
 Fig. 44. Col. E. 
 
 A walnut Card Table of the lion mask period, with serpentine front. 
 
 Circa 1735. 
 
 Fig. 45. Col. C. 
 
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 ca - 
 
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 O « 
 
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 V3 «-» 
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 CO 
 
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 s° ° 
 
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CHESTS WITH DRAWERS, DOUBLE CHESTS, ETC. 
 
 Unfortunately, the chest on a stand, in perfect condition, is to-day very 
 difficult to obtain. The heavy weight of the chest damages and breaks the 
 slender legs of the stand, so that most of those that have survived have their 
 legs either missing or restored. In many cases they are found with the 
 stand resting on the floor without the legs, and sometimes the chests with 
 four turned legs in front will have been restored with cabriole legs, thus 
 having two legs in front instead of four. The collector, therefore, should 
 subject these stands to careful examination. 
 
 A considerable number of these chests-with-drawers must have been 
 made, like the bureau and small dressing tables already mentioned, for they 
 exist to-day in larger numbers than any other pieces of walnut furniture. 
 Chests on stands must have been made in walnut up to about 1735, at which 
 time they were also made in mahogany. 1 
 
 The walnut dressing table, as opposed to the small knee-hole pedestal 
 table and the table with three drawers on cabriole legs, is a piece of furniture 
 of great rarity. An example of a walnut dressing table is illustrated 
 (Fig. 47). The top of this table lifts up, disclosing a large toilet mirror and 
 sunk compartments for the necessary articles of toilet. The imitator, in 
 order to meet the demand for walnut dressing tables to-day, generally makes 
 them either of entirely new construction or utilises the stand of a chest-with- 
 drawers, to which he adds carved cabriole legs or legs of some other rare 
 type. As the top of the stand will not be veneered with walnut, he adds a 
 new veneered top. By this adaptation he makes use of the old carcase and 
 drawers of the original stand, thus making detection of his spurious piece 
 more difficult. 
 
 Double chests-with-drawers, or tallboys as they are more commonly 
 called, began to be made in walnut about the end of Queen Anne's reign. 
 The finest specimens that exist to-day have the broken arch top, similar to 
 the corner cupboard, Fig. 39. But this is very unusual, straight moulded 
 cornices being more common. Another feature which adds to the value of 
 these pieces is that sometimes the bottom drawer is made with a concave 
 shell or niche, inlaid with a star design. The front corners of the top part, 
 and sometimes the bottom part, are canted and decorated with fluting. 
 These double chests-with-drawers of the more ordinary} design are in less 
 demand to-day than the chest with stand, partly owing no doubt to the 
 difficulty of placing them elsewhere than in a bedroom for which they were 
 originally intended. 
 
 1 Several of them made in this wood are extant. 
 
 53 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 LACQUER FURNITURE 
 I 
 
 THE art of lacquering, which was first invented by the Japanese, is of 
 very early origin, as it is mentioned in their writings as far back as 
 the fourth century. The earliest records of lacquer work in England 
 are found in inventories dating from the time of Elizabeth, in which are 
 mentioned such articles as Indian cabinets, which was the name given 
 at that time to Oriental lacquer cabinets. It was not until the reign of 
 Charles n., 1 however, that lacquer cabinets and screens first began to be 
 imported in any number into this country from the East. 
 
 These importations of lacquer work into England and Holland soon 
 caused craftsmen to start imitating it and extending its use to other articles 
 of furniture. The new craft very soon became extremely popular, not only as 
 an industry, but as an occupation for the wealthy classes. In fact, "japan- 
 ning," as it was then called, became so fashionable a pursuit that a book entitled 
 A Treatise on "Japanning and Varnishing, by John Stalker and George Parker, 
 written as a guide to the amateur and giving many recipes for lacquering and 
 gilding, was published in 1688. This imitation lacquer was, however, very 
 different in appearance from the Oriental, which was made from the resin of 
 gum trees, the finished surface being smooth and hard with a high polish. 
 The European variety was more in the nature of paint and varnish, and lacked 
 the hard lustrous appearance of the original. 
 
 It is with this lacquer, made either in England or Holland, that most 
 of the lacquer furniture extant to-day is decorated. Oriental lacquer pieces 
 are not so often come across, although in the late seventeenth cenfury a very 
 large amount of lacquer furniture was imported into this country ; this was 
 specially made for the English market, and designs of English articles of 
 furniture were sent to the East to be executed with lacquer decoration. 
 
 1 There is a record that Charles a. possessed two "Jappan Cabinets" for which the sum of^ioo was 
 paid. These undoubtedly formed part of the new furniture bought for his palace at Whitehall. 
 
 54 
 
LACQUER FURNITURE 
 
 The only examples of English lacquer that have come down to us in 
 any considerable number from the reign of Charles n. are the square cabinets 
 mounted on elaborately carved wood and gilt stands. One of the finest 
 examples extant is the cabinet dating from the last half of Charles n.'s reign, 
 in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The rendering of the design 
 is bold and Oriental in character, but has a distinct European feeling — a 
 characteristic most noticeable in the earlier specimens of English work. 
 Another feature of the early work was the introduction into the design of 
 various colours, such as greens and reds ; for instance, on the cabinet 
 mentioned above, a very true copy of the green found in famille verte china 
 has been reproduced on the plumage of the birds and in the flowers. In 
 earlier work a far larger portion of the design is in relief than is the case in 
 later examples. This raised portion of the design was formed of com- 
 position, which was applied on to the surface. The design on the later 
 examples is much more detailed and finished, and a closer imitation of the 
 Oriental work, as can be seen from the cabinets illustrated (Figs. 48 and 49). 
 
 Judging from the examples that have survived, lacquer cabinets date 
 from the last years of Charles 11. till about 1730. The earlier ones were 
 mounted on carved wood and gilt or silvered stands, whilst the eighteenth 
 century examples, which generally had their stands lacquered, were sometimes 
 made with turned legs connected by stretchers, but more often with cabriole 
 legs. The earliest examples in lacquer that have survived of such pieces of 
 furniture as the bureau bookcase, the chest-with-drawers, and the table, date 
 from the last years of William and Mary's reign. All this seventeenth 
 century lacquer furniture is, however, extremely rare, as the majority of 
 what is extant dates from the first thirty years of the eighteenth century. 
 
 II 
 
 The following are the most usual articles found in English lacquer to-day : 
 
 Cabinets on gilt, silvered, gesso, or lacquered stand. 1 
 Writing Cabinets with fall-down fronts. 
 Chests-with-Drawers with and without stands. 
 Chests. 
 
 Corner Cupboards. 
 
 1 Sometimes lacquer cabinets are found mounted on chests-with-drawers. 
 
 55 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 Bureaux and Bureau Bookcases and small Bureaux on stands with 
 
 legs. 
 Toilet Glasses. 
 
 Card Tables and Writing Tables. 
 
 Small pedestal Dressing Tables, and also small Tables on cabriole legs 
 
 with three drawers. 
 Long Case, Bracket, and Wall Clocks. 
 Chairs. 
 
 Mirrors and Picture Frames and early eighteenth century Barometers. 
 
 All these are exactly similar in shape and design to the contemporary 
 walnut furniture, with the exception of the cabinet on stand. Long case 
 clocks have survived in the largest numbers ; next to this are the chests-with- 
 drawers and the cabinets on lacquered stands, the bureau bookcases, the 
 bracket and wall clocks, toilet mirrors, and corner cupboards. The remain- 
 ing articles are much rarer, especially cabinets on gilt, silvered, or gesso 
 stands, chairs, writing tables, and card tables. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Lacquering was done on grounds of various colours, and from examples 
 extant to-day it can be seen that black, red, green, blue, and buff were most 
 frequently used. Examples with a black ground are to-day by far the most 
 common ; green and blue grounds are occasionally found. The red ground 
 is still rarer ; but examples in buff colour are by far the rarest of any — in 
 fact, only a few genuine examples are known to exist. 
 
 Lacquer furniture went out of fashion about 1730, and the only articles 
 that appear to have been made in any quantity after this date were clock 
 cases. 
 
 About 1750, when the Chinese taste again came into vogue, lacquering 
 revived, but as examples of this later lacquer work are scarce it could not 
 have been so popular. The leading cabinetmakers of this period, such as 
 Thomas Chippendale, mention, in the pattern books which they published 
 of their designs, the fact that certain of these designs would be suitable for 
 "japanning." 
 
 56 
 
A writing Cabinet with fall-down flap; decorated in black and gold English lacquer. (This 
 type of writing cabinet is frequently found of walnut and sometimes of marquetry. It was 
 the popular form of writing cabinet before the introduction of the bureau bookcase. ) 
 
 Circa 1700. 
 
 Fig. 50. Col. L. 
 
LACQUER FURNITURE 
 
 GENUINE AND SPURIOUS LACQUER 
 
 The col! ctor who wishes to purchase genuine pieces of old English 
 lacquer furnrcure will find many pitfalls in his way. Lacquer furniture, 
 unlike oak and walnut, has not been improved by the course of time, and 
 untouched pieces in good condition are very scarce and hard to find. In 
 such pieces the gilt design stands out brilliantly against the dark back- 
 ground, and any touches of colour will also show up and add to the 
 decorative effect. This brilliancy of the untouched piece is well exempli- 
 fied by the pieces illustrated. Unfortunately many examples are found in 
 a very dilapidated state. Sometimes the surface of the lacquer will be 
 scratched and dented, but more often the piece will be thickly coated with 
 mastic varnish, which in bad cases will have so hidden the design that only 
 the raised portions of it are left. Pieces in this condition do not serve any 
 decorative purpose, and although this varnish can be removed by a skilled 
 workman, the result is never satisfactory nor in any way comparable with 
 the appearance of a piece in its original condition. 
 
 There are also many pieces which are to-day in a more or less restored 
 state ; not only in the restoration of the lacquer surface, but, in such pieces 
 as the chest-with-drawers on stand, with the stands 1 either entirely new or 
 very much restored. The collector will therefore realise how important it 
 is carefully to examine each piece, as the amount of restoration it has 
 received will naturally affect its value. 
 
 Besides these restored pieces of genuine lacquer furniture, the collector 
 will come across many pieces of an entirely spurious nature. These will 
 sometimes take the form of old pieces of furniture enhanced in value by 
 modern lacquering. The articles generally chosen for this purpose include the 
 oak chest-with-drawers, the oak long case clock, and the oak or mahogany 
 tripod table. These pieces being numerous and quite plain in character are 
 considerably increased in value by being converted into lacquer examples. 
 
 Besides this lacquering of old pieces, there is a large quantity of lacquer 
 furniture made to-day of entirely new construction. For instance, the rare 
 lacquer cabinet on carved wood and gilt stand, of the time of Charles n., is 
 extensively reproduced. The imitator makes these spurious cabinets as 
 attractive as possible, decorating them in all the rare colours of the old 
 lacquer, especially the red and the buff. In order to add to their appear- 
 
 1 The remarks made about walnut chests on stands in Chapter IV refer also to the lacquer examples. 
 
 57 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 ance he will sometimes lacquer the outside of a cabinet buff and the interior 
 blue. In genuine examples this is never found, as the inside of a cabinet 
 was always the same colour as the exterior. The stand of the cabinet will 
 be copied from the rare and elaborately carved gilt stand of the seventeenth 
 century. 
 
 Another method by which the imitator makes spurious examples of 
 these seventeenth century cabinets is by mounting genuine early eighteenth 
 century lacquer cabinets, of which a large number exist to-day with their 
 original lacquer stands either lost or in bad condition, on spurious stands of 
 seventeenth century design. Sometimes these spurious stands will take the 
 form of gilt stands 1 with cabriole legs elaborately carved with satyr masks. 
 The imitator will also make copies of such pieces as the small bureau on 
 stand, the card table, the china cabinet, and all such articles which are 
 hardly ever met with to-day in genuine lacquer. 
 
 The following notes concerning the appearance of genuine old lacquer 
 may prove of use to the collector. 
 
 The lacquered surface of a piece of furniture, through constant rubbing 
 and dusting, over a long period, will have the gilding on the raised portions 
 of the design worn away, showing the composition 2 ground underneath. 
 Parts of a piece which have been constantly handled, such as a cupboard 
 door, or the edge of the flap of a bureau, will show the lacquering worn 
 away, and in many cases the bare wood of the carcase will be exposed. 
 Another characteristic of genuine lacquer is that, owing to its surface being 
 soft, the lacquer, even in a piece in fine condition, will, on careful examina- 
 tion, show a number of small indentations and scratches. These are 
 especially noticeable under the key-holes of the flap and the doors to the 
 upper part of a bureau bookcase. These scratches and indentations will have 
 been caused by the former owners, in locking and unlocking the cabinet, 
 having used a key on a bunch which knocked against the surface of the 
 lacquer. 3 These marks are sometimes noticeable on walnut pieces ; the 
 test, however, is generally applicable only to articles like the bureau and 
 the writing table, which would frequently be locked by a key on a bunch, 
 and not to the door of a long case clock, where the key, being infrequently 
 used, would in most cases be left in the lock. 
 
 1 For the detection of a spurious gilt stand of this description, several notes in the next chapter will be 
 found of practical value. 
 
 2 On spurious pieces this white composition is hidden by the red ground of the modern gilding. See 
 p. 65. 
 
 3 See the red lacquer bureau- bookcase, No. 10-34, 191 3, in the Victoria and Albert Museum. 
 
 58 
 
LACQUER FURNITURE 
 
 Another important point that is peculiar to genuine lacquer is that the 
 portions of the design in relief, which have been formed in composition and 
 applied on to the wooden carcase of the piece, will crack in the course of 
 time ; and in many old pieces these raised portions will exhibit a network 
 of fine cracks. In many cases the applied composition will have become 
 loose and dropped off" and the exposed surface of the wood will have an old 
 and patinated appearance. 
 
 When lacquer furniture was originally made, it was finished with a coat 
 of thin varnish. This varnish, through exposure to the air, darkens in time 
 and gives a rich translucent effect to the once bright gilding. This is 
 specially noticeable if the gilding of the interior of a cabinet, which has not 
 been exposed to the air, is compared with the gilding on the outside. One 
 will be bright and new-looking, whilst the other will have turned to a much 
 darker and more mellow tone. 
 
 If the collector, by studying genuine pieces of old lacquer, becomes 
 familiar with these characteristics, it will help him considerably to recognise 
 modern lacquering, as none of these details is found on the pieces made by 
 the imitator. It would take too much time and labour to reproduce them 
 accurately, even if it were possible to do so. 
 
 With regard to the making of these spurious pieces, the carcase is 
 generally made out of pine. 1 After its surface has been rubbed down, the 
 wood receives three or four coats of a specially prepared paint, the last coat 
 being the colour of the ground ; on this painted surface the design is then 
 drawn and the raised portions applied. When the design has been gilded,' 2 the 
 surface is treated with a thin coat of French polish, on the top of which is 
 coated a stiff" paste or starch. The strong drawing power of the paste causes 
 the surface of the polish to crack. On the paste being washed off", a dark 
 coloured wax is well worked into these artificial cracks, thus emphasising 
 them, and adding to their antique appearance. 
 
 The cracks made in this manner will be large and wide, similar in char- 
 acter to the cracks found on old oil-paintings. Cracks of this description will 
 never be seen on genuine lacquer, on which they are always very fine and 
 hardly perceptible. Another difference between the old pieces and the 
 spurious is that the genuine drop handle, so often found on lacquer furniture, 
 
 1 The majority of genuine pieces have their carcases of deal, with the exception of tables and clock cases, 
 which were generally made of oak. Pine for the carcase work of English furniture was not used until later 
 in the eighteenth century. 
 
 2 In the cheaper type of modern lacquer, which is generally a confessed reproduction, gold bronze powder 
 is used instead of real gold, for the decoration, as it is a much cheaper material. 
 
 59 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 was fixed on to a double strip of brass which pierced the drawer front, and 
 the two ends of the strip were embedded into the wood on the inside of the 
 drawer. In the modern handles the ends of the strip of brass are kept in 
 position by small brads or pins which are driven into the wood. There is 
 also a difference between the old and new mounts on lacquer cabinets. The 
 original examples were water gilt, whereas the imitations are electro gilt. 
 
 60 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 GESSO AND GILT FURNITURE 
 
 HISTORICAL SURVEY 
 
 ALTHOUGH gilding is known to have been used in conjunction with 
 bright colours for the decoration of furniture in mediaeval times, the 
 earliest gilt articles which now survive are the stands of Carolean 
 cabinets. But it was only towards the end of the seventeenth century that 
 gilt furniture became fashionable. The taste for it was undoubtedly de- 
 veloped by the introduction of a new process known as Gesso. 
 
 In this process, the wood was first covered with a composition of 
 whitening and other ingredients to a thickness of from x 3 ff to ^ of an 
 inch, according to the depth of the chosen design ; on this prepared surface 
 the design was carved in low relief and the gilding applied in the usual 
 way. 1 In order to enrich the appearance, the background of the carving was 
 then matted or tooled and the parts in relief were highly burnished. 
 
 From the rarity of gesso furniture to-day it is evident that only a small 
 quantity of it could have been made, and this for the most part must have 
 been designed for the houses of the wealthy classes, since the finest specimens 
 are found in such places as Blenheim, Houghton, and Hampton Court. 
 Judging from extant examples, small centre or side tables, 2 candle stands 
 (torcheres), mirror frames, cabinet stands, chests, chairs, and stools were the 
 articles most usually treated. Small panels of gesso work, either on the splat 
 or the knee of the cabriole leg, are found on walnut chairs, stools, and settees 
 dating from the first quarter of the seventeenth century. 
 
 Mirrors with gesso frames exist in larger numbers than any other 
 of these articles. 3 Tables and side tables are met with occasionally, 
 
 1 The advantage of this method is that ornament in very low relief can be far more skilfully and easily cut 
 out of soft plaster than out of wood. 
 
 2 As gesso ornamentation specially lends itself for the decoration of flat surfaces, tables when made in 
 gesso have their tops decorated with a design in low relief, the frieze and legs being treated in a similar manner. 
 
 3 This may be attributed to the fact that, being the first mirrors made with gilt frames, they were looked 
 upon in the light of a novelty, and were accordingly in popular demand for the first thirty or thirty-five years 
 
 6i 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 butjj articles such as torcheres, chests, chairs, and stools are practically 
 unprocurable. 
 
 About 1725 the fashion for gesso furniture gradually declined, largely 
 as'a result of new influences that brought into vogue anew style of furniture, 
 decorated with bold ornament in high relief, which was carved out of the 
 wood and then gilt. In this, as can be seen from Fig. 57, none of the 
 ornament is in low relief, and the decorated wooden top of the former tables 
 is replaced by marble. There was therefore no occasion to employ gesso. 
 The satyr mask carved on the knees is directly adapted from the style of 
 Louis Quatorze, for the gilt furniture during this short period, unlike the 
 walnut and mahogany, is strongly reminiscent of the contemporary French 
 furniture in its motifs of design. 
 
 From about 1730 the design of gilt furniture was influenced by 
 architects, prominent among whom was William Kent, who designed a 
 considerable amount of furniture for the houses that he built or decorated. 
 This was of heavy and massive design, and an example of it is shown in 
 the side table (Fig. 58). The well-known type of gilt console table with 
 marble top, supported by an eagle with wings outspread, dates from this 
 period. About 1745 the architectural style began to wane, and a number of 
 carved wood gilt side and console tables have survived, showing the French 
 and Chinese influences which were prominent from this date to about 1770. 
 
 Furniture with the wood carved and gilt is to-day as rare as the earlier 
 variety decorated with gesso, and as in gesso, the pieces most frequently 
 found are mirrors and side tables, with the addition of console tables, which 
 originated in this period and became very popular. Suites of gilt furniture 
 by Kent, dating from this period, and consisting of chairs, stools, and settees, 
 similar to those designed for Devonshire House, are also extant, although 
 very rare. These suites were sometimes in mahogany and gilt, and in most 
 cases were adapted by him from Italian models. 
 
 The gilt furniture of the Adam school of design, which dates from 
 about 1775 to the end of the century, is more fully described in Chapter X. 
 
 GENUINE AND SPURIOUS 
 
 The surface of most of the gesso furniture was originally covered with 
 a thin transparent varnish, and the effect of this varnishing on the gold is 
 
 of the eighteenth century. They were the only articles of gesso furniture that were not confined to the 
 patronage of the wealthy. 
 
 62 
 
GESSO AND GILT FURNITURE 
 
 exactly the same as that on the gold decoration of lacquer furniture, already 
 described in the last chapter. This toning of the gold by the darkening of 
 the varnish through exposure to the atmosphere gives those pieces of furniture 
 found to-day that translucent and metallic appearance which is such a 
 beautiful and attractive feature of the genuine and untouched example. 
 
 Unfortunately, it is exceptional to find a piece, dating from this period, 
 in this desirable condition, the main reason being that most of the examples 
 now extant have in recent times been regilt. This modern gilding can in no 
 way be compared with the old, as it lacks the rich and mature tone of the 
 original, being paler and lighter in colour. 1 
 
 Many pieces of gilt furniture are also found with their surfaces painted, 
 generally in a black or brown tone. It is sometimes possible to remove this 
 paint, when the old gilding will be found underneath ; in most cases it will 
 be very bright, although a considerable amount will need to be restored. 
 Pieces thus treated are by no means of so decorative a value as those which 
 have had their gilt surfaces toned by the course of time. Sometimes old 
 pieces will have had their surfaces renovated with gold paint, which is very 
 undesirable, as it cannot be removed, and in the course of time goes a very dark 
 colour through becoming tarnished. Regilding is specially injurious be- 
 cause it obscures and fills up the tooling or stamping of the backgrounds of 
 the design, besides giving a rounded or worn down effect to the low relief 
 decoration which, in an untouched condition, is sharp and clearly defined : 
 this is due to the old gilding having first to be removed, and the surface 
 prepared before the new gilding is applied. 
 
 Regilding is not the only depreciator of the value of gesso furniture, as 
 many pieces are met with either much restored or in an imperfect condition. 
 Many gesso tables, for instance, are found to-day with new tops, as the low 
 relief ornament in plaster is very susceptible to wear and bad usage. Some- 
 times they will be restored with a new gesso top, in which case the 
 entire piece will be regilt to give the old and new parts the same appearance. 
 In many other cases the dilapidated top will have been replaced by a marble 
 one, but this is entirely out of keeping with the table, for it can be said with 
 certainty that these tables were never designed for any other but the low 
 relief gesso top. 
 
 1 This refers more to the Victorian gilding, as the quite modern variety has been brought much nearer in 
 appearance to the old, through the efforts of the imitator, who endeavours to copy the old gilding so as to 
 deceive the unwary. The Victorian gilding was not done with this intention, but simply to brighten and to 
 renovate the dulled gilt on old pieces which to-day would be considered a point of merit, but in that age of 
 vandalism was thought shabby and ugly. 
 
 6 3 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 All types of gilt furniture have received attention from the imitator, as, 
 owing to his success in copying the antique appearance of genuine old gilding, 
 he has a wide field for his spurious work. As already mentioned in the 
 chapter on Lacquer, he extensively copies the carved wood and gilt stands of 
 the seventeenth century lacquer cabinet. A number of genuine cabinet 
 stands are found, to-day, painted ; this habit of painting old gilt furniture 
 has already been commented upon. The imitator, to make detection of his 
 spurious stands more difficult, will sometimes gild or silver a stand, and then 
 paint it. This painted surface he will then fake, chipping ofF the paint in 
 parts, so as to disclose the gilding or silvering underneath. Sometimes these 
 original stands, being separated from their cabinets, are found converted into 
 tables by the addition of marble tops. They were never made originally in 
 this form, but as they are saleable to-day, the imitator produces spurious 
 copies to meet the demand. These can generally be recognised, as in many 
 cases they will not be of the same dimensions as the genuine cabinet stand ; 
 but will be longer and narrower, to conform to the usual proportions of a 
 table. The design of these stands usually follows that of the Charles n. 
 example, with the deep apron pieces carved with amorini amidst foliage. 
 
 In gesso furniture the imitator not only produces examples of entirely 
 new construction, such as imitations of chairs, tables, and torcheres, but he 
 also enhances the value of plain examples of genuine furniture, dating from 
 this period, with gesso ornament. One of the articles most used for this 
 purpose is the plain early eighteenth century toilet glass ; but no genuine 
 example of a toilet glass decorated with gesso is known. Another favourite 
 method of enhancing the value of plain Queen Anne furniture is to decorate 
 the splats and legs of chairs with gesso panels. Of the carved wood and gilt 
 furniture, dating from about 1720 to about 1745, he will also make imitations 
 of an elaborate character, particularly the carved wood and gilt side table. 
 These spurious tables are heavily laden with ornament, and have none of the 
 refined lines and proportion of the original. The imitator will also frequently 
 copy the table of the architectural style, adopting the very heavy scroll 
 leg, decorated with scaling and elaborately carved swags suspended from the 
 frieze. This kind of spurious table will often be found painted either black 
 or brown with only the carving gilt. This variation is mainly due to the 
 fact that a painted surface lends itself specially to being faked, so as to give 
 it an appearance of age. The collector, to safeguard himself against spurious 
 furniture of this description, should remember the great rarity of the genuine 
 example to-day. 
 
 64 
 
GESSO AND GILT FURNITURE 
 
 The following brief remarks describe one or two essential differences 
 between original and spurious gilding. 
 
 The surface of gilt furniture in its original condition will become 
 patinated in a similar way to oak and walnut. Unlike the oak and walnut 
 furniture, its surface is not polished with beeswax or oil ; it will, however, 
 naturally be dusted, and the effects of this will be discernible on a piece 
 with its original gilding, as its surface will wear, and the raised portions of 
 the ornament will show the plaster ground where the gilding has been worn 
 off* by constant dusting. This feature is most noticeable on the low relief 
 ornament of gesso furniture. As already pointed out in the chapters on Oak 
 and Walnut, dust plays an important part in the making of the patina, 
 accumulating in the interstices of the carving, and forming a dark setting to 
 the lighter projecting parts of the carved design. Although dust does not 
 enrich the effect of gilding in a similar manner, it affects its present-day 
 condition in such a way as to help the collector to distinguish genuine gilding 
 from the modern spurious imitation. On a genuine piece of gilt furniture, 
 such as a table, it will be noticed that the portions of the table that face 
 upwards will be dark in comparison with those parts which face downwards ; 
 the reason being that dust has fallen on the upturned portions, where it lay 
 and gradually darkened the surface of the gilding. Those parts of the table 
 facing downwards will show the gilding much brighter in comparison as, 
 owing to their position, these parts will not be affected by the dust. The 
 sullying effect of dust in this manner can be readily recognised on an old 
 gilt picture frame ; if the frame was always hung in the same position, the 
 bottom, upturned side of the frame will be perceptibly darker than the inside 
 top of the frame, which will face downwards. 
 
 This effect of the darkening of gilding by dust, although more accentuated 
 on original gilt pieces of the early eighteenth century, will also be discernible 
 on pieces gilt about twenty-five or thirty years ago. Therefore it can only 
 be used as a test for that gilding which is of quite recent manufacture. The 
 imitator, in his spurious pieces, does not imitate this undoubted but subtle 
 sign of certain age. 1 
 
 The chief feature of the spurious imitation of old gilding is generally 
 the fact that the gilding is applied on to a red ground, which is specially 
 noticeable because the imitator, in order to simulate the appearance of age, 
 rubs off the gilding, and thus exposes the ground underneath. This gilding 
 
 1 As an example of this effect of dust darkening portions of a piece of gilt furniture the Louis Quatorze 
 gilt torchere in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, ihould be examined. 
 
 E 65 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 on a red ground is characteristic more of spurious or modern gilding than of 
 genuine work. To tone down the brightness of the gold, the imitator applies 
 a wash of stain over the gilt surface. By gently wiping the gilt surface with 
 a damp cloth, this stain can be removed, thus exposing the bright gilding 
 underneath. It will take two or three years for the gilding to become 
 sufficiently hard to resist this test. Spurious gilding, however, when it is 
 three or four years old, can then generally be recognised by its even dark 
 tone, caused through dust adhering to its faked and sticky surface, and this 
 gradual alteration in tone results, ultimately, in the loss of its antique appear- 
 ance. If the imitator was content to gild his furniture, and leave it for time 
 to tone down, in the course of thirty or forty years there would be a much 
 greater similarity between his gilding and the genuine gilding of the eighteenth 
 century. Owing, however, to commercial reasons, it is not possible for him 
 to do this, as he must obtain an appearance of age straight away. 
 
 SILVERED FURNITURE 
 
 From the time of Charles n. to that of William and Mary, articles 
 were sometimes silvered instead of gilded, and this silvered work is, to-day, 
 the more highly prized because of its rarity. Gesso furniture was never 
 silvered, and the examples that have survived are confined to the stands 
 of cabinets and picture frames, dating from the last thirty years of the 
 seventeenth century. The stands of the two lacquer cabinets illustrated 
 (Figs. 48 and 49) are good examples of this genuine silvering. Genuine old 
 silvered work, 1 owing to its having been varnished originally, like the gilt 
 furniture, has a yellow tinge over its surface, specially noticeable in the 
 crevices of the carved design. The surface of the old silvering is also 
 generally covered with a fine network of cracks, and these are much more 
 noticeable on silvered than on gilded work. These characteristics of old 
 silvered work should be carefully noticed on genuine examples, as they will 
 be a safeguard to the collector against the spurious imitation which is 
 extensively made at the present time. The imitations lack these peculiarities, 
 as it is time alone that can produce them. 
 
 1 These silvered carved wood articles must not be confused with furniture of solid silver, or covered with 
 very thin sheet silver, the few surviving specimens of which are confined to tables, torcheres, and mirror frames. 
 These, naturally, are of great value and extreme rarity, and most known examples date from the late seventeenth 
 century. 
 
 66 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 MIRRORS 
 
 i 660-1 800 
 
 HISTORICAL SURVEY 
 
 THE glass mirror was not invented until the seventeenth century, 
 the only form of mirror prior to this time being that made of polished 
 metal. The method of silvering glass was discovered by the Vene- 
 tians, who monopolised the making of glass mirror plates until a factory 
 was established in Paris about 1665. In England about 1670 the Duke of 
 Buckingham's factory for the manufacture of glass and mirror plates was set 
 up at Vauxhall. The early mirrors that have survived from the reign of 
 Charles 11. are small and square or oblong in shape ; the frames are of a 
 bold heavy section decorated with either plain walnut veneer, oyster-shell, or 
 marquetry, similar to Fig. 52. Mirror frames of this period were also 
 decorated with tortoise-shell and metal mounts, and sometimes with needle- 
 work or beadwork, the making of which was so fashionable a pursuit in the 
 Stuart days. Mirrors of this type were also made with their frames in 
 lacquer, and there are also one or two examples extant with embossed silver 
 frames, but these were made by the silversmith and not by the cabinet- 
 maker. 
 
 At the end of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth 
 century, mirrors were remarkable for their height, being so made to accord 
 with the greater height of the rooms of the new mansions. Mirrors of this 
 tall type were always made of two plates, the ostensible reason being that 
 at this period glass sheets could not be made longer than 4 ft. without 
 running them too thin to stand grinding. Whether this was the only 
 reason cannot definitely be stated ; but the decorative value is greatly 
 enhanced by their being made in two plates instead of one, and as the small 
 mirrors were also made in this manner it would appear that the old designers 
 did realise the value and proportion added to a mirror by having its surface 
 
 67 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 divided into two planes. These mirrors are sometimes found with frames 
 of veneered walnut, or, more rarely, with glass borders set in metal mounts. 
 Sometimes the glass borders were decorated with bevelling, and at the 
 corners the joints would be covered with shaped pieces of a deep blue glass ; 
 similar frames to this are also decorated with a design on the back, of the 
 glass borders, the ornament being generally in the style of Boule and 
 executed in gold on a black, blue, green, or red ground (Fig. 51). 
 
 Mention was made in the preceding chapter on Gesso and Gilt 
 Furniture of mirrors with gilt gesso frames which first appeared at the end 
 of the seventeenth century ; during the time of Queen Anne these gesso 
 mirrors and those with plain walnut frames were both very popular types. 
 Lacquer mirrors also shared this popularity, although fewer examples have 
 survived, as many must have perished owing to the delicate nature of the 
 lacquer. All the above types of mirrors were invariably designed with 
 hoods similar to the two examples illustrated (Figs. 51 and 52). The fine 
 mirror shown in Fig. 53, of about 1720, has its frame decorated in gesso and 
 the bolder parts in carved wood ; the eagles' heads decorating the hood or 
 cresting were a favourite motif of design at this period, and, as was pointed 
 out in Chapter IV, are also found on walnut furniture. Another variety of 
 mirror made about this time was in walnut and gilt, the flat surfaces of the 
 frame being overlaid with cross-banded walnut veneer and the carved mould- 
 ings gilded. From about 1730 mirrors were made on architectural lines 
 with a pediment top, as shown in Fig. 55. This type of architectural 
 mirror varies in form and design considerably ; and about 1745 it gave 
 place to the mirror influenced by the contemporary French rococo style 1 
 and to mirrors made in the Chinese and Gothic tastes which became popular 
 at this period. These mirror frames, in the French, Chinese, and Gothic 
 tastes, showed many extravagances, birds, animals, temples, and mandarin 
 figures being pressed into service for decoration. Sometimes the frames 
 of these mirrors were designed with small ledges for supporting china 
 ornaments. 
 
 From about 1 765-1 800 mirrors came under the influence of the Adam 
 school of design. The oval-shaped mirror became popular at this period ; 
 and towards the end of the century mirrors are found of oval or oblong form 
 with a cresting composed of swags, husks, and paterae, made either of 
 composition or wood and affixed to wires. 
 
 About 1790 the well-known circular, convex mirror, surmounted by a 
 
 1 See Fig. 54. 
 68 
 
Minor, with glass borders in narrow carved and gilt frame, with elaborately 
 
 carved cresting. 
 Circa 1720. 
 
 Fig- 53- CoK °' 
 
MIRRORS 
 
 carved eagle, was introduced ; this type of mirror continued to be made in 
 large numbers well into the nineteenth century. 
 
 Besides the wall mirrors, there was another kind known as the over- 
 mantel mirror, designed to rest on the shelf of a chimney-piece. The earliest 
 of these, from examples that have survived, would appear to date from 
 Queen Anne's reign. They have plain veneered walnut frames with a 
 narrow horizontal glass, divided into three plates in the lower portion : 
 and with an oil painting, generally of still life, above the glass. 1 These 
 overmantel mirrors do not appear to have been made during the architectural 
 period, but were again introduced about 1750, when they had their frames 
 decorated in the French, Chinese, and Gothic tastes. Robert Adam also 
 utilised these overmantel mirrors, and there are several existing to-day, 
 designed by him for houses which he built and decorated. Towards the 
 end of the eighteenth century another type of the overmantel mirror came 
 into fashion ; in this type the glass was formed into three divisions, and the 
 frieze was generally decorated with low relief ornament of Adam design, 
 sometimes in carved wood but more often in composition. This type is 
 called a " Chelsea Mirror," and must have been made up to about 1840; 
 some of those dating from the early nineteenth century are ornamented 
 with motifs of the Empire style of design, such as the sphinx's head. 
 
 GENUINE AND SPURIOUS MIRRORS 
 
 The square or oblong mirrors with cross-banded, veneered walnut 
 frames, dating from the William and Mary and Queen Anne periods, are 
 very often met with to-day, especially those of small size ; but this cannot 
 be said of those decorated with marquetry, which are much rarer. Many of 
 these plain, walnut-framed mirrors therefore have had marquetry panels let 
 into their frames ; this deception can be detected, as the new work will not 
 be level with the old but will be slightly sunk or concave, because it is im- 
 possible for the imitator to counteract the shrinkage of the new inlaid work 
 on it becoming dry and set. It will also be necessary for him to repolish 
 the whole of the frame after he has completed the deception. These mirrors 
 are often found to-day with the hoods missing, as owing to their fragile 
 nature many must have been broken and lost in the course of time. If the 
 back of the mirror is examined, the slots where the hood was originally fixed 
 
 1 A few are extant with a needlework panel in place of the picture. 
 
 69 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 will be seen. This applies not only to the walnut marquetry and lacquer- 
 framed mirrors of this period, but also to the mirrors with glass borders. 
 The collector should therefore understand that when he meets with a mirror 
 of this type without a hood it is imperfect. 
 
 The tall type of mirror in walnut of large dimensions is especially rare 
 to-day ; and the type with bevelled and decorated glass borders is still rarer. 
 Most examples extant of the latter type have the background of the borders 
 black ; mirrors with the blue, green, and red colourings in the borders are 
 exceptionally rare. The design on the borders is usually found, however, 
 in a very perished state, but this can be so restored that the old and new parts 
 are hardly distinguishable. The collector, therefore, when he finds a mirror 
 of this description with its decorated borders in perfect order, should make 
 careful examination of them in case most of the design has been restored. 
 The value of the mirror with a walnut frame depends greatly on the frame 
 being in an untouched condition with a good patina, as many of them un- 
 fortunately have been French polished. 
 
 As already mentioned, gesso mirrors of the more ordinary type exist in 
 considerable numbers to-day. The mirror of the architectural type is not so 
 frequently found, and this can also be said of the mirrors in the French, 
 Chinese, or Gothic tastes of the middle of the century. All these gilt and 
 gesso mirrors are found with their frames in a more or less restored state ; 
 the mirror of architectural design often has the pediment missing or the 
 small apron piece at the bottom. The back of the mirror should be 
 examined for any variation of appearance of the deal framework, for in a 
 genuine mirror the back will be dark in colour through the accumulation of 
 dirt and dust on the surface. If this framework is new-looking, wholly or 
 in parts, suspicion should be aroused, especially if a white mould or bloom 
 ' is found on the surface ; the reason for this has already been given. 1 
 
 Mirrors are often found to-day with portions of the gilt frame a dark 
 colour in comparison with the remaining parts ; this is due to the mirror 
 having been restored and the new parts only gilt. When the restored work 
 was newly gilded it had the same appearance as the old, but, as has already 
 been explained, modern faked gilding changes in colour after the lapse of 
 a few years. Motifs of design such as masks, birds, animals, or mandarin 
 figures add considerably to the present-day value of a mirror, this kind of 
 ornament being found only in the more important examples of high quality. 
 
 The mirrors of Adam design of the late eighteenth century, with the 
 
 1 See p. 15. 
 
 70 
 
MIRRORS 
 
 cresting of composition affixed to wires, must have been made in considerable 
 numbers in oval and oblong shape. To-day, however, it is the mirror and 
 the frame that have generally survived ; the cresting, owing to its delicate 
 construction, has, in most cases, been destroyed. Many of these mirror 
 frames, therefore, have had their crestings restored ; and by far the greater 
 number existing to-day are in this condition. 
 
 A number of mirrors dating from the last half of the eighteenth century 
 had frames made of paper pulp ; they are generally oval in shape, of the early 
 Adam style, decorated with rococo scrolls and foliage. These mirrors are 
 naturally of less value than the carved wood examples, as they were made 
 by mechanical process and not by hand ; if they are examined from the back, 
 the paper pulp can easily be detected. 
 
 Mirrors of the late Adam period, with their decoration in composition, 
 are of inferior value to those of carved wood. To detect composition from 
 wood it should be tested with a sharp-pointed penknife ; wood will be found 
 soft, but the composition will be hard and resisting. 
 
 Mirrors of the eighteenth century were often made, originally, in pairs, 
 the reason being that one of the favourite positions for them was between 
 the windows of a room ; and as many of the Georgian rooms had three 
 windows this would necessitate two mirrors. To-day, pairs of genuine 
 mirrors are not often met with, especially of the Queen Anne and early 
 Georgian periods. In purchasing a pair of mirrors, careful comparison 
 should be made between the two for any variation in the carving or gilding, 
 as, owing to mirrors in pairs having more than double the value of one, 
 many pairs are found, to-day, consisting of one old mirror and a modern 
 reproduction. 
 
 Overmantel mirrors are not so highly valued to-day as the wall mirrors ; 
 this, however, does not refer to the early Queen Anne type with walnut 
 frame. A genuine specimen of the walnut overmantel mirror with its old 
 picture is very rarely found. This scarcity of the original article has 
 resulted in the manufacture of many spurious ones, the frames being 
 veneered, sometimes, with old veneer. The imitator has no difficulty in 
 finding a suitable picture for the upper part, his choice being sometimes a 
 still-life subject, but generally a landscape or seascape. 
 
 All eighteenth century glasses had bevelled edges, with the excep- 
 tion of the very rococo-framed mirror of the middle of the century, 
 where a shaped bevel following the intricate lines of the frame would not 
 have been in good taste. This bevelling is specially noticeable in the 
 
 7 1 
 
 • 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 mirrors of the William and Mary and early Queen Anne periods. Various 
 kinds of bevelling are found on these glasses, especially with the tall type 
 formed with two plates and frames of glass borders. The edges where the 
 two plates join are sometimes serrated and cut, in addition to both edges of 
 the plates being bevelled. The bevelling on an old mirror is at so shallow 
 an angle that it can only just be felt when the finger-tips are passed over it. 
 The reason for this shallow bevelling was not only that it increased the 
 decorative effect of the mirror, but also owing to the extreme thinness of the 
 glass plates, which seldom exceeded a thickness of ^ of an inch. The bevel 
 of a modern glass which is £ to f of an inch in thickness is much deeper, 
 and shows prismatic colours. The old bevelling, which appears concave, 
 was done by hand with pumice-stone ; but the modern bevelling is pro- 
 duced by sandstone with a machine, and has an irregular surface. 
 
 The thickness of the glass of a mirror can be seen and tested if a coin 
 is placed touching the surface of the glass, the distance between the reflection 
 and the coin being the thickness of the glass. Nineteenth century glass is 
 thicker than the eighteenth century variety. 
 
 If the back of an eighteenth century mirror plate is examined it will be 
 found to be silvered ; a modern mirror plate has the back coated with a 
 composition of a brick-red colour. This variation is due to the old mirrors 
 being silvered by the mercurial process and the new mirrors by a patent 
 process. 
 
 The possession of the original glass adds distinctly to the attributes of 
 an old mirror ; even if it gives a very dark reflection and the glass is pitted 
 with rust, it has far more decorative value than if it was replaced with a 
 modern perfect glass. Therefore, as it is desirable to have the frame of the 
 mirror in its untouched state, the same thing can also be said of the mirror 
 plate. A new mirror plate will clash badly with an original frame. Many 
 mirrors having lost their original glass plates have had them replaced by 
 new ones ; when a mirror is met with to-day without a bevel this is probably 
 what has happened (i.e. excepting the mirrors with the rococo design 
 frames). In mirrors which are formed of two plates sometimes one of the 
 plates will be new, in which case the difference in the tone of the reflection 
 will be distinctly noticeable ; the old glass gives a blackish reflection, whereas 
 that of the new glass is whiter. 
 
 The experienced imitator, knowing the decorative value of the old 
 glass with its shallow bevelling and dimmed reflection, makes his new mirror 
 plate so closely resembling the old, both in the bevelling and the dark 
 
 72 
 
A Stand decorated in Gesso, with original gilding. 
 Circa I 7 1 0. 
 
 Fig. 56. . Col. M. 
 
 Fig- 57- 
 
 A Sidetable, carved wood and gilt, with marble top. 
 Circa 1725. 
 
 Col. D. 
 
MIRRORS 
 
 reflection of the glass, 1 that these spurious mirror plates have to be scrutinised 
 very closely before they can be detected. Generally, however, he overdoes 
 the artificial antique appearance by disfiguring the silvering with too many 
 defects. Old mirrors are never desirable when the glass is too eaten away 
 with rust and the old mercury has perished or become spotted through 
 damp. It is the dim reflection that is so attractive to-day in an old mirror, 
 as it is in perfect harmony with its frame, both having grown old together. 
 
 1 In the genuine mirror plate the dark reflection is mainly due to the composition of the glass itself, but 
 in the imitation the effect has to be produced by means of the silvering applied to the back, as modern glass 
 is clear and white. 
 
 73 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 FURNITURE OF THE EARLY MAHOGANY PERIOD 
 
 1720-1745 
 
 DESIGN AND DECORATION 
 
 FURNITURE began to be made in mahogany about the year 1720. 
 Unlike walnut, which had a natural decorative effect with the fine 
 figure and natural beauty of its grain, this new wood had no fine 
 figure to recommend it, but was eminently suitable for carving. Con- 
 sequently it may be said that the introduction of mahogany for furniture 
 making coincided with, if it did not actually inspire, a new fashion in 
 ornament ; for it is at this period that the eagle and lion heads and the 
 lion masks, which were the salient features of the new furniture, first made 
 their appearance. The actual form of the various articles of early mahogany 
 furniture adhered closely to that of the walnut, with the addition, however, of 
 these carved motifs ; but as mahogany borrowed its design from walnut, so 
 in return walnut was lent decoration by mahogany ; and, accordingly, pieces 
 of walnut furniture, made after the initial entry of mahogany into the 
 furniture world, are found decorated with the same carved features as are 
 found in mahogany. This mutual interchange of design and ornament is 
 illustrated in Figs. 61 and 46, the first showing a mahogany two-chair-back 
 settee with the hoop back of the Walnut period, but the lion heads of the 
 new style decorating the ends of the arms ; the second, a three-chair-back 
 walnut settee, retaining the form of the walnut furniture, but decorated with 
 the new motifs of the lion masks and paw feet. 
 
 Comparing the best quality furniture of this period in these two woods, 
 the walnut articles are richer in effect than those in mahogany ; for while 
 both have a common feature in the ornate motifs of the new style, the 
 plain surfaces of the mahogany, lacking the fine figure of the walnut, appear 
 plainer and heavier, only relieved by the small amount of carved ornament 
 with which they are adorned. 
 
 74 
 
EARLY MAHOGANY FURNITURE 
 
 The repeal in 1733 of the duty on imported timber, which cheapened 
 the cost of mahogany, undoubtedly accentuated the making of furniture in 
 this wood. But for some years after this date mahogany furniture, ornate 
 in design and of high quality and workmanship, must have been expensive 
 and only within the means of the fashionable and wealthy classes for whom 
 it was principally made. The more ordinary type of walnut furniture, as 
 already mentioned, was still made up to 1735, and although plain mahogany 
 furniture was being made on the lines of the walnut, mahogany did not hold 
 the market for the cheaper furniture until walnut went out of use. This is 
 undoubtedly proved by the scarcity in mahogany of this period of such articles 
 as the plain bureau bookcase, bureau, chest-with-drawers, and long case clock, 
 all of which would be used by the middle classes. A considerable number 
 of these articles in walnut have survived, dating up to 1735 or later. About 
 1735 the lion masks and heads on the chairs, stools, settees, and tables 
 gradually disappeared, and the chairs and settees of this time lost the hoop- 
 shaped back, so typical of the walnut furniture, and became lighter in design, 
 with pierced and carved splats in the backs (Figs. 63, 81, and 82). 
 
 Just before 1730, the design of mahogany furniture, like that of the 
 gilt, was affected by the demand of the contemporary architects for furniture 
 to suit the rooms of the many new town and country mansions being erected 
 by them in the classical style. This influence specially affected the design 
 of wall furniture, such as cabinets, bookcases, mirrors, and side tables. 1 In 
 some cases corner cabinets and bookcases were treated as part of the panelling 
 of the room, being made in deal, similar to the panelling, and painted with 
 it. Bookcases of this period had doors glazed with panes set in heavy 
 bars similar to the contemporary windows. The panels of the doors in 
 bureau bookcases and cabinets were glazed with mirror plates in con- 
 tinuation of the William and Mary tradition. Tops of these pieces were 
 surmounted by classical cornices and pediments supported by fluted pilasters 
 with carved Corinthian caps. The bottom part of the bookcases and 
 cabinets were often designed with a plinth or podium, on which the 
 pilasters of the upper part rested, following the treatment of a classic order 
 of architecture, the skirting or plinth being similar in section to that of the 
 panelling. 
 
 1 See also its effect on gilt furniture, p. 62. The foremost of these architects was William Kent, who 
 was particularly identified with the design of furniture, though he attempted all branches of design, including 
 ladies' dresses and book illustrations. 
 
 75 
 
 * 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 COLOUR AND PATINA 
 
 The mahogany used at this period came from Central America and 
 was known as " Spanish Mahogany " ; its chief characteristics are its close 
 grain, weight, and rich dark brown colour. Pieces found with a good patina 
 have a lustrous metallic appearance, the result of having been rubbed, 
 when first made, with linseed oil, this treatment having the effect of closing 
 up the grain of the mahogany and hardening its surface. Spanish mahogany 
 is much harder and heavier than other kinds, such as the Cuban and 
 Honduras, which were the varieties most generally employed for furniture 
 making in the last half of the eighteenth century. 
 
 As already mentioned in Chapter I, the feature that is so desirable 
 in a piece of furniture is the dark setting to the carving. This is character- 
 istic of all pieces in mahogany of the early period which have a good colour 
 and patina. 
 
 WORKMANSHIP 
 
 Pieces of this period, such as cabinets, bookcases, etc., were made in the 
 solid mahogany, and veneering was confined to the splats of the hoop-back 
 chairs and the friezes of tables. 
 
 The carving and cabinetwork were of the highest quality, in fact it 
 may be said that at no period in the making of English furniture were they 
 surpassed. Deal was seldom used for drawers or carcase work, oak being 
 invariably employed, and this fact is an additional proof that the early 
 mahogany furniture was very expensive and made almost exclusively for 
 the wealthy classes. 
 
 SPURIOUS MAHOGANY FURNITURE 
 
 The imitator does not, as a general rule, make spurious mahogany 
 pieces of entirely new construction, owing to the difficulty of copying the 
 right colour and patina of old mahogany on freshly cut wood. As stated in 
 Chapter II, mahogany veneer exposed to the action of sal ammoniac 1 in 
 
 1 But treated in this way the veneer, when French polished, has a bluish sheen which is never found on 
 the natural brown colour of old mahogany. 
 
 76 
 
A deal Sidetable, with marble top, originally gilt but now painted. 
 
 Circa 1735. 
 
 Fig. 58. Col. 
 
 A mahogany Sidetable of exceptional design and quality of carving. 
 
 Circa '73°' 
 
 Fig. 59. Col. K. 
 
SPURIOUS MAHOGANY FURNITURE 
 
 a fume cupboard will obtain the colour of old mahogany, but this process 
 cannot be applied to solid pieces, as the fumes do not penetrate sufficiently 
 deep to be of any use. To get over this difficulty the imitator sometimes 
 uses American walnut, which is similar in grain, and when treated with 
 acids takes a colour very like that of old mahogany ; being walnut it is 
 much easier to patinate its soft surface than the harder mahogany. It is 
 usually employed for spurious chairs and legs of tables, but is not suitable for 
 large surfaces. Sometimes, to obviate the difficulty of obtaining the right 
 patina, the imitator will use old pieces with a patinated surface, such as the 
 tops of Victorian tables, invariably of Spanish mahogany, or inferior quality 
 wood obtained from old shop counters, but these supplies of old material 
 are very limited, and he has still to contend with the freshly cut edges. 
 Whether the spurious piece is made in veneer or solid mahogany, the wood 
 when freshly cut will have an open grain, although every endeavour will 
 be made to fill this up. Indeed, the imitator will, in many cases, coat 
 the surface so liberally with French polish that the open grain will 
 be hidden ; but then the surface, although the high gloss of the polish 
 is removed by rubbing down, will be perfectly smooth and greasy to the 
 touch, and with the cold feeling which has already been described as a 
 characteristic of false patina. The experienced imitator, however, does not 
 usually resort to this thick coating of French polish, but risks exposure of the 
 open grain in order to obtain a nearer imitation of the surface condition of 
 the genuine piece. 
 
 Most of the work of the imitator, therefore, takes the form of 
 adaptations, such as " carving up " the mouldings of a plain piece, or 
 decorating its plain surfaces with applied carving, similar to that found 
 on genuine pieces, like the cabinet in Fig. 66. He will also add 
 broken pediment tops to plain bureau bookcases, thus increasing their 
 importance and adding to their present-day value. The open grain 
 on the newly cut mouldings will, however, be a sure indication of 
 spurious work. This open grain is never found on genuine pieces, 
 having been closed up by the application of linseed oil. The collector 
 should make himself familiar with the appearance of the open grain of 
 freshly cut mahogany and the closed grain of the old mahogany^ as this 
 knowledge will prove his surest safeguard against the wiles of the 
 imitator. 
 
 77 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 Chairs, Stools, and Settees. — Mahogany chairs, like those in walnut, 
 were made originally in sets ; but a set in mahogany is as rare as a set in 
 walnut. Mahogany chairs, however, either in sets or singly, are by no 
 means so highly prized as walnut chairs of the same design. The dark 
 tone and absence of fine figure in the mahogany, compared with the rich 
 light brown colour and marking of the walnut, easily account for this. 
 
 As already explained, the type of chair, stool, and settee decorated with 
 the lion mask has been extensively copied in walnut, and a number of similar 
 imitations exist in mahogany. 1 
 
 With regard to the settees, of which many imitations are made, a feature 
 in the design of the genuine settee should be noticed. In a two-chair-back 
 settee there will always be one front centre leg ; in a three-chair-back settee 
 there will be two centre legs, these two legs being in line with the uprights 
 of the chair backs ; in the four-chair-back settee there will be three legs. 
 In the stuffed-back settee the number of front legs will be in proportion 
 to its length. If the illustrations of settees are examined this feature 
 will be clearly seen. This characteristic has been specially pointed out, 
 because the imitator will often make a three-chair-back settee with only 
 one leg in the middle or a two-chair-back settee without a centre leg. 
 In the upholstered-back settees he will also err in the proportions of the 
 front legs to the length, by placing one leg in the middle of a piece which, 
 if a genuine example, would have had two legs. Sometimes a genuine 
 chair-back settee will be found with its front leg missing ; examination of 
 the underframing will, however, show the marks where it had originally 
 been fixed. 
 
 A point to be remembered in connection with stools is that many 
 examples with the cabriole legs and claw and ball feet are often found to-day 
 with their legs made up out of chair legs. This type has generally an 
 upholstered seat (Fig. 80), and not a drop-in seat as shown in Fig. 79. 
 This spurious work can be detected, because, owing to the front of a chair 
 being wider than the back, the front leg is made at an acute angle, 
 whereas the leg of a stool is at a right angle. Therefore, in applying 
 chair legs to a stool, the two wings at each side of the knee of the 
 cabriole leg, which are always made in separate pieces from the leg, 
 cannot both be in line with the outer edge of the framework of the 
 seat. One of the wings will run under the framing ; sometimes the wings 
 
 1 The remarks made concerning the making of these spurious walnut chairs refer also to those found in 
 mahogany. See p. 44. 
 
 78 
 
Fig. 60. 
 
 A mahogany Settee, arms terminating in small lion heads. 
 Circa I 730. 
 
 Col. C. 
 
 A mahogany Settee. (The design shows that it is one of the early pieces made in mahogany.) 
 
 Circa 1725. 
 
 F 'g- 61 ■ Col. D. 
 
A mahogany Chair of the lion mask period. 
 Circa 1730. 
 
 Fig. 62. Col. C. 
 
 Fig. 63. 
 
 A mahogany Chair. 
 Circa 1745. 
 
 Col. C. 
 
 A mahogany Armchair, in the French taste, with 
 the legs terminating in scroll toes. 
 Circa 1755. 
 
 Fig. 64. Col. C. 
 
 A walnut Armchair, upholstered in gros and 
 petit point needlework. 
 Circa 1 7 40. 
 
 Fig. 65. Col. C. 
 
BUREAUX AND BUREAU BOOKCASES 
 
 of a leg will be fixed so that they are in line with the edge of the framework, 
 but in this case the space between the wings and the leg will be filled in 
 with wedges, which can be seen on examining the inside of the leg. This 
 type of stool is not being made to-day, as single chairs with cabriole legs are 
 rare ; but there are a large number of these reconstructed stools about, and 
 the collector should realise that their market value is not so great as that of 
 the genuine article. 
 
 Another characteristic of a genuine stool is that the beech underframing 
 will have its surface in most cases patinated, because a stool is generally 
 picked up by the underframing, and constant handling in this manner over a 
 long period will have affected it in this way. This characteristic will be 
 better appreciated by comparing the underframing of a stool with that of 
 a chair ; the latter being handled by the back when moved, its underframing 
 will not have this patinated look. This slight patinating of the beech under- 
 framing of stools will be useful to the collector in avoiding the many 
 spurious specimens of new construction. Stools with the drop-in seat are, if 
 anything, more desirable than those with their upholstering over the seat 
 rail ; most of the spurious stools are made in the latter form. 
 
 Bureaux and Bureau Bookcases. — As already mentioned, the early 
 mahogany bureau is to-day seldom found. Most of those extant date from 
 the last half of the eighteenth century. 
 
 The bureau bookcase is found in mahogany on the lines of the walnut 
 bureau bookcase and also in the architectural style already described. The 
 latter is by far the rarest form, and is generally of fine quality workmanship, 
 with a single door in the upper part, surmounted by a broken pediment 
 and decorated with carved mouldings and applied carved ornamentation. 
 Both types of these bureau bookcases are either found with mirrors in 
 the doors of the upper part or with wooden panels. 1 The type with the 
 glazed lattice doors was not made until the second half of the eighteenth 
 century. As already stated, the plain mahogany bureau bookcase is often 
 found with its mouldings " carved up " and also decorated with applied carved 
 ornament. Sometimes a specimen is found with the flap decorated with 
 applied carved mouldings ; these mouldings are always spurious, as the flap 
 of a genuine bureau was never decorated in this manner. 
 
 1 A mahogany bureau bookcase of this period with solid wood panels in the doors of the upper part is 
 shown in P ig. 83 ; its date is about 1740. 
 
 79 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 Bookcases and Cabinets. — Bookcases of the early Mahogany period are 
 generally of the finest quality as regards workmanship and carving. This 
 refers, however, to those of architectural design, as a plainer type of mahogany 
 bookcase, similar to the late walnut examples, is also met with. 
 
 Early mahogany china cabinets, like those in walnut, are of great rarity. 
 A few mahogany cabinets are extant, similar in design to Fig. 66. These 
 invariably had mirrors fitted to the panels in the upper part ; they were, 
 therefore, not display cabinets, but were intended more as decorative pieces 
 of furniture for the large halls and rooms designed by William Kent and 
 other architects. Many of the mirrors in this type of cabinet and bureau 
 bookcase have to-day been replaced by plain glass to convert them into china 
 cabinets, thus marring their appearance. The designers of the eighteenth 
 century fully realised the decorative value of mirrors let into the panels of 
 a piece of furniture. Their artistic effect in those days must have been 
 specially attractive, as the mirrors would contain, like a rich picture, reflec- 
 tions of the panelled rooms with their tapestries, pictures, and lighted candles. 
 
 A large plain sheet of glass let into the door of a cabinet interrupts its 
 design, and it was not until the decadent age of the middle of the nineteenth 
 century that cabinets and bookcase doors were glazed in this manner. 
 
 Doors which have had their mirrors exchanged for pieces of plain glass 
 can be detected by examining the back of the framework for any sign of 
 small holes which may have been filled up. The original mirrors were 
 protected by wooden backboards screwed to the framework ; the presence 
 of these holes caused by the screws denotes, therefore, that the door contained 
 originally a mirror with a wooden backboard. 
 
 Pedestal Writing Tables. — At this date, these could not have been 
 nearly so popular for writing purposes as the walnut bureaux, many of which 
 have survived, while the pedestal table is known to-day by only a few 
 fine specimens. 1 These are all of high quality workmanship and elaborately 
 carved, the decorations in some cases including lion masks, mouldings, and 
 friezes of classical design according to the school of William Kent. 
 
 The pedestal writing table of this period is so rare and valuable to-day 
 that the imitator has made many elaborate adaptations of the plain mahogany 
 writing table — a piece which in nearly every case dates from the last half 
 of the eighteenth century — by carving its plain mouldings and adding such 
 
 1 The popularity of the bureau as compared with the pedestal writing table is also noticeable, but in a less 
 marked degree, in connection with the furniture of the later half of the eighteenth century. 
 
 80 
 
A mahogany Cabinet of architectural design, with original mirror plates in doors. 
 
 Circa 1735. 
 
 Fig. 66. Col. S. 
 
A mahogany Sidetable, with marble top and carved apron piece. 
 Circa 1735. 
 
 Fig. 67. Col. C. 
 
CARD TABLES, SIDE TABLES, AND DINING TABLES 
 
 valuable motifs of design as the lion mask and other applied carvings. 
 When, therefore, the collector comes across pedestal writing tables purporting 
 to be of this period, he should remember the extreme rarity of the genuine 
 piece and make a particularly careful investigation. 
 
 Card Tables, Side Tables, and Dining Tables. — The card tables of 
 the early Mahogany period are found with cabriole legs, sometimes decorated 
 with lion masks and paw feet, but generally with claw and ball feet and 
 knees with acanthus foliage. The lion mask table is very rare and highly 
 valued to-day, and, as with the chairs of a similar design, walnut examples 
 are more prized than those in mahogany. 
 
 A mahogany table with its frieze in the architectural style is shown in 
 Fig. 93. Tables made about 1735 had their corners square and not rounded 
 like the earlier examples. 
 
 Another feature introduced on card tables in the latter years of this period 
 was the carving of the edges to the top with the rose and ribbon design, 
 seen in Fig. 93. Card tables also began to have serpentine fronts as in the 
 table shown in Fig. 45, which must be a very early example of this pattern, 
 as the design of the legs and the fact that the table is of walnut, point to a 
 date of about 1730. The remarks made about card tables in the chapter on 
 Walnut Furniture refer also in general to mahogany card tables of this period. 
 
 Sometimes mahogany card tables are found with double tops, one 
 for card-playing and the other generally inlaid with a backgammon board ; 
 these are seldom found on a table of high quality decorated with carving. 
 The majority of the card tables of this period extant to-day are plain, 
 with plain cabriole legs terminating in club feet. These card tables are 
 eagerly bought up by the imitator in order to " carve-up " the legs and 
 edges of the tops. 
 
 One peculiarity of genuine card tables with the edge of their tops 
 decorated with carving, is that the ornament on the front edge is more worn 
 than that at the ends of the sides. This is owing to the fact that when 
 the card table was closed and standing against a wall (its normal position) 
 the front edge would receive most of the handling and rubbing. This 
 variation in wear is not found on tables with their edges carved by the 
 imitator, who by sand-papering and brushing counterfeits the worn appear- 
 ance equally over the whole of the carving. 
 
 The side table must have been a favourite article of furniture at this 
 period, since more fine examples of it exist than of any other kind of table. 
 P 81 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 The design varies considerably, as may be seen by comparing the two pieces 
 illustrated in Fig. 59 and Fig. 67, and the mahogany console table, Fig. 68. 1 
 Mahogany console tables are sometimes found with a design of dolphins, the 
 tails of which support the frieze of the marble top. 
 
 All side tables of this period have marble tops, the mahogany top not 
 being introduced until about 1770. The possession of a fine original marble 
 top considerably increases the present-day value of a side table ; less 
 important pieces would be mounted with white Sicilian marble, but for 
 examples of high quality black or yellow marble would be used. A type 
 of marble also much in favour at this period for the tops of fine tables was 
 that known as Breche violette, which has black and purple markings on a 
 white ground. 
 
 Side tables can have been very seldom made in walnut, as very few 
 examples are extant ; and as the majority of the mahogany side tables that 
 have survived are finely carved and of high quality, the side table of this 
 period must have been a piece of furniture made only for the wealthy classes. 
 
 The oval-top dining table with cabriole legs similar to Fig. 71 was 
 introduced in this period. Like the side tables, it is hardly ever met with in 
 walnut, and it varies in size from 3 ft. 6 in. to 5 ft. 6 in. across the top. 
 Unlike the side table, a number of these tables were made with plain legs, 
 as, being a novelty of this period, they were most probably in popular 
 demand by all classes. Having solid wood tops these tables could not very 
 well be made in walnut, but mahogany examples exist in larger numbers 
 to-day than any other articles of this period. Sometimes the legs of these 
 tables, in very early specimens, are found decorated with an escallop shell. 
 A few rare examples exist with the lion mask motif carved on the knees of 
 the legs, and a few with octagon-shaped tops. 
 
 Tripod Furniture. — Other innovations in this period are the table 
 with circular top and the firescreen with a panel of needlework, both 
 supported on tripod feet. The stem and tripod feet in fine examples are 
 decorated with carving, the feet of the tripod ending generally in a claw 
 and ball foot and more rarely a lion paw foot ; the tops of the tables 
 were circular and generally decorated with a pie-crust edge (Figs. 74, 75, 
 and 77). 
 
 Another variety of the tripod table measured about 2 ft. in height (Figs. 
 69 and 70). Mahogany candlestands on tripod feet are also found in this 
 
 1 This type of table was more commonly made in gilt. 
 82 
 
A small mahogany Tripod Coffer Table. 
 Circa i 7 50. 
 
 Fig. 6y. Col. C. 
 
 A rare mahogany Tripod Coffee 
 Table. 
 Circa 1735. 
 Fig. 70. Col. C. 
 
 A mahogany Table, with massive cabriole legs ending in claw and ball tcct. 
 
 Circa 174O. 
 
 Fig. 71. Col. M. 
 
TRIPOD FURNITURE 
 
 early Mahogany period, and, like the carved wood and gilt specimens, are 
 very rare and highly prized to-day. These candle-stands and torcheres were 
 generally made in pairs. Another piece of tripod furniture was the dumb 
 waiter, generally with three circular platforms, but specimens are very 
 seldom found with the legs and stems carved. The one illustrated is of very 
 unusual design and dates from this period. Generally speaking, dumb 
 waiters are not in great demand to-day, as they are no longer commonly 
 used. 
 
 The tripod tables of the early and middle periods of mahogany, when 
 found with carved legs and stems and carved pie-crust tops, are to-day more 
 sought after by the collector than perhaps any other mahogany tables, and 
 genuine specimens realise high prices. The scarcity and consequent value 
 of the tripod table with carved legs and decorated top is an incentive to the 
 imitator to make many spurious copies. He is considerably helped in this 
 respect by the very large number of plain mahogany tripod tables that exist, 
 which he is able to " carve-up " in such a way as to make them resemble 
 the decorated specimens. The imitator for his work chooses a plain, well- 
 shaped, massive tripod table, which will give him sufficient material on 
 which to carve the ornament. The feet of these spurious tripods generally 
 terminate with a toe decorated with foliage, the reason being that there is 
 not sufficient material in the foot of the old plain tripod to permit the 
 imitator to convert it into a claw and ball foot ; as, however, this is a very 
 necessary adjunct to make these tables saleable, he will sometimes glue 
 pieces of wood on to each side of the original foot, in order to obtain 
 sufficient width for the carving of the claw and ball. In all genuine tables 
 the claw and ball foot is carved out of one piece ; but if a spurious foot of 
 this description is examined, the joints where these extra pieces are glued on 
 can be detected. Where there is a sufficient width of material for the ball, 
 but not enough for the claw, the claws will be added in separate pieces. In 
 other cases, in order to get over the difficulty of lack of material in the toes 
 of the old tripods, the imitator will make a narrow four-clawed foot, instead 
 of the three usual claws grasping the ball. This narrow foot is never 
 found on an original tripod and is a design invented by the imitator to 
 overcome his difficulty. 
 
 With regard to the tops of these tables, he will decorate the plain top 
 with a carved pie-crust edge, which he will cut out of the solid wood. 
 There is one characteristic, however, of the genuine circular top, and that 
 is, that it will not be a true circle, the wood having shrunk across the grain : 
 
 83 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 it will therefore measure less across the grain than with it. The imitator, in 
 converting this old top, will first of all send it to the turner, who will turn 
 it out to the required depth, and in doing this he will also alter the outside 
 shape of the edge, and thus make it an exact circle. 
 
 Many firescreens on tripod feet will be found with the pole cut off and 
 a top added, thus converting them into tables. This practice first started 
 in the nineteenth century when firescreens went out of use, and it is 
 continued to-day because these tables are more valuable than the screens. 
 It is generally possible to detect this alteration, as the section of the 
 moulding which terminates the top of the stem of a table is different to that 
 on a tripod firescreen. 
 
 The imitator does not copy the other articles of tripod furniture, 
 because of the scarcity of plain examples of the tripod candle-stand and the 
 small tripod table. The plain dumb waiter, although it exists in large 
 numbers, is not sufficiently saleable to-day to pay him for carving it up. 
 
 Chests-with-Drawers and Tallboys. — Early chests-with-drawers and 
 tallboys of this period are rare, most of the examples existing to-day dating 
 from after 1750- 1800. A few chests-with-drawers on stands, similar to 
 the walnut examples, are found ; but these are very unusual. Generally 
 speaking, these articles of furniture in early mahogany hardly exist to-day. 
 It would appear, as already stated, that the bedroom furniture of the middle 
 classes up to 1735-40 was in walnut. 
 
 84 
 
■ p 
 
 A mahogany 3-tier Dumb Waiter on tripod stand ; the carving of 
 the feathers and scaling is of high quality. 
 Circa 1735. 
 
 Fig. 72. Col. J. 
 
A walnut Tripod Pole Screen, with shaped banner or petit 
 point needlework. 
 Circa 1730. 
 
 F'g- 73- 
 
 Col. C. 
 
 A mahogany Tripod Pole Screen, with panel of petit point 
 needlework. (This is very exceptional, as the legs terminate 
 in bears instead of the usual claw and ball.) 
 
 Circa 1740. 
 
 Fig- 74- 
 
 Col. C. 
 
A mahogany Tripod Table, with pie-crust top. 
 Circa 1750. 
 
 Fig. 75. Col. C. 
 
 A mahogany Tripod Table, with fret gallery' top. 
 Circa 1760. 
 
 Fig. 76. Col. B. 
 
 A mahogany Tripod Table, with carved gallery top. A mahogany Tripod Table, with carved pie-crust top. 
 
 Circa 1745. Circa 1755. 
 
 Fig. 77. Col. C. Fig. 78. Col. C. 
 
A mahogany Stool, one of a pair. 
 Circa 1 7 50. 
 
 Fig. 79. 
 
 Col. C. 
 
 A mahogany circular Stool, one 
 of a pair. 
 Circa 1735. 
 Fig. 80. Col. C. 
 
 A mahogany Settee (An unusual feature of this Settee is the single upright in the 
 
 centre of the back.) 
 Circa 1745. 
 
 Fig. 81. Col. C. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 FURNITURE OF THE MIDDLE MAHOGANY PERIOD 
 
 1745-1770 
 
 HISTORICAL SURVEY 
 
 THIS period, which may be said to have begun shortly before 1745 
 and to have lasted until nearly 1770, originated in the taste for all 
 things French. This soon affected the design of furniture, and in so 
 doing extinguished the lingering traces of the quaintly dignified Queen 
 Anne tradition, and also undermined and destroyed the severe and patrician 
 classical style. Following closely upon this invasion of French ideas came 
 the craze for Chinoiserie and the cult of the Gothic. 
 
 The design of furniture at this period was the expression of popular 
 taste as interpreted by the cabinetmakers, and was not subject to the re- 
 straining hand of the architect-designers, as hitherto. All the cabinet- 
 makers of this period, among whom were Thomas Chippendale, Edwards 
 and Darley, Thomas Johnson, Lock and Copeland, Ince and Mayhew, and 
 Robert Manwaring, turned their time and attention to following the foibles 
 of the day, and producing furniture to please the capricious fancies of the 
 public. It was the correct and customary thing at this period for a cabinet- 
 maker of any mark to issue trade catalogues, and it is from copies that survive 
 that these cabinetmakers and their designs are known to-day. From these 
 designs it can be seen how they vied with each other in assimilating the 
 French, Chinese, and Gothic notions, and in endeavouring to adapt and graft 
 them on to their furniture. 
 
 The most prominent, and certainly the most celebrated to-day, of these 
 men was Thomas Chippendale. His fame, however, cannot be said to rest 
 on his powers as a creative artist ; but more on his commercial ability in 
 catering for the variable taste of a large and fashionable clientele, by the 
 production of furniture of a very high standard of workmanship. It has been 
 stated that Chippendale was himself a carver of the highest quality, and that 
 
 85 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 some pieces were undoubtedly the work of his own hands. Most probably, 
 about 1740, as a young man of twenty-three, he did work at the bench ; but 
 when his business acumen brought him to the top of his trade, it is more 
 likely that his time was occupied in directing his business ; and, also, that 
 the majority of his designs were drawn and executed by artists in his employ- 
 ment. Those pieces which can be traced definitely to his workshop, through 
 the original invoices relating to them being still in existence, show how 
 exceptionally high was the quality of the cabinetwork and its decoration, 
 whether by carving, inlaying, metal-mounting, or painting. Owing to the 
 fact, however, that his designs, together with those of many other cabinet- 
 makers, were published and consequently accessible to all, a great deal of 
 furniture was made on lines similar to his own, so that it is impossible, in the 
 absence of the invoices relating to them, to establish any personal connection 
 between Chippendale and all the pieces which to-day pass under his name. 
 It is a pure fallacy, though one often put forward, that Chippendale was a 
 designer of all the furniture of this middle Mahogany period, and the maker 
 of the greater part of it ; in reality, his name has become generic for all 
 furniture made at this date, and it is in this sense that the term " Chippendale " 
 should be understood. When this is realised, a popular misapprehension will 
 cease to exist. 
 
 About 1765 to 1770, when the chaos of style of this period had reached 
 a climax of extravagance, there came a reaction in favour of the classical style ; 
 and the design of English furniture once again came under the control of an 
 architect-designer, Robert Adam. 
 
 COLOUR AND PATINA 
 
 Pieces of mahogany of this period can be distinguished from those of 
 the earlier period, as they were not originally treated with oil, but were 
 slightly stained to equalise the colour, and then waxed ; consequently they 
 have not the very dark brown tone of the earlier pieces. 1 
 
 Many pieces have suffered at the hands of the French polisher, and in 
 such cases the wood, instead of being a rich brown, has generally a red or 
 yellow tone. Old, untouched mahogany never has this reddish tone, which 
 is only found on modern mahogany and old pieces from which the original 
 surface has been removed. Mahogany will become bleached if exposed to 
 
 1 E.g. serpentine chest- with-drawers (Victoria and Albert Museum, W 133, 1919). There are, however 
 many pieces of a dark colour made of the earlier Spanish or San Domingo mahogany during this period. 
 
 86 
 
FURNITURE OF THE MIDDLE MAHOGANY PERIOD 
 
 the sun ; but the bleached effect, which in extreme cases has a light grey 
 tone, is not the added attraction that it is in the case of walnut. 
 
 DESIGN AND ORNAMENTATION 
 
 Except for the introduction of several pieces directly copied from 
 French examples, the general lines of the furniture were not materially altered 
 during this period, and it is only in the ornamentation that the change is 
 revealed. The cabriole leg with the claw and ball foot went out of fashion, 
 and was replaced by the light and elegant cabriole leg ending in a whorl or 
 scroll toe, adapted from the contemporary French style. Chairs and tables 
 in the Chinese taste had straight, square legs, connected by stretchers, similar 
 to Fig. 89, the fashion for stretchers to legs being revived after a lapse of 
 thirty-five to forty years. 
 
 The designs for furniture in the Chinese taste, as exemplified in the 
 publications of such cabinetmakers as Chippendale, Ince and Mayhew, and 
 Robert Manwaring, are for the most part extravagant and bad ; and it is 
 fortunate that many of them, showing such superfluity of ornament, never 
 appear to have been carried out. 1 The pieces in this taste that have survived 
 are, in general, much modified from the designs in the books, and many of 
 the examples uphold the high standard of design of English furniture, 
 although it cannot be said that these Chinese pieces were ever so happy as 
 those in the French style. 
 
 For furniture with Gothic ornamentation even less can be said than for 
 that in the Chinese mode ; on such pieces as bookcases, it was in bad taste ; 
 but when applied to chairs, it was still worse. The Gothic furniture, how- 
 ever, never became very popular, and pieces with this distinctive character 
 are now seldom found. 
 
 Apart from pieces designed wholly in the Chinese taste, this taste shows 
 itself in applied fret decoration on the friezes of bookcases and tables, and 
 it is also found on the legs and rails of chairs. The chairs were made with 
 square backs, which were also filled with a fret design. Tripod tables and 
 centre tables of this period, as shown in Figs. 76 and 94, were designed with 
 galleries of Chinese pierced fret. The tops of bookcases and cabinets were 
 surmounted with pierced fret galleries similar to Figs. 83 and 84 ; in fact, 
 
 1 It is possible that many of these elaborate pieces were made in softwood and japanned or gilt, as 
 Chippendale, in his book, suggests this treatment for them. This might account for their not having survived, 
 which they would probably have done if made in mahogany. 
 
 87 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 it may be said that this Chinese ornament was grafted on to pieces of 
 furniture wherever it could be applied tastefully. Fret, either pierced or 
 applied, of Gothic design was also employed. 
 
 WORKMANSHIP 
 
 In distinction from the methods of the early Mahogany period, veneer- 
 ing was more largely employed in this period than construction in the solid 
 wood. Fronts of drawers and tops of tables were veneered with finely 
 grained mahogany 1 — Cuban mahogany being generally used for the better 
 class of furniture, and Honduras mahogany, which is a softer and more 
 open-grained variety, for the unimportant and less prominent parts of pieces 
 and for articles of a lower grade. Spanish mahogany, having little or no 
 figure, was superseded as unsuitable for this purpose. 
 
 Finely marked veneer, obtained by cutting the mahogany in a manner 
 similar to that used with the walnut, was again employed by the cabinet- 
 maker for the purposes of decoration ; as with walnut, veneer cut from the 
 root of a tree having a finer and more marked figure than that of the trunk. 
 
 The fret galleries to tables were made up of three layers of wood, glued 
 together in such a way that the grain of the middle layer runs across the 
 width of the fret and that of the outer layers with its length. This method 
 of construction was specially adopted to give strength and to prevent 
 warping. 
 
 In this period deal and pine were more often used for carcase work than 
 oak ; the remarks in Chapter IV on Walnut Furniture about the use of deal 
 and oak apply also to this period, especially with regard to drawers, a piece 
 of high quality having oak-lined drawers, while an inferior quality piece 
 would have drawers of deal or pine. 
 
 The quality of the carving in this period is very noticeable. The 
 plainer pieces of the earlier years were without carving, but in furniture of 
 this period decoration in the shape of applied fret is often found on pieces 
 of inferior quality. The carving on these pieces is of a low standard as, 
 being executed in the cheaper, softer, and more open-grained Honduras 
 mahogany, the beautifully crisp and sharply cut work, peculiar to the harder 
 and closer-grained San Domingo and Cuban woods, cannot be obtained. For 
 examples of pieces with fine carving, see Figs. 82 and 94. 
 
 1 See Fig. 98. 
 
 88 
 
A mahogany Armchair, with finely carved and pierced splat and cabriole legs ending in scroll toes. 
 
 Circa 1745. 
 
 Fig. 82. Col. C. 
 
FURNITURE OF THE MIDDLE MAHOGANY PERIOD 
 
 SPURIOUS FURNITURE 
 
 The remarks made in the previous chapter on spurious pieces of the 
 early Mahogany period apply, in general, equally well to this period, especi- 
 ally those on open grain ; but with one exception, that in place of carved 
 decoration for enhancing the value of plain pieces, the imitator uses the 
 Chinese fret ornament. This type of ornament is much less costly than 
 carving, and it can be much more extensively used for the decoration of plain 
 surfaces, such as the friezes of cabinets and bookcases, legs of chairs and tables. 
 There is one point, however, that should be mentioned in connection with the 
 application of spurious fret ornament. On a piece of furniture such as the 
 tallboy, the frieze is formed by the bottom moulding of the cornice and a 
 small moulding fixed on the carcase. The sections of these mouldings 
 above and below a plain frieze will not usually allow of the application of a 
 fret so deep as the genuine old fret ; and the imitator, to keep within the 
 projection of the lower members of the two mouldings, can only use a fret 
 so shallow that it does not generally exceed ^ of an inch. The difference 
 between this spurious applied fret and the genuine fret, which is seldom less 
 than £ of an inch in depth, should be apparent. This modern applied fret 
 is generally very shallow, as, wherever it is applied, whether on the friezes of 
 tables and cabinets or on the canted corners of chests, there will always be 
 the difficulty of the added thickness of the fret not being in accord with the 
 contiguous mouldings or surrounding surfaces. 
 
 The old fret, being cut by hand with the saw, shows little irregularities 
 and deviations from pattern ; the sides of the fret, for instance, will not be 
 square with the face, and this is especially true of fret galleries to tables and 
 pierced fret friezes. The modern fret, being cut in a machine, is always 
 precise and accurate. To get the new fret decoration the required colour it 
 is either stained or treated with acid and afterwards waxed, dark wax being 
 well worked into the corners of the fret and allowed to remain there. 
 
 In the following notes dealing with various articles of furniture in this 
 period will be found particulars of the pieces usually selected by the imitator 
 for the addition of fret ornament and of his methods of applying it. 
 
 Chairs, Stools, and Settees. — As already explained, the cabriole leg 
 with claw and ball foot of this period was superseded by the French cabriole 
 
 8 9 
 
 s 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 leg with whorl or scroll toe and a square straight leg with stretchers. 
 This was the radical change in chairs, stools, and settees from the style 
 of the previous period. 1 The cabinetmakers of this period also favoured 
 upholstered backs to chairs and settees, similar to the contemporary French 
 furniture. Examples of a chair and settee of this type are shown in Figs. 
 64 and 101. A chair which was an innovation of this period was the 
 " ribbon-back chair," with its splat elaborately carved with a design of 
 interlaced ribbons. Owing, however, to the elaborate carving necessitated 
 in a chair of this design, it was a type that must have been very expensive 
 to make, and was not therefore produced in large numbers ; hence its 
 great rarity to-day. Many spurious chairs of this pattern have been made 
 of entirely new construction by the imitator. In fact, it may be said that 
 about 95 per cent, of the existing examples are spurious. The best tests to 
 apply to this type of chair are the "resiliency" test described, page 18, and 
 the " shoe " test, page 44. 
 
 Chairs, stools, and settees in the Chinese taste are found with their 
 legs sometimes plain and sometimes with fret decoration, either applied, 
 as in the piece illustrated (Fig. 89), or carved out of the solid wood. 
 As, however, the plain straight leg was far more extensively used at this 
 period and later, many more examples of it exist to-day than of the 
 decorated leg. The imitator enhances the value of these plain legs by 
 applying fret ornament to them and piercing the stretchers ; he does 
 not carve the fret design out of the solid leg, as the work would be too 
 expensive and by so doing he could not keep the original colour. The 
 collector should therefore always make close examination of chairs with 
 fret legs. 
 
 As chairs with cabriole legs are far more valuable than those with plain 
 straight legs, a number of armchairs will be found with two genuine cabriole 
 legs (generally taken from a chair with an upholstered back, which would not 
 be of great value) substituted for their original plain ones. The difficulty that 
 the imitator has to overcome is that the chair in its original form with plain 
 straight legs had stretchers. With the new cabriole legs he cannot replace 
 these ; neither can he hide the marks in the back legs where the stretchers 
 were originally mortised. He cannot very well supply new back legs, as 
 this would involve renewing the side rails of the back, which are in one 
 piece with the back legs. The collector should therefore, in purchasing 
 
 1 Pieces with the former leg still continued to be made, however, in this period, as the division between 
 styles was never abrupt. 
 
 90 
 
BUREAUX, BUREAU BOOKCASES, AND CABINETS 
 
 chairs of this period with cabriole legs, always look carefully for any mortise 
 marks of stretchers in the back legs. 
 
 Bureaux, Bureau Bookcases, and Cabinets. — The bureau of the last 
 half of the eighteenth century must have been a very popular piece of 
 furniture, since large numbers exist to-day. With regard to the bureau 
 bookcase the most desirable type is that with glazed lattice doors, generally 
 of geometrical, and sometimes of Gothic, design. 1 Another type was made 
 with wood panels to the doors. These being unsaleable, however, the imita- 
 tor converts them into the desirable variety by replacing the wooden panels by 
 glazed lattice. In this alteration entirely new doors are sometimes provided, 
 while in other cases the lattice is added to the existing door frame. In the 
 latter method a difficulty arises owing to the fact that glazed lattice doors 
 have narrower stiles than those with wooden panels. The stiles, therefore, 
 have to be reduced in width by cutting away the inner sides of the frame ; 
 and examination should be made of the top and bottom edges of the doors to 
 see whether the tenons overlap the glazing. These tenons always came right 
 through the framing to the outer edges of the doors ; if the bottom of the 
 top tenon is below the level of the top edge of the glass, and the top of the 
 bottom tenon is likewise above the level of the bottom edge of the glass, it will 
 be evident that the stiles have been reduced, and that the piece originally had 
 plain wooden panels. Besides this, a swan-neck pediment top will be added to 
 the cornice ; and the plain mouldings will be enriched with carving. 
 
 The wing bookcases of this period, similar to Figs. 84 and 99, have lost 
 the architectural character and proportion of those of the previous period ; 
 the bottom part is higher, the design much lighter, and the mouldings are 
 less heavy in section. Bookcases of this period are rare ; and most of the 
 existing wing bookcases date from the last quarter of the eighteenth century. 
 The plain examples the imitator adapts by carving the mouldings, adding 
 a fret to the frieze, panelling the doors of the lower portion with shaped 
 carved panels, and decorating them with paterae or rosettes. In this way 
 he converts a plain example of the late eighteenth century into a " Chippen- 
 dale " bookcase. 
 
 Cabinets or china cabinets, as in the periods already dealt with, are ex- 
 ceptionally rare. They were undoubtedly made at this period, as in the 
 catalogues of the cabinetmakers many elaborate designs for them, especially 
 in the Chinese taste, are shown. It should be noted that a cabinet made 
 
 1 As examples of geometrical and Gothic lattice doors see the bookcases shown in Figs. 99 and 84. 
 
 9 1 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 specially for the display of china was made at this period with sides glazed 
 like the front. By this they can be distinguished from bookcases. 
 
 While spurious china cabinets of this period are not so often made 
 to-day by the imitator as the walnut china cabinet, for which there is a 
 greater demand, there are a number of spurious examples in existence which, 
 from their design, appear to have been copied direct from the old designs 
 in the trade catalogues of Chippendale and other cabinetmakers. 
 
 In addition to these spurious china cabinets the imitator makes small 
 cabinets on stands with pagoda tops, and also a type of open stand, formed 
 with two or three tiers and elaborately carved with ornament in the Chinese 
 taste. These pieces undoubtedly were originally intended to be made, as 
 already mentioned, in softwood, either lacquered or gilt ; and not in 
 mahogany, like the present-day imitations. 
 
 The collector, when he comes across a china cabinet purporting to be 
 of this period, similar to those described above, should doubt its authenticity 
 and carefully examine it. 
 
 Another favourite article of the imitator is the hanging wall cabinet 
 for the display of china. These spurious examples are sometimes carved 
 with pagoda tops and grotesque masks in the Chinese taste. The genuine 
 examples usually met with are of plain design with mahogany shelves fitted 
 into pierced fret sides, either in the Chinese or Gothic taste. 
 
 All these imitations are generally made from old material, the freshly 
 cut and carved surfaces being treated with acids to obtain the right colour ; 
 they are then French polished and waxed, as already described in Chapter II. 
 Their appearance, generally, is not reassuring, as the surface of the wood has 
 an even, dead appearance, only relieved by the dirtied wax which is rubbed 
 into the crevices. The gloss on the surface is an artificial one caused through 
 the application of French polish to fill up the open grain ; it is not the gloss 
 of the bare mahogany, which can only be obtained through constant rubbing 
 and dusting over a long period. 
 
 Tables, Card Tables, and Urn Stands. — The tripod table of the 
 earlier Mahogany period was made in considerable numbers during this 
 period, the claw and ball foot giving way to the French scroll or whorl toe, 
 and the pie-crust to the pierced gallery top shown in Fig. 76. The gallery 
 top, like the pie-crust top, is much copied by the imitator ; especially since 
 it can be made out of a piece of old mahogany with its original surface, the 
 fret gallery alone being new. A peculiarity of an original fret gallery is that 
 
 92 
 
TABLES, CARD TABLES, AND URN STANDS 
 
 the middle layer of the three-ply fret will project slightly above the two 
 outside layers. The reason for this is that the outside layers being placed 
 with their grain lengthways have shrunk across the grain, whereas the middle 
 layer having its grain vertical has not shrunk and therefore projects slightly. 
 The shrinkage, owing to the narrowness of the gallery, will be very slight, 
 but still perceptible if the finger is passed along the edge of the top. 
 Careful examination of a spurious fret gallery will show all the signs of 
 recent manufacture. On an original gallery the inside of the fret will be 
 hard and encrusted with dust, whereas the dirtied wax or stain applied to the 
 inside of the modern fret can be rubbed off with a handkerchief, disclosing 
 the light colour of the freshly cut wood. Some of the original fret galleries 
 have been restored with new lengths of fret ; but careful examination will 
 disclose the differing qualities of the old and new work. 
 
 The centre table with fret gallery similar to Fig. 94, but with straight 
 fretted legs connected by pierced cross-stretchers in the Chinese taste, is a 
 great rarity, much sought after at the present time. Owing to the fragile 
 nature of the pierced gallery and stretchers, examples are often found 
 defective in these respects. 
 
 Another innovation at this period is the small urn stand, generally about 
 2 ft. 6 in. in height, with a square top. Fine examples of these stands have 
 their legs and friezes decorated with applied fret ornament, and have fret 
 galleries and pierced stretchers similar to the centre tables. Owing to the 
 rarity of the centre and urn tables with fret decoration, the imitator makes 
 spurious specimens either by applying new fret decoration, galleries, and 
 stretchers to plain examples, or by making imitations of new construction. 
 The former can always be recognised by the thinness of the fret decoration, 
 as all genuine examples have a deep-cut fret. 
 
 Card tables of this period, like the chairs, are either found with the 
 French cabriole leg ending in a whorl toe or with straight legs decorated 
 with fret. Many plain examples exist of the latter type which the imitator 
 has decorated in a way similar to that already described. Fine examples of 
 card tables of this period invariably have serpentine tops, the edges of which 
 are decorated with carving. 
 
 Commodes. — The commode, generally with serpentine front, and doors 
 enclosing a cupboard, or with drawers, as in Fig. 98, is a piece of furniture 
 which the cabinetmakers of this period adapted from the French article of 
 the same name. Commodes are much sought after by collectors, not only 
 
 93 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 because they are rare and of fine quality, but because they are pieces specially 
 suitable for reception-rooms. 1 This refers particularly to the commode with 
 cupboard doors ; those with drawers, though more often found, are not so 
 highly prized. One of the chief decorative features of the commodes with 
 drawers are the canted corners, which on fine examples are decorated with 
 carving, as shown in Fig. 98. This piece of furniture is much favoured by 
 the imitator, and plain examples with canted corners are eagerly purchased 
 by him, so that he can "carve-up" the mouldings and decorate the faces 
 of the corners with applied carving, generally of flowers in high relief. 
 He is also helped in making spurious commodes by the fact that there is a 
 certain type of chest with drawers of the early nineteenth century with a 
 serpentine front but with square instead of canted corners, as the serpentine 
 shape stops about two or three inches from the ends. The imitator can 
 easily adapt this type of chest into a commode by converting the square 
 corners into canted ones. He will also shape the straight sides of the chest 
 like those of a commode. By this adaptation he increases the value of a 
 piece worth about £10 up to about £150 at an outlay of about £10 
 
 Bedroom Furniture. — Pieces of furniture, such as chests-with-drawers, 
 wardrobes, tallboys, and dressing tables of this middle period of mahogany, 
 are by no means plentiful to-day, as most existing examples date from the 
 last quarter of the century. The piece most frequently met with is the 
 tallboy decorated with Chinese fret on the canted corners and frieze, 
 similar to Fig. 88. The ogee bracket foot shown on this piece was intro- 
 duced by cabinetmakers of this period ; this type of foot is generally found 
 only on examples of high quality, to which it adds importance and value, 
 especially if decorated with carving. The ordinary straight bracket foot, 
 however, similar to Fig. 36, is more frequently met with. 
 
 The tallboy is one of the favourite articles which the imitator decorates 
 with his spurious fret, as a very large quantity of plain tallboys, dating from 
 the late eighteenth century, have survived. The collector should, therefore, 
 always be suspicious of tallboys decorated with shallow fret. 
 
 Besides the tallboy of this period there are also chests-with-drawers 
 with serpentine fronts. The examples with shaped instead of straight sides 
 are the more valuable. The serpentine-fronted chest-with-drawers must 
 
 1 Although this piece with drawers is termed a commode, originally it was no doubt intended as a piece of 
 bedroom furniture. 
 
 94 
 
A mahogany Tallboy, showing by the design ot the handles and the fret decoration 
 on the canted corners and frieze the influence of the Chinese taste. 
 
 Circa 1755. 
 
 Fig. 88. Col. C. 
 
A mahogany Chair, showing influence of 
 Chinese taste in the legs and stretchers. 
 
 Circa 1760. 
 Fig. 89. Col. N. 
 
 A mahogany Corner Armchair, with all four legs 
 cabriole, and ending in claw and ball feet. 
 Circa 1750. 
 
 Fig. 90. Col. C. 
 
 A mahogany Reading Stand. 
 Circa 1760. 
 
 Fig. 91. 
 
 Col. C. 
 
 A mahogany Dressing Table, with ogee bracket feet and 
 serpentine front. 
 Circa 1 7 50. 
 
 Fig. 92. Col C. 
 
A mahogany Card Table, with architectural frieze, edge 
 of the top carved with rose and ribbon ornament. 
 Circa 1 7 40. 
 
 Fig. y 3 . Col. C. 
 
 A mahogany Centre Table, with cabriole legs, ending in 
 claw and ball feet. 
 Circa 1750. 
 
 . 94. Col. 
 
BEDROOM FURNITURE 
 
 not be confused, however, with the commode with drawers ; the latter is 
 generally longer and lower. 
 
 The dressing table of the period, similar to those illustrated, Figs. 95 
 and 96, is very rare. Chippendale in his trade catalogue shows pieces very 
 similar in design to that seen in Fig. 95. 
 
 The wardrobe (generally known to-day as the " gentleman's ward- 
 robe"), with an upper part containing open trays enclosed by cupboard 
 doors, and a bottom part consisting of drawers, was made in very large 
 numbers during the latter part of the eighteenth century, but the early 
 examples dating from the middle of the century are now much scarcer. 
 The most valuable wardrobes have serpentine fronts with canted corners 
 decorated with fret ornament, which is sometimes applied and sometimes 
 carved out of the solid wood. The more ordinary type of wardrobe has a 
 straight front and panelled doors to the upper part. Although of excellent 
 workmanship it is not much in demand ; the hanging type of wardrobe, i.e. 
 with long cupboard doors and no drawers underneath, is more sought after, 
 being more convenient for modern requirements. This hanging wardrobe 
 from its great scarcity to-day appears to have been made but seldom in the 
 eighteenth century ; and owing to its being in great demand to-day, is much 
 imitated, generally of new construction from old mahogany. When a 
 genuine example is met with it is usually of very plain design and poor 
 workmanship. These the imitator enhances in value by the addition of 
 pediment tops and by converting the square corners of the door panels to 
 shaped corners with carved rosettes. He will also adapt mahogany wardrobes 
 of a good colour, dating from the early part of the nineteenth century, into 
 spurious examples of the so-called " Chippendale " hanging wardrobe of the 
 middle eighteenth century. This he affects by altering the section of the 
 mouldings and decorating the doors with rosettes and shaped panels. All 
 these adaptations can be detected by careful examination of the mouldings 
 and carving for any sign of open grain or French polish. 
 
 95 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY FURNITURE 
 
 1765-1800 
 
 HISTORICAL SURVEY 
 
 ABOUT 1765, when the current rococo and baroque extravagances 
 had begun to pall upon the public taste, England, not for the first 
 time, looked to France for inspiration and new ideas. At this time 
 France was experiencing a return to purer classicism, both in architecture 
 and decoration, and the florid style of Louis Quinze was yielding to the 
 more restrained and chaste lines of that of Louis Seize. The first signs 
 of this classical reaction in England can be traced in the sporadic efforts 
 of certain dilettanti and amateurs, but it remained for two brothers to 
 create a real interest in this revival and ensure its success. Sons of a 
 Scotch architect, Robert and James Adam were born and brought up in 
 an atmosphere of art, and while endowed with taste, talent, and inventive 
 genius, they were not lacking in the more material qualities of enterprise, 
 foresight, and determination. To this combination of the artistic and the 
 practical their deservedly great reputation must be attributed. 
 
 About 1754, Robert Adam left England on a tour through France and 
 Italy, where he studied and made numerous drawings of Roman remains. In 
 one respect — and that, in the light of his future activities, a very significant 
 one — his attitude differed from that of most architects who travelled on the 
 Continent in search of knowledge and inspiration : he noticed the effects 
 and apparent results of the classical revival which was taking place around 
 him, and, adapting his imagination to modern possibilities, he contemplated 
 the architectural remains he visited, not merely with a view to reproducing 
 their essential rules and salient features in public buildings, but also with 
 the idea of applying them to private houses. On his return to England 
 about 1758, Robert set up in business with his brother James, and the 
 famous firm of R. & J. Adam entered upon its prosperous and influential career. 
 
 96 
 
A mahogany Dressing Table, with shaped front. Edge of top decorated 
 with gadrooned moulding. 
 Circa 1760. 
 
 Fig. 95. Col. 1). 
 
 Fig. 96. 
 
 Mahogany Dressing Table. 
 Circa 1745. 
 
 Col. M. 
 
HISTORICAL SURVEY 
 
 One of the most distinctive features of the work of Robert Adam was 
 its versatility, for he would design not only a house but everything in it, even 
 down to the fenders and fireirons. As, however, he was first and foremost 
 an architect, his efforts in furniture design were limited to what he required 
 for his own work — in other words, for the houses he himself designed or 
 decorated ; consequently, the amount of furniture of his design existing 
 to-day is not large. But so strong and individual was his taste that he 
 succeeded in creating a style which was followed and imitated by cabinet- 
 makers and designers, and in this way the Adam style of design came into 
 existence. Whether he actually created a style or, what is more likely, 
 discovered, encouraged, and directed a tendency, may be open to discussion ; 
 but it is certain that he had the foresight to estimate the trend of public 
 taste, and the ability to formulate and establish it on definite, permanent 
 lines. His distinctive personality so strongly pervaded his work that the 
 name of Adam will always be associated with the architecture, interior 
 decoration, and furniture of the last thirty-five or forty years of the eighteenth 
 century. 
 
 Amongst the cabinetmakers who not only made furniture from Adam's 
 individual designs, but also made pieces in the Adam style, may be mentioned 
 the firm of Chippendale — a fact which again tends to prove that Thomas 
 Chippendale was not a creative artist, but the ingenious servant of the 
 current fashion. 
 
 In addition to Chippendale, other followers of the new Adam style, 
 besides the surviving cabinetmakers of the previous period, were Thomas 
 Shearer, the Lancashire firm of Gillow, who at this time opened a workshop 
 in London, and Seddon, Sons & Shackleton. 
 
 Two other notable personalities of this period were George Hepple- 
 white, a cabinetmaker and designer, and Thomas Sheraton, a designer and a 
 teacher of drawing. The designs of these two men, whilst owing their 
 origin to the Adam and French styles, strike a distinctive note in the 
 development of the style of furniture at this period. George Hepple- 
 white is best known to-day by the elegant oval and shield back chairs and 
 settees produced by his own firm and many other lesser cabinetmakers from 
 the designs in his firm's catalogue. Thomas Sheraton, on the other hand, 
 was a most versatile designer of furniture, and was specially noted for his 
 designs of such articles as ladies' work tables, dressing tables, and bijou 
 pieces. He was also noted for the making of furniture with ingenious 
 mechanical contrivances. 
 
 g 97 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 At the close of the eighteenth century the French Empire style began 
 to be noticed by English furniture designers such as Sheraton. The chief 
 exponent, however, was Thomas Hope, who published a book of his designs 
 early in the nineteenth century. The Empire style was born of the French 
 Revolution. Revolutions begin by being iconoclastic ; then comes a period 
 of mingled torpor, indecision, experiment, compromise, and extravagance. 
 Out of this chaos was evolved the French Empire, and with it came the 
 French Empire style. Exhausted France borrowed the artistic strength of 
 Greece and Rome, and draped it in muslin and gossamer. 
 
 With the introduction of this decadent period, the history of English 
 furniture, which has been traced through three hundred years, may be 
 brought fitly to a close. Throughout these years, though almost invariably 
 susceptible to foreign influences, the design of English furniture consistently 
 retained a certain degree of native character ; it rather adapted than 
 borrowed, and improved more than it copied. After this date, though the 
 decadent Empire style was eventually discarded, no new artistic development 
 is to be found ; whether the growing intimacy and intercourse between 
 nations, leading inevitably to the birth of collectivism and the death of 
 individualism, is the reason, it is beyond the scope of this book to inquire. 
 
 COLOUR AND PATINA 
 
 The colour and patina of mahogany furniture of this period are similar 
 in most respects to those of the furniture dating from the middle of the 
 century. A large number of pieces of this date have, however, been French 
 polished ; and these examples can be recognised to-day by their highly 
 polished surfaces and their yellow and reddish-brown tone. 
 
 The satinwood used for furniture in the late eighteenth century was 
 a variety which came from the East Indies, and was very hard and close- 
 grained. An example of the figure and grain is shown on the top of the 
 commode illustrated, Fig. 106. This East Indian satinwood, when found on 
 genuine pieces to-day, is a golden-orange colour, and good examples of it are 
 the Knife Box, 311, 1880, and the Escritoire Bookcase, W 89, 1910, at the 
 Victoria and Albert Museum, London. This eighteenth century satinwood 
 furniture was varnished when first made; the varnish used was very 
 thin and transparent, and gives the surface a soft, mellowed appearance. 
 Another variety of satinwood came from the West Indies ; this, however, 
 
 98 
 
DESIGN AND ORNAMENTATION 
 
 had a more open grain, and was not introduced into England for furniture 
 making until the nineteenth century. Unlike the East Indian satinwood, the 
 veneer was knife-cut and not saw-cut, and in consequence is much thinner. 
 This satinwood has a more regular and straight grain (see Fig. 108), and 
 is of a yellower tone in comparison to the golden colour of the East Indian 
 variety. 
 
 DESIGN AND ORNAMENTATION 
 
 The cabinetmakers and designers of this period closely followed the 
 design of the contemporary French furniture ; they also copied the French 
 methods of decoration, such as metal mounting and the more liberal choice 
 of figured woods for veneer and inlay, and even adopted French names for 
 their furniture — as, for example, bergere, fauteuil, commode, escritoire, and 
 secretaire. 
 
 The furniture of this period was made in mahogany and satinwood, 
 also softwood, the last being either painted or gilt, or sometimes japanned. 
 From the various types of furniture found in these woods it would appear 
 that the fashionable furniture for reception-rooms or salons was made in 
 satinwood and softwood. The dining-room and library furniture was 
 mostly made in mahogany, and the bedroom furniture sometimes in 
 mahogany and sometimes in softwood, painted or japanned. There are, of 
 course, exceptions to this rule, as a satinwood wardrobe and sideboard are 
 not unknown, and mahogany pieces were made which, from their refined 
 and elegant design, could only have been intended for use in the salon ; but 
 it was evidently the fashion in the late eighteenth century for the well-to-do 
 to furnish their rooms in this manner. From this rough classification the 
 collector will get some general idea of the types of furniture he is likely to 
 meet with in the various woods, and it will also explain the scarcity of 
 various articles of furniture in satinwood, and how difficult it would be, 
 to-day, to furnish a bedroom in genuine old satinwood. In this period many 
 new articles of furniture were introduced by the cabinetmakers, one of the 
 principal being the sideboard, while others were ladies' work tables, small 
 writing tables on tapered legs, sofa tables, and cheval glasses. 
 
 The methods employed for the decoration of this furniture were many. 
 Pieces were veneered with fine figured varieties of mahogany and satinwood ; 
 harewood was also used for veneer or inlay, and for the latter purpose other 
 choice coloured or figured woods, such as kingwood, zebra-wood, snake- 
 
 99 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 wood, amboyna, burr walnut, rosewood, and boxwood, were laid under con- 
 tribution. 
 
 Painting was a favourite method for the decoration of satinwood, and it 
 is said that Robert Adam was largely responsible for its introduction. For 
 painting panels on walls and ceilings he employed Angelica Kauffmann and 
 her husband, Antonio Zucchi, also Pergolesi and Cipriani, and these artists, 
 Angelica Kauffmann in particular, also decorated with paintings a number of 
 pieces of furniture made from his designs. Most existing examples of painted 
 satinwood, however, must have been decorated by artists of considerably 
 less merit, or even by amateurs, as the painting of furniture was a fashionable 
 pursuit at this period. The design of the painted decoration took the form 
 of flowers and ornamental borders, but in more important pieces the doors of 
 cabinets and commodes would be decorated with oval, round, or rectangular 
 medallions, after pictures by Angelica Kauffmann and Cipriani, and designs 
 by Pergolesi. Sometimes tables had their tops fitted with a sheet of copper 
 on which was painted a medallion, usually of figures or landscape on a 
 coloured ground, generally of cream, pink, apple green, or yellow. The legs 
 and friezes of these tables would be of softwood, carved and gilt, similar to 
 Fig. 103. Cabinets and commodes were also made, generally painted cream 
 or apple green, the doors and panels being decorated with medallions of 
 figure subjects, sometimes in grisaille. These pieces were generally made of 
 mahogany and not softwood, and the panels of the doors would be fitted with 
 thin sheets of copper. Metal mounts were sometimes used on commodes 
 and other pieces of furniture, but this mode of decoration was never as widely 
 used in England as in France. Robert Adam, however, greatly favoured the 
 use of finely chased and gilt mounts, and, for making those on furniture 
 of his own design, employed French craftsmen specially brought to 
 England. 
 
 As the greater portion of the furniture of this period was veneered, 
 and decorated with inlay or painting, carving was confined generally to 
 chairs and settees, which were made in the solid wood. 1 Two or more 
 methods of decoration were often employed in the ornamentation of one piece, 
 such as inlay and metal mounting, or painted and inlaid decoration combined 
 with gilding. 
 
 The most popular motif of design was the honeysuckle, which held a 
 position in the late eighteenth century equivalent to that of the escallop 
 shell in the Queen Anne period. Originally employed by the Adam 
 
 1 This applies to mahogany, as satinwood is very seldom found carved. 
 
 IOO 
 
Fig. 97. 
 
 A mahogany Commode. 
 Circa 1745. 
 
 Col. C. 
 
 A mahogany Commode, with serpentine front on ogee bracket feet. 
 
 Circa l 760. 
 
 Fi g- 9 8 - Col. P. 
 
WORKMANSHIP 
 
 Brothers, it was extensively copied by lesser designers and cabinetmakers, 
 and is found on all types of furniture from 1770 to 1800, either carved 
 on chairs, inlaid or painted on satinwood, or carved in softwood and gilt ; 
 it was also widely used in interior decoration and for silver and metal 
 work. 
 
 Owing to exigencies of space, it is not possible, except on very general 
 lines, to deal with the large quantity of furniture produced in this period, or 
 the many and varied designs in which it was made. The notes at the end 
 of this chapter, dealing with various articles of furniture, have therefore been 
 confined to a consideration of the genuine articles that the collector is most 
 likely to meet with, the types that are rare and valuable, and those pieces of 
 which spurious copies are most likely to be found, or which the imitator 
 will " improve " to increase their value. 
 
 WORKMANSHIP 
 
 As may be gathered from the brief description already given of the 
 furniture- of this period, it is impossible to detail all the various methods of 
 construction that the cabinetmakers employed ; but the following remarks 
 concerning the use of different woods for the making of the carcases and 
 drawers of furniture veneered with mahogany and satinwood will be of 
 interest. 
 
 The carcases of pieces of satinwood furniture of high quality were 
 made of mahogany, and pine carcases will only be found in the cheaper and 
 lower grade pieces. 1 Oak is not so often found, perhaps owing to its having 
 been scarcer and more expensive than the ordinary kinds of mahogany. 
 The drawers of satinwood furniture are invariably made in mahogany, and 
 mahogany furniture of the later period of the eighteenth century is found 
 with the drawers lined with oak (or sometimes with mahogany), except 
 in inferior pieces, when pine was more often used. The bottoms of 
 drawers of the late eighteenth century furniture were made in two pieces 
 fixed in grooved fillets at the sides and a double grooved fillet in the middle, 
 and these fillets, inside the drawer, project above the bottom. In small 
 drawers the middle fillet was dispensed with. Veneered mahogany furniture 
 of this period is found with the carcase generally of pine but sometimes of 
 
 1 The reason for this is, that if veneered on softwood, such as pine or deal, the saw-cut East Indian 
 satinwood, owing to its superior strength, would cause the carcase-wood to warp. 
 
 IOI 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 deal. Wardrobes also were often made with their carcases of cedar, as 
 were the drawers of wardrobes and chests-with-drawers. It will thus be 
 seen how varied were the woods used for the making of carcases in this 
 period. The choice does not appear to have been determined so much 
 by the cost as by the nature of the article, especially as regards lining of 
 drawers. For instance, the drawers of sideboards are invariably found to 
 be made of oak in the high quality examples and of pine in inferior ones, 
 but they are hardly ever found made of mahogany. 
 
 It may be said that the furniture of this period was on the whole of 
 a very high standard of workmanship, but as in every period of English 
 furniture pieces will be found of a lower grade and cheaper variety, so, in 
 the inferior mahogany furniture of this period, the omission of cross-banded 
 veneered edges on the tops of sideboards and tables and drawer fronts and of 
 legs of tables and sideboards will be noticed. In good quality examples 
 these edges will be cross-banded in tulip wood or kingwood, whereas in the 
 lower grade furniture they will be simply decorated with a line of boxwood. 
 
 A quantity of mahogany furniture, such as sideboards and chests- 
 with-drawers, is met with to-day with the tops and drawer fronts deco- 
 rated with a banding, about an inch in width, of West Indian satinwood ; 
 these pieces, it would seem, were decorated in this manner a number of 
 years after they were made in order to relieve their otherwise plain appear- 
 ance ; they are generally of poor quality mahogany and not worth the 
 attention of the collector. 
 
 All the above points concerning the quality of pieces of furniture of 
 this period should be borne in mind by the collector in estimating the 
 present-day value of such pieces. 
 
 SPURIOUS FURNITURE 
 
 There is no great inducement for the imitator to make imitations of 
 mahogany furniture of this period, as, with one or two exceptions, it is by 
 no means so valuable as that of the previous period. He therefore enhances 
 the plain mahogany pieces of this period by the addition of ornament, so 
 that they may be mistaken by the uninitiated for examples of" Chippendale." 
 As, however, within recent years plain mahogany furniture of the late 
 eighteenth century has become scarce, the imitator is forced to fall back 
 upon early nineteenth century pieces for these conversions. 
 
 102 
 
SPURIOUS FURNITURE 
 
 Satinwood furniture, however, is a different matter, for old satinwood 
 pieces which date from this period are highly prized and much sought after ; 
 therefore spurious pieces of new construction, as well as old pieces improved 
 in value by modern inlay or painting, will frequently be met with. As 
 supplies of East Indian satinwood are still obtainable, spurious reproductions 
 of the best class are veneered with this wood on a carcase of mahogany. 
 The veneer, which is saw-cut like the old, is treated with acid to bleach it 
 to the colour of the genuine old satinwood, an alkali wash being employed 
 to stop the action and eliminate the acid when the right colour has been 
 obtained. The piece, after being veneered, is completed by a very thin 
 coating of light French polish, made from the white shellacs, very little 
 " rubbing down " being done ; this thin coating of the polish being 
 equivalent to the thin coatings of transparent varnish with which the old 
 satinwood was finished. If the piece is to have painted decoration, a 
 priming coat will be put on the wood where required to give a key to the 
 paint, and the decoration is covered with a thin protective coat of polish 
 before the general finishing coat is applied. In this class of spurious piece, 
 satinwood in the solid may be used for the legs, but they are more likely to 
 be made of birch, as mentioned below. 
 
 The majority of the spurious satinwood pieces of an inferior class are 
 made with pine carcases veneered with the later West Indian satinwood, 
 which, as already stated, has not the close grain of the earlier variety, and has 
 a brighter yellow colour. 
 
 A quantity of spurious satinwood chairs have been made of birch, which 
 has a close grain like that of East Indian satinwood, and can be stained and 
 polished to a near resemblance to the genuine old satinwood. Birch, being 
 very suitable for work in the solid, is used, generally, for legs of spurious 
 pieces, unless they are veneered. 
 
 The imitator has made many successful copies, chiefly of china cabinets ; 
 these being much in demand, and genuine examples being very rare, best 
 repay him for his work. The detection of this spurious satinwood is by no 
 means easy. A close study of the grain and colour of genuine old satinwood 
 will help the collector most, as a knowledge of these qualities will enable 
 him to recognise all pieces of the West Indian satinwood, that was not used 
 for furniture until the nineteenth century. The modern pieces, however, of 
 East Indian wood will have a yellow and bright tone compared with that of 
 the old satinwood, and if the piece is decorated with painting, particular 
 attention should be paid to the character of this work, as described later. 
 
 103 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 Besides these pieces of new construction, the imitator will veneer the 
 surfaces of old mahogany pieces. These imitations will be more difficult 
 to detect, as the carcase of the piece will be genuine ; but, again, as in the 
 entirely new imitation, the colour of the satinwood will be the collector's 
 greatest safeguard. Spurious pieces which will be far more difficult for the 
 collector to recognise, are those pieces of genuine old satinwood which have 
 had their value increased — in many cases doubly and trebly — by the addition 
 of painted or inlaid decoration. 
 
 When the embellishment is to take the form of painting, the design is 
 painted on the old surface and the whole piece thinly French polished, as 
 previously described. The imitator generally errs by making the design of 
 the new painted decoration too elaborate and important for the piece. On 
 most of the old satinwood pieces decorated with painting, the design is simple 
 and in keeping with the character of the piece ; it was only on important 
 pieces that the old cabinetmakers indulged in elaborate designs. The 
 imitator, in order to vary his designs of painted decoration, will also copy 
 pastoral scenes after the eighteenth century French artists, Watteau and 
 Fragonard, and conceive designs of cupids, bouquets of flowers and ribbons 
 in the French style, which are entirely out of keeping with the character of 
 the furniture, and which the eighteenth century cabinetmaker would never 
 have been guilty of applying. Generally the effect of this modern painting 
 is dull and unconvincing and seems to be foreign to the piece ; it has not 
 the thin, clear brilliancy of the original painting (see Fig. 103). The reason 
 for this is, that the paint is applied too thickly, and consequently has not the 
 bright, clear colouring which is characteristic of the genuine painting on 
 old pieces. The imitator, in order to give an antique appearance to his newly 
 painted work, whether it is on an old piece or a piece of new construction, 
 cracks the surface of the decoration by exposure to strong sunlight, and also 
 by the application of paste, as in the case of spurious lacquer, see p. 59. 
 
 Besides painting, the imitator will add decoration to genuine examples 
 with new inlay work. This new inlay will be cut in the surface of the old 
 satinwood veneer and scraped down to the general level ; but as the glue 
 dries and contracts, so the newly inlaid wood will gradually sink to a concave 
 surface and can thus be detected. 
 
 One peculiarity about old satinwood furniture is that owing to the 
 shrinkage of the wood of the carcase the satinwood veneer will be found 
 cracked ; this is specially noticeable on the tops of Pembroke tables, on the 
 sides of cabinets, and on the doors of commodes. 
 
 104 
 
A mahogany Wing Bookcase, with rare pagoda-top moulding above lower portion. 
 
 Circa 1765. 
 
 Fig. 99. Co '- N - 
 
• 4 
 
A four chair back mahogany Settee, backs decorated with carved design ot honeysuckle, 
 legs and arms in the French taste. 
 Circa i 7 So 
 
 'ig. IOO. Col. 1). 
 
 I' ig. 101. 
 
 A mahogany Settee, with unusual carved cresting to top. 
 Circa 1765. 
 
 Col. C. 
 
CHAIRS, SETTEES, AND SOFAS 
 
 Another type of imitation of furniture of this period, which the imitator 
 extensively produces, is the painted furniture already described on p. 100. 
 These imitations are generally of commodes or cabinets decorated, as a rule, 
 with backgrounds of cream, apple green, or yellow, relieved by gilt mouldings 
 and oval or circular medallions painted with classical subjects. As already 
 mentioned, the imitator obtains the appearance of age on a painted surface 
 very successfully by French polish, which he afterwards cracks artificially by 
 heat or otherwise. The great rarity of pieces such as commodes and cabinets, 
 in this type of painted furniture of the late eighteenth century, should be 
 sufficient to place the collector on his guard, and prevent him from paying, 
 for a spurious piece, the price of a genuine one. 
 
 Another type of satinwood and mahogany furniture of which the 
 collector should beware includes the fifty- or sixty-year-old reproductions of 
 late eighteenth century examples, which were extensively made by several 
 firms, foremost among whom was that of Wright & Mansfield. Besides 
 mahogany furniture, examples in satinwood were extensively reproduced, and 
 these, owing to their certain age, bear a close resemblance to the original 
 eighteenth century pieces ; they differ, however, in the following important 
 respects. The carcases of these pieces will invariably be made of pine and 
 not mahogany, as they will be veneered with knife-cut West Indian and not 
 saw-cut East Indian satinwood, and, this veneer being thin, there is less 
 danger of the carcase warping. There is therefore no necessity of going to the 
 expense of mahogany. The grain will be different and the colour brighter ; 
 and, like the modern imitations of to-day, the surface will be French polished, 
 not varnished. 
 
 Chairs, Settees, and Sofas. — The mahogany chairs in the earlier part 
 of this period have oval or shield-shaped backs carved with various motifs, 
 such as the Prince of Wales' feathers, wheat-ears, honeysuckle, and drapery. 
 Towards the end of the century the shield and oval backs were superseded 
 by a square back ; this latter type continued into the early part of the 
 nineteenth century, when the tapered leg was replaced by a turned one. 
 The earlier type of chair with the oval or shield back is popularly known 
 to-day as " Hepplewhite," and the square back chair as " Sheraton," from 
 the fact that these respective types were illustrated in the books published by 
 these designers. Both types of chair were made originally for the dining- 
 room in sets of six, eight, or ten single, and two armchairs ; but the oval or 
 shield backs, which are the rarer and the more highly prized, are not often 
 
 io 5 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 met with in sets, and it is sets of the so-called " Sheraton " chairs that are most 
 usually found to-day. The chairs with the plain turned legs are less valuable 
 than those which have their legs tapered. 
 
 Besides these mahogany chairs, beech chairs painted and gilt were also 
 made in large numbers, generally very French in design with oval upholstered 
 backs and turned fluted legs. Chairs of this type were much favoured in the 
 late eighteenth century for the salon or reception-room, being in keeping 
 with the satinwood ; to-day, however, they are very seldom found with their 
 original gilding. Satinwood chairs were also favoured, but being made from 
 the solid wood, they must have been costly ; 1 and this undoubtedly accounts 
 for the fact that very few are extant to-day. They are invariably decorated 
 with painting, and a good example of a satinwood armchair is illustrated in 
 Fig. 1 02. Many imitations of these satinwood chairs have been made, but 
 the modern copy is very much lighter in weight than the genuine example, 
 which is always surprisingly heavy. 
 
 Mahogany and satinwood settees were made with their backs similar to 
 the chairs ; generally they were designed with four or five chair-backs and 
 not with the two or three chair-backs of the earlier settees. An example of 
 a four-back mahogany settee of this period is illustrated, Fig. 100. The 
 more usual type of settee or sofa of this period is that with the upholstered 
 back. These were made of varying design, but the most desirable to-day 
 are those with shaped backs, enclosed by a carved mahogany moulding, 
 and with turned and fluted legs. A later type have square backs and plain 
 turned legs. 
 
 Secretaires and Writing Tables. — The secretaire bookcase, which 
 replaced the bureau bookcase about 1775, had drawers in the lower part, of 
 which the top one took the place of the bureau slope, and when pulled out 
 and its front let down disclosed a space for writing, with pigeon-holes and 
 drawers at the back. The upper part, as in the bureau bookcase, had either 
 glazed lattice doors or wood panelled doors. 
 
 This piece of furniture was also made without the top part, the 
 accommodation being equivalent to that of the bureau ; but as bureaux of 
 this period exist in much greater numbers to-day, this secretaire without a 
 top part does not seem to have been very popular. Secretaire bookcases 
 
 1 A proof of the cost of these satinwood chairs is provided by the fact that contemporary imitations 
 were made in painted birch ; the collector should be careful not to mistake these old imitations in birch for the 
 rare satinwood examples. 
 
 I06 
 
SECRETAIRES AND WRITING TABLES— BOOKCASES 
 
 were usually made in mahogany, but examples, decorated with inlay or 
 painting, are also found in satinwood, in which material the bureau and the 
 bureau bookcase are hardly ever met with. From this it may be deduced 
 that the secretaire was the new fashionable writing cabinet of the period. 
 
 Several other types of writing tables were made in the late eighteenth 
 century, of which one was a small dainty table about 3 ft. in width, made 
 both in mahogany and satinwood, and sometimes in harewood, with tapered 
 legs and a top fitted with a tambour slide which could be drawn over, so as 
 to enclose the writing space. 
 
 Another type of writing table on legs is that known as the " Carlton " 
 table. It has the writing space surrounded at the back and two sides by 
 a tier of small cupboards, drawers, and pigeon-holes, and is found both in 
 mahogany and satinwood, but genuine period examples are to-day very rare. 
 A large number of reproductions, however, were made in the nineteenth 
 century, and many spurious copies are made to-day. 
 
 Fine specimens of pedestal writing tables of this date are just as rare 
 as those of the earlier period. One of the finest examples extant was made, 
 after Robert Adam's design, by Chippendale & Haig in 1773 for Edwin 
 Lascelles ; it is of large size, decorated with inlay of choice woods and 
 mounted with chased and gilt metal mounts. Pedestal tables of this 
 description were made for the library in the large houses belonging to the 
 nobility and wealthy classes, and it naturally follows that examples of this 
 kind are very small in number. 
 
 The ordinary type of mahogany pedestal writing table of the late 
 eighteenth century is quite plain in character, showing that it was made 
 for use in offices and other utilitarian purposes. The imitator enhances the 
 value of these plain tables by carving their mouldings and applying other 
 carved ornaments, and so turning them into elaborate examples of 
 " Chippendale." 
 
 Bookcases. — The design of bookcases altered very little from that of 
 the preceding period, except that the wing bookcase of the late eighteenth 
 century was decorated with inlay instead of carving, and sometimes the lattice 
 of the glazed doors was square in section and decorated with cross-banded 
 veneer. 
 
 Dwarf bookcases with glazed doors were not made in the eighteenth 
 century, as the earliest examples extant date from the early nineteenth 
 century. Owing to the demand for this type of bookcase many imitations 
 
 107 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 have been made, sometimes composed of the upper part of a wing bookcase 
 or a secretaire bookcase ; the collector, therefore, in search of such a piece 
 should realise that the only genuine specimen he is likely to find will date 
 from the nineteenth century. 
 
 Tables. — A number of small tables were made at this time as tea 
 tables. The type known as the " Pembroke " table was a great favourite 
 for this purpose, and generally had a square or oval top formed of three 
 leaves, the two drop leaves being supported by small winged brackets hinged 
 on to the framework, and the legs being, in the most usual type, tapered, but 
 sometimes round and fluted. Besides mahogany examples of this table, 
 a number were made of satinwood, as a rule undecorated except for tulip 
 wood or kingwood bandings to the legs and top. Those with painted or 
 inlaid decoration are much rarer, although painted decoration is often added 
 to plain examples by the imitator. Sometimes these Pembroke tables are 
 found as small as 14 to 16 in. across the top, in which case they are more 
 highly prized to-day. The best and earliest examples have their legs 
 connected by carved crossed stretchers, centred, where the stretchers join in 
 the middle, by a carved or turned finial. Another feature of their design 
 which improves their present-day value is a serpentine edge. 
 
 Besides the Pembroke, another type of tea table much desired by 
 modern collectors is the mahogany spider-leg gate table, with a rectangular 
 top, the two side flaps being supported by legs, which pull out in a manner 
 similar to the oak gate-leg table. The slender legs are turned, and, in the 
 best examples, terminate in small club feet ; the tops are in solid mahogany 
 and not veneered. Many of these tables unfortunately have been French 
 polished, and those with their original patina are much more highly valued. 
 
 The spider-leg type of furniture also includes the much-sought-after 
 nest or set of small tables, consisting of four tables, graduated in size to fit 
 into one another. These have rectangular tops supported by four legs, and 
 are mostly found in mahogany, genuine examples in satinwood being very 
 rare. A set usually comprises four tables, and if two or three only are met 
 with, the set is imperfect. If the table of least size in a set has grooves in 
 the framework under the top, it is an indication that a still smaller table 
 fitting these grooves is missing. Later examples of these sets of tables, dating 
 from the early nineteenth century, have stouter legs with more elaborate 
 turning, and are made in rosewood ; but these late examples are not by any 
 means so valuable as the earlier ones in mahogany. 
 
 108 
 
A satinwood Armchair, with painted decoration. One of a pair of Sidetables, with Batinwood top decorated 
 
 Circa 1 780. with painting, and carved and gilt underfraniing and legs. 
 
 Circa 1780. 
 
 ig. 102. Col. K. Fig. 103. Col. K 
 
A mahogany Sidetable, designed by Robert Adam. 
 Circa 1770. 
 
 Fig. 105. Col. H. 
 
SIDE TABLES 
 
 The urn table of this period has the top either oval, square, or serpentine, 
 supported sometimes by tapered legs and sometimes by turned fluted legs ; 
 and, like the Pembroke table, though usually of mahogany, will be met with 
 occasionally in satinwood. Of the numerous other small tables dating from 
 this period the lady's work table, which is found of varying design, and 
 generally in satinwood, may be mentioned. Combined dressing and writing 
 tables were also made in satinwood, and towards the end of the century a 
 quantity of dainty and graceful but rather effeminate furniture of this type 
 must have been made, generally in satinwood, with inlaid or painted 
 decoration, but sometimes in harewood. 
 
 Side Tables. — Side tables of the late eighteenth century were of two 
 kinds : in mahogany for the dining-room, and in satinwood for the 
 reception-room or salon. The best example of the mahogany side table is 
 that with the serpentine-shaped front, the frieze generally being decorated 
 with fluting on either side of a centre plaque, and the legs being tapered 
 and either plain or fluted. The plaque was sometimes ornamented with a 
 carved design representing an urn or swags of drapery, in the classical taste. 
 More often these side tables, which were invariably fitted with mahogany 
 tops, are found with straight or bow fronts. A fine example of a mahogany 
 side table of this period, after the design of Robert Adam, is shown in 
 Fig. 105. Adam, in his tables, favoured the marble or scagliola rather 
 than the wooden top. These scagliola tops were of composition of Italian 
 invention, which Adam introduced into this country, and were made in 
 various colours decorated with designs, sometimes floral or geometrical and 
 sometimes with heraldic devices. Spurious side tables are often made by the 
 imitator from a type of mahogany side table of the early Victorian period, 
 which generally has a straight front and rounded corners with a plain frieze 
 and heavy turned legs ; but by converting the heavy legs into carved and 
 tapered ones, altering the mouldings to the frieze and adding a carved centre 
 plaque in the middle, a fictitious example of a late eighteenth century side 
 table is obtained. These spurious tables, however, are generally much larger 
 and longer than the genuine ones, and the top with the rounded corners will 
 never be found on the late eighteenth century table. 
 
 Satinwood side tables of a small size are generally found to-day in 
 pairs, half-circular in shape, and fine examples are either decorated with 
 elaborate inlaid designs, sometimes depicting medallions and musical 
 instruments, or painted similar to the example illustrated, Fig. 103. The 
 
 109 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 more common type of half-circular side table is either in mahogany or 
 satinwood, the latter being decorated with tulip wood banding ; but this 
 type of table is of little value to-day, single examples being especially 
 common. 
 
 Dining Tables. — During the last twenty years of this period long 
 dining tables 1 were made like that shown in Fig. iii. Large numbers of 
 this variety of table are found, the ends being semicircular or D-shaped and 
 the middle part composed of three leaves, supported by tapered legs which 
 pull out. Tables of a large size were composed of two centre parts and extra 
 leaves. 
 
 Subsequently, as with other furniture, the tapered legs gave place to the 
 turned legs ; and contemporary with the latter are the extending tables on 
 tripods, the curved legs of which terminate in cast brass caps with castors, 
 sometimes in the design of a lion's paw, and the edges of the tops are reeded. 
 The collector should be careful to see that the tops of these tables are in their 
 original condition, and that they have not been French polished, particularly 
 if he desires the top not to be easily marked or scratched. The appearance 
 of the undersides of the leaves should also be scrutinised to see that new ones 
 have not been added. The semicircular end tables of these late eighteenth 
 century mahogany dining tables are often converted into satinwood side 
 tables by the imitator, who veneers their tops and friezes with satinwood, and 
 either veneers their legs or replaces them with birch or satinwood ones. 
 
 Card Tables. — The design of the card table in this period reverted to 
 the type with the circular top, similar to the Queen Anne walnut card tables, 
 and examples of high quality were made in satinwood or harewood, the 
 former having their tops and friezes decorated with inlay in various coloured 
 woods, and the legs either tapered or turned and fluted. These circular-top 
 card tables are often found to-day in pairs ; examples in mahogany are of 
 little value. 
 
 Tripod Furniture. — The much-sought-after carved tripod table of the 
 early and middle eighteenth century periods became in this period more 
 
 1 The first long dining table dates back as early as 174O, as examples are extant with cabriole legs 
 ending in club or claw and ball feet. Unlike the late eighteenth century examples, these earlier tables are 
 composed of two or more centre tables with end flaps of a square or oval shape, and not separate end tables 
 as in the late eighteenth century example illustrated. 
 
 I IO 
 
SOFA TABLES— COMMODES— SIDEBOARDS 
 
 dainty and French in feeling, the feet ending in scroll toes. The Pembroke 
 table took the place of the tripod table at this time, but fire screens on tripod 
 feet still continued to be made, although much lighter and more delicate in 
 design, and to-day are sometimes found in pairs, the screen being generally 
 oval or heart-shaped. About 1800 the legs of these tripod screens became 
 curved, and, in the early nineteenth century, these were again superseded 
 by a triangular platform. 
 
 Sofa Tables. — About 1790, a new form of table known as the sofa 
 table was introduced. Early examples are generally in mahogany and, 
 rarely, in satinwood, and have curved legs connected by an arched stretcher. 
 Later examples, of about 1825, are found in rosewood, with heavy legs 
 decorated with coarse carving ; these are of considerably less value and 
 interest. 
 
 Commodes. — The commode of this period is generally found in satin- 
 wood, or satinwood and harewood, of semicircular shape similar to the two 
 fine examples illustrated (Figs. 106 and 107). Besides this type of commode 
 another variety was made of serpentine form, following more closely the lines 
 of the contemporary French article. The commodes of this period were 
 made essentially for the wealthy, and, therefore, most of the existing examples 
 are of the highest quality of workmanship, decorated with inlay of choice 
 woods or with painted decoration. The serpentine-fronted commodes, how- 
 ever, are generally found decorated with inlay and not with painting, and 
 their similarity to the French example is accentuated by the use of chased 
 and gilt metal mounts. 
 
 When the imitator comes across plain and undecorated examples of these 
 commodes he will enhance their present-day value by either decorating their 
 surfaces with new inlay or with painting. He seldom makes imitations of 
 entirely new construction, owing to the skill required and the high cost of 
 making the semicircular or serpentine fronts. Generally his imitations have 
 straight fronts with concave corners, thus considerably lessening the cost of 
 production. 
 
 Sideboards. — The sideboard was first made about the middle of this 
 period, prior to which a side table, flanked by a pair of pedestals, surmounted 
 by urns, was used in the dining-room. Fine examples of these side tables 
 with urns, designed by Robert Adam, are elaborately inlaid with various 
 
 1 1 1 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 choice woods, and further enhanced by chased and gilt metal mounts. The 
 sideboard was evolved by joining up the pedestals to the side table, and some 
 early sideboards, of about 1775, show the side table in the middle with the 
 pedestals attached to it. This transitional type afterwards developed into the 
 sideboard on legs. 
 
 Many spurious copies of the side table with a pair of pedestals and urns 
 have been made, sometimes of new construction, sometimes in the form of 
 plain examples decorated with applied carving in low relief, of swags of 
 drapery, honeysuckle, and paterae in imitation of a few rare examples of 
 this type, extant to-day, designed by Robert Adam in his early period. 
 When the collector meets with this type of side table and pedestals, elaborately 
 decorated with applied carving, he should remember the great rarity of the 
 original examples. The notes on spurious mahogany carving given in the 
 former chapters will be found of use for detecting these spurious tables and 
 pedestals. 
 
 The sideboards that the collector is most likely to meet with are usually 
 called " Sheraton," without any justification, however, as these sideboards 
 were made by all the principal cabinetmakers for about ten years before 
 Thomas Sheraton became known. They are invariably found in mahogany 
 and vary in size from 4 ft. to 9 or 10 ft. in length ; a good example of a 
 sideboard of this period is illustrated in Fig. 1 10. The difference in the 
 design of these sideboards is mainly in the shape of the front. The bow 
 front is the most common, but the rarest examples have a serpentine front. 
 The early sideboards were very seldom made with the straight front, and 
 most of those extant in this shape date from the early part of the nineteenth 
 century and are generally of poor quality. Sideboards of semicircular shape 
 were also made in this period. The serpentine and bow-fronted pieces 
 generally have the tapered legs and spade toes of the late eighteenth century, 
 and some are found with the original brass rail on the back from which a 
 curtain was hung, although large numbers must have been made without 
 this curtain rail attachment. The collector, in purchasing a sideboard, 
 should be guided by the quality of the workmanship and note whether the 
 mahogany veneer used for the top and drawer fronts has a finely marked 
 figure. The best examples have cross-banded edges of tulip wood around 
 the top and drawer fronts, similar to that shown in Fig. 110, and the 
 drawers should be oak lined, denoting that the piece was originally one of 
 good workmanship. 
 
 A serpentine front per se is considered of greater value than the bow 
 
 1 1 2 
 
An inlaid satinwood Dressing Table. 
 Circa I 800. 
 
 Fig. 108. Col. Q. 
 
 A half-circular painted and gilt Sidetable, top decorated with painted 
 design on copper. 
 Circa 1775. 
 
 Fig- 109. Col. H. 
 
SIDEBOARDS— BEDROOM FURNITURE 
 
 front ; but a high quality sideboard of the latter kind is to be preferred to 
 a poorly made piece with a serpentine one. The smaller sideboards, 
 measuring about 4 ft. in width, are more valuable to-day than the larger 
 ones, the reason being that they fulfil to-day the popular demand for 
 dressing tables. The tapered legs of sideboards, in the early part of the 
 nineteenth century, like those of chairs and tables, were superseded by the 
 round turned legs, and sideboards with these legs are accounted to-day less 
 valuable, although, with the exception of the legs, they are similar in all 
 respects to the earlier examples. The imitator, therefore, to make these 
 late sideboards more saleable, cuts off the round legs and fixes tapered ones 
 on to the stumps. In purchasing sideboards, therefore, the collector should 
 examine the legs where they join the carcase to make sure that this 
 substitution has not been carried out. 
 
 Bedroom Furniture. — A large quantity of mahogany furniture, such 
 as gentlemen's wardrobes, wing wardrobes, chests-with-drawers, tallboys, 
 bedside cupboards, and toilet glasses are extant to-day, dating from this 
 period. In purchasing this type of furniture the collector should endeavour 
 to buy pieces of good quality and with their original surface condition. 
 The latter attribute, however, is rare, as the majority of this class of furni- 
 ture, as already stated, has had its patina destroyed by the French polisher. 
 
 Satinwood was not often used for bedroom furniture, and particularly 
 rarely for large pieces, such as wardrobes. A quantity of bedroom furniture, 
 however, was made of softwood, generally painted with a cream ground, 
 with enrichments and mouldings picked out in another colour. A bedroom 
 suite of this description, to be seen at the Victoria and Albert Museum, was 
 made for David Garrick by Chippendale & Haig, and is authenticated by 
 the original invoice preserved with it. Although a large quantity of this 
 type of painted furniture, generally of beech, must have been made origin- 
 ally, examples are not often met with to-day, as, owing to its being made of 
 softwood and painted, a great quantity has not survived the wear and tear 
 of one hundred and forty years. 
 
 Dressing tables made in mahogany, with folding top, enclosing a mirror 
 and small boxes and compartments for toilet necessaries, were also made in 
 this period ; and fine quality chests-with-drawers are also found with the top 
 drawer fitted in a similar manner, these chests generally having serpentine 
 fronts and were made in mahogary, although some examples are met with 
 in harewood. 
 
 h 113 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 The cheval glass was first introduced in the late eighteenth century. 
 The earlier specimens of about 1785 are the most desirable, having mahogany 
 square supports to the sides and a glass that can be raised and lowered as well 
 as tilted. These early cheval glasses are small ; but as time went on they 
 became larger, the side supports being turned instead of square, until, about 
 1820 to 1830, the design became very ugly and cumbersome. Rare early 
 examples have carved urns as finials to the side supports, and the cross rails 
 are ornamented with carving. The original mirror plate was always bevelled. 
 
 114 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 IRISH FURNITURE 
 
 FROM the point of view of the collector of English furniture, a 
 knowledge of Irish furniture is of importance, in that it will prevent 
 him from purchasing pieces of Irish origin in the belief that they are 
 English. He should, therefore, make himself familiar with the peculiarities 
 of Irish design, so that the recognition of examples will be easy. 
 
 Furniture distinctively classed as " Irish " would appear to date from 
 1725 to 1755, and from its design it would seem to be the work of craftsmen 
 who were combining the design of contemporary English furniture with 
 certain native characteristics. In their furniture of about 1735 they appear 
 to have copied the design of English furniture of about 1725 ; in fact, it may 
 be said that the Irish furniture of this period is a decade later in design than 
 the English. 1 It is the heavy appearance, superfluity of carved ornament, 
 and absence of elegant and graceful lines that make its present-day apprecia- 
 tion and value considerably less than that of the contemporary English 
 furniture. 
 
 The following remarks describing a few characteristics of Irish furniture 
 will be found of use to the collector for the recognition of Irish examples : 
 
 1. This early furniture was made of Spanish or San Domingo mahogany 
 and is very dark in colour, sometimes approaching to a black tone. 
 
 2. The carving is in low relief and its background is often decorated 
 with an incised diamond pattern (Fig. 113), or sometimes with a punched 
 design (Fig. 116). 
 
 3. The cabriole legs usually terminate with a square paw foot (Fig. 1 12), 
 which is often found with a kind of decorated hock just above the paw 
 (Fig. 112). If the cabriole leg is terminated with a claw and ball foot the 
 claw will invariably be webbed (Fig. 116). 
 
 4. The cabriole legs of chairs, stools, stands, and side tables will invariably 
 be connected by a deep apron piece under the frieze (Figs. 113, 114, and 115). 
 
 1 The Irish table (Fig. 113) has a combination of the lion paw foot and the maslc head found on English 
 tables of about 1730, and the rococo scrolls on the apron characteristic of English design of about 1745. 
 
 ll 5 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 5. Side tables will always have tops of mahogany with plain moulded 
 edges (Fig. 1 13), and seldom of marble like the contemporary English tables. 
 
 6. One of the favourite motifs of ornament is the escallop shell (Fig. 
 1 16), undoubtedly adapted from the shell so often found on English furniture 
 of the early eighteenth century. 
 
 7. Other favourite motifs of ornament are the satyr or grotesque masks, 
 which will be found on pieces of high quality. 
 
 8. Cabinets, linen chests, bureaux, and wardrobes are often found 
 mounted on stands with cabriole legs. 
 
 9. The articles that are extant to-day in the greatest number are side 
 tables with cabriole legs, and linen chests on stands. 
 
 10. Chairs are often found with their backs and seat rails of oak, over- 
 laid with mahogany veneer, and chairs with cabriole legs were often designed 
 with stretchers. 
 
 All the above characteristics are peculiar to Irish furniture from about 
 1725 to 1 75 5. 1 After this date the furniture of England and Ireland became 
 more standardised as the Irish cabinetmakers were influenced by the trade 
 catalogues of English cabinetmakers, such as Thomas Chippendale, although 
 the Irish craftsmen still favoured native features of design and certain articles 
 of furniture. Satinwood and painted beech furniture appear to have been 
 specially popular in Ireland in the late eighteenth century. 
 
 The amount of Irish furniture of fine quality that survived from the Oak 
 and Walnut periods is so negligible that it demands no consideration from 
 the collector. This was, doubtless, due to the fact that Ireland was in a very 
 troubled and unsettled state, and governed solely by military occupation. 
 There was, therefore, no resident nobility to encourage a native industry in 
 furniture for the decoration and equipment of their houses. It was not until 
 the first half of the eighteenth century that the country became more settled, 
 and not until the end of it, when the independence of the Irish Parliament 
 was established, that the presence of legislators in Dublin led to social con- 
 ditions conducive to the growth of the applied and domestic arts. 
 
 1 This early Irish mahogany furniture is often called " Irish Chippendale," presumably because it has the 
 cabriole leg and claw and ball foot which, in English furniture, is similarly wrongly attributed to the design and 
 influence of Thomas Chippendale. 
 
 Il6 
 
An Irish mahogany Card Table, with typical paw foot. 
 Circa 1 74O. 
 
 Fig. 1 1 2. Col. .1. 
 
 An Irish mahogany Sick-table, showing typical diamond pattern design to 
 background ol carving. 
 Circa 1755. 
 
 Fig. 113. Col. H. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 CONTINENTAL FURNITURE COMPARED 
 
 TO ENGLISH 
 
 FREQUENT mention has been made of the way English furniture 
 design was influenced by that of other nations, and this in many cases 
 has naturally resulted in a strong resemblance between English and 
 Continental furniture. Where this resemblance is of importance is that the 
 collector may mistake pieces of foreign origin for English, and this, like the 
 purchase of Irish furniture, would result in most cases in his paying greatly 
 in excess of their real value, as most Continental pieces, with the exception 
 of the French, are in no way as valuable as English. 
 
 The above remarks are made not to discourage the purchase of Conti- 
 nental furniture, but to act as a warning to the collector that a certain 
 knowledge of the design and workmanship of furniture of foreign origin is 
 necessary should he wish to avoid making mistakes. The Dutch furniture 
 is the most important in this respect, as not only does it bear a stronger 
 resemblance to the English than that of other countries, but there is a large 
 quantity of it in England, as within recent years it has been imported to 
 supply the demand for old English furniture. 
 
 The Dutch examples that may be bought by the uninitiated in mistake 
 for English will be found in oak, walnut, marquetry, mahogany, and satin- 
 wood. The chief article in oak is the drawer-top table with bulbous legs ; 
 the Dutch example, however, in comparison with the English, is smaller 
 and shorter and the bulbous legs are melon-shaped and narrow-necked ; they 
 are generally found quite plain, with no carved decoration. 
 
 The Dutch marquetry furniture, which generally takes the form of 
 wardrobes, bureaux, and chairs, exists in England in large quantities ; the 
 marquetry is very coarsely executed, invariably of a design of flowers and 
 birds into which ivory inlay is often introduced. Marquetry chairs, some- 
 times with carved crestings to the backs, are entirely decorated with inlay 
 on the back, seat-rail, and front legs. English marquetry chairs of this 
 description were never made, as the inlay was confined to small panels on the 
 
 117 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 splats and the knees of the legs. The Dutch marquetry centre table has 
 already been mentioned in Chapter IV. 
 
 Dutch furniture in mahogany is also frequently met with, and the 
 large wardrobe, similar in form to the gentleman's wardrobe of the late 
 eighteenth century, has often been mistaken by the unwary for a piece of 
 " Chippendale." Its dimensions, however, are generally much larger, and 
 the panels in the doors of the upper part are invariably decorated with 
 carved ribbons, urns, and swags, also medallions with cameo heads. The 
 corners of bureaux, wardrobes, and cabinets are usually canted, and sometimes 
 decorated by columns with Corinthian caps in brass ; and these pieces are 
 frequently surmounted by a broken pediment centred by a large carved urn, 
 decorated with bay or laurel leaves. The lower part is often shaped with a 
 swelled or bombe front. 
 
 In satinwood furniture there are a large number of bureaux and chests- 
 with-drawers ; also a type of cupboard, with drawer above, on short tapered 
 legs ; and the secretaire with let-down front. A favourite motif of 
 decoration for these satinwood pieces is a large inlaid shell, similar to the 
 inlaid shell found on late eighteenth century examples. In this satinwood 
 furniture the dentil, which was another favourite motif of decoration, was 
 often inlaid, and is not only found on the cornices of tall articles such as 
 cabinets and wardrobes, but also under the edge of the top of low pieces such 
 as the cupboard described above. 
 
 This mahogany and satinwood furniture is of high quality workmanship, 
 veneered respectively with fine-figured mahogany and East Indian satinwood ; 
 the drawers are generally oak lined, but differ in one respect from the 
 English drawers, as their sides will be found nailed to the backs instead of 
 dovetailed. The doors will not have hinges, but will be hung on pivots. 
 These pivot-hung doors are never found on English examples in mahogany 
 and satinwood, but doors of English walnut pieces are sometimes found hung 
 in this manner. This denotes Dutch workmanship, which is accounted for 
 by the large number of craftsmen from Holland working in England at this 
 period. 
 
 Besides this Dutch furniture, a small quantity of Portuguese furniture, 
 mostly chairs and settees, which have cabriole legs and claw and ball feet, is 
 to be met with in England ; examples of this, however, are of very poor 
 quality, decorated with coarsely executed carving, and are cramped and 
 stilted in form. They bear a closer resemblance to the Irish furniture of 
 this type than to the English. 
 
 118 
 
CHRONOLOGICAL SURVEY 
 
 453. Capture of Constantinople by the Turks and flight of the Greeks to Italy. 
 
 485. Accession of Henry vn. 
 
 496. Magna Intercursus — Free Trade treaty with the Netherlands. 
 
 509. Accession of Henry vin. 
 
 538. Larger Monasteries suppressed : workmen of Ecclesiastical Building 
 
 Guilds took up secular work. 
 547. Accession of Edward vi. 
 553. Accession of Mary. 
 558. Accession of Elizabeth. 
 
 570. John Thorpe, Earliest Renaissance Architect, commenced building of 
 
 Kirby Hall, Northants. 
 
 572. Massacre of St. Bartholomew and flight of Huguenots from France. 
 
 573. Inigo Jones, Architect, born. 
 
 580. Collection of designs for furniture, gardens, fountains, etc., published by 
 
 Hans Vredeman de Vries. 
 
 581. The Turkey Company received a Charter for trading in the Levant. 
 598. Edict of Nantes, securing liberty and property to the Huguenots. 
 600. The East India Company received its Charter. 
 
 603. Accession of James 1. 
 625. Accession of Charles 1. 
 
 632. Sir Christopher Wren, Architect, born. 
 
 648. Grinling Gibbons, Carver, born in Holland. 
 
 649. Charles 1. executed and Commonwealth established. 
 651. Inigo Jones, Architect, died. 
 
 660. Accession of Charles 11. 
 
 Beginning of Dutch and French influence. Walnut chairs, day- 
 beds, AND STOOLS CAME INTO FASHION. 
 
 675. Veneered Walnut and Marquetry furniture came into fashion. 
 
 Lacquered furniture came into fashion. 
 
 684. William Kent, Architect and Designer, born. 
 
 685. Revocation of Edict of Nantes and emigration of Huguenot workmen 
 
 to Holland and England. 
 Accession of James 11. 
 
 688. Treatise on Japanning and Varnishing, by Stalker and Parker, published. 
 
 689. Accession of William in. and Mary. 
 
 695. Gilt Gesso furniture came into fashion. 
 
 119 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 1696. Batty Langley, Architect and Designer, born. 
 
 1 702. Accession of Queen Anne. 
 1 7 14. Accession of George 1. 
 
 1 7 17. Thomas Chippendale, Cabinetmaker, born. 
 
 1720. Mahogany furniture began to be made. 
 
 1 72 1. Grinling Gibbons, Carver, died. 
 1723. Sir Christopher Wren, Architect, died. 
 
 1726. Sir William Chambers, Architect, born. 
 
 1727. Accession of George 11. 
 
 1728. Robert Adam, Architect and Designer, born. 
 
 1730. Design of furniture influenced by classical revival of William 
 
 Kent and other Architect-Designers. 
 1733. Repeal of duty on imported timber. 
 
 1736. Practical Architecture, by William Halfpenny, published. 
 
 1739. Gentlemen s or Builders' Companion, by William Jones, published, contain- 
 
 ing designs for pier glasses, slab tables, chimney-pieces, etc. 
 Treasury of Designs, by Batty and Thomas Langley, published. 
 1 74 1. Angelica KaufFmann born in Italy. 
 
 1743. Design of furniture influenced by French taste. 
 
 1745. Design of furniture influenced by the Chinese and Gothic tastes. 
 
 1748. William Kent, Architect and Designer, died. 
 
 175 1. Thomas Sheraton, Designer, born. 
 
 1752. The Country Gentlemen s Pocket Companion and Builders Assistant for 
 
 Decorative Architecture, by William and John Halfpenny, published. 
 Contained designs in Chinese and Gothic tastes. 
 1754. New Book of Chinese designs by Edwards and Darby, published. 
 
 The Gentlemen s and Cabinetmakers Director, by Thomas Chippendale, pub- 
 lished. Second edition, 1759, and third and enlarged edition, 1764. 
 
 1757. Book of Chinese designs by Sir William Chambers, published. 
 
 1758. Robert Adam commenced practice as an Architect in London, in partner- 
 
 ship with his brother James Adam. 
 Book of designs for picture frames, candelabra, etc., by Thomas Johnson, 
 Carver, published. Second edition with 150 new designs published, 
 1 76 1 . 
 
 1760. Accession of George in. 
 
 1762. Universal System of Household Furniture, by Ince and Mayhew, published. 
 
 1765. Design of furniture influenced by the classical revival of Robert 
 
 and James Adam. Satinwood introduced for furniture-making. 
 The Cabinet and Chairmakers 1 Real Friend and Companion, by Robert 
 
 Manwaring, published. 
 Angelica KaufFmann came to England. 
 1768. Book of furniture designs by Lock and Copeland, published. 
 
 120 
 
CHRONOLOGICAL SURVEY 
 
 1769. Thomas Chippendale entered into partnership, the style of the firm being 
 
 given on invoices as Chippendale & Haig, and also as Chippendale, 
 Haig, & Co. 
 
 New Book of pier frames, girandoles, tables, etc., by Mathias Lock, 
 published. 
 
 1772. Robert Gillow, Cabinetmaker, of Oxford Street, London, died. 
 
 1778. First complete portfolio of Architectural designs, by R. and J. Adam, 
 
 published. These had been published in folios since 1773. A 
 second portfolio was published in 1779, and a third in 1822. 
 
 1779. Thomas Chippendale, Cabinetmaker, died. 
 
 178 1. Cipriani, one of the Artists assisting R. and J. Adam, died. 
 
 Angelica Kauffmann, R.A., married Antonio Zucchi, another assistant of 
 R. and J. Adam, and returned to Italy. 
 1786. George Hepplewhite, Cabinetmaker, died. 
 
 1788. Cabinetmakers' and Upholsterers Guide, by A. Hepplewhite & Co., 
 
 published. 
 
 Designs of Household Furniture, by T. Shearer, published. 
 
 1790. Thomas Sheraton, Furniture Designer and Teacher of Drawing, came 
 
 to London. 
 
 1 79 1. Cabinetmakers' and Upholsterers 1 Drawing-Book, by Thomas Sheraton, 
 
 commenced serial publication ; completed in 1794. 
 
 1792. Robert Adam, Architect and Designer, died and was buried in West- 
 
 minster Abbey. 
 1794. James Adam, Architect and Designer, died. 
 
 1803. The Cabinet Directory, by Thomas Sheraton, published. 
 
 1806. Thomas Sheraton, Furniture Designer, died. 
 
 1807. Household Furniture and Interior Decoration (Empire style), by Thomas 
 
 Hope, published. 
 
 I 2 1 
 
INDEX 
 
 Acid, Nitric, as a colouring agent, 15. 
 Adam, James, 96. 
 
 ,, mirror frames, 68. 
 
 „ Robert, 6, 69, 86, 96, 100, 107, 109, 112. 
 ,, ,, Artists working for, roo. 
 ,, ,, as a designer of furniture, 97. 
 „ „ Cabinetmakers working for, 97, 
 107. 
 
 ,, „ Influence of, on late eighteenth 
 
 century design, 97. 
 „ R. & J., 96. 
 
 ,, side tables with pedestals and urns, 112. 
 ,, ,, „ with scagliola tops, 109. 
 „ style, 62, 97. 
 ,, writing tables, 107. 
 American walnut, 77. 
 Ammonia as a colouring agent, 15. 
 Animal and bird motifs in carving, 40. 
 Arabesque carving on oak, 23. 
 
 ,, marquetry designs on oak, 23, 27. 
 „ „ „ on walnut, 39. 
 
 Architectural marquetry designs on oak, 23. 
 
 „ motifs in early mahogany furniture, 
 75- 
 
 Atmosphere. Effect of, on furniture, 3. 
 
 Baluster decoration. Split, on oak, 23, 33. 
 „ legs. See Legs — Baluster. 
 „ supports. Oak, 27. 
 
 Banding. Herring-bone walnut, 42. 
 
 Barber's chair, 48. 
 
 Bead. Cock, 40. 
 ,, joint to gate-leg tables, 32. 
 
 Beads and mouldings to drawer fronts, 40. 
 
 Bedroom furniture. Late mahogany, 99, 113; 
 Middle mahogany, 94; Painted, 113; Painted 
 beech, 113; Satin wood, 113; Walnut, 84. 
 
 Bedside cupboards. Late mahogany, 113. 
 
 Beech bedroom furniture. Painted, 113. 
 
 Beech chairs and stools. Painted, 45, r 16 ; Painted 
 and gilt, 106; Upholstered, 28. 
 
 Beeswax and turpentine polish, 4, 12. 
 
 Bevelling on old mirror plates, 71. 
 
 Bookcases. Dwarf, 109; Early mahogany, 80; 
 
 Late mahogany, 107 ; Marquetry, 
 50; Pepys's, 43; Secretaire, 107. 
 „ Bureau. See Bureau Bookcases. 
 
 Bosses on oak furniture, 23, 3* 
 
 Boule, 68. 
 
 Bow fronts, 112. 
 
 Bracket foot, 94. 
 
 Brussels Earth. Use of, as colouring agent, 15. 
 
 Buckingham, Duke of, his mirror plate factory, 67. 
 
 Buffets. Oak, 26. 
 
 Building Guilds. Ecclesiastical, 21. 
 
 Bulbous legs. Oak, 30; Dutch oak, 117. 
 
 ,, supports, 26, 27; Spurious, 18, 27. 
 Bureau Bookcases. Early mahogany, 79 ; Lacquer, 
 
 56; Marquetry, 49; Middle mahogany, 91; 
 
 Walnut, 49. 
 
 Bureaux. Early mahogany, 79 ; Late mahogany, 
 106; Lacquer, 56; Marquetry, 50; Middle 
 mahogany, 91 ; Satin wood, 106; Walnut, 48. 
 
 Burr walnut, 41. 
 
 Cabinet stands. Carved gilt and silvered lacquer, 
 
 55. 57. 61, 66. 
 Cabinets. China. See China Cabinets. 
 
 ,, Colouring interiors of spurious, 15. 
 
 ,, Early mahogany, 80, 91. 
 
 ,, Lacquer, on stands, 55. 
 
 „ Marquetry, 50. 
 
 ,, Painted, 100. 
 
 ,, Writing. See Writing Cabinets. 
 Cabriole legs. See Legs — Cabriole. 
 Candle-stands. Gilt and Gesso, 62. 
 
 ,, Tripod, 82. 
 
 Cane backs and seats, 35, 38. 
 
 122 
 
INDEX 
 
 Carcases for veneered furniture. Cedar, 102. 
 „ for mahogany veneer, 88. 
 „ for satin wood veneer, 10 1. 
 „ for walnut veneer, 41. 
 Card tables. See Tables — Card. 
 "Carlton" writing tables, 107. 
 Carved and gilt furniture, 62. 
 Carved and gilt mirror frames, 68. 
 "Carved-up" spurious pieces, 16; Oak, 23, 30, 32, 
 33; Mahogany, 77, 79, 80, 81, 83; Walnut, 47. 
 Carving, 9. 
 
 „ Animal and bird motifs for, 40. 
 
 „ Arabesque, on oak, 23. 
 
 „ Incised, on oak, 23. 
 
 „ on Dutch furniture, 118. 
 
 ,, on Irish furniture, 115. 
 
 „ on late mahogany furniture, 100. 
 
 ,, on middle mahogany furniture, 88. 
 
 ,, on oak furniture, 23. 
 
 „ on Portuguese furniture, 1 18. 
 
 „ on spurious furniture. Appearance of 
 
 wear in, 16. 
 ,, on walnut furniture, 38, 40. 
 Caryatid figures. Oak, 26. 
 Cedar carcases for veneered pieces, 102. 
 Chair-back Settees. See Settees — Chair-back. 
 Chairs. Barber's, 48. 
 „ Beech painted, 45. 
 » „ >. and gilt, 106. 
 
 „ „ upholstered, 28. 
 
 „ Derbyshire oak, 28. 
 „ Dutch marquetry, 117. 
 „ Early mahogany, 78. 
 „ English marquetry, 117. 
 „ Gesso and gilt, 62. 
 ,, " Hepplewhite," 105. 
 „ Hogarth, 40. 
 „ Hoop-back, 47, 74, 75. 
 
 Irish, 115. 
 ,, Lacquer, 56. 
 „ Late mahogany, 105. 
 ,, Middle mahogany, 89. 
 ,, Oak, 20, 27. 
 „ Oval-back, 105. 
 ,, Ribbon-back, 90. 
 „ Satinwood, 106. 
 
 Chairs. "Sheraton," 105. 
 
 ,, Shield-back, 105. 
 
 „ Walnut, 35, 40, 45, 47. 
 
 „ Yorkshire oak, 28. 
 Character and individuality in pieces, 8. 
 Characteristics of Irish furniture, 115. 
 Chests and coffers. Oak, 32. 
 Chests-with-drawers. Early mahogany, 84. 
 
 11 „ „ Lacquer, 55. 
 
 11 11 H Late mahogany, 113. 
 
 11 >, N Marquetry, 52. 
 
 n H ,, Middle mahogany, 94. 
 
 » i) » Walnut, 52. 
 Chelsea mirrors, 69. 
 Cheval glasses, 43, 99, 114. 
 
 China Cabinets. Early mahogany, 80; Middle 
 
 mahogany, 91 ; Walnut, 50. 
 Chinese and Gothic tastes, 85. 
 
 1, H n ,, Mirror frames in, 68. 
 „ fret decoration, 34, 87, 89, 90, 92, 93, 
 94- 
 
 Chippendale, Thomas, 6, 56, 61, 85, 92, 97, 116. 
 Chippendale & Haig, 107, 113. 
 Chronological Survey, 119. 
 Cipriani, 100. 
 
 Circular convex mirror, 68. 
 
 Classes of spurious furniture, 13. 
 
 Claw and ball foot. See Foot — Claw and Ball. 
 
 Clocks. Long case. Lacquer, 56 ; Marquetry, 39. 
 
 Club-foot. See Foot — Club. 
 
 Cock bead, 40. 
 
 Coffers and chests. Oak, 32. 
 
 Coffin or joint stools. Oak, 29. 
 
 Colour and patina, 2. 
 
 ,, Imitation of, on spurious furniture, 14. 
 
 „ of early mahogany furniture, 76. 
 
 ,, of eighteenth century oak furniture, 34. 
 
 „ of gilt and gesso furniture, 65. 
 
 „ of lacquer furniture, 57. 
 
 ,, of late mahogany furniture, 98. 
 
 ,, of middle mahogany furniture, 86. 
 
 ,, of oak furniture, 20, 22. 
 
 ,, of satinwood furniture, 98. 
 
 „ of walnut furniture, 37. 
 
 „ on Gothic oak furniture, 21. 
 Coloured lacquer furniture, 55. 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 Colours of old furniture. Recipes for imitating, 15 
 Commodes. Middle mahogany, 93 ; Satinwood 
 
 in ; Satinwood and harewood, in. 
 "Concertina movement" card table, 52. 
 Condition of old furniture. Present, 12. 
 
 „ " Untouched," 2, 4. 
 Console tables. Gilt, 62. 
 
 Continental furniture compared to English, 117. 
 
 Convex circular mirrors, 68. 
 
 Copeland. Lock and, 85. 
 
 Copper. Painted decoration on, 100. 
 
 Cost as a factor in present value. Original, 6. 
 
 Couches. Late mahogany, 105. 
 
 Court cupboards. Oak, 26. 
 
 Cracks on lacquer, 59. 
 
 Cross-banding in veneer, 39. 
 
 Cuban mahogany, 76, 88. 
 
 Cupboards. Bedside, 113. 
 
 ,, Court, 26. 
 
 Dole, 25. 
 
 ,, Late mahogany, 113. 
 
 Darley. Edwards and, 85. 
 Dates on oak furniture, 23. 
 Day-beds. Walnut, 35, 45. 
 
 Daylight examination to detect spurious furniture, 
 19. 
 
 Decline of gesso and gilt furniture, 62. 
 
 ,, of lacquer furniture, 56. 
 
 ,, of oak furniture, 23. 
 
 „ of walnut furniture, 36. 
 Defective furniture. Undesirability of purchasing, 
 
 12. 
 
 Defects through shrinkage of wood, 9, 93. 
 Dentil decoration. Inlaid, 118. 
 Design. Adam school of, 62. 
 
 „ Factors of good, 7. 
 
 ,, in furniture. Beginning of Renaissance, 
 21. 
 
 ,, of spurious furniture. Errors in, 17. 
 ,, and ornamentation of furniture — 
 
 Early mahogany, 74. 
 „ ,, ,, Gilt and gesso, 62. 
 
 Lacquer, 56. 
 
 Late mahogany, 97. 
 „ ,, „ Middle mahogany, 87. 
 
 Design and ornamentation of furniture — 
 
 „ ,, „ Mirrors, 68. 
 
 ,, ,, ,, Oak, 22. 
 
 „ ,, ,, Satinwood, 87. 
 
 „ „ „ Walnut, 38. 
 
 Detection of spurious furniture. Daylight examina- 
 tion for, 19. 
 
 Devonshire House. Gilt furniture designed for, 
 62. 
 
 de Vries. Hans Vredemann, 22. 
 Differences between English and Dutch furniture, 
 
 117. 
 
 ,, „ „ and Irish furniture, 
 
 "5- 
 
 Dimensions. Higher proportionate value of pieces 
 
 of small, 6. 
 Dining tables. See Tables — Dining. 
 Dirtied wax. Use of, on spurious furniture, 15. 
 Dole cupboards. Oak, 25. 
 Doors. Pivot-hung, in furniture, 118. 
 Dovetailing, 24. 
 
 Drawer fronts. Beads and mouldings to, 40. 
 Drawers in furniture. Late mahogany, 101. 
 
 ,, ,, „ Middle mahogany, 88. 
 
 ,, ,, ,, Oak, 24. 
 
 ,, ,, ,, Satinwood, 101. 
 „ Walnut, 41. 
 
 „ of spurious furniture. Colouring, 15. 
 Drawer-top tables. Oak, 30. 
 Dressers, 33. 
 
 Dressing tables. See Tables — Dressing. 
 Dutch furniture compared with English, 117. 
 
 „ influence on walnut furniture, 35, 36, 117. 
 
 „ mahogany wardrobes, 118. 
 
 „ marquetry, 117. 
 
 „ „ tables, 51, 118. 
 
 Eagle heads. Carved decoration of, 36, 40, 48, 74. 
 Early Mahogany Period. Furniture of the, 74. 
 
 „ ,, ,, Bookcases, 80. 
 
 ,, „ ,, Bureaux and bureau 
 
 bookcases, 79. 
 
 „ „ „ Cabinets, 80. 
 
 ,, ,, „ Candle-stands, 82. 
 
 „ „ „ Carving in, 76. 
 
 „ „ „ Chairs, 78. 
 
 24 
 
INDEX 
 
 Early Mahogany Period. Chests-with-drawers, 84. 
 n ,, ,, Design and ornamenta- 
 
 tion, 74. 
 Historical survey of, 74. 
 Patina, 76. 
 
 Pedestal writing tables, 
 
 80. 
 Settees, 78. 
 
 Spurious pieces. See 
 
 Spurious furniture. 
 Stools, 78. 
 Tables. Card, 81. 
 ,, Dining, 81. 
 „ Side, 81. 
 Tripod, 82. 
 Workmanship, 76. 
 Earth. Brussels, Use of, as a colouring agent, 15. 
 Ecclesiastical Building Guilds, 21. 
 Edwards and Darley, 85. 
 " Endive " marquetry, 39. 
 
 English furniture compared to Continental, 117: 
 to Dutch, 117; to Irish, 115; to Portuguese. 
 118. 
 
 English furniture with French names, 99. 
 
 „ lacquer, 54. 
 Escallop shell ornament, 40. 
 
 Factors of good design, 7. 
 Faked furniture. See Spurious furniture. 
 
 ,, metal mounts on spurious furniture, 18. 
 Firescreens. Early mahogany tripod, 82, 84. 
 Flemish influence on oak furniture, 22. 
 Floral marquetry, 38, 117. 
 Foot. Bracket, 94. 
 
 „ Claw and ball, 40, 47, 50, 78, 81, 82, 87, 
 115, 116, 118. 
 
 ,, Club, 40, 47, 8r, 108. 
 
 „ Hoof, 40. 
 
 „ Lion paw, 43, 47, 71, 74, 110. 
 
 „ Scroll or Whorl, 40, 87, 93, in. 
 Foreign influence on furniture, 21, 117. 
 Formation of patina, 3. 
 Frames. Mirror. See Mirror frames. 
 French influence on late mahogany furniture, 96. 
 French polish, 4. 
 
 „ Effectof, 38- 
 
 French polish. Use of, on spurious furniture, 15. 
 polishing. Depreciation in value by, 5. 
 „ rococo mirror frames, 68. 
 „ taste, 85. 
 Fret decoration. Chinese, 87 ; Gothic, 88. 
 „ galleries. Shrinkage in, 93. 
 H „ to tables, 92. 
 „ ornament. Spurious, 89. 
 Fronts. Bow, 109, 112, 113. 
 
 Moulded oak, 83, 84. 
 „ Serpentine, 94, 109, in, 113. 
 Furniture. Atmospheric effect on, 3. 
 
 Bedroom. See Bedroom furniture. 
 Beginning of Renaissance design in 
 21. 
 
 Best polish for old, 12. 
 „ Classes of spurious, 13. 
 
 Continental, compared to English, 1 1 7 
 Dutch, compared to English, 117. 
 English, with French names, 99. 
 „ Gesso and gilt, 61, 99. 
 „ Gilt architectural, 62. 
 „ Gothic oak, 20. 
 
 Imitation of colour on spurious, 14. 
 Irish, 115. 
 „ Jacobean upholstered, 28. 
 „ Lacquer, 54. 
 
 „ Leather upholstered Puritan, 28. 
 11 Oak, 20. 
 
 „ of the early Mahogany period, 74. 
 
 of the late Mahogany period, 96. 
 ,, of the middle Mahogany period, 85. 
 Period of highest achievement 
 
 English, 1. 
 Portuguese compared to English, 1 1 
 Regilding, 63. 
 11 Renaissance oak, 21. 
 
 ,, Satinwood, 98. 
 
 Dutch, 118. 
 
 Silver, 66. 
 11 Silvered, 66. 
 
 Spurious. See Spurious furniture. 
 „ Tripod. See Tripod furniture. 
 
 Walnut, 35. 
 ,, Varnish on gesso, 62 ; on oak, 22 ; 
 satinwood, 98 ; on walnut, 37. 
 
 125 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 Galleries. Fret, Shrinkage in, 93. 
 
 Fret to tables, 92. 
 Garrick, David. Painted furniture for, 113. 
 Gate-leg tables. See Tables — Gate-leg. 
 Gentlemen's mahogany wardrobes, 95, 113. 
 
 „ „ „ Dutch, 118. 
 
 Genuine patina as safeguard against spurious 
 
 impositions, 14. 
 Gesso and gilt furniture, 61. 
 Gesso furniture. Colour of, 62. 
 „ ,, Decline of, 62. 
 „ ,, Existing articles in, 61. 
 
 Patina of, 65. 
 „ „ Spurious. See Spurious furniture. 
 
 „ mirror frames, 61, 68. 
 ,, Varnish on, 62. 
 Gibbons, Grinling, 10. 
 Gilding on lacquer, 59. 
 
 „ Painting over old, 63. 
 Gillow, the Firm of, 97. 
 Gilt and carved lacquer cabinet stands, 61. 
 ,, furniture, 61, 99. 
 ,, ,, Architectural, 62. 
 „ „ Colour of, 63. 
 11 h Patina of, 65. 
 „ ,, Spurious. See Spurious furniture. 
 Glasses. Cheval, 43, 99, 114. 
 
 ,, Toilet. Late mahogany, 113. 
 Glue in oak furniture. Use of, 23. 
 Gothic fret decoration, 88. 
 ,, oak furniture, 20. 
 
 taste, 85. 
 ,, „ Mirror frames in, 68. 
 Governing factors applying to old furniture, 2. 
 Grain of wood in spurious furniture. Open, 15. 
 Grisaille decoration on painted furniture, 100. 
 Guilds. Ecclesiastical Building, 21. 
 
 Haig. Chippendale &, 107, 113. 
 Harewood and satinwood commodes, 109. 
 
 ,, dressing tables, 114. 
 
 ,, veneer, 99. 
 " Harlequin " tables, 32. 
 " Hepplewhite " chairs, 105. 
 Hepplewhite, George, 97. 
 Herring-bone banding, 42. 
 
 Historical Survey. Early Mahogany period, 74. 
 „ „ Gesso and gilt furniture, 61. 
 
 „ ,, Lacquer furniture, 54. 
 
 ,, ,, Late Mahogany period, 96. 
 
 „ ,, Middle Mahogany period, 85. 
 
 ,, ,, Mirrors, 67. 
 
 ,, „ Oak period, 20. 
 
 „ „ Walnut period, 35. 
 
 Hogarth chairs, 40. 
 Honduras mahogany, 76, 88. 
 Honeysuckle ornament, 100. 
 Hoof or scroll foot, 40. 
 Hoop-back chairs, 47, 74, 75. 
 Huguenot craftsmen, 36. 
 Hutches and dole cupboards. Oak, 25. 
 
 Ince and Mayhew, 85, 87. 
 Incised carving on oak, 23. 
 Individuality and character in pieces, 8. 
 Imitation of colour on spurious furniture, 14. 
 
 „ of patina on spurious furniture, 15. 
 Imported timber. Repeal of duty on, 75. 
 Influence. Architectural, on furniture, 75, 86, 96. 
 „ Dutch, on walnut furniture, 35, 36, 117. 
 
 „ Flemish, on oak furniture, 22. 
 
 „ French, on mahogany furniture, 85. 
 
 „ ,, on late eighteenth century 
 
 furniture, 96, 98. 
 „ „ on walnut furniture, 35, 36. 
 
 Initial tests for spurious furniture, 18. 
 Inlaid dentil decoration, 118. 
 Inlay on mahogany, 101 ; on oak, 23, 24; on 
 
 satinwood, 10 1 ; on walnut, 42. 
 Irish furniture, 115. 
 
 Carving on, 115. 
 „ „ Characteristics of, 115. 
 „ „ " Chippendale," 116. 
 „ „ Differences between, and English 
 furniture, 115. 
 
 Japanned or painted furniture, 99. 
 "Japanning," 54. 
 Johnson, Thomas, 85. 
 Joint. Bead, on gate-leg tables, 32. 
 „ Mortise and tenon, 23. 
 „ or coffin stools. Oak, 29. 
 
 126 
 
INDEX 
 
 Kauffmann, Angelica, 100. 
 Kent, William, 62, 75. 
 Kingwood, 102. 
 Knobbed turning, 28. 
 
 Lacquer. Cabinets on stands, 55. 
 Coloured, 55. 
 Cracks on, 59. 
 English, 54. 
 Furniture, 54. 
 
 „ Existing articles of, 55. 
 „ Revival of, 56. 
 Gilding on, 59. 
 Oriental, 54. 
 Varnish on, 57. 
 Langley, Batty, 10. 
 
 Lascelles, Edwin. Writing table made for, 107. 
 Late Mahogany Period. Bedroom furniture, 99. 
 
 ,, „ „ Bedside cupboards, 113. 
 
 „ „ „ Bookcases, 107. 
 
 „ ,, ,, Carving in, 100. 
 
 „ ,, „ Chairs, 105. 
 
 ,, „ ,, Chests-with-drawers, 1 1 3. 
 
 „ ,, „ Cheval glasses, 1 14. 
 
 „ „ „ Colour of, 98. 
 
 „ „ „ Couches, 105. 
 
 „ „ „ Drawers, 10 1. 
 
 ,, ,, „ Historical survey of, 96. 
 
 „ ,, „ Patina of, 98. 
 
 ,, „ „ Pedestal writing tables, 
 
 107. 
 
 „ „ „ Pieces. Reproductions 
 
 of, 105. 
 
 ,, ,, ,, Secretaire bookcases, 
 
 106. 
 
 ,, „ „ Settees, 106. 
 
 >> 11 11 
 
 Sideboards, 109, in. 
 „ „ „ Spurious pieces of, 102. 
 
 „ „ „ Tables. Card, no. 
 
 11 11 ii ,, Dressing, 113. 
 
 1, 11 ,, ,, Pembroke, 108. 
 
 11 11 I, ,, Side, 109. 
 
 11 11 ii 11 Sofa, 109. 
 
 11 ii 11 „ Spider-leg, 108. 
 
 11 ii n ,1 Tea, 108. 
 
 11 ,, Tallboys, 113. 
 
 Late Mahogany Period. Toilet glasses, 113. 
 ,, H „ Tripod furniture, 113. 
 
 11 n ii Veneer, 99. 
 
 „ H H ,, Carcases for, 107. 
 
 „ ,, „ Wardrobes, 113. 
 
 Legitimate reproduction of old furniture, 13. 
 Legs. Baluster, in oak, 26, 30, 33 ; in walnut and 
 marquetry, 38, 39, 42, 51. 
 „ Bulbous, 30. 
 „ „ Dutch, 117. 
 
 „ Cabriole. Marquetry and walnut, 34, 40, 47, 
 5°i 5 2 > 53; Lacquer, 55, 58; Gesso and 
 gilt, 61; Mahogany, 81, 82, 87, 89; 
 Mahogany (French), 89, 90; Irish, 115, 
 116; Dutch, 1 18 j Portuguese, 118. 
 „ Double scroll, 50. 
 ,, Knobbed turned, 28. 
 „ Spiral twist, in oak, 30, 31, 33, 47; in 
 
 walnut, 38, 39, 42, 45, 51. 
 „ Straight, 87. 
 „ Tapered, 105, 108, 109, 113. 
 „ Turned, 105, 113. 
 „ Turned cupped, 43. 
 ,, Turned fluted, 106, 108, 109. 
 Lime. Use of, as a colouring agent, 15. 
 Linen-fold panel, 22. 
 Linseed oil polish, 3, 22, 76. 
 Linseed oil. U$e of, on spurious furniture, 15. 
 Lion mask on walnut, 36, 40, 43, 47, 53, 58, 62 ; 
 
 on mahogany, 74, 78, 81, 82. 
 Lock and Copeland, 85. 
 Long case clocks. Lacquer, 56. 
 11 i> Marquetry, 39. 
 
 Mahogany, 8. 
 
 „ Cuban, 76, 88. 
 
 ,, furniture compared with walnut, 74. 
 
 ,, „ Early Period of. See Early 
 
 Mahogany Period. 
 „ „ Late Period of. See Late 
 
 Mahogany Period. 
 „ „ Middle Period of. See Middle 
 
 Mahogany Period. 
 „ Honduras, 76, 88. 
 ,, Imitation of colour of, in spurious 
 furniture, 15. 
 
 27 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 Mahogany. San Domingo or Spanish, 76, 88, 115. 
 „ Veneer, 88. 
 „ „ Carcases for, 88. 
 
 Mansfield. Wright &, 105. 
 Manwaring, Robert, 85, 87. 
 Marble tops to side tables, 62, 82. 
 Marot, Daniel, 36. 
 Marquetry bookcases, 50. 
 cabinets, 50. 
 chairs, 117. 
 
 chests-with-drawers, 52. 
 china cabinets, 50. 
 
 designs. Arabesque, 23, 39 ; Archi- 
 tectural, 23 ; " Endive," 39 ; Floral, 
 2 3» 36 ; Geometrical, 23 ; " Seaweed," 
 39- 
 
 ,, Dutch, 117. 
 „ Inlay woods for, 23, 42. 
 „ long case clocks, 39. 
 ,, mirror frames, 67. 
 „ on oak, 23. 
 ,, on walnut, 36, 38. 
 ,, side tables, 51. 
 „ tables. Dutch, 51, 118. 
 Masks, Lion. See Lion masks. 
 
 „ Satyr. See Satyr masks. 
 Mastic varnish on old furniture, 5, 57. 
 Mayhew, Ince and, 85, 87. 
 Metal mounts on furniture. Gilt, 97, 107, 112. 
 
 ,, work on spurious furniture, 18. 
 Middle Mahogany Period. Bedroom furniture, 94. 
 „ „ ,, Bureau bookcases, 91. 
 
 Bureaux, 91. 
 Chairs, 89. 
 
 ,, „ ,, Chests-with-drawers, 
 
 94. 
 
 „ ,, ,, China cabinets, 91. 
 
 „ ,, ,, Colour of furniture of, 
 
 86. 
 
 „ „ „ Commodes, 93. 
 
 ,, „ ,, Design and ornamenta- 
 
 tion of, 87. 
 
 „ „ „ French influence on, 
 
 85- 
 
 „ ,, „ Furniture of the, 85. 
 
 ,, ,, „ Historical survey of,85. 
 
 I 
 
 Middle Mahogany Period. Patina on furniture of 
 
 the, 86. 
 
 ,, ,, ,, Spurious furniture of, 
 
 89. 
 
 ,, ,, ,, Tables. Card, 93. 
 
 „ . „ „ Centre, 93. 
 
 Dressing, 95. 
 „ „ „ „ Tripod, 92. 
 
 „ Tallboys, 94. 
 ,, ., ,, Urn stands, 92. 
 
 ,, ,, „ Wardrobes, 95. 
 
 ,, ,, ,, Workmanshipofthe,88. 
 
 Mirror frames. "Adam," 68. 
 
 ,, ,, Carved and gilt, 68. 
 ,, ,, French rococo, 68. 
 „ ,, Gesso, 61, 68. 
 ,, ,, in Chinese taste, 68. 
 „ „ in Gothic taste, 68. 
 „ „ Lacquer, 68. 
 „ ,, Marquetry, 68. 
 „ ,, Tortoise-shell and metal, 67. 
 ,, ,, Walnut, 67. 
 ,, panels to walnut bureau bookcases, 49. 
 ,, „ to early mahogany bureau bookcases, 
 79- 
 
 „ plate factory, Paris, 67. 
 
 ,, „ ,, Vauxhall, 67. 
 
 „ plates. Bevelling of old, 72. 
 
 „ „ Silvering of, 72. 
 Mirrors, 67. 
 
 „ Chelsea, 69. 
 
 ,, Circular convex, 68. 
 
 „ Dark reflection of old, 72. 
 
 „ Earliest type of, 67. 
 
 ,, Overmantel, 69. 
 
 ,, Spurious, 69. 
 
 „ Tall, 67. 
 
 ,, with glass borders, 68. 
 Monks' benches, 29. 
 Mortise and tenon joint, 23. 
 Moulded fronts. Oak, 33, 34. 
 Mouldings and beads to drawer fronts, 40. 
 Mounts, Metal. See Metal mounts. 
 
 Nails in oak furniture, 24. 
 Nantes, Edict of. Effect of Revocation of, 36. 
 28 
 
INDEX 
 
 Needlework panels to firescreens, 82. 
 
 „ seats to walnut chairs and settees, 48. 
 
 ,, tops to card tables, 52. 
 Nitric acid as a colouring agent, 15. 
 
 Oak bosses, 23, 33. 
 
 „ buffets, 26. 
 
 „ bulbous legs, 30. 
 
 „ „ Dutch, 117. 
 „ „ supports, 26. 
 
 „ caryatid figures, 26. 
 
 ,, chairs, 27. 
 
 „ chests and coffers, 32. 
 
 „ court cupboards, 26. 
 
 „ dressers, 33. 
 
 „ Carving on, 23. 
 
 „ Furniture. Colour of, 22. 
 „ „ „ of eighteenth century, 34. 
 
 ,, ,, Dates on, 23. 
 
 „ „ Design and ornamentation of, 22. 
 
 „ ,, Drawers in, 24. 
 
 „ „ Gothic, 20. 
 
 ,, „ Nails in, 24. 
 
 ,, „ Patina of, 22. 
 
 „ ,, Puritan leather upholstered, 28. 
 
 ,, „ Renaissance, 2r. 
 
 ,, „ Spurious, 24. 
 
 „ ,, Tenon and mortise joint in, 23. 
 
 „ „ Use of glue in, 23. 
 
 ,, Hutches and dole cupboards, 25. 
 
 „ Imitation of colour of, in spurious furniture, 1 5. 
 
 „ Inlay on, 23. 
 
 ,, Joint or coffin stools, 29. 
 
 ,, Knobbed turning in, 28. 
 
 ,, Marquetry designs on, 23, 26. 
 
 ,, monks' benches, 29. 
 
 ,, pendants, 23. 
 
 „ settles, 29. 
 
 ,, spiral twist turning in, 28. 
 
 „ Split baluster decoration on, 25, 33. 
 
 ,, tables. Draw-top, 30, 117. 
 
 „ „ Gate-leg, 31. 
 
 „ „ Refectory, 30. 
 
 „ „ Side, 32. 
 
 11 tri darns, 26. 
 
 „ Varnish on, 22, 37. 
 
 I I 
 
 Oil, Linseed. Use on spurious furniture, 15. 
 
 „ polish. Linseed, 3, 22, 76. 
 Open grain of wood on spurious furniture, 15. 
 Oriental lacquer, 54. 
 Oval-back chairs, 105. 
 Overmantel mirrors, 69. 
 "Oyster-shell" inlay, 41. 
 
 Painted beech furniture, 45, 106, 113, 116. 
 
 „ decoration on copper, 100. 
 
 „ ,, on satinwood, 100. 
 
 „ furniture, 100. 
 
 „ or japanned furniture, 99. 
 Painting over old gilding, 63. 
 Panel. Linen-fold, 22. 
 Paris. Mirror plate factory at, 67. 
 Parker. Stalker and, 54. 
 Patina, 2. 
 
 „ as safeguard against spurious impositions, 2, 1 4. 
 „ Formation of, 3. 
 
 ,, Imitation of, on spurious furniture, 15. 
 
 ,, of early mahogany furniture, 76. 
 
 „ of gesso and gilt furniture, 65. 
 
 ,, of late mahogany furniture, 98. 
 
 „ of middle mahogany furniture, 86. 
 
 ,, of oak furniture, 22. 
 
 ,, of pearwood furniture, 32. 
 
 „ of satinwood furniture, 98. 
 
 ,, of walnut furniture, 37. 
 Pearwood furniture. Patina of, 32. 
 
 „ gate-leg tables, 32. 
 Pedestal writing tables, 50, 80, 107. 
 Pedestals and side tables, III. 
 Pembroke tables, 108. 
 Pendants. Oak, 23. 
 Pergolesi, 100. 
 
 " Period " as applied to old furniture, 1 1. 
 
 Pieces of small dimensions. Higher proportionate 
 
 value of, 6. 
 Pine carcases for veneer, 101. 
 Pivot-hung doors in furniture, 118. 
 Plates, Mirror. See Mirror plates. 
 Polish. Beeswax and turpentine, 4, 12. 
 
 „ Best, for old furniture, 12. 
 
 ,, French, 4. 
 
 „ „ Effect of, 38. 
 
 29 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 Polish, French. Use of, on spurious furniture, 15. 
 
 „ Linseed oil, 3, 22, 76. 
 Polishing, French. Depreciation in value by, 5. 
 Portuguese furniture compared to English, 118. 
 Potash salts as a colouring agent, 15. 
 Present condition of old furniture, 12. 
 Proportion, good and bad, 7. 
 Purchasing defective furniture. Undesirabilityof, 12. 
 
 Recipes for imitating colours of wood in old 
 
 furniture, 15. 
 Refectory tables. Oak, 30. 
 Reflection of old mirrors. Dark, 72. 
 Regilding furniture, 63. 
 
 Renaissance design in furniture. Beginning of, 21. 
 
 „ oak furniture, 21. 
 Reproduction of old furniture. Legitimate, 13. 
 Reproductions of old mahogany furniture, 105. 
 
 ,, of old satinwood furniture, 105. 
 
 Resilience test for spurious furniture, 18. 
 Revival of lacquer furniture, 56. 
 Revocation of Edict of Nantes. Effect of, 36. 
 Ribbon back chairs, 90. 
 Rococo mirror frames. French, 68. 
 
 „ phase in English furniture design, 85. 
 
 Salts. Potash. Use of, as a colouring agent, 15. 
 San Domingo mahogany, 76, 88, 115. 
 Satinwood chairs, 106. 
 
 „ Colour of, 98. 
 
 ,, Commodes, 109. 
 
 „ East Indian, 98, 105, 118. 
 
 ,, Furniture, 99. 
 
 „ ,, Drawers of, 10 1. 
 
 ,, ,, Dutch, 118. 
 
 Inlaid, 99. 
 
 „ ,, Irish, 116. 
 
 ,, „ Painted, 100. 
 
 „ ,, Reproductions of old, 105. 
 
 11 m Spurious, 103. 
 
 ,, ,, Workmanship of, 10 1. 
 
 „ Imitation of colour of, in spurious 
 furniture, 15. 
 
 „ Secretaire bookcases, 107. 
 
 ,, Settees, 106. 
 
 ,, Tables. Card, no. 
 
 „ „ Pembroke, 108. 
 
 Satinwood Tables. Side, 109. 
 
 „ „ Sofa, 109. 
 
 „ ,, Spider-leg gate, 108. 
 
 „ ,, Tea, 108. 
 
 ,, Varnish on, 98. 
 
 „ Veneer, 99. 
 
 „ „ Carcases for, 101. 
 
 „ West Indian, 98, 102, 105. 
 Satyr masks, 40, 47, 52, 62. 
 Scagliola tops to side tables, 109. 
 Screens. Fire. See Firescreens. 
 Seasoning and shrinkage of timber, 8. 
 Seats and backs. Cane, 35, 38. 
 " Seaweed " marquetry, 39. 
 Secretaire bookcases, 106, 107. 
 Seddon, Sons & Shackleton, 97. 
 Serpentine fronts, 94, 109, in, 113. 
 Settees. Carved and gilt, 62. 
 
 ,, Chair-back, 47, 78, 90, 106. 
 ,, Early mahogany, 78. 
 ,, Late mahogany, 106. 
 ,, Satinwood, 106. 
 „ Upholstered, 47, 106. 
 ,, Walnut, 47. 
 Settles. Oak, 29. 
 Shackleton. Seddon, Sons &, 97. 
 Shearer, Thomas, 97. 
 Shell ornament. Escallop, 40. 
 Sheraton, Thomas, 97, 112. 
 " Sheraton " chairs, 105. 
 
 „ sideboards, 9. 
 Shield-back chairs, 105. 
 Shrinkage and seasoning of timber, 8. 
 
 ,, Defects in furniture due to, 9. 
 
 ,, in fret galleries, 93. 
 
 „ tests for spurious furniture, 19. 
 Sideboards, 99, 109, in, 112. 
 
 ,, " Sheraton," 9. 
 Side tables. See Tables — Side. 
 Silver furniture, 66. 
 Silvered cabinet-stands, 66. 
 
 „ furniture, 66. 
 Silvering of old mirror plates, 72. 
 Soda. Washing. Use in colouring of spurious 
 
 furniture, 15. 
 Sofa tables, 99, in. 
 
 3° 
 
INDEX 
 
 Spanish mahogany, 76, 88, 115. 
 Spider-leg gate tables, 108. 
 
 „ tables in sets, 108. 
 Spiral twist legs. See Legs — Spiral twist. 
 Split baluster decoration, 23, 33. 
 Spurious Furniture, 13. 
 
 ,, „ Appearance of wear in carv- 
 
 ing, 16. 
 
 „ ,, Bookcases, 43. 
 
 „ „ "Brushing down" of, 15. 
 
 ,, „ Buffets, 27. 
 
 „ „ Bureau bookcases, 49, 91. 
 
 „ ,, Bureaux, 49. 
 
 ,, „ Cabinets, 58. 
 
 ,, ,, Carved gilt or silvered stands, 
 
 57. 64- 
 
 ,, „ "Carved-up" pieces, 16, 25, 
 
 66, 102. 
 
 ,, ,? Chairs and chair-back settees, 
 
 43. 46, 47, 64, 103. 
 „ „ Chests on stands, 53, 57. 
 
 ,, ,, Chests-with-drawers, 53. 
 
 ,, „ Cheval glasses, 43. 
 
 ,, ,, China cabinets, 43, 92, 103. 
 
 „ „ Colouring, 15. 
 
 „ ,, ,, Interiors of pieces, 1 5. 
 
 „ „ Commodes, 94, in. 
 
 „ „ Dole cupboards, 25. 
 
 ,, „ Draw-top tables, 30. 
 
 „ „ Dressing tables, 53. 
 
 ,, „ Early mahogany, 76. 
 
 ,, „ Errors in design of, 17. 
 
 „ „ Fret ornament, 89. 
 
 ,, ,, Gesso and gilt, 60. 
 
 „ „ Gothic oak, 25. 
 
 ,, „ Imitation of patina on, 15. 
 
 „ Lacquer, 57. 
 „ ,, Lacquer on old oak and ma- 
 
 hogany plain pieces, 57. 
 ,, „ Late mahogany, 102. 
 
 ,, „ Metal work on, 18. 
 
 „ „ Middle mahogany, 89. 
 
 ,, „ Mirrors, 69. 
 
 „ „ Needlework covers, 48. 
 
 » n 0ak > 2 4- 
 
 „ „ Open grain of wood in, 15 
 
 I 
 
 Spurious Furniture. Painted Furniture, 46, 105. 
 „ „ Painted decoration, 104. 
 
 „ ,, Resilience test for, 18. 
 
 „ „ Satinwood, 103. 
 
 „ „ Settees, 43. 
 
 „ „ Side tables with pedestals, 112. 
 
 „ „ Stools, 29, 43, 78. 
 
 „ „ Tables, 51, 64, 83, 109. 
 
 „ „ Tallboys, 95. 
 
 ,, „ Toilet glasses, 64. 
 
 „ ,, Torcheres, 64. 
 
 „ ,, Use of lime for colouring, 15. 
 
 ,, „ Use of linseed oil on, 15. 
 
 „ „ Use of nitric acid for colour- 
 
 ing, 15. 
 
 ,, „ Use of potash salts for colour- 
 
 ing, 15- 
 
 „ „ Use of washing soda for 
 
 colouring, 15. 
 „ ,, Veneering old pieces, 104. 
 
 ,, ,, Walnut, 42. 
 
 „ ,, Wardrobes, 95. 
 
 „ „ Warmth test for, 18. 
 
 ,, ,, Weight test for, 19. 
 
 „ ,, Worm-holes in, 17. 
 
 Stalker and Parker, 54. 
 Stands. Carved gilt, 61. 
 ,, Carved silvered, 66. 
 „ Urn, 92. 
 Stools. Early mahogany, 78. 
 ,, Middle mahogany, 89. 
 „ Oak joint or coffin, 29. 
 „ Painted beech, 45. 
 ,, Upholstered beech, 28. 
 
 Walnut, 34, 45, 47. 
 ,, with table tops. Oak, 29. 
 Style. The Adam, 97. 
 
 ,, The Empire, 98. 
 Survey. Chronological, 119. 
 
 ,, Historical. See Historical Survey. 
 Symmetrical veneering, 41. 
 
 Tables. Card: harewood, no; lacquer, 56; 
 
 mahogany, 91, 93, no; satin- 
 wood, no; "Sheraton," no; 
 walnut, 51. 
 
OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE 
 
 Tables. Centre : mahogany, 93 ; marquetry, 5 1 ; 
 walnut, 51. 
 ,, Console : gilt, 62. 
 „ Dining: mahogany, 82, no. 
 „ Drawer-top : oak, 30 ; Dutch oak, 117. 
 ,, Dressing: harewood, 114; lacquer, 56; 
 
 mahogany, 94, 95, 113; 
 
 satinwood, 109 ; walnut, 53. 
 „ Gate-leg: elm, 32 ; oak, 31 ; pearwood,32. 
 ,, "Harlequin": 32. 
 
 „ Ladies' work : mahogany, 99, 109 ; satin- 
 wood, in. 
 „ Marquetry: 51; Dutch, 51, 118. 
 ,, "Pembroke": mahogany, 108 j satin- 
 wood, 108. 
 " Pie-crust " top : 83. 
 „ Refectory : oak, 30. 
 ,, Side: gesso, 61; gilt, 62; Irish, 115, 
 116; lacquer, 56; mahogany, 
 81, 109, in; oak, 32; satin- 
 wood, 109; with marble tops, 
 62, 82 ; with pedestals and urns, 
 1 1 1 ; with scagliola tops, 109. 
 ,, Sofa : mahogany, 99, 1 1 1 ; rosewood, 
 
 in ; satinwood, III. 
 „ Spider-leg: mahogany gate, 108; ma- 
 hogany sets, 108; satin- 
 wood sets, 108. 
 Spurious: 51, 64, 83, 109. 
 ,, Tea: mahogany, 108; satinwood, 108. 
 „ Trestle : oak, 30. 
 „ Tripod: mahogany, 83, 92, no. 
 „ Urn : mahogany, 93, 109 ; satinwood, 
 109. 
 
 ,, Writing: "Carlton," 107; lacquer, 51; 
 
 mahogany, 80, 107 ; 
 pedestal, 50, 80, 107 ; tam- 
 bour top, 107 ; satinwood, 
 107 ; walnut, 50. 
 
 Tallboys. Mahogany, 84, 94, 113; Walnut, 53. 
 
 Tenon and mortise joint, 23. 
 
 Tests for spurious furniture. Initial, 18. 
 
 Thickness of veneers, 10. 
 
 Timber. Repeal of duty on imported, 75. 
 „ Seasoning and shrinkage of, 8. 
 
 Toilet glasses. Mahogany, 113. 
 
 Tortoise-shell and metal mirror frames, 67. 
 Tridarns, 26. 
 
 Tripod furniture : Mahogany. Candle-stands, 82 ; 
 
 dumb waiters, 83; firescreens, 82, in; tables 
 
 with circular tops, 82 ; with pie-crust tops, 82 ; 
 
 with gallery tops, 92 ; torcheres, 83. 
 Turning. Baluster, 38 ; Knobbed, 28 ; Spiral twist, 
 
 28, 38. 
 
 Turpentine and beeswax polish, 4, 1 2. 
 
 "Untouched " condition, 2, 4. 
 
 Upholstered furniture. Jacobean, 28 ; Puritan 
 
 leather, 28 ; Walnut chairs, 38, 46. 
 Urn stands, 93, 109. 
 
 Varnish, on gesso, 62 ; old pieces covered with 
 mastic, 5; on oak, 22, 37; on satinwood, 98; 
 on walnut, 37. 
 Vauxhall. Mirror plate factory at, 67. 
 Veneer. Cross-banding in, 39 ; Harewood, 99 ; 
 Mahogany, 88, 99 ; " Oyster-shell," 41 ; Satin- 
 wood, 99; Thickness of, 10, 42 ; Walnut, 39. 
 Veneering. Carcases for. Cedar, 102 ; deal, 41, 
 88; mahogany, 101 ; oak, 76; 
 pine, 41, 88, 101. 
 „ Symmetrical, 41. 
 
 Walnut. American, 77; Burr, 41. 
 
 „ furniture, 35 ; bedroom, 53 ; bureaux and 
 bureau bookcases, 48 ; cabinets, 48, 
 50; chairs, 35, 38, 46, 47 ; chests-with- 
 drawers, 52; Colour of, 37; day-beds, 
 35 ; Decline of, 36 ; Dutch and French 
 influences on, 35, 36; marquetry, 36; 
 mirror frames, 67 ; Patina on, 37 ; 
 settees, 47 ; spurious — see Spurious 
 Furniture ; stools, 37, 47 ; tables, 48, 
 50, 51, 53; tallboys, 53; Varnish on, 
 37; veneer, 39, 42 ; workmanship, 41. 
 
 Wardrobes, 95, 113, 118. 
 
 Workmanship, 8, 23, 41, 59, 62, 76, 88, 101. 
 
 Work tables. Ladies', 99. 
 
 Worm-holes, 17. 
 
 Wright & Mansfield, 105. 
 
 Writing tables. See Tables — Writing. 
 
 Yorkshire oak chairs, 28. 
 Zucchi, Antonio, 100. 
 
-6I02<?3 
 
GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE