The partners’ desk is always reminiscent of a solicitors’ office or something to do with business, and the term ‘partners’ actually originates from (more…)
For the stuffed shirts amongst us, there have been rumblings regarding Fiona Bruce presenting a documentary about Queen Victoria wearing very tight jeans.
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The pedestal desk appeared in Britain around the mid 18th century and was traditionally made of mahogany, which had eclipsed walnut at this stage. The style which we know today was made popular through the designs of Thomas Chippendale’s Gentlemen and Cabinet-Maker’s Director, which first appeared in 1754 and the design was copied and adapted by numerous cabinet makers such as Robert Gillow of Lancaster. Unlike most cabinet makers, Gillow used to stamp his work, which makes it readily recognisable.
Although Chippendale only designed furniture, and no examples of pedestal desks from his workshop were actually stamped by him personally, some very grand examples attributed to him remain today. Chippendale collaborated with architect/interior designers such as Robert Adam and as such Chippendale designed furniture became part of the general interiors scheme of large country houses, such as Osterley Park. The pedestal desk itself also transcended stylistic changes and took on (more…)
When we think of an antique roll-top desk, because of its fairly mechanical construction, we usually consider them to be a modern concept or, at the very most, early 20th century. It is true that this particular style of desk became very popular during the 1920s when many houses in Britain had them, but this antique desk as a bureau à cylindre, the earliest form of roll-top desk, was being made in France during the reign of Louis XV (1723-1774).
The original desk was made by a German born cabinet maker, Jean François Oeben, with his pupil J H Riesener who made the desk for Louis XV. The roll-top desk remained popular and continued to mirror the fashions of the time. Rococo examples were produced during the reign of Louis XVI for example and decorated heavily with marquetry. This style was picked up in (more…)
The Queen Anne period of 1702-1714 was one of the most productive in walnut cabinetry where veneering in walnut became very popular and produced elegant hand crafted pieces of drawing room furniture. The requirement for smaller pieces of furniture, coupled with the beauty of walnut, prompted a surge in the production of new pieces. The bureaux or antique desk was a marriage of separate pieces of furniture, the writing slope and chest of drawers, which were now fixed together to form the desk. The whole, then veneered in walnut, made an impressive small piece of furniture where in wealthy households the husband and wife often owned one each.
Another piece of furniture becoming fashionable during this period was the secretaire cabinet. Again, this was two pieces of furniture put together to form one, where a mirrored cupboard with shelves inside was fixed to a chest of drawers. The top drawer of the chest would (more…)
The BBC News Channel this week reported on some very smelly antiques going up for sale at a local antiques auction. The two antique desks, a clerk’s table and a roll top, have been heavily used at Grimsby fish docks for 100 years. The smell comes from them being constantly used by fish handlers where fish oil over time has soaked into the wood. (more…)
It is the durability and functionality of antique furniture that makes it an ever popular antique for collectors. A set of six Chippendale antique dining chairs for example can be in constant use and never have to be replaced with something newer. The value and style of these pieces transcends fashion and taste and the quality of cabinetry is such that these pieces of furniture will endure for many hundreds of years after their mass produced equivalent has been put onto a skip.
Furnishing your home with antique furniture means (more…)
Although poverty was rife during the reign of Queen Victoria, the Victorian era was one of domestic pride where the poorest of families who had very little in the way of furniture, kept doorsteps and doorknobs gleaming in a effort to retain some form of status in the public face they presented to the world. (more…)
At the beginning of the 20th century, most people had a sideboard in their dining room. The popularity of the sideboard was due to its flexibility where it could combine such diverse elements as a wine cooler or cellaret, to plate warmer in the same piece of furniture. Pieces were also being mass produced during the Edwardian period which meant that many homes would have one and the sideboard was becoming very much a part of middle class living. (more…)
For some people, buying an antique is all about investment and this is hardly surprising. If approached wisely and with a certain amount of diligent research, the probability of a good financial return on an antique can be approached with the same amount of certainty as investing in gold or diamonds. Quality early English hand made antiques will rise in value in the short and long term and the investor will make money. A discerning purchase of a Queen Anne antique desk (more…)