From 1851 to the Present Time.
THE GREAT EXHIBITION:--Exhibitors and contemporary Cabinet
Makers--Exhibition of 1862, London; 1867, Paris; and
subsequently--Description of Illustrations--Fourdinois, Wright and
Mansfield--The South Kensington Museum--Talbert's Work--Revival of
Marquetry--Comparison of Present Day with that of a Hundred Years
Ago--Æstheticism--Traditions--Trades-Unionism--The Arts and Crafts
Exhibition Society--Kensington School of Wood-carving--Independence
of Furniture--Present Fashions--Writers on Design--The New
Renaissance--"Trade" Journals--Modern Furniture in other
Countries--Concluding Remarks.
In the previous chapter, attention has been taken of the success of the
National Exhibition in Paris of 1849; in the same year the competition
of our manufacturers at Birmingham gave an impetus to Industrial Art
in England, and there was about this time a general forward movement,
with a desire for an International Exhibition on a grand scale. Articles
advocating such a step appeared in newspapers and periodicals of the time,
and, after much difficulty, and many delays, a committee for the promotion
of this object was formed. This resulted in the appointment of a Royal
Commission, and the Prince Consort, as President of this Commission, took
a keen personal interest in every arrangement for this great enterprise.
Indeed, there can be no doubt that the success which crowned the work was,
in a great measure, due to his taste, patience, and excellent business
capacity. It is no part of our task to record all the details of an
undertaking which, at the time, was a burning question of the day; still,
as we cannot but look upon this Exhibition of 1851 as one of the landmarks
in the history of furniture, it is worth while to record some particulars
of its genesis and accomplishment.
The idea of the Exhibition of 1851 is said to have been originally due to
Mr. F. Whishaw, Secretary of the Society of Arts, as early as 1844, but
no active steps were taken until 1849, when the Prince Consort, who was
President of the Society, took the matter up very warmly. His speech at
one of the meetings contained the following sentence:--
"Now is the time to prepare for a great Exhibition--an Exhibition worthy
of the greatness of this country, not merely national in its scope and
benefits, but comprehensive of the whole world; and I offer myself to the
public as their leader, if they are willing to assist in the undertaking."
[Illustration: LADY'S ESCRITOIRE.
In White Wood, Carved with Rustic Figures. Designed and Manufactured by M.
Wettli, Berne, Switzerland. 1851 Exhibition, London.]
To Mr. (afterwards Sir) Joseph Paxton, then head gardener to the Duke of
Devonshire, the general idea of the famous glass and iron building is
due. An enterprising firm of contractors, Messrs. Fox and Henderson, were
entrusted with the work; a guarantee fund of some £230,000 was raised
by public subscriptions; and the great Exhibition was opened by Queen
Victoria on the 1st of May, 1851. At a civic banquet in honor of the
event, the Prince Consort very aptly described the object of the great
experiment:--"The Exhibition of 1851 would afford a true test of the point
of development at which the whole of mankind had arrived in this great
task, and a new starting point from which all nations would be able to
direct their further exertions."
The number of exhibitors was some 17,000, of whom over 3,000 received
prize and council medals; and the official catalogue, compiled by Mr.
Scott Russell, the secretary, contains a great many particulars which are
instructive reading, when we compare the work of many of the firms of
manufacturers, whose exhibits are therein described, with their work of
the present day.
The _Art Journal_ published a special volume, entitled "The Art Journal
Illustrated Catalogue," with woodcuts of the more important exhibits, and,
by the courtesy of the proprietors, a small selection is reproduced, which
will give the reader an idea of the design of furniture, both in England
and the chief Continental industrial centres at that time.
They have been selected as being fairly representative of the work of the
time, and not on account of their own intrinsic excellence.
With regard to the exhibits of English firms, of which these illustrations
include examples, little requires to be said, in addition to the remarks
already made in the preceding chapter, of their work previous to the
Exhibition. One of the illustrations, however, may in passing be further
alluded to, since the changes in form and character of the Pianoforte
is of some importance in the consideration of the design of furniture.
Messrs. Broadwood's Grand Pianoforte (illustrated) was a rich example
of decorative woodwork in ebony and gold, and may be compared with the
illustration on page 172 of a harpsichord, which the Piano had replaced
about 1767; and this supplies evidence of the increased attention devoted
to decorative furniture at and since the time of the 1851 Exhibition.
In the Appendix will be found a short notice of the different phases
through which the ever-present piano has passed, from the virginal, or
spinette--of which an illustration will be found in "A Sixteenth Century
Room" in Chapter III.--down to the latest development of the decoration
of the case of the instrument by leading artists of the present day. Mr.
Algernon Rose, of Messrs. Broadwood, whose firm was established at their
present address in 1732, has been good enough to supply the author with
the particulars for this notice.
It will be seen from the illustrations of these exhibits that, so far as
figure carving and composition are concerned, our foreign rivals, the
Italians, Belgians, Austrians, and French, were far ahead of us. In mere
construction and excellence of work, we have ever been able to hold our
own, and, so long as our designers have kept to beaten tracks, the effect
is satisfactory. It is only when an attempt has been made to soar above
the conventional, that the effort is not so successful.
[Illustration: LADY'S WORK TABLE AND SCREEN.
In Papier-maché. 1851 Exhibition, London.]
In looking over the list of exhibits, one finds evidence of the fickleness
of fashions. The manufacture of decorative articles of furniture of
_papier-maché_ was then very extensive, and there are several specimens
of this class of work executed, both by French and English firms. The
drawing-room of 1850 to 1860 was apparently incomplete without occasional
chairs, a screen with painted panel, a work table, or some small cabinet
or casket of this decorative but somewhat flimsy material.
The design and execution of mountings of cabinets in metal work,
particularly of the highly-chased and gilt bronzes for the enrichment
of _meubles de luxe_, was then, as it still to a great extent remains,
the _specialité_ of the Parisian craftsman, and almost the only English
exhibits of such work were those of foreigners who had settled amongst us.
[Illustration: SIDEBOARD.
In Carved Oak, with subjects taken from Sir Walter Scott's "Kenilworth."
DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED BY MESSRS. COOKES, WARWICK. 1851 EXHIBITION,
LONDON.]
[Illustration: A STATE CHAIR.
Carved and Gilt Frame, Upholstered in Ruby Silk, Embroidered with the
Royal Coat of Arms and the Prince of Wales' Plumes.
DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED BY M. JANCOWSKI, YORK. 1851 EXHIBITION,
LONDON.]
[Illustration: SIDEBOARD IN CARVED OAK.
DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED BY M. DURAND, PARIS. 1851 EXHIBITION, LONDON.]
[Illustration: BEDSTEAD IN CARVED EBONY.
RENAISSANCE STYLE. DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED BY M. ROULÉ, ANTWERP. 1851
EXHIBITION, LONDON.]
[Illustration: PIANOFORTE
In Rosewood, inlaid with Boulework, in Gold, Silver, and Copper.
DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED BY M. LEISTLER, VIENNA. 1851 EXHIBITION,
LONDON.]
[Illustration: BOOKCASE.
In Carved Lime Tree, with Panels of Satinwood.
DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED BY M. LEISTLER, VIENNA. 1851 EXHIBITION,
LONDON.]
[Illustration: CABINET.
In Tulipwood, ornamented with Bronze, and inlaid with Porcelain.
MANUFACTURED BY M. GAMBS, ST. PETERSBURG. 1851 EXHIBITION.]
Amongst the latter was Monbro, a Frenchman, who established himself in
Berners Street, London, and made furniture of an ornamental character in
the style of his countrymen, reproducing the older designs of "Boule"
and marqueterie furniture. The present house of Mellier and Cie. are his
successors, Mellier having been in his employ. The late Samson Wertheimer,
father of Messrs. Charles and Asher Wertheimer, now so well known in the
Art world, then in Greek Street, Soho, was steadily making a reputation by
the excellence of the metal mountings of his own design and workmanship,
which he applied to caskets of French style. Furniture of a decorative
character and of excellent quality was also made some forty years ago by
Town and Emanuel, of Bond Street, and many of this firm's "Old French"
tables and cabinets were so carefully finished with regard to style and
detail, that, with the "tone" which time has given them, it is not always
easy to distinguish them from the models from which they were taken. Toms
was assistant to Town and Emanuel, and afterwards purchased and carried on
the business of "Toms and Luscombe," a firm well known as manufacturers of
excellent and expensive "French" furniture, until their retirement from
business over twenty years ago.
[Illustration: CASKET OF IVORY.
With Ormolu Mountings. Designed and Manufactured by M. Matifat, Paris.
1851 Exhibition, London.]
[Illustration: TABLE.
In the Classic Style, inlaid with Ivory. Manufactured for the King of
Sardinia by M. G. Capello, Turin. 1851 Exhibition, London.]
[Illustration: CHAIR.
In the Classic Style, inlaid with Ivory. Manufactured for the King of
Sardinia by M. G. Capello, Turin. 1851 Exhibition, London.]
Webb, of Old Bond Street, succeeded by Annoot, and subsequently by
Radley,[23] was a manufacturer of this class of furniture; he employed a
considerable number of workmen, and carried on a very successful business.
The name of "Blake," too, is one that will be remembered by some of our
older readers who were interested in marqueterie furniture of forty years
ago. He made an inlaid centre table for the late Duke of Northumberland,
from a design by Mr. C. P. Slocombe, of South Kensington Museum; he also
made excellent copies of Louis XIV. furniture.
[Illustration: CABINET OF EBONY IN THE RENAISSANCE STYLE.
With Carnelions inserted. Litchfield and Radclyffe. 1862 Exhibition.]
The next International Exhibition held in London was in the year 1862,
and, though its success was somewhat impaired by the great calamity this
country sustained in the death of the Prince Consort on 14th December,
1861, and also by the breaking out of the Civil War in the United States
of America, the exhibitors had increased from 17,000 in '51 to some 29,000
in '62, the foreign entries being 16,456, as against 6,566.
Exhibitions of a National and International character had also been held
in many of the Continental capitals. There was in 1855 a successful one
in Paris, which was followed by one still greater in 1867, and, as every
one knows, they have been lately of almost annual occurrence in various
countries, affording the enterprising manufacturer better and more
frequent opportunities of placing his productions before the public, and
of teaching both producer and consumer to appreciate and profit by every
improvement in taste, and by the greater demand for artistic objects.
The few illustrations from these more recent Exhibitions of 1862 and 1867
deserve a passing notice. The cabinet of carved ebony with enrichments
of carnelion and other richly-colored minerals (illustrated on previous
page), was made by the firm in which the author's father was senior
partner; it received a good deal of notice, and was purchased by William,
third Earl of Craven, a well-known virtuoso of some forty years ago.
The work of Fourdinois, of Paris, has already been alluded to, and in the
1867 Exhibition his furniture acquired a still higher reputation for good
taste and attention to detail. The full page illustration of a cabinet of
ebony, with carvings of boxwood, represents a remarkably rich piece of
work of its kind; the effect is produced by carving the boxwood figures
and ornamental scroll work in separate pieces, and then inserting these
bodily into the ebony. By this means the more intricate work is able to
be more carefully executed, and the close grain and rich tint of Turkey
boxwood (perhaps next to ivory the best medium for rendering fine carving)
tells out in relief against the ebony of which the body of the cabinet is
constructed. This excellent example of modern cabinet work by Fourdinois
was purchased for the South Kensington Museum for £1,200, and no one who
has a knowledge of the cost of executing minute carved work in boxwood and
ebony, will consider the price excessive.
The house of Fourdinois no longer exists; the names of the foremost makers
of French _meubles de luxe_, in Paris, of this time were Beurdely, Dasson,
Roux, Sormani, Durand, and Zwiener. Some mention has already been made of
Zwiener, as the maker of a famous bureau in the Hertford Collection,[24]
and a sideboard exhibited by Durand in the '51 Exhibition is amongst the
illustrations selected as representative of cabinet work at that time.
The illustration of Wright and Mansfield's satinwood cabinet, with
Wedgwood plaques inserted, and with wreaths and swags of marqueterie
inlaid, is in the Adams style, a class of design of which this firm made a
_specialité_. Both Wright and Mansfield had been assistants at Jackson and
Graham's, and after a short term in Great Portland Street, they removed
to Bond Street, and carried on a successful business of a high class and
somewhat exclusive character, until their retirement some years ago. This
cabinet was exhibited in Paris in 1867, and was purchased by our South
Kensington authorities. Perhaps it is not generally known that a grant is
made to the Department for the purchase of suitable specimens of furniture
and woodwork for the Museum. This expenditure is made with great care and
discrimination. It may be observed here that the South Kensington Museum,
which was founded in 1851, was, at the time of which we are writing,
playing an important part in the Art education of the country. The
literature of the day also contributed many useful works of instruction
and reference for the designer of furniture and woodwork.
[Illustration: CABINET OF EBONY WITH CARVINGS OF BOXWOOD.
DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED BY M. FOURDINOIS, PARIS. 1867 EXHIBITION, PARIS.
(PURCHASED BY S. KENSINGTON MUSEUM FOR £1,200.)]
[Illustration: CABINET IN SATINWOOD.
With Wedgwood plaques and inlay of various woods in the Adams style.
DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED BY MESSRS. WRIGHT & MANSFIELD, LONDON. 1867
EXHIBITION, PARIS.
(PURCHASED BY THE SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.)]
[Illustration: EBONY AND IVORY CABINET.
In the Style of Italian Renaissance by ANDREA PICCHI, Florence.
EXHIBITED PARIS, 1867.
_Note._--A marked similarity in this design to that of a 17th Century
cabinet, illustrated in the Italian section of Chapter iii., will be
observed.]
The work of Mr. Bruce J. Talbert deserves mention here, and should not
have been omitted in the first edition. His designs for furniture,
conceived on the basis of modified Gothic, adapted to modern requirements,
were appreciated by a considerable following; and the dining room and
library furniture especially, made from his drawings, stand the test of
time. He published a book of designs in 1868, entitled "Gothic Forms
applied to Furniture, Metal Work, and Decoration for Domestic Purposes,"
and, subsequently, in 1876, "Examples of Ancient and Modern Furniture,
Tapestries, Metal Work, Decoration, &c." In this latter work he reproduced
several of his drawings, which had been exhibited in the Royal Academy
in 1870 and five following years; and he compiled a reference table of
the dates when the various periods of architecture came in, with marginal
notes, which will be found very useful to the reader in connection with
our subject. We have, by permission of Mr. Talbert's publisher (Mr.
Batsford, of Holborn), been able to give here a full-page illustration
of part of a design for a dining room, from his Academy drawing of 1870,
which will convey a fair idea of the character of his work. Talbert made
designs for furniture exhibited in Paris in 1867, one of which, that of a
Sideboard, made by Gillows, was purchased for the South Kensington Museum.
Shortly before his death he turned his attention to Renaissance designs.
One noticeable feature of modern design in furniture, is the revival of
marquetry. Like all mosaic work, to which branch of Industrial Art it
properly belongs, this kind of decoration should be quite subordinate
to the general design; but, with a rage for novelty which seized public
attention some forty years ago, it developed into the production of all
kinds of fantastic patterns in different veneers. A kind of minute mosaic
work in wood, which was called "Tunbridge Wells work," became fashionable
for small articles. Within the last twenty-five years, the reproductions
of what is termed "Chippendale," and also of Adam, and Sheraton, designs
in marqueterie furniture, have been manufactured to an enormous extent.
Partly on account of the difficulty in obtaining the richly-marked and
figured old mahogany and satin-wood, of a hundred years ago, which needed
little or no inlay as ornament, and partly to meet the public fancy, by
covering up bad construction with veneers of marquetry decoration, a great
deal more inlay has been given to these reproductions than ever appeared
in the original work of the eighteenth century cabinet makers. Simplicity
was sacrificed, and veneers, thus used and abused, came to be a term of
contempt, implying sham or superficial ornament. Dickens, in one of his
novels, has introduced the "Veneer" family, thus stamping the term more
strongly on the popular imagination.
The method now practised in using marquetry to decorate furniture is very
similar to the one explained in the description of "Boule" furniture given
in Chapter VI., except that instead of shell, the marquetry cutter uses
the veneer, which he intends to be the groundwork of his design, and as
in some cases these veneers are cut to the thickness of 1/16 of an inch,
several layers can be sawn through at once. Sometimes, instead of using
so many different kinds of wood, when a polychromatic effect is required,
holly wood and sycamore are stained different colors, and the marquetry
thus prepared, is glued on to the body of the furniture, and subsequently
prepared, engraved, and polished.
This kind of work is done to a great extent in England, but still more
extensively and elaborately in France and Italy, where ivory and brass,
marble, and other materials are also used to enrich the effect. This
effect is either satisfactory or the reverse, according as the work is
well or ill-considered and executed.
It must be obvious, too, that in the production of marquetry the processes
are obtainable by machinery, which saves labour and cheapens productions
of the commoner kinds; this tends to produce a decorative effect which is
often inappropriate and superabundant.
Perhaps it is allowable to add here that marquetry, or _marqueterie_, its
French equivalent, is the more modern survival of "Tarsia" work, to which
allusion has been made in previous chapters. Webster defines the word as
"Work inlaid with pieces of wood, shells, ivory, and the like," derived
from the French word _marqueter_, to checker, and _marque_ (a sign), of
German origin. It is distinguished from parquetry (which is derived from
"_parc_," an enclosure, of which it is a diminutive), and signifies a
kind of joinery in geometrical patterns, generally used for flooring.
When, however, the marquetry assumes geometrical patterns (frequently a
number of cubes shaded in perspective), the design is often termed in Art
catalogues a "parquetry" design.
[Illustration: DESIGN FOR A DINING ROOM.
BY BRUCE J. TALBERT. EXHIBITED IN THE ROYAL ACADEMY IN 1870.]
In considering the design and manufacture of furniture of the present day,
as compared with that of, say, a hundred years ago, there are two or
three main factors to be taken into account. Of these the most important
is the enormously increased demand, by the multiplication of purchasers,
for some classes of furniture, which formerly had but a limited sale.
This enables machinery to be used to advantage in economising labour, and
therefore one finds in the so-called "Queen Anne" and "Jacobean" cabinet
work of the well-furnished house of the present time, rather too prominent
evidence of the lathe and the steam plane. Mouldings are machined by
the length, then cut into cornices, mitred round panels, or affixed to
the edge of a plain slab of wood, giving it the effect of carving. The
everlasting spindle, turning rapidly by the lathe, is introduced with
wearisome redundance, to ornament the stretcher and the edge of a shelf;
the busy fret or band-saw produces fanciful patterns which form a cheap
enrichment when applied to a drawer-front, a panel, or a frieze; and
carving machines can copy any design, which a century ago were the careful
and painstaking result of a practised craftsman's skill.
Again, as the manufacture of furniture is now chiefly carried on in large
factories, both in England and on the Continent, the sub-division of
labour causes the article to pass through different hands, in successive
stages, and the wholesale manufacture of furniture by steam, has taken
the place of the personal supervision by the master's eye, of the task
of the few men who were in the old days the occupants of his workshop.
As a writer on the subject has well said, "the chisel and the knife are
no longer in such cases controlled by the sensitive touch of the human
hand." In connection with this we are reminded of Ruskin's precept that
"the first condition of a work of Art is that it should be conceived and
carried out by one person."
Instead of the carved ornament being the outcome of the artist's educated
taste, which places on the article the stamp of individuality--instead
of the furniture being, as it was in the seventeenth century in England,
and some hundred years earlier in Italy and in France, the craftsman's
pride--it is now the result of the rapid multiplication of some pattern
which had caught the popular fancy, generally a design in which there is a
good deal of decorative effect, for a comparatively small price.
The difficulty of altering this unsatisfactory state of things is evident.
On the one side, the manufacturers or the large furnishing firms have a
strong case in their contention, that the public will go to the market
it considers the best: and when decoration is pitted against simplicity,
though the construction which accompanies the former be ever so faulty,
the more pretentious article will be selected. When a successful pattern
has been produced, and arrangements and sub-contracts have been made for
its repetition in large quantities, any considerable variation made in the
details (even if it be the suppression of ornament) will cause an addition
to the cost which those only who understand something of a manufacturer's
business can appreciate.
During the present generation an Art movement has sprung up called
Æstheticism, which has been defined as the "Science of the Beautiful and
the Philosophy of the Fine Arts," and aims at carrying a love of the
beautiful into all the relations of life. The fantastical developments
which accompanied the movement brought its devotees into much ridicule
about twenty years ago, and the pages of _Punch_ of that time will be
found to happily travesty its more amusing and extravagant aspects. The
great success of Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta, "Patience," produced
in 1881, was also to some extent due to the humorous allusions to the
extravagance of the "Æsthetes." In support of what may be termed a higher
Æstheticism, Mr. Ruskin has written much to give expression to his ideas
and principles for rendering our surroundings more beautiful. The names
of the late Sir Frederic Leighton and of Sir Alma Tadema are conspicuous
amongst those who have in their houses carried such principles into
effect, and among others who have been and are, more or less, associated
with this movement, may be named Rossetti, Burne Jones, Holman Hunt,
and William Morris. As a writer on Æstheticism has observed:--"When the
extravagances attending the movement have been purged away, there may
be still left an educating influence, which will impress the lofty and
undying principles of Art upon the minds of the people."
For a time, in spite of ridicule, this so-called Æstheticism was the
vogue, and considerably affected the design and decoration of furniture
of the time. Woodwork was painted olive green; the panels of cabinets,
painted in sombre colors, had pictures of sad-looking maidens, and
there was an attempt at a "dim religious" effect in our rooms, quite
inappropriate to such a climate as that of England. The reaction, however,
from the garish and ill-considered colorings of a previous decade or two,
has left behind it much good, and with the catholicity of taste which
marks the furniture of the present day, people see some merit in every
style, and are endeavouring to select that which is desirable without
running to the extreme of eccentricity.
Perhaps the advantage thus gained is counterbalanced by the loss of our
old "traditions," for amongst the wilderness of reproductions of French
furniture, more or less frivolous--of Chippendale, as that master is
generally understood--of what is termed "Jacobean" and "Queen Anne"--to
say nothing of a quantity of so-called "antique furniture," we are
bewildered in attempting to identify the latter end of the nineteenth
century with any particular style of furniture. By "tradition" it is
intended to allude to the old-fashioned manner of handing down from father
to son, or master to apprentice, for successive generations, the knowledge
and skill to produce any particular class of object of Art or manufacture.
Surely Ruskin had something of this in his mind when he said, "Now, when
the powers of fancy, stimulated by this triumphant precision of manual
dexterity, descend from generation to generation, you have at last what
is not so much a trained artist, as a new species of animal, with whose
instinctive gifts you have no chance of contending."
Tradition may be said to still survive in the country cartwright, who
produces the farmer's wagon in accordance with custom and tradition,
modifying the method of construction somewhat perhaps to meet altered
conditions of circumstances, and then ornamenting his work by no
particular set design or rule, but partly from inherited aptitude and
partly from playfulness or fancy. In the house-carpenter attached to
some of our old English family estates, there will also be found, here
and there, surviving representatives of the traditional "joyner" of the
seventeenth century; and in Eastern countries, particularly in Japan, we
find the dexterous joiner or carver of to-day is a descendant of a long
line of more or less excellent mechanics.
It must be obvious, too, that "Trade Unionism" of the present day cannot
but be, in many of its effects, prejudicial to the industrial Arts. A
movement which aims at reducing men of different intelligence and ability
to a common standard, and which controls the amount of work done, and the
price paid for it, whatever are its social or economical advantages, must
have a deleterious influence upon the Art products of our time.
Writers on Art and manufactures, of varying eminence and opinion, are
unanimous in pointing out the serious drawbacks to progress which will
exist, so long as there is a demand for cheap and meretricious imitations
of old furniture, as opposed to more simply made articles, designed in
accordance with the purposes for which they are intended. Within the past
few years a great many well directed endeavours have been made in England
to improve design in furniture, and to revive something of the feeling
of pride and ambition in his craft, which, in the old days of the Trade
Guilds, animated our Jacobean joiner. One of the best directed of these
enterprises is that of the "Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society," of which
Mr. Walter Crane, A.R.W.S., is president, and which includes, in its
committee and supporters, a great many influential names. As suggested on
the "cover" of their Exhibition Catalogue, designed by the President, one
chief aim of the Society is to link arm and arm "Design and Handicraft,"
by exhibiting only such articles as bear the names of individuals who,
respectively, drew the design and carried it out: each craftsman has thus
the credit and responsibility of his own part of the work, instead of the
whole appearing as the production of Messrs. A. B. or C. D., who may have
known nothing personally of the matter beyond generally directing the
affairs of a large manufacturing or furnishing business.
In the catalogue published by this Society there are several short and
useful essays in which furniture is treated, generally and specifically,
by capable writers, amongst whom are Mr. Walter Crane, Mr. Edward Prior,
Mr. Halsey Ricardo, Mr. Reginald T. Blomfield, Mr. W. R. Letharby, Mr.
J. H. Pollen, Mr. Stephen Webb, and Mr. T. G. Jackson, R.A., the order
of names being that in which the several essays are arranged. This small
but valuable contribution to the subject of design and manufacture
of furniture, is full of interest, and points out the defects of our
present system. Amongst other regrets, one of the writers (Mr. Halsey
Ricardo) complains that the "transient tenure that most of us have in
our dwellings, and the absorbing nature of the struggle that most of
us have to make to win the necessary provisions of life, prevent our
encouraging the manufacture of well wrought furniture. We mean to outgrow
our houses--our lease expires after so many years, and then we shall
want an entirely different class of furniture--consequently we purchase
articles that have only sufficient life in them to last the brief period
of our occupation, and are content to abide by the want of appropriateness
or beauty, in the clear intention of some day surrounding ourselves with
objects that shall be joys to us for the remainder of our life."
The School of Art Woodcarving at South Kensington, which was established
some twenty years ago at "the City and Guilds Institute," is also doing
a useful and practical work. With a very moderate grant from the City
Guilds and the use of free quarters, the School maintains itself, and is
the means of educating, either free or at reduced terms, a great many
students who go out into the world the better prepared to compete with
their foreign rivals. The Committee of Management, under the presidency
of Major-General Sir J. F. D. Donelly, K.C.B., is composed of artists and
architects of note and others who not only give their moral support to the
institution but bring some of their ornamental woodwork to the School for
execution under their direction.
The management of Miss Rowe[25] is evidence of the success which attends
the effort of an intelligent and enthusiastic lady, and the instructors,
Messrs. Grimwood and Ross, are practical carvers, who can not only correct
but can design and cut the patterns set for their pupils. After the first
year probation the professional students receive a fair proportion of the
value of their work, which is assessed by the instructors.
It is by the maintenance of such technical schools, which with more or
less success are now being started by our local authorities in different
parts of England, that we can to some extent replace the advantages which
the old system of apprenticeship gave to the learners of a craft.
[Illustration: THE ELLESMERE CABINET.
In the collection of the late Lady Marian Alford.]
Many other societies, guilds, and Art schools have been established with
more or less success, with a view of improving the design and manufacture
of furniture, and providing suitable models for our young woodcarvers
to copy. The Ellesmere Cabinet (illustrated on page 243) was one of the
productions of the "Home Arts and Industries Association," founded in 1883
by the late Lady Marian Alford, a well known connoisseur and Art patron.
It will be seen that this is virtually a Jacobean design.
In the earlier chapters of this book, it has been observed that as
Architecture became a settled Art or Science, it was accompanied by a
corresponding development in the design of the room and its furniture,
under, as it were, one impulse of design, and this appropriate concord
may be said to have obtained in England until nearly the middle of
the last century, when, after the artificial Greek style in furniture
and woodwork which had been attempted by Wilkins, Soane, and other
contemporary architects, had fallen into disfavour, there was first a
reaction, and then an interregnum, as has been noticed in the previous
chapter. The Great Exhibition marked a fresh departure, and quickened,
as we have seen, industrial enterprise in this country: and though, upon
the whole, good results have been produced by the impetus given by these
international competitions, they have not been exempt from unfavourable
accompaniments. One of these was the eager desire for novelty, without
the necessary judgment to discriminate between good and bad. For a time,
nothing satisfied the purchaser of so-called "artistic" products, whether
of decorative furniture, carpets, curtains, or merely ornamental articles,
unless the design was "new." The natural result was the production either
of heavy, or ugly, or flimsy and inappropriate furniture, which has
been condemned by every competent writer on the subject. In some of the
designs selected from the exhibits of '51 this desire to leave the beaten
track of conventionality will be evident; and for a considerable time
after the Exhibition, we can see, in our designs, the result of too many
opportunities for imitation, acting upon minds insufficiently trained to
exercise careful judgment and selection.
About the early part of the nineteenth century, the custom of employing
architects to design the interior fittings and the furniture of their
buildings, so as to harmonize, appears to have been abandoned; this was
probably due, partly to some indifference to this subsidiary portion of
their work, but also to the change of taste which led people to prefer the
cheapness of painted and artificially grained pine-wood, with decorative
effects produced by wall-papers, to the more solid but expensive though
less showy wood-panelling, architectural mouldings, well-made panelled
doors and chimney pieces, which one finds, down to quite the end of the
previous century, even in houses of moderate rentals. Furniture therefore
became independent, and, "beginning to account herself an Art, trangressed
her limits" ... and "grew to the conceit that it could stand by itself,
and, as well as its betters, went a way of its own."[26] The effect
of this is to be seen in "interiors" of our own time which are handed
over from the builder, as it were, in blank, to be filled up from the
upholsterer's store, the curiosity shop, and the auction room, while a
large contribution from the conservatory or the nearest florist, gives a
finishing touch to a mixture, which characterises the present taste for
furnishing a boudoir or a drawing room.
[Illustration: THE SALOON AT SANDRINGHAM HOUSE.
(_From a Photo by Bedford Lemére & Co., by permission of H.M. The King._)]
[Illustration: THE DRAWING ROOM AT SANDRINGHAM HOUSE.
(_From a Photo by Bedford Lemére & Co., by permission of H.M. The King._)]
There is, of course, in very many cases, an individuality gained by the
"omnium gatherum" of such a mode of furnishing. The cabinet which reminds
its owner of a tour in Italy, the quaint stool from Tangier, and the
embroidered piano-cover from Spain, are to those who are in the habit of
travelling, pleasant souvenirs; as are also the presents from friends
(when they have taste and judgment), the screens and flower-stands and the
photographs, which are reminiscences of the forms and faces separated from
us by distance or removed by death. The test of the whole question of such
an arrangement of furniture in our living rooms, is the amount of judgment
and discretion displayed. Two favourable examples of the present fashion,
representing the interior of the Saloon and Drawing Room at Sandringham
House, are here reproduced.
There is at the present time an ambition on the part of many well-to-do
persons to imitate the effect produced in houses of old families,
where, for generations, valuable and memorable articles of decorative
furniture have been accumulated, just as pictures, plate and china have
been preserved; and failing the inheritance of such household gods, it
is the practice to acquire, or as the modern term goes, "to collect,"
old furniture of different styles and periods, until the room becomes
incongruous and overcrowded, an evidence of the wealth, rather than of
the taste, of the owner. As it frequently happens that such collections
are made very hastily, and in the brief intervals of a busy commercial
or political life, the selections are not the best or most suitable; and
where so much is required in a short space of time, it becomes impossible
to devote a sufficient sum of money to procure really valuable specimens;
in their place, effective and low-priced reproductions of an old pattern
(with all the faults inseparable from such conditions) are added to the
conglomeration of articles requiring attention, and taking up space. The
limited accommodation of houses built on ground which is too valuable to
allow spacious halls and large apartments, makes this want of discretion
and judgment the more objectionable. There can be no doubt that want
of care and restraint in the selection of furniture, by the purchasing
public, affects its character, both as to design and workmanship.
These are some of the faults in the modern style of furnishing, which
have been pointed out by recent writers and lecturers on the subject. In
"Hints on Household Taste,"[27] Mr. Eastlake has scolded us severely for
running after novelties and fashions, instead of cultivating suitability
and simplicity, in the selection and ordering of our furniture; and he
has contrasted descriptions and drawings of well designed and constructed
pieces of furniture of the Jacobean period with those of last century's
productions. Col. Robert Edis, in "Decoration and Furniture of Town
Houses," has published designs which are both simple and economical, with
regard to space and money, while suitable to the specified purpose of the
furniture or "fitment."
The ruling principle in the majority of these designs has been to avoid
over-ornamentation, and pretentions to display, and to encourage good
solid work, in hard, durable, and (on account of the increased labour)
expensive woods, or, when economy is required, in light soft woods,
painted or enamelled. Some manufacturing firms, whose high reputation
renders them independent of any recommendation, have adopted this
principle, and, as a result, there is now no difficulty in obtaining
well designed and soundly well constructed furniture, which is simple,
unpretentious, and worth the price charged for it. Unfortunately for the
complete success of these sounder principles, really good and appropriate
furniture meets with a fierce competition from more showy and ornate
productions, made to sell rather than to last: furniture which seems to
have upon it the stamp of our "three years' agreement," or "seven years'
lease." Of this it may be said, speaking not only from an artistic, but
from a moral and humane standpoint, it is made so cheaply, that it seems a
pity it is made at all.
A revival in taste, which has been not inappropriately termed "The New
Renaissance," and has produced many excellent results, has been brought
about by several well-known architects and designers. Mr. Street, R.A.;
Messrs. Norman Shaw, R.A.; Waterhouse, R.A.; Sir Alma Tadema, R.A.; T.
G. Jackson, R.A.; W. Burges, R.A.; Walter Crane, Thomas Cutler, E. W.
Godwin, W. Morris, B. J. Talbert, S. Webb, and many others, have devoted
a considerable amount of attention to the design of furniture; but it is
scarcely within the writer's province to attempt a description of the
character of their respective work.
The "Trade" Journals, too, have contributed their influence by publishing
drawings of work completed, suggestions for their readers to carry out,
and also by illustrated notices of the different exhibitions which take
place from time to time.
The "Cabinet Maker and Art Furnisher," edited by Mr. J. Williams Berm,
M.P., L.C.C., contains "Pen and Ink Notes by the Editor," which should be
useful, as they are certainly instructive; and a number of good designs
are published month by month, in "Furniture and Decoration." These are
contributed by J. W. Bliss, R. A. Briggs, A.R.I.B.A., H. L. Chalmers, Owen
W. Davis, Lewis F. Day, Edwin Foley, Christopher Gill, Bertram Goodhue,
Ernest George and Peto, A. Jonquet, Felix Lenoir, Letharby, Wilbert
Rattray, Stenhouse, John Turner, Frank Ward, A. H. Wolf, and the editors
themselves--Timms and Webb.
In the "American Sketches" published in this Journal, we see the kind
of work which is being designed and carried out in the United States.
Designs of furniture and interior fittings of the houses of American
millionaires, drawn by Cauffmann; Frank Colburn, of Morristown, New
Jersey; Sanford Phipps, and James Thompson, of Boston; Ross and Marvin,
of New York, shew that there is no distinctive American style, but that
the revival in taste, which has been alluded to in England, has found its
way to America, and from the number of articles of furniture still called
after Mr. Eastlake, it is evident that the teachings of that gentleman had
considerable effect. The "Furniture Gazette," "The Builder," and "Building
News" also publish designs of furniture and woodwork.
The disadvantages, inseparable from our present state of society, which
we have noticed as prejudicial to English design and workmanship, and
which check the production of really satisfactory furniture, are also to
be observed in other countries; and as the English, and English-speaking
people, are probably the largest purchasers of foreign manufactures, these
disadvantages act and re-act on the furniture of different nations.
In France, the cabinet maker has ever excelled in the production of
ornamental furniture; and by constant reference to older specimens in the
Museums and Palaces of his country, he is far better acquainted with what
may be called the traditions of his craft than his English brother. To
him the styles of François Premier, of Henri Deux, and the "three Louis"
are "classic," and in the beautiful chasing and finishing of the mounts
with which the French _bronziste_ ornaments the best _meubles de luxe_, it
is almost impossible to surpass his best efforts, provided the requisite
price be paid; but these amounts are, in many cases, so considerable
as hardly to be credible to those who have but little knowledge of the
subject. As a simple instance, the "copy" of the "Bureau du Louvre"
(described in Chapter vi.) in the Hertford House collection, cost the late
Sir Richard Wallace a sum of £4,000.
[Illustration: CARVED FRAME, BY RADSPIELER, MUNICH.]
As, however, in France, and in countries which import French furniture,
there are many who desire to obtain the effect of this beautiful but
expensive furniture, but are unable to spend several thousand pounds in
the decoration of a single room. To meet this demand, the industrious
and ingenious Frenchman manufactures vast quantities of furniture which
affects, without attaining, the merits of the better made and more highly
finished articles.
In Holland, Belgium, and Germany, as has already been pointed out, the
manufacturer of ornamental oak furniture, on the lines of the Renaissance
models, still prevails, and such furniture is largely imported into this
country.
The illustration of a carved frame in the rococo style of Chippendale with
a Chinaman in a canopy, represents an important school of wood-carving
which has been developed in Munich; and in the "Künst Gewerberein," or
"Workman's Exhibition," in that city, the Bavarians have a very similar
arrangement to that of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society of this
country, of which mention has already been made, each article being
labelled with the name of the designer and maker.
Italian carved furniture of modern times has already been noticed; and
in the selections made from the 1851 Exhibition, some productions of
different countries have been illustrated, which tend to shew that,
speaking generally, the furniture most suitable for display is produced
abroad, while none can excel English cabinet makers in the production
of useful furniture and woodwork, when it is the result of design and
handicraft, unfettered by the detrimental, but too popular, condition that
the article when finished shall appear to be more costly than it really is.
In conclusion, it seems evident that, with all the faults and shortcomings
of the latter part of the nineteenth century--and no doubt they were many,
both of commission and of omission--still, speaking generally, there
was no lack of men with ability to design, and no want of well trained
patient craftsmen to produce, furniture which would equal the finest
examples of the Renaissance and Jacobean periods. With the improved means
of inter-communication between England and her Colonies, and with the
chief industrial centres of Europe united for the purposes of commerce,
the whole civilised world is, as it were, one kingdom: merchants and
manufacturers can select the best and most suitable materials, can obtain
photographs or drawings of the most distant examples, or copies of the
most expensive designs, while the public Art Libraries of London, and
Paris, contain valuable works of reference, which are easily accessible
to the student or to the workman. It is very pleasant to bear testimony
to the courtesy and assistance which the student or workman invariably
receives from those who are in charge of our public reference libraries.
There needs, however, an important condition to be taken into account.
Good work, requiring educated thought to design, and skilled labour to
produce, must be paid for at a very different rate to the furniture of
machined mouldings, stamped ornament, and other numerous and inexpensive
substitutes for handwork, which our present civilization has enabled our
manufacturers to produce, and which, for the present, seems to find favour
with the multitude. It has been well said that "Decorated or sumptuous
furniture is not merely furniture that is expensive to buy, but that
which has been elaborated with much thought, knowledge, and skill. Such
furniture cannot he cheap certainly, but _the real cost is sometimes borne
by the artist who produces, rather than by the man who may happen to buy
it_."[28] It is often forgotten that the price paid is that of the lives
and health of the workers and their families.
* * * * *
A point has now been reached at which our task must be brought to its
natural conclusion: for although many collectors and others interested in
the subject, have invited the writer's attention to numerous descriptions
and examples, from an examination of which much information could, without
doubt, be obtained, still, the exigencies of a busy life, and the limits
of a single volume of moderate dimensions, forbid the attempt to add to a
story which, it is feared, may perhaps have already overtaxed the reader's
patience.
As has already been suggested in the preface, this book is not intended
to be a guide to "_collecting_," or "_furnishing_"; nevertheless, it
is possible that, in the course of recording some of the changes which
have taken place in designs and fashions, and of bringing into notice,
here and there, the opinions of those who have thought and written upon
the subject, some indirect assistance may have been given in both these
directions. If this should be the case, and if an increased interest
has been thereby excited in the surroundings of the Home, or in some of
those Art collections--the work of by-gone years--which form part of our
National property, the writer's aim and object will have been attained,
and his humble efforts amply rewarded.]
[Illustration]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 23: The present firm is Radley, Robson and Mackay.]
[Footnote 24: This Collection, now better known as the Wallace Collection,
has been bequeathed to the Nation.]
[Footnote 25: Miss Rowe, who has made some valuable contributions to the
literature of Woodwork, has written hand-books for young woodcarvers,
which are published under the sanction of the South Kensington
authorities.]
[Footnote 26: Essay by Mr. Edward S. Prior, "Of Furniture and the Room."]
[Footnote 27: Published in 1868, when the craze for novelties was at its
height.]
[Footnote 28: Essay on "Decorated Furniture," by J. H. Pollen.]
Appendix.
The following List of the Names of some Artists and Manufacturers of
past times, in alphabetical order, will be useful for reference. The
Author is indebted to Mr. J. Hungerford Pollen for some additions to
his list in "Ancient and Modern Furniture." (published in 1874). The
names of existing firms are not included, partly on account of the
large number who might fairly claim a place amongst the makers of
furniture of the present time, and partly because any selection of
names by a contemporary would appear to be invidious and arbitrary:--
-----------------------+-------------------------+----------------------
Names of Artists or | Country and time in | Remarks and
Manufacturers. | which they worked. | References.
-----------------------+-------------------------+----------------------
A | |
| |
Adam, J. (and R.) | England 1728-1792 | Chapter vii.
Agnolo, B. d' | Italy 1460-1563 | Architect who designed
| | much intarsia work,
| | also carved church
| | work.
Agnolo, D. d' | " 16th century | Son of above.
Agnolo, J. d' | " " " | Ditto.
Ambrogio, G. | " 17th " |
Annoot, ---- | England 19th " | Chapter ix., p. 235
| | (French style).
Ards, W. | Flanders 15th " | Executed carvings in
| | the roof of Hotel
| | de Ville, Malines.
Armand, Jean | France 18th " | Marquetry.
Asinelis, A. | Italy 16th " |
Aubiche, Jacques d' | France 18th " | Faubourg, Ste.
| | Antoine.
B | |
| |
Bachelier, ---- | France 16th century |
Baerze, J. de | Flanders 14th " | Carved figure work,
| | preserved in
| | Museum of Dijon.
Baker, ---- | England 18th " | Flower painter.
Balthazar, Lieutand | France " " |
Barili, A. | Italy 16th " | Carved woodwork for
| | Cathedral of Siena.
Barili, G. (Florence) | " " " | Carved doors in the
| | Vatican.
Barili, S. | " " " | Carved work for
| | Cathedral of Siena.
Barry, Sir Charles | England 19th " |Chapter viii., woodwork
(architect) | | of Houses of
| | Parliament.
|
Baumgartner, U. | Germany 17th century Made the celebrated
| Pomeranian Art
| Cabinet in Berlin
| Museum.
Beaugreant, G. de | Flanders 16th " One of the designers
| of the
| chimney-piece at
| Bruges, see p. 63.
Beck, S. | Germany " "
Belli, A. A. | Italy " "
Belli, G. | " " "
Beneman, G. | France 18th " "Maitre ébeniste"
| in 1785, worked
| at Fontainebleau.
Berain, J. | " 1636-1711 Chapter vi.,
| designed for
| Boule.
Bergamo, D. da | Italy 1490-1550 Intarsia work in
| Church of S.
| Dominic in
| Bologno.
Bergamo, S. da | " 16th century Brother and
| assistant.
Bernardo, ---- | " " "
Berruguete, ---- | Spain 1480-1561 Chapter iii.
| (Spanish
| section),
| pupil of M.
| Angelo.
Bertolina, B. J. | Italy 16th century
Beyaert, J. | Flanders 15th " Carvings in roof
| of Salle de
| Marriage, Hotel
| de Ville,
| Louvain.
Binson, Andrieu de | France 18th " Furniture and
| carriage
| decorator,
| worked in 1736.
Blake, S. | England 19th " Marqueterie
| furniture
| (French style),
| p. 235.
Blondeel, L. | Flanders 1495-1560 Designed the
| chimney-piece
| at Bruges, see
| p. 63.
Bolgié, G. | Italy 18th century
Bonzanigo, G. M. | " " "
Borello, F. | " 16th "
Borgona, F. de | Spain " "
Botto, B. | Italy " " Famous wood
| carver.
Botto, G. B. | " " "
Botto, P. | " " "
Botto, S. A. | " " "
Boulle, A. C. | France 1642-1732 Chapter vi.
(generally spelt |
"Boule") |
Boulle, P. | " 17th century Born 1619,
| premier
| _ébeniste_ to
| Louis XIII.
Bourdin, M. | " 16th " Chapter iii.,
| pp. 60, 63.
Brandri, ---- | " 17th " An Italian,
| worked with
| Goletti at
| "Pietra Dura"
| under Colbert.
Brescia, R. da | Italy 16th "
Bross, ---- de | France 17th "
Bruggeman, H. | Germany 15th " Carver.
Bruhl, A. Flanders | 16th and 17th Carved stalls of
| centuries San Giorgio
| Maggiore in
| Venice.
Brunelleschi, F. | Italy 1377-1446
Brustolone, A. | " 1670-1732
Buontalenti, B. T. | " 16th century
|
Burb, ---- | France 18th century Said to have worked
| for M. de
| Pompadour
| (Vernis Martin
| style).
|
C |
|
Caffieri, Ph. | France 17th and 18th Chap. vi. (worked
| centuries with Riesener)
| famous mounter.
Campbell and Sons | England 18th century Chapter vii., p.
| 198.
Canabas, Joseph | France " " Made mechanical
| tables, Rue
| du fg. St.
| Antoine.
Cano, A. | Spain 17th "
Canavo, J. de. | Italy 16th "
Canozii, C. | " " " Executed intarsia
| work in S.
| Marco, Venice.
Canozii, G. M. | " " " } Carvers of church
| } decorative
Canozii, L. | " " " } work.
Capitsoldi, ---- | England 18th " Louis Seize style
| of furniture.
Capo di Ferro, | Italy 16th "
Brothers |
Carlin, E. | France 18th " Stamped on table
| in Jones
| Collection.
Carlin, Martin | " " " Ebony with
| porcelain
| plaques, lac,
| and "Pietra
| Dura."
Carlone, J. | Italy " "
Carnicero, A. | Spain 1693-1756 Sculptor, carved
| in convent of
| Valladolid.
Carter, ---- | England 18th century Chapter vii.
(architect) |
Castelli, Q. | Italy 16th "
Cauner, ---- | France 18th " Chapter vii.
| (frames in Louis
| XV. style).
Cauvet, G. P. | " 1731-1788
Ceracci, G. | England 18th century Italian, modelled
| for R. Adam.
Cervelliera, B. del | Italy " "
Chambers, Sir W. | England 1726-1796 Chapter vii.,
| introduced
| Chinese style in
| furniture.
Chippendale, T. | " 18th century Chapter vii.
Cipriani, G. B. | " " " Chapter vii.,
| employed by
| Chambers and
| others to paint
| furniture.
Claude, Charles S. | France " " Faubourg Ste.
| Antoine, 1752,
| good plain work
| with metal
| mounts.
Claude, Lebesque | " " " Worked in Paris,
| 1771.
Cleyn, F. R. | England 17th " Worked for Charles
| II.
Coech, P. | Flanders 16th " Chapter iii., p.
| 63.
Coit, ---- | England 18th " Chaser of metal
| mounts.
Collett, A. | " " " Chapter vii.,
| carver.
Collmann, L. W. | " 19th " Chapter viii., p.
| 220.
Copeland, ---- | " 18th "
Cosson, J. L. France | " " Stamped on the
| table in Jones
| Collection.
Cotte, J. de | " " "
Cotte, R. D. France 1656-1735
Cotton, C. England 18th century
Couet, L. Jaques France " " Rue de Bussy in 1774.
Cramer, M. G. " " " } Stamped on tables in
Bethnal
Cressent, ---- " " " " } Green Museum (Mainwaring
} Collection).
D
Darly, Mathias England 18th century Chapter vii.,
p. 186, designer.
David, ---- (see Roentgen) France " " Chapter vi.,
famous for
marqueterie.
Davy, R. England 1750-1794 Wood carving,
p. 198.
Dello Delli Italy 14th & 15th centuries
Deloose, ---- France 18th century Stamped on table
in Jones
Collection.
Delorme, ---- " " " } Stamped on table
in Bethnal
Denizot, ---- " " " } Green Museum
(Mainwaring
} Collection).
Dolen, ---- van Flanders 18th century Carvings in
Church of S.
Gudule, Brussels.
Donatello, ---- Italy 1380-1466
Dorsient, A. C.; C. Oc. Flanders 10th century Signed on carved
door in South
Kensington Museum,
dated 1580.
Dowbiggin, ---- England 18th and 19th Chapter vii. and
centuries viii. (Gillow's
apprentice).
Ducereau, A. France 1515-1518
Dugar, E. Italy 16th century
Dugourc France late 18th " Designed for
Beneman,
Swerdficher,
and others.
Duplessis, ---- " " " Famous mounter
of furniture.
Du Quefnoy, F. H. and J. Flanders 17th "
E
Ellaume, Jean C. France 18th century Worked in Paris,
1754.
Elliott, Charles England " " Chapter vii.,
p. 198.
Etienne, Avril France Lived at the Rue
Charenton in
1774, good
plain work with
metal mounts.
F
Faydherbe, L. (artist and Flanders 1627-1694 Chapter iii.
architect)
Feucheré, ---- (mounter) France 18th century Chapter vi.
Flaxman, ---- England and Chapter vii.
Italy " "
Filipo, D. di Italy 16th "
Fitzcook, H. England 19th " Chapter viii.,
designed for
manufacturers.
Flörein, J. Flanders 15th "
Floris, C. Netherlands 16th " Chapter iii.
Flötner, P. | Germany 16th century Designs for
| furniture in
| the Berlin
| Museum.
Forestier, ---- | France 18th " Mounter of
| mahogany
| furniture.
Fourdinois, ---- | " 19th " Chapters viii.
| and ix.,
| exhibited
| '51, '67.
France, ---- | England 18th " Chapter vii.,
| p. 198.
|
G |
|
Gabler, M. | Germany 17th century
Gaine, ---- | France 18th "
Gallé, ---- | Holland 17th " Ebony, with metal
| and hard
| pebbles.
Galletti, G. | Italy 18th "
Gallieux, ---- | France " " Stamped on tables
(mounter) | in Jones
| Collection.
Garnier, P. | " " " Stamped on table,
| and on
| marquetry
| encoignures in
| the Duke of
| Westminster's
| Collection.
Genfer, M. | Germany 17th "
Gervasius, ---- | England " "
Gettich, P. | Germany " "
Geuser, M. | " " "
Gheel, F. van | Flanders 18th "
Gibbons, G. | England 17th " Chapter iv.,
| worked for
| Charles II.
Gillet, Louis | France 18th " Worked in Paris,
| 1776.
Gillow, R. | England 18th and 19th Chapters vii.,
| centuries viii., ix.
Giovanni, Fra | Italy 16th century
Glosencamp, H. | Flanders " " Chapter iii.
| (Bruges
| chimney-piece).
Goletti, ---- | France 17th " "Pietra Dura,"
| worked under
| Colbert.
Goujon, J. | " 16th " Sculptor, designed
| much furniture.
Gouthière, P. | " 18th " Chapter vi., born
| 1740, worked
| with Riesener,
| famous mounter.
|
H |
|
Habermann, ---- | France 18th century Rococo or Pompadour
| style.
Habert, ---- | Italy 16th to 17th " Stamped on examples
| in Hamilton
| Palace
| Collection.
Haeghen, ---- van der | Flanders 18th "
Heckinger, J. | Germany 17th "
Hedom, J. B. | France 18th "
Heinhofer, Ph. | " 16th and 17th Designed the
| centuries celebrated
| Pomerian
| Art Cabinet
| in Berlin
| Museum.
Helmont, --- van Flanders 18th century Carved pulpits in
St. John
Baptist, Cologne.
Henrieux, ---- France " " Famous mounter.
Hepplewhite, A. England " " Chapter vii.
Hernandez, G. Spain 1586-1646.
Herring, ---- England 19th century Chapter viii.
Holbein, ---- " early 16th " Chapter (iii.)
(English section).
Holthausen, H. J. France 18th " Stamped on table
in Bethnal
Green Museum
(Mainwaring
Collection).
Holmes, W. England 19th " Chapter viii.
(designer).
Hool, J. B. van Flanders 18th "
Hope, T. (architect) " early 19th " Chapter viii.,
classical style.
Huet, ---- France 18th "
Huygens -- (lacquer) France & Holland Chapter vi.
17th century
Hyman, F. England 18th century
I
Ince, W. England 18th century Chapter vii.,
contemporary
with Chippendale.
J
Jackson and Graham England 19th century Chapters viii. and
ix., exhibited '51.
Jansen, G. France 18th " Stamped on table
in Jones Collection.
John of St. Omer (Frenchman) " 13th " Court painter & house
decorator to
Henry III.
John of Padua " 15th " Chapter iii.,
employed by
Henry VIII.
Johnson, T. " 18th " Chapter vii.,
p. 198.
Jones, Inigo (architect) " early 17th " Chapter iv.
Juni, (J. D.) Spain 16th and 17th
centuries
K
Kampen, Lambert van Germany 16th century Carved the Chapter
House panels in
Münster, Westfalen.
Kauffmann, A. (artist) England 18th " Chapter vii.
(painted furniture).
Kiskner, U. Germany 17th "
Kraft, J. C. (architect) England 18th " Chapter vii.
Kuenlin, J. Germany 17th "
L
Ladetto, F. Italy 18th century
Lalonde, ---- France " " Furniture with
mechanical
contrivances
(Louis XVI.).
Lardant, Jacques " 16th " Chapter iii.,
p. 60.
Lathille, Pierre France 18th century Worked in Paris,
1737.
Lawreans, ---- England 17th " Pupil of G. Gibbons
(chapter iv.)
Le Brun, ---- (artist) France " " Chapter vi., designed
for Boule.
Lecreux, N. A. J. Flanders 1757-1836 Carved pulpits.
Lelu, ---- France 18th century Chapter vi., stamped
on specimen
in Jones Collection.
Worked for Madame
DuBarri.
Le Moyne " 1645-1718
Leopardi, A. Italy 1450-1525
Le Pautre, J. France 1617-1682
Le Roux, J. B. " 18th century Chimney-pieces and
room decorations.
Worked in 1777.
Levasseur, ---- " " " Chapter vi.
Lieutand, ---- " " " Stamped on specimens
in collection
"National Mobilier,"
Paris.
Linnell, J. England 18th " Furniture in
Chippendale style
Lock, M. " " " Chapter viii., carver
and gilder,
"Mobilier National,"
Paris.
Loir, A. France 1630-1713
L'Orme, Ph. de " 16th century
Lunigia, A. da Italy " "
M
Macé, J. France 17th century "Menuisier en ébéne,"
was lodged in the
Louvre to
work, in 1644.
Claud, Isaac, Louis (?)
sons of the above Macé
Maffeis, P. di Italy 15th "
Maggiolino, ---- " 18th " A Milanese cabinet
maker (marquetry
chests of drawers),
contemporary with
Riesener.
Magister, O. " 16th "
Majano, B. da " 15th " Coffer maker to
Matthias Corvinus,
King of Hungary.
Majano, G. da " 1432-1490
Manwaring, Robert England 18th century Chair maker (chap.
vii., p. 173).
Magaritome, ---- Italy 1236-1313
Marot, D. France 1650-1700?
Marot, G. " 17th century
Marot, J. " 1625-1679
Martin, R. " 1706-1765 Chapter vi., introduced
Vernis-Martin.
Martincourt, ---- " 18th century Bronze chaser.
Mayhew, ---- England " " Chapter vii.,
contemporary
with Chippendale.
Meissonnier, J. A. France 1693-1750 Introduced broken
shell-shaped
curves and the
more rococo
style of Louis
XIV. to XV.
Mendeler, G. Germany 17th century
Meulen, R. van der Flanders 1645-1717 Carved
chimney-pieces (G.
Gibbon's style).
Miglionné, Ferdinand France 17th century Invited to France
by Colbert.
Filippo de
Minore, G. Italy 15th "
Modena, P. da " " " Chair of S.
Francesco in
Trevisco
in 1486.
Moenart, M. Flanders 17th " Carved the stalls
in St. James',
Bruges.
Monbro, ---- England 19th " Chapter ix., p. 233.
Montepulciano, G. da Italy 16th "
Morand, de Pont de Vaux France Stamped on a clock
case at
Versailles,
with date 1706.
Morant, ---- England 19th " Chapter viii.
Moser, L. Germany 15th "
Müller, D. " 17th "
Müller, J. " " "
N
Newrone, G. C. Italy 16th century
Nilson, ---- France 18th " Chapter vii.,
carver.
Nys, L. de Flanders " " } Carved
confessionals, work
Nys, P. de " " " } dated 1768.
O
Oeben, Jean Francis France 18th century Chapter vi.,
stamped on
secretaire
in Jones
Collection. In
1751 _ébenistes_
were bound to
stamp their work.
This Oeben died
in 1765.
Oeben, Simon (probably " " " Called the
"inventor" of
cylinder
son of the above) secretaires.
Oost, P. van. Flanders 14th "
Oppen, Oorde Jean Holland and 18th "
France
P
Pacher, M. Germany 15th century
Padova, Z. da Italy 16th "
Pafrat, ---- France 18th " On tables in Jones
Collection at Bethnal
Green Museum.
Panturmo, J. di Italy 1492-1556
Pardo, G. Spain 16th century
Pareta, G. di Italy " "
Passe, C. de France " " Chapter iii.
Passe, C. de, the younger " " " Chapter iii.
Percier and Fontaine France 18th and 19th Chapter viii., p.
centuries 205, Empire
(architects) furniture.
Pergolesi, ---- (artist) England 18th century Chapter vii.,
employed by
Robert Adam.
Perreal, J. France 15th "
Pettitt (otherwise Petit), " 18th " Stamped on
specimens in Jones
Nicholas Collection and
in Bethnal
Green Museum,
"1761."
Philippon, A. France 16th "
Picau, ---- " 18th " Chapter vii.,
carver of frames
(Louis XV. style).
Picq, J. Flanders 17th "
Piffetti, A. P. Italy 1700-1777 Furnished Royal
Palace of
Tusin (Boule
style).
Pigalle, ---- England 18th century French sculptor.
Pillon, G. France late 16th " Chapter iii.
Pinodo, ---- Spain 18th " Signature on
painted cabinet
in Bethnal Green
Museum.
Pioniez, ---- France " " Stamped on
secretaire in
Jones Collection.
Plumier, P. D. Flanders 1688-1721
Poitou, Phillipe France 18th century "Ébeniste de
France."
Porfirio, B. di Italy 16th "
Prignot, ---- England 19th " Designed for
Jackson and Graham.
Puget, ---- France 18th " Furniture and ship
decorator.
Q
Quellin, A. Flanders 1609-1668
Quellin, A., the younger " 1625-1700
Quellin, E. " 17th century
R
Raephorst, B. van Flanders 15th century Carver of church
reredos in 1740.
Ramello, F. Italy 16th "
Ranson, ---- France 18th "
Rasch, A. Flanders 15th " Chapter iii.
Chimney-piece in
Palais de Justice,
Bruges.
Revitt, N. (architect) England 18th " Chapter vii.
Richardson, George " " " Chapter vii., p.
186. Designer
Richter, C. France " " Stamped on cabinet
in the
Jones Collection.
Riesener, ---- " " " Born 1730. Chapter
vi., _ébeniste_
to M. Antoinette,
came from Gladbeck,
near Cologne.
Died in 1806.
Roentgen, D. (see also " " " Chapter vi.,
contemporary with
David) Riesener. Was
living in 1780.
Rogers, H. England 19th " Carved in boxwood,
Chapter viii.
Rohan, J. de. " 16th " } "Maitre Menuisiers"
Rohan, J. de. " " " } of Lyons, 1548.
Rosch, J. Germany 15th "
Rossi, P. de Italy 15th & 16th centuries Lady artist of
Bologna, carved
minute work on
peach stones.
Rovezzano, B. da England 16th century Employed by
Cardinal Wolsey.
Ruckera, Th. Augsburg " " Chapter iii.
(German section),
steel chair,
Longford Castle.
S
Saint-Germain France 18th century
Saint Yues, Antoine de " " "
Salambier, ---- " 18th & 19th Designed room
centuries decorations,
mirror frames,
etc.
Sangher, J. de Flanders 17th century
Schelden, P. van der " 16th "
Schwanhard, H. Germany 17th " Invented the
"Wavy" mouldings
used in Dutch
and German
furniture.
Seddon, Thomas England 19th " Chapter viii.,
contemporary
with early Gillow.
Seddon, Thomas & George " " " Chapter viii.,
furnished Windsor
(sons of above) Castle.
Serlius, S. France 16th "
Servellino, G. del Italy 15th "
Shearer, ---- England 18th " Chapter vii.
Sheraton, Th. " " " Chapter vii.
Slocombe, P. " 19th " Chapter ix., p.
245, designer.
Smet, R. de Flanders 16th " Chapter iii.
(Bruges chimney
piece).
Smith, G. England 18th " Chapter viii.
(published book
of designs).
Snell, ---- " 19th "
Somer, Jacques France 18th "
Stewart, Jas. (architect) England " " Chapter vii.
Stobre, Laurent France 17th "
Stockel, Joseph " 18th " Worked at
Fontainebleau.
Stoss, V. Germany 1438-1533
Street, Sir G., R. A, England 19th century The New Law
Courts (mediæval
woodwork).
Swan, Abraham (architect) " 18th " Chapter vii.
Swerdficher, F. France " " Made the jewel
cabinet of
M. Antoinette,
now in the
"Garde Meuble."
Syrlin, J. Germany 15th "
Syrlin, J., the younger " 15th and 16th Chap. iii.
centuries (choir stalls,
Ulm Cathedral,
1462-1474).
T
Taillebert, U. Flanders 16th century
Talbert, B. J. (architect) England 19th " Chapter ix.
Designed
furniture
in Gothic
style.
Tasso, D. Italy 15th & 16th centr's.} Known as
wood carvers
Tasso, G. " " " " } in Florence.
Worked
from M.
Tasso, G. B. " " " " } Angelo's
designs.
Tasso, M. D. Italy 15th century
Tatham, C. H. (architect) England 18th " Designed interior
decorations,
&c., for the Duke
of York.
Taurini, R. Italy 16th " Pupil of A. Durer
(stalls of
Milan Cathedral).
Thomas, ---- (architect) England 18th " Chapter vii.
Thomire, P. Ph. (mounter) France 1751-1843 Museum of "Mobilier
National,"
Paris.
Tolfo, G. Italy 16th century
Toms and Luscombe England 19th " Chapter ix., p. 235
(French style).
Topino, G. France 18th " On examples in Jones
Collection.
Toro, ---- " 18th " Style of Boule (made
for Palace
of Versailles).
Torrigiano, ---- England 1472-1522 Designed shrine of
Henry VII.
(Westminster Abbey).
Toto, ---- " 1331-1351
Town and Emanuel " 19th century Chapter xi.,
pp. 233-5
(French style).
Travers, R. France 18th " Worked in Paris, 1774.
Trevigi, G. da England 1503-44 Court painter and
decorator to
Henry VIII.
Triard, J. B. France 18th century
Tuart, ---- " 18th " Lacquer work.
U
Uccello, P. Italy 1396-1479
Ugliengo, C. " 18th century
V
Vasson, ---- France 18th century A Mounter, or
_Bronziste_.
Venasca, G. P. Italy 18th "
Verbruggen, P. Flanders 17th " Chapter iii.} Carved
church
} ornamental
work.
Verbruggen, P. the " 1660-1724 Chapter iii.} Pulpit of
Jesuits'
younger } College,
Antwerp.
Verhaegen, Th. " 18th century Carved work in several
Mechlin Churches.
Vincenzo, Fra Italy Worked at Verona
(intarsia).
Vion, ---- France 18th century A Mounter, or
_Bronzister_.
Voyers, ---- England 18th " Louis Seize style
of furniture.
Vriesse, V. de France 17th " Chapter iii.
W
Waldron, ---- England 18th century Originally carver,
afterwards actor.
Walker, H. " 16th "
Watson, ---- " 17th and 18th Chapter iv., pupil
centuries of G. Gibbons.
Webb, ---- " 19th century Chapter ix., p. 235.
Wedgwood, Josiah England 18th century Chapter vii.,
introduced his
plaques for
furniture.
Weinkopf, W. Germany 16th " Worked in Nuremberg,
temp. A. Durer.
Wertheimer, S. England 19th " Chapter ix., p 233.
Wilkinson, ---- " " " Chapter viii.
Willemfens, L. Flanders 1635-1702
William the Florentine England 13th century Court painter and
house decorator
to Henry III.
Wilton, J. England 18th " Employed by Sir W.
Chambers.
Wren, Sir C. " 16th to 17th centuries Chapter iv.
Wright and Mansfield " 19th century Adams style
of furniture.
Z
Zabello, F. Italy 16th century Stalls in
Cathedral of Bergamo.
Zorn, G. Germany 17th "
NOTE.--The Monogram "ME," branded on some of the old eighteenth
century French cabinets, stands for "Menuisier Ébeniste," and
generally accompanies the name or initials of the maker.
WOODS.
The following different kinds of wood are used in the manufacture of
Furniture.
FOR THE BEST FURNITURE.
Amboyna.
Black Ebony.
Brazil Wood.
Coromandel.
Mahogany.
Maple.
Oak (various kinds).
Rosewood.
Satin Wood.
Sandal Wood.
Sweet Chestnut.
Sweet Cedar.
Tulip Wood.
Walnut.
Olive.
Zebra Wood.
FOR COMMON FURNITURE AND INTERIOR FITTINGS.
Pines.
Deals.
Beech.
Birch.
Cedars.
Cherry Tree.
Walnut.
Mahogany.
Ash.
Also some selections of Honduras mahogany when finely marked, and
different varieties of the Eucalyptus.
The most expensive of these are used in veneers; and in the more
ornamental and polychromatic marquetry, holly, horse chestnut, sycamore,
pear tree and plum tree are used, being woods easily stained.
Amongst some of the rarer and more beautifully marked woods, used in small
quantities, are the following:--
Mustaiba.
Palmyra.
Partridge Wood.
Peruvian.
Pheasant Wood.
Purple Wood.
Princes Wood.
Rosetta.
Snakewood.
Yacca Wood.
TEAK is an extremely strong East India wood; there is also an African teak
(Sierra Leone), called African oak.
SHISHAM or BLACKWOOD (Dalbergia Sps) is a heavy close-grained wood, dark
brown in color, resembling ebony when polished, and is much used for
furniture in India.
SANDAL WOOD, TEAK, MANGO WOOD.--Sir George Birdwood, in "Indian Arts,"
gives a complete list of these Indian woods, with their botanical names
and other valuable information.
For a more complete list of the different woods used by cabinet makers,
the reader is referred to Mr. J. Hungerford Pollen's "Introduction to the
South Kensington Collection"; to many of these he has been able, after
much research, to give their botanical names, a task rendered somewhat
difficult owing to the popular name of the wood being derived from some
peculiar marking or colouring but giving no clue to its botanical status.
Amongst these are tulip wood, rose wood, king wood, pheasant wood,
partridge wood, and snake wood. It is worthy of remark that, whereas in
England the terms "king wood" and "tulip wood" represent the former, a
wood of rich dark reddish-brown color, or "purple madder," and the latter
one of a yellowish-red, prettily-streaked, in France these terms have
exactly the reverse equivalents. These were very favourite veneers in
the best French marqueterie furniture described in Chapter VI., and are
frequently found, the one as bordering to relieve the panel or drawer
front of the other.
In the Museum at Kew Gardens, and also in the Colonial Galleries of the
Imperial Institute, are excellent collections of many rare woods well
worth examination.
_Some particulars of the different woods mentioned in the Bible,
from which examples of Ancient Furniture were manufactured, and to
which reference has been made in Chapter I._
_These notes have been kindly supplied by Dr. Edward Clapton, whose
collection of specimens of these scarce woods is of great interest._
SHITTIM WOOD is the wood of the Shittah tree, or Acacia Seyal. This spiny
tree especially abounded in the peninsula of Sinai and around the Dead
Sea, but was also found in various parts of Syria, Arabia, and Africa. In
the present day the shittah trees are very few and small, but in the time
of Moses there were forests of them, and of a size sufficient to form long
and wide planks. It is, as Jerome says, "a very strong wood of incredible
lightness and beauty," and, he adds, "it is not subject to decay." This
corresponds to the translation of the Hebrew term for shittim wood in
the Septuagint, which is "incorruptible wood." Though light, it is hard,
strong, and durable. As a proof of this, the Ark, and other furniture of
the Tabernacle, which were made of shittim wood, must have lasted for a
period of some 500 years before all traces of them were lost. Dean Stanley
remarks that the plural word shittim was given to the wood of the shittah
tree from the tangled thickets into which the stems of the trees expand.
ALMUG.--The wood of the Pterocarpus Santalinus, a large tree of the order
"Leguminosœ."--The wood is very hard, has a reddish color, and takes
a fine polish. It is a native of India and Ceylon, whence it was in
Solomon's time conveyed to Ophir, on the east coast of Africa, and from
Ophir to Palestine; "and the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from
Ophir, brought in great plenty of almug trees, and the king made of the
almug trees pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king's house,
harps also and psalteries for singers." 1 _Kings_ x. 11, 12. Almug is
not the same as Algum, which grew on Lebanon with the cedar and fir. 2
_Chron._ ii. 8.
THYINE WOOD.--The wood of the Thuja Articulata, now named Callitris
Quadrivalvis, a tree of the cypress sub-order of coniferæ, from 20 to 30
feet high. It is a native of Algiers and the Atlas range of North Africa.
The wood is dark colored, hard, and fragrant, taking a fine polish; it
yields an odoriferous resin called Sanderach, which was much used by the
Romans for incense in the worship of their gods. Thyine takes its name
from "to burn incense." It was much prized by the ancient Greeks and
Romans, not only because it was considered sacred but also on account of
the beauty of the wood for various ornamental purposes. Pliny speaks of
the mania of his countrymen for ornaments made of this wood, and tells
us that when Roman ladies were upbraided by their husbands for their
extravagance in pearls, they retorted upon them for their excessive
fondness for tables made of thyine wood. So great a rage was there for
ornamental cabinet work in ancient Rome that Cicero had a table made of it
that cost £9,000. Ornaments made of this wood can be seen in the Museum at
Kew, presented by the late Jerome Napoleon. The ceiling and floor of the
celebrated Mosque of Cordova are of thyine wood, and it is also referred
to in the Bible.
TAPESTRY USED FOR FRENCH FURNITURE.
GOBELINS, BEAUVAIS, AND AUBUSSON TAPESTRY.--The famous factory of Gobelins
originated in the establishment of some dye works in the Faubourg St.
Marcel of Paris, by two brothers, Gilles and Jean Gobelin, who had
introduced from Venice the art of dyeing scarlet; they also produced
some other excellent colors, and this enterprise--at first considered
foolish, and acquiring the name of _Folie Gobelin_--afterwards became
most successful. This was in the reign of François I.; they subsequently
added a tapestry factory to their dye works. Either in 1662 or in 1667,
as different authorities state, Colbert, who had succeeded Cardinal
Mazarin as Chief Adviser and Minister of Louis XIV., purchased the factory
from the Gobelin family, and reorganised the establishment as the Royal
Upholstery Works, employing the artists Lebrun, Berain, Simon Vouet, and
others, to furnish subjects for the cartoons, the former artist being
appointed Director of the Works. Since 1697 the manufacture of tapestry
only has been carried on, and the product of these celebrated looms has
become known as Gobelins tapestry. Previous to this time, however, namely,
1669, Colbert ordered the manufacture at Gobelins of what is termed the
"low warp" tapestry suitable for furniture--a branch of manufacture which
had been transferred to the State works of Beauvais, where the special
mode of making tapestry, suitable for the covering of chairs and sofas,
has since been carried on, the looms of Gobelins being more generally
employed to produce larger panels for hangings. The fine texture, the
brilliant colorings of the famous tapestry, are world famous; and enormous
sums are commanded by some of the older panels, the tints of which are
softened by age, while the condition remains good. Besides the tapestry
for furniture, sometimes made at Gobelins, and more generally at Beauvais,
a great deal has been produced by the looms at Aubusson, a factory said
to have been originated by the immigration of some Flemish workmen
into La March during the fourteenth century. Owing, however, to the
difficulty in obtaining good patterns and the quality of wool required,
their tapestry did not acquire a very high reputation. Colbert granted
these manufactories a Charter in 1669, and also gave them protection
against foreign rivals; and the looms of Aubusson became busy and their
proprietors prosperous. The productions of Gobelins and Beauvais being
monopolised by the Court, the works of Aubusson had to provide for the
more general requirements of the people, and, therefore, though good of
its kind, and occasionally excellent, this tapestry has never attained the
reputation of its more famous contemporaries. To those who would learn
more of Tapestry, its history, methods of production, and many instructive
details, the little South Kensington handbook, "Tapestry," is highly
commended; it was written for the Science and Art Department by M. Alfred
de Champeaux, and translated by Mrs. R. F. Sketchley.
THE PROCESSES OF GILDING AND POLISHING.
WOOD GILDING.--The processes of applying gold to wood and to metal are
entirely different. In the former the gold, which has been supplied
to the gilder in extremely thin layers, generally placed between the
leaves of a little paper book to prevent them sticking together, is
transferred therefrom to the surface to be gilt, by a dexterous movement
of a flat gilder's camel's hair brush, or "tip," as it is termed, the
wood having been previously prepared by successive coatings of whitening
and thin glue, a thicker body of preparations being required for those
parts which are to be burnished. A great deal depends upon the care and
time bestowed on the preparation of the work, sometimes as many as ten
coatings being given to the wood, and these are successively rubbed down
with pumice stone and glass paper, care being taken not to lose the
sharpness of carved ornaments. This application of gold leaf is termed
mechanical gilding, and is used for gilt furniture, picture frames, or
other decorations. Within the last ten years the gold has been applied to
the more richly carved furniture in a powder. This preparation of gold
is very expensive, costing about £7 the ounce, and is only used for the
more costly chairs and couches, etc., generally of old French make, which
require re-gilding.
METAL GILDING.--The process of gilding metal which was practised by the
mounters of the fine old French furniture described in Chapter VI.,
consisted in applying to the "ormolu" an amalgam of gold and mercury;
the latter was evaporated by heat, and the gold remained firmly adhered
to the metal mount, and was afterwards colored as desired, a slightly
greenish tinge being effected by such masters as Caffieri, Gouthière,
and others. This kind of gilding requires a considerable quantity of the
precious metal to be used, and is therefore very costly, but is rich in
effect, and, under favourable conditions, permanent. It is, however, very
injurious to the workers, on account of the fumes of the mercury poisoning
the system; and it has generally been abandoned in favour of the much
quicker and far cheaper process of electro-gilding, by which an effect
can be produced by an infinitesimal coating of gold. The water gilding
process is still used to a moderate extent by the makers of the more
expensive reproductions of old furniture in Paris. There is a very cheap
and effective process of lacquering which sometimes is termed "gilding,"
used to give ormolu mounts the color of gold; this is done by applying a
solution of shellac and spirits of wine to the metal when heated, and,
as with water-gilding, the volatile spirit evaporates and leaves a thin
coating of the shellac, which may also be treated so as to have very much
the appearance of gold, to the inexperienced eye. It should be mentioned
that where mounts are gilt, it is usual to make the material more like the
color of gold than ordinary brass would be; this is done by the admixture
of a considerable amount of copper, the amalgam being generally termed
"or-molu."
POLISHING.--The older method of polishing woodwork consisted in the
application of a mixture of turpentine and beeswax to the surface; this
would be repeated again and again, and then well rubbed down with a hard
brush, when a very durable polish was obtained. For flat surfaces, and
particularly for the tops of dining tables which were formerly uncovered
to show the wood, oil polishing was the fashion; this was effected by
rubbing the table-top with a heavy weight backwards and forwards, using
oil as a lubricant. Good housewives used to polish up their dining tables
very frequently. Oil polishing had the great advantage, too, of producing
a surface which hot plates did not easily mark. The cost, time, and
trouble, however, caused these older processes to be abandoned in favour
of "French" polishing, which is the application on a prepared surface
of shellac dissolved in methylated spirits, and often other ingredients
to give poor-looking wood a richer color. This polish is quicker, and
therefore, cheaper than the old-fashioned method. It has come into general
adoption since the Great Exhibition of 1851.
THE PIANOFORTE.
The Pianoforte is such an important article in the furniture of the
present time, that a few notes about its development, from a decorative
point of view, may be acceptable. In "Musical Instruments," one of the
South Kensington handbooks, Carl Engel traces the Pianoforte from the
"Clavicembalo," which he tells us, "was, in fact, nothing but a Cembalo
or Dulcimer, with a key board attached to it." Our present Grand Piano
was, however, more immediately a development of the Harpsichord[29] and
Spinet, which had succeeded the Virginal of the 16th century. These were
made of oblong shape and supported on stands, which were simply supports
for the instrument, and did not form a part of it as do the legs of a
modern "grand." In an original play bill, which is still preserved at
Messrs. Broadwoods', there is an announcement that at the Theatre Royal,
Covent Garden, on the 16th of May, 1767, at the end of Act I. (of the
Beggars' Opera), "Miss Brickler will sing a favourite song from 'Judith,'
accompanied by Mr. Dibden, on _a new Instrument, called Pianoforte_."
There is an illustration on p. 172 of a Harpsichord which is in the South
Kensington Museum, and in the same collection are others, varying in types
as instruments, and of different decorations. The one which belonged to
Handel is a good specimen of the decoration bestowed on these instruments.
Others of about the middle of the eighteenth century, were covered with a
coating of lacquer, like some of the furniture referred to in Chapter VI.,
the parts of the cases to be so decorated having been sent to China, and
returned when coated with the preparation, then only known to the Chinese,
but afterwards imitated in Europe. Some of these lacquered cases are very
beautiful, and those which were elaborately painted in the Vernis Martin
style, are finished with the care of cabinet pictures or miniatures. They
have, as a rule, the fine subject painting, or landscape, inside the lid
of the case, as in the illustration on p. 172, while the outside of the
case is decorated with arabesques of gold on a dark colored ground. Such
an Instrument was sold at the sale of Lord Lonsdale's furniture, a few
years ago, for some three hundred pounds.
The rectangular shape appears to have been partially abandoned for the
"Wing form," of which the modern "Grand" is a development, about the time
of Queen Anne, and was, in some cases, adapted to the Harpsichord of the
time. The earlier pianofortes were rectangular in form, with the idea
of preventing the unequal appearance produced by the bent treble side
of the Grand, and the writer has in his possession such an instrument,
without pedals, which bears the inscription:--"By Royal Patent. Longman
and Broderip, Musical Instrument makers, 13, Haymarket, and 26, Cheapside,
London." Collard and Collard are the successors of this firm, and still
retain the same premises in Cheapside. The oldest Broadwood _piano_, at
present on exhibition in Vienna, bears the name of "Schudi and Broadwood,"
with date 1780. It is square and without pedals.
Towards the end of the last century pianos were made to harmonize with
the Adam, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton furniture of the day, and some were
elaborately inlaid with small plaques of Wedgwood's Jasper ware.
There are also instruments in existence, and designs, which shew that as
the style of furniture changed during the time of the French Revolution,
and subsequently to the Classic Greek, the Piano followed the new fashion.
There is in St. James's Palace the instrument made by Broadwood for
the Princess Charlotte, who died early in the nineteenth century. This
is square in form, and is veneered with a single sheet of ivory, the
elephant's tusk having been first softened by acid, and then cut circular
fashion.
In France, the older Harpsichord and the later Pianoforte have followed
the different styles which have affected the decorative furniture of that
country, and the same remark applies to the more limited productions of
such instruments in other countries.
During the period of had taste which prevailed in England thirty or forty
years ago, those who made and those who purchased pianos were content to
have either the instrument in the most ordinary and commonplace case of
mahogany, walnut, or the rosewood which about 1840 came into great favour,
or else the cases were designed in an extravagant fashion, and covered
with a superabundance of ornament, quite out of keeping with the use of a
musical instrument.
Two illustrations in Chapter IX., one of Broadwood's Grand, and the other
of an upright in Bottle's style of work, by Leistler, of Vienna, may be
taken as the most favourable examples of pinaoforte decorations at the
time of the 1851 Exhibition.
Latterly there has been amongst leading manufacturers, especially those
of our own country, a marked improvement, and the cases are made of rare
and carefully chosen woods, and the style adapted, in many instances to
the furniture of the room. Sir Alma Tadema designed cases in the Byzantine
style. Mr. Burne-Jones painted one with an elaborate design of figures and
scrolls; another with a shower of roses right across the sounding board,
and he also revived the old-fashioned trestle support, formerly used for
harpsichords. Mr. Waterhouse, R.A., Mr. John Birnie Philip, who executed
the podium of the Albert Memorial, Mr. T. G. Jackson, R.A., and others,
have also designed piano cases for friends and clients.
In the "Inventions" Exhibition, a few years since, there was a very good
opportunity of noticing the advance in design of the Pianoforte. In
nearly every instance the old fashioned fretwork front had been abandoned
for a painting or a marquetry panel. Some were enamelled white, and
relieved by gilding; others had a kind of gesso-work decoration, and the
different fashionable styles of furniture were reproduced with various
modifications. Amongst others, Kirkmans exhibited a grand and an upright
made from designs by Col. Edis, and Hopkinson a boudoir grand and some
small cottage pianos in satinwood and marquetry, and also in satinwood
painted in the old English style, and having silk panels in front with
copies of Bartolozzi prints. The designs were in the latter case made by
the author. Broadwoods, and other English firms, also produced special
designs.
Since this Exhibition, if there has not been improvement, there has been
endless variety, and the piano case is now designed and decorated to
please the taste of the most fastidious or the most eccentric.
[Illustration]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 29: The Harpsichord made for Frederick the Great, by
Burkardt-Tschudi, whose son-in-law was the first John Broadwood, was in
the style of German Renaissance.]
INDEX.
NOTE.--The Names of several Designers and Makers, omitted from the
Index, will be found in the list in the Appendix, with references.
PAGE
Academy (French) of the Arts founded, 146
Adam, Robert and James, 174, 175, 195, 227, 236
Æstheticism, 239, 240
Ahasuerus, Palace of, 2
Alcock, Sir Rutherford, Collection of, 131
"American Sketches", 246
Angelo, Michael, 48, 49, 169
Anglo-Saxon Furniture, 24, 28
Arabesque Ornament, origin of, 138
Arabian Woodwork, 141-143
Ark, reference to the, 1
Armoires, mention of, 61, 62, 147, 221
Art Journal, the, 104, 111, 219, 222, 223, 224, 225, 231
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, 241, 258
Aspinwall, of Grosvenor Street, 212
Assyrian Furniture, 2, 3
Aubusson Tapestry, 166, 264
Audley End, 77, 87
Austrian Work, 227
Barbers' Company, Hall of the, 96, 98, 181
Baroque, the style, 216
Barry, Sir Charles, R.A., 217
Beauvais Tapestry, 151, 154, 155, 159, 166, 264
Bedroom Furniture, 226
Bedstead of Jeanne d'Albret, 60
Bedstead in the Cluny Museum, 61
Bellows, Italian, 52
Benjamin, Mr., referred to, 136, 138
Berain, Charles, French artist, 146
"Bergére (Chaise)", 159
Bethnal Green Museum, 108, 133, 168
Biblical references, 1, 2
Birch, Dr., reference to, 8
Birdwood, Sir George, referred to, 135, 263
Black, Mr. Adam, reference to, 198
Bloomfield, Mr. Reginald T., 242
Boards and Trestles, 104, 105
Boleyn, Anna, Chair to, 76
Bombay Furniture, 133
Bonuaffé, referred to, 48, 55, 59, 70
Boucher, artist, 154, 161
Boudoir, 150, 153
Boole, André Charles, 146, 149
Brackets, Wall, 52
British Museum, reference to specimens in the,
1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 23, 26, 28
Brittany Furniture, 62, 63
Broadwood, Messrs, 231, 266, 267
Bronze Mountings, 146, 158, 159, 162, 163, 179, 232, 265
Bruges, Chimney-piece at, 63
Bryan, Michael, referred to, 48
Buffet, The, 43, 44, 50, 60
Buffet, 199
Buffet, Old English, 44
Buffet, Old French, 43
Buffet, Old Flemish, 43
Bureau du Roi, 159, 160
Burges, Mr. W., 246
Burleigh House, 77
Byzantine-Gothic, Discarded, 48
Byzantine style, 18, 42
"Cabinet Maker and Art Furnisher", 246
Caffieri, work of, 158, 159, 179, 265
Cairo Woodwork, 139
Canopied Seats, 37, 38
Canterbury Cathedral, 32, 102
Carpenters' Company, 84, 86, 95, 96
Cashmere Work, 135
Cauner, French carver, 179
Cellaret, The, 200
Cellini, B, 49
Chambers, Sir William, R.A., 125, 173, 176, 179
Chair of Dagobert, 21
Chairs of St. Peter, 19, 20
Chairs, Canopied, 37, 38
Chair, The Coronation, 30, 31
Chair of Charles I., 108, 109
Chair, The Glastonbury, 78
Chair, Jacobean style, 109
Chair of Cromwell's Family, 109, 110
Chairs become common, 104
Chairs, German Gothic, 42
"Chaise Bergére", 159
Chardin, reference to, 161
Charlemagne, reference to, 17, 21
Charles I., reference to, 103, 104, 105, 107, 109
Charles II., reference to, 110, 111, 112
Charlton, Little, 87
Charterhouse, The, 81, 82
Chaucer quoted, 105
Chimney-pieces, 88
Chippendale's Work, 125, 168, 173, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182,
183, 200
Chippendale's "Gentleman and Cabinetmaker's Director", 177-180
Christianity, Influence of, 18
Christie, Manson & Wood, Messrs, 147, 151
" " " reference to old catalogues of, 220, 221
Cicero's Tables, 13
Cipriani, 174, 192
Clapton, Dr, Edward, reference to, 13
Cleyn Francesco, 103, 104, 123
Club Houses of London, 221, 222
Cluny Museum, reference to, 61
Colbert, Finance Minister, 146
Collard's predecessors, 267
Collinson & Lock, 220
Collman, L. W., Work of, 220
Constantinople, Capture of, 17
Cope, Sir Walter, 103
Cope Castle, 103
Coronation Chair, The, 30-32
Correggio, 49
Couch, introduction of, 107
Crace, Work of, 212
Crane, Mr. Walter, 241, 242, 246
Cromwell referred to, 110, 111
Crusades, Influence of the, 17
Cutler, Mr. T., 246
Cypselus of Corinth, Chest of, 11
Dado, the, described, 216
Dagobert Chair, 21, 22
Dalburgia or Blackwood, 133
Damascus, Room from a house in, 139-141
Davillier, Baron, 69
Dickens, Charles, referred to, 238
"Dining Room," the, various definitions, 200
Divan, derivation of, 143
Douthwaite, Mr. W. R., referred to, 83
Dowbiggin (Gillow's apprentice), 194, 212
Dryden quoted, 199
Dürer, A., referred to, 70
D'Urbino Bramante, 48
Du Sommerard referred to, 20
Dutch Furniture, 61, 63-66, 170, 206
Eagle House, Wimbledon, 104
Eastlake, Mr. C., reference to, 99, 100, 102, 245
Edis, Col. Robert, referred to, 245, 267
Elgin and Kincardine, Earl of, Collection of, 131
Elizabethan Work, 67, 77, 102
Empire Furniture, 203-215
English Work, 71
Evelyn's Diary, 112
Exhibition, The Colonial, 133
" The Great (1851), 228, 229, 230, 231, 242, 246
" of, 1862, 235
" Retrospective of Lyons, 61
" Inventions, 267
" The Stuart, 109
Exhibitions, Local, 223
Falké, Dr., reference to, 11, 79, 204
Faydherbe, Lucas, 65
Fitzcook, H., designer, 225
Flaxman's Work, 176
Flemish Renaissance, 63, 66
Flemish Work, 226
Florentine Mosaic Work, 50
Folding Stool, 29
Fontainebleau, Chateau of, 58
Fourdinois, Work of, 227, 236
Fragonard, French artist, reference to, 161
Frames for pictures and mirrors, 79
Franks, Mr. A. W., 24
Fretwork Ornament, 181
"Furniture and Decoration", 246
Gavard's, C., Work on Versailles, 145
German Work, 70, 71
Gesso Work, 50
Ghiberti, L., 49
Gibbon, Dr., Story of, 195
Gilding, Methods of, 50, 265
Gillow, Richard, extending table patented by, 193
" " Work of, 208, 210
Gillow's Records, 194
Gillow's Work, 174, 237
Giraud, M., Work by, 61
Glastonbury Chair, 78
Gobelins Tapestry, 146, 151, 154, 159, 166, 264
Godwin, Mr. E. W., 246
Godwin, Mr. G., referred to, 74, 76
Goodrich Court, 78
Gore House, Exhibition at, 221
Gothic Architecture, 30
Gothic Work, French, 44, 46
" " German, 42
" " Chippendale's, 180
Gough, Viscount, collection of, 131
Gouthière, Pierre, 159, 164, 165
"Grandfather" Clocks, 121-2
Gray's Inn, Hall, 83
Greek Furniture, 9, 10, 11
Greuze, reference to, 161
Hall, Mr. S. C., referred to, 111
Hamilton Palace Collection, 146, 147, 157, 158, 160, 163, 164, 165,
166
Hampton Court Palace, 72, 73, 79, 112, 113, 168
Hardwick Hall, 77, 86, 181
Harpsichord, the, 172, 231, 266, 267
Harrison quoted, 73
Hatfield House, 77, 78
Heaton, J. Aldham, Mr., referred to, 202
Hebrew Furniture, 2
Henri II., time of, 61
Henri IV., style of Art in France, 61
Henry VIII., 72, 73, 79
Hepplewhite, Work of, 184, 186, 191, 200
Herculaneum and Pompeii, Discovery of, 161
Herbert's "Antiquities", 84
Hertford House Collection, 247
Holbein, 72, 76, 79
Hook, Theodore, 107, 108
Holland House, 102, 103, 104, 123
Holland, Lord, 102, 103
Holland & Sons, 194, 212
Holmes, W., designer, 225
Home Arts and Industries Association, 242
Hope, Thomas, design by, 210
Hopkinson's Pianos, 267
Hotel de Bohéme, 36
Howard & Sons, firm of, founded, 212
Ilchester, Lady, referred to, 103
Ince, W., contemporary of Chippendale (Ince and Mayhew's Work),
183, 184, 187, 188
Indian Furniture, 132, 136
Indian Museum, The, 134, 135, 136
Indo-Portuguese Furniture, 111, 112
Intarsia Work, or Tarsia, 53, 70
Inventories, Old, 77
Ireton, General, House of, 111
Italian Carved Furniture, 226, 227, 246
Italian Renaissance, 48-57
Jackson, Mr. T. G., A.R.A., referred to, 53, 104, 242, 246
Jackson & Graham, 220
Jacobean Furniture, 91, 240
Jacquemart, M., reference to, 46
Japan, The Revolution in, 130
Japanese Joiner, The, 131
Japanned Furniture, 192
Jeanne d'Albret, Bedstead of, 60
Jones, Inigo, 92, 93
Jones Collection, The, 133, 146, 147, 148, 151, 156, 158, 162, 165,
167, 170, 171, 172
Kauffmann, Angelica, 174, 192
Kensington, South, Museum, foundation of, 237
" " " reference to specimens in the, 21, 22,
41, 42, 44, 51, 52, 54, 56, 57, 61, 63,
64, 65, 66, 75, 79, 80, 81, 95, 96, 98,
110, 129, 131, 133, 136, 137, 139, 140,
141, 142, 146, 158, 161, 162, 165, 167,
170, 171, 172, 176, 199, 236, 237
Khorsabad, reference to, 3, 4, 5
King, H.M. the, Art Collection of, 136
Kirkman's Exhibit, 267
Knife Cases, 199
Knole, 79, 98, 102
Lacquer Work, Chinese and Japanese, 129, 130, 131, 155, 156
" " Indian, 135, 136
" " Persian, 138
Lacroix, Paul, reference to, 21, 22, 37, 38
Lancret, artist, 154, 161
Layard, Sir Austen, reference to, 3
Lebrun, artist, 146, 147, 149
Leighton, Sir F., referred to, 240
Leo X., Pope, 49
Lethaby, Mr. W. R., 242
Liechtenstein, Princess Marie, 103
Linger, Sir Henry, 44
Litchfield & Radclyffe, 235
Livery Cupboards, 73, 78
Longford Castle Collection, 70
Longman & Broderip, 267
Longleat, 77, 97
Louis XIII. Furniture, 61
Louis XIV., 147, 151, 167, 168
" death of, 161
Louis XV., 152, 159
" death of, 152
Louis XVI., 160-167
Louvre, The, 58
Lucas, Seymour, Mr., A.R.A., referred to, 44
Lyon, Dr., quoted, 121-2
Lytton, Lord, quoted, 28
Macaulay, Lord, quoted, 103, 112, 167
Machine-made Furniture, 222, 238
Madrid, French Furniture in, 168
Magniac Collection, 52
Mahogany, introduction of, 195
Mansion House, the Furniture of, 214
Manwaring, Robert, Work of, 183
Marie Antoinette, 146, 159, 160, 161, 163, 164, 172
Marie Louise, Cabinet designed for, 204
Marqueterie, 54, 61, 66, 150, 155, 237, 238
Maskell, Mr., reference to, 20, 53, 105
Mayhew, J., contemporary of Chippendale, 183, 190, 191
Medicis Family, Influence of the, 58
Meyrick, S., 79
Middle Temple Hall, 83, 84
Miles and Edwards, 212
Milton quoted, 199
Mirror Frame, Elizabethan, 78, 79
Mirror, Mosaic, 135
Mirrors, introduction of, 79, 150
"Mobilier National," Collection of, 60, 61, 159, 163
Modern fashion of Furnishing, 244, 245, 246
Mogul Empire, The, 132
Monbro, 232
Morant's Furniture, 212
Morris, Mr. W., 240, 246
Mounting of Furniture, 54
Munich, Work and Exhibition of, 248
Napoleon alluded to, 204, 206
Nilson, French carver, 179
Norman civilisation, influence of, 28
North Holland, Furniture of, 66
Notes and Queries, 107
Nineveh, Discoveries in, 3, 4, 5
Oak Panelling (see Panelling)
Oriental Conservatism, 139, 143
Ottoman, derivation of, 142
Oxford Museum, 111
Panelling (oak), 79, 80, 81, 89, 216
Papier-Maché Work, 232
Passe, C. de, 65
Paxton, Sir Joseph, 230
Penshurst Place, 32, 34, 87, 106, 111, 112
Perkins, Mr. C., translator of "Kunst im Hause", 204
Persian Designs, 136-139
Pianoforte, the, 231, 266, 267
Picau, French carver, 179
Pietra-dura introduced, 54
Pindar, Sir Paul, House of, 109
Pirdnesi, 174
Pollen, Mr. J. Hungerford, reference to, 12, 14, 18, 30, 31, 59, 76,
80, 95, 134, 161, 199, 242, 244, 249
Pompadour, Madame, 159
Portuguese Work, 69
Prie Dieu Chair, the, 35, 58
Prignot, Designs of, 220
Prior, Mr. Edwards, Essay on Furniture, 242, 244
Pugin, Mr. A. W., work of, 212, 217, 218
Queen Anne Furniture, 239, 240
Queen Victoria's Collection, 57, 68, 69, 133
Racinet's Work, "Le Costume Historique", 132
Radspieler of Munich (manufacturer), 247
Raffaelle, referred to, 48, 49, 169
Raleigh, Sir W., 92
Regency, Period of the, in France, 152, 153
Renaissance, 44, 48, 86, 87, 169
Renaissance in England, 72-89
" " France, 57-62
" " Germany, 70-71
" " Italy, 48-57
" " The Netherlands, 63-66
" " Spain, 67-70
Restoration, the, 111
Revolution, the French, 168, 203, 204
Revival of Art in France, 58
Ricardo, Mr. Halsey, 241, 242
Rich, Sir Henry, 103
Richardson's "Studies", 70-78
Riesener, Court Ebeniste, 159, 163, 164, 165, 167, 203
Robinson, Mr. G. T., quoted, 105, 108, 111
Rococo Style, the, 195, 216, 225, 226
Rogers, Harry, Work of, 223, 224
Roman Furniture, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
Rowe, Miss, and School of Woodcarving, 242
Ruskin, Mr., quoted, 55, 239, 240, 241
Russian Woodwork, 23
St. Augustine's Chair, 32
St. Peter's Chairs, 18, 19, 20
St. Peter's Church, 48
St. Saviour's Chapel, 71
Sallust, House of, 14
Salting, Mr., Collection of, 131
Salzburg, Bishop's Palace at, 168
Sandringham House, referred to, 244
Saracenic Art, 69, 139-143
Sarto, Andrea del, 49
Satinwood, introduction of, 174
Saxe-Coburg, late Duke of, Art Collection of, 131
Scandinavian Woodwork, 22, 23, 169, 170
Science and Art Department, the, 96
Scott, Sir Walter, reference to, 24, 26
Screens, Louis XV. period, 154
Scrowled Chair, 107, 108
Secret Drawers, etc., in Furniture, 101
Sedan Chair, the, 154
Seddon, Thomas, and his Sons, Work of, 210
Serilly, Marquise de, Boudoir of, 161
Sêvres Porcelain, introduction of, 158, 167
Shakespeare's Chair, 87, 88
Shakespeare, quoted, 87, 103, 105, 107
Shaw, Mr. Norman, R.A., 246
Shaw's "Ancient Furniture", 78, 112
Sheraton, Thomas, 192, 195, 197, 198, 207, 208, 210
Shisham Wood, 135, 136
Sideboard, reference to the, 183, 192, 199, 200, 225
Skinners' Company, The, 215
Smith, Major-Gen. Murdoch, reference to, 136, 141
Smith, Mr. George, explorer, reference to, 3, 4
Smith, George, manufacturer, 212, 213, 214
Snell, Work of, 210
Soane Museum, The, 174
Society of Arts, The, 217
Society of Upholsterers and Cabinet Makers, 182, 183
Sofa, Derivation of, 142
South Kensington. _See_ Kensington.
Spanish Furniture, 67, 68, 69
Speke Hall, Liverpool, 78
Spitzer Collection, The, 61
Spoon Cases, 199
Stationers' Hall, 106, 192
Steam power applied to manufactures, 222
Stephens, Mr., referred to, 23
Stockton House, 87
Stone, Mr. Marcus, 100
"Strap Work", 104
Strawberry Hill Sale, 157, 219
Street, Mr., R.A., 246
Strudwick, J., designer, 225
Sydney, Sir Philip, 87
Tabernacle, The, 1
Table "Dormant", 105
" "Drawinge", 105
" Extending, 193
" Folding, 106
" Framed, 105
" Kneehole, 195
" Pier, 192, 194
" Side, 192
" Joined, 105
" Standing, 105
" Wine, 201
Tables and Trestles, 104, 105
Tadema, Sir Alma, design by, 210, 240, 246, 267
Talbert's Designs, 237, 246
Tapestry, 151, 154, 159
Tarsia Work, or Intarsia, 53, 54, 70
Tea Caddies, 201
Tea-poys, 201
Thackeray, quoted, 53, 81
Theebaw, King, Bedstead of, 135
Thyine Wood, 13
"Times" Newspaper, The, quoted, 172
Titian, 49
Toms & Luscombe, 233
Town & Emanuel, 221, 233
Trades Unionism, 241
Traditions, Loss of old, 240, 241
Transition period, 43, 46
Trianon, The, 145, 146
Trollopes founded, 210
"Tunbridge Wells" Work, 238
Ulm, Cathedral of, 41, 42
Urn Stands, The, 187, 200, 201
Veneers, 237, 238
Venice, Importance of, 20
Venice, referred to, 98, 226
Verbruggens, The, 65
Vernis Martin, 156, 157
Versailles, Palace of, 145, 146
Victorian (early) Furniture, 216
Vinci, L. da, 48, 169
Viollet-le-Duc, 58
"Vitrine," The, 151
Vriesse, V. de, 65
Wallace, Sir Richard, Collection of, 247
Walpole, Horace, 219
Ware, Great Bed of, 87
Waterhouse, Mr., R.A., 246
Watteau, 146, 154
Watts, artist, referred to, 103
Webb, Mr. Stephen, 242, 246
Webb, manufacturer, 235
Wedgwood, Josiah, 176, 236
Wertheimer, S., 233
Westminster Abbey, 73, 97, 98
Wilkinson, of Ludgate Hill, 212
Williamson (Mobilier National), 60, 163
Woods used for Furniture, 263
Wotton, Sir Henry, quoted, 91, 92
Wren, Sir Christopher, referred to, 112
Wright, Mr., F.S.A., referred to, 26
Wyatt, Sir Digby, Paper read by, 20
York House, described in "The Art Journal", 219, 220
York Minster, Chair in, 32
* * * * *
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| Transcriber notes: |
| |
| P. xi. Chapter VIII. is on p. 203, not p. 201, changed. |
| P. 53. Footnote 5: 'Maggoire' changed to 'Maggiore' as noted |
| in other edition. |
| P. 122. 'wallnut' changed to 'walnut.' |
| P. 254. 'Green Musuem', changed 'Musuem. to 'Museum'. |
| P. 272. 'Sta ioners', changed to 'Stationers'. |
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