Illustrated History of Furniture: From the Earliest to the Present TimeLitchfield, Frederick
History
Illustrated History of Furniture: From the Earliest to the Present Time
Litchfield, Frederick
Furniture -- History
A very favourable example of the craze in England for classic design in
furniture and decoration, is shown in the reproduction of a drawing by
Thomas Hope, in 1807, a well-known architect of the time, in which it will
be observed that the forms and fashions of some of the chairs and tables,
described and illustrated in the chapter on "Ancient Furniture," have been
taken as models.
There were several makers of first-class furniture, of whom the names of
some still survive in the "style and title" of firms of the present day,
who are their successors, while those of others have been forgotten, save
by some of our older manufacturers and auctioneers, who, when requested by
the writer, have been good enough to look up old records and revive the
memories of fifty years ago. Of these the best known was Thomas Seddon,
who came from Manchester and settled in Aldersgate Street. His two sons
succeeded to the business, became cabinet makers to George IV., and
furnished and decorated Windsor Castle. At the King's death their account
was disputed, and £30,000 was struck off, a loss which necessitated an
arrangement with their creditors. Shortly after this, however, they took
the barracks of the London Light Horse Volunteers in the Gray's Inn Road
(now the Hospital), and carried on there for a time a very extensive
business. Seddon's work ranked with Gillow's, and they shared with that
house the best orders for furniture.
Thomas Seddon, painter of Oriental subjects, who died in 1856, and P.
Seddon, a well-known architect, were grandsons of the original founder of
the firm. On the death of the elder brother, Thomas, the younger one then
transferred his connection to the firm of Johnstone and Jeanes, in Bond
Street, another old house which still carries on business as "Johnstone
and Norman," and who some few years ago executed a very extravagant order
for an American millionaire. This was a reproduction of Byzantine designs
in furniture of cedar, ebony, ivory, and pearl, made from drawings by Mr.
Alma Tadema, R.A.
[Illustration: Design of a Room, in the Classic Style, by Thomas Hope,
Architect, In 1807.]
Snell, of Albemarle Street, had been established early in the century, and
obtained an excellent reputation; his specialité was well-made birch
bedroom suites, but he also made furniture of a general description. The
predecessor of the present firm of Howard and Son, who commenced
business in Whitechapel as early as 1800, and the first Morant, may all be
mentioned as manufacturers of the first quarter of the century.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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