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
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,
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" acquired by time since their production, 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 some ten years ago.
[Illustration: Cabinet of Ebony, in the Renaissance Style. With Carnelions
inserted. Litchfield and Radclyffe. 1862 Exhibition.]
Webb, of Old Bond Street, succeeded by Annoot, and subsequently by Radley,
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. Slocornbe, of South Kensington Museum; he also
made excellent copies of Louis XIV. furniture.
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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