English Furniture (Paperback)

ENGLISH FURNITURE BY JOHN GLOAG CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION .... xiii I. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF DESIGN, II. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF DESIGN, 1700-1934 . . . .17 III. FURNITURE DESIGN UNDER THE WOOD WORKERS, 1500-1660 . . - 37 IV. FURNITURE DESIGN UNDER FASHION, I 660-1730 6l V. FURNITURE DESIGN UNDER THE ARCHITECTS, 1730-1830 . . . .88 VI. FURNITURE DESIGN UNDER THE ROMANTIC MOVEMENT AND THE FURNITURE TRADE, 1830-1900 .... 129 VII. FURNITURE DESIGN UNDER THE ANTIQUE DEALERS AND ARTIST-CRAFTSMEN, I 9OO 1920 ..... 139 VIII. THE NEW MATERIALS AND THEIR EFFECT ON DESIGN ..... 154 IX. THE PATIENT ART OF BUYING FURNITURE. 1 68 X. BOOKS ABOUT FURNITURE AND DESIGN . I 85 INDEX . . . . . 193 LIST OF PLATES I. A BED OF ADAM TYPE IN KINGWOOD, A MAHOGANY CUPBOARD AND A TRIPOD TABLE . Frontispiece Following last chapter at page 192 II. A THIRTEENTH-CENTURY CHEST IN OAK III. TWO SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY CHESTS IN OAK IV. A MID-SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY MULE CHEST IN OAK V. AN EARLY SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY COURT-CUP BOARD VI. TWO DOUBLE-LEAF GATE-LEG TABLES VII. A CHARLES II ELBOW CHAIR AND A LATE SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY TABLE VIII. A CHARLES II CHEST WITH OYSTER WOOD VENEER IX. A LONG-CASE CLOCK IN FIGURED WALNUT A QUEEN ANNE TABLE IN VIRGINIA WALNUT AND AN EARLY GEORGIAN MIRROR X. A MAHOGANY CHEST, CIRCA 1740-50 XI. A MID-EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY WINDSOR CHAIR IN YEW AND OAK, AND A LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY OAK SETTLE XII. A MAHOGANY PRESS, CIRCA 1725-30, AND A WALNUT CHAIR, CIRCA 1740 XIII. A MAHOGANY PRESS, CIRCA 1740 XIV. A MAHOGANY BUREAU-BOOKCASE, CIRCA 1740-50, AND A CHAIR, circa 1735-45 XV. A SERPENTINE-FRONTED CHEST IN MAHOGANY, CIRCA 1740-50, AND A MAHOGANY FRAMED MIRROR xi ENGLISH FURNITURE XVI. A MAHOGANYTALLBOY, AN EARLY GEORGIAN MIRROR AND A CHIPPENDALE CHAIR XVII. AN ELLIPTICAL LATE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY SIDE BOARD AND A GILDED MIRROR XVIII. A LONG-CASE CLOCK IN MAHOGANY, CIRCA l8lO, AND A CHAIR OF THE SAME PERIOD XIX, AN ENGLISH EMPIRE BOOKCASE AND A MODERN MIRROR DESIGNED BY JOSEPH ARMITAGE XX. AN EARLY NINETEENTH-CENTURY TABLE, PROBABLY DESIGNED BY THOMAS HOPE XXI. AN OAK CORNER WRITING TABLE, DESIGNED BY SIR AMBROSE HEAL XXII. A SIDEBOARD AND TABLE IN OAK DESIGNED BY GORDON RUSSELL XXIII. DINING-ROOM FURNITURE DESIGNED BY WELLS COATES, AND BY R. W. SYMONDS XXIV. MODERN FURNITURE OF METAL TUBING AND GLASS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The furniture illustrated on the following plates is from the collection of Robert Atkinson, Esq., F. R. I. B. A. I, II, VI lower illustration, VIII, IX, X, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVIII, and XX. The furniture on Plate V and the upper part of Plate VI is in the possession of Fleetwood Pritchard, Esq., and that shown on Plate VII belongs to H. P, Shapland, Esq., A. R. I. B. A. The settle on the lower part of Plate XI is the property of J. Craven Pritchard, Esq. The furniture on the following plates is in the authors possession III upper illustration, IV, and XIX. INTRODUCTION is not a technical book. Nor is it an academic manual for collecting antique furniture. Its chapters attempt to show how English furniture design has since A. D. 1500 reflected the changes in national taste, and how a tradition of comfort and comeliness has been maintained, whether furniture has been made from oak or mahogany or plated tubular steel and plywood. Good proportions are more important than mere age a truth that has been forgotten since the cult of antique furniture achieved itseasy popularity. This book is concerned only with furniture of good proportion. Its illustrations have been chosen to provide examples of good design in the past and the present. Its first two chapters sketch the historical background of design from 1 500 to 1934, and then, chapter by chapter, it describes the evolution of different furniture types, relating the changes that occur in design and decoration in each period to that basic source of inspiration in design architecture...