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Chests, Chests of Drawers and Various Small Boxes
Origins of the chest—cofferers and arkwrights—the carpenter’s planked chest—chip-carving decoration—the panelled chest of the joiner—development of the mule chest—early enclosed chest of drawers—the chest in two stages—the joiner’s slide—veneered chests—chests on stands and tallboys—bachelor, dressing and linen chests with presses—commodes and military chests—later forms—drawer construction and dating by feet and handles—Bible and ruff boxes—knife and candle boxes—tea caddies, cellarets and portable liqueur cases—sewing boxes antique christening shell .
Chests belong to the very beginning of domestic furnishing antique drop leaf painted table 1800 . Blanket chests, hope chests, even treasure chests—they served as wardrobes, as safes, as seats and sometimes even as beds antique french campaign chair . A chest is probably one of the earliest pieces likely to come the way of anyone starting to collect antique furniture in a modest manner porcelain vases czechoslovakia . Those belonging to the early Stuart period are not difficult to find and may be had for under £10 everest patent for two-seater sofa . They are not always large and a length of 3 feet or very little more is fairly common antique porcelain and china clocks .
Very early chests, some of which may date from Saxon times, were primitive but served their purpose well antique occasional table pie crust top . Usually they were made from rough hewn logs which were sawn down the middle and hollowed out classism semicircular arc . Then the two parts were hinged together and encircled with strong iron bands to which locks could be attached small antique dresser with cabriole legs . The French word trove, meaning a collecting box, and the English trunk have the same origin and refer to this tree-bole type of chest china made in czechoslovakia . I have seen one in the church at Llan Eilean, near An-ilwch in Anglesey, with three locks furniture + finmar ltd . It was customary for the keys to be held by the priest and two churchwardens so that the chest could not be opened without all three being present chamber pot chair value .
Medieval chests for transporting money and valuables were known as coffers semichina blue ware . They were comparatively small and often covered with leather and studded with nails warm entree dish . The man who made them was known as a cofferer and another craftsman who made chests was called an arkwright antique bombe commode louis the xv with marble top . He made them with bevelled lids and wooden pins served as hinges mahogany gateleg table . These belong to the Gothic period and are very rare art deco game tables .
The early Tudor chests, made for the smaller household, were known as planked chests silver flatware wood handle . They were made by a carpenter and consisted of a number of boards or planks held together with nails or wooden pins creamware tureen neoclassical acanthus . Planked chests had thick iron wire or wrought-iron strap hinges and were often decorated with chip-carving or architectural motifs in low relief antique italian pottery marks . Some of these planked chests were quite small and make interesting acquisitions for those who like old oak antique drop leaf gateleg dining room table .
The joiner’s panelled chest appeared about 1550 and the
panels were usually decorated like the example shown in
Chapter 1 baltimore neoclassical sideboard . The panelled chest, in various sizes, was an
essential chattel in every Tudor household and the larger
establishments seem to have had a chest in every room japanese imari 18th .
Visitors to Haddon Hall in Derbyshire may care to count
the great number and variety of chests which are to be
seen there chiffonier 19th century . A type of chest, made about this time, which
is now very rare and really a collector’s piece, was one
constructed with fairly long legs, about table height soup turrene . It
was known as a counter and used by house stewards and
clerks for paying out or collecting money 17th century chairs . The modern
word counter, as in a shop, derives from this long obsolete
piece of furniture space saving rectangular drop leaf tables . In a slightly different form, with doors
opening at the front and with the top fastened down, the counter was known as a hutch 1920s draw leaf dining set turned legs . Further details of this are given in Chapter 6 small antique dressers from montgomery wards .
The ordinary planked or panelled chest had one great drawback in that only the contents at the top were readily accessible antique 19th century daybed and brass feet . To reach anything carefully tucked away at the bottom of the chest necessitated the removal of all the other things lying above how high above a sideboard should a mirror be hung . Early in the Stuart period, some ingenious joiner invented the mule chest 1930’s austrian furniture . This was a shallower type of panelled chest, under which were situated two or three drawers brass dolphin triple dining table base . This design was extremely popular and mule chests continued to be made in the country towns and villages until around the year 1800 indian antique tea kettles .
The mule chest proved to be a great improvement in its capacity for storage antique round oak dining table claw and ball feet . Not only were the bottom drawers available for the separation of items, but inside the chest itself it is not unusual to find a small box or till with a lid, situated at one end near the top myott son compagnie . This was used for keeping letters and documents and these little tills often repay a closer examination, for on several occasions I have found that the front of the box will slide upwards to reveal two or three secret drawers beneath antique chinese chamber pot . In some of the larger chests, intended for storing blankets or linen only, the till would be merely a shallow tray on which the good housewife could place a spray of lavender to sweeten her sheets and pillow slips clear glass trinket boxes or powder boxes .
To the student of woodwork history, the mule chest is particularly interesting because there can be little doubt that the chest of drawers developed from it finial silver flatware . This process was not a swift one and for a space of time, roughly between t620 and 1660, there was a type of chest of drawers in use which was really a cupboard full of trays or drawers, surmounted by one large deep drawer creamware bird on pedestal . The cupboard doors with one lock prevented unauthorised access to any of the lower drawers but this must have proved unworkable as this pattern new deco furniture . ceased to be made shortly after 1660 and the chest of drawers assumed the form by which it is known today 17th century trestle table with claw feet .
For ease of removal the first chests of drawers were made in two stages or sections english wedgewood . The upper stage of two small and one long drawer fitted on to four pegs on top of the lower section of two long drawers secretaire desk antique . These early chests in two stages also had drawers with grooves cut in the sides, known as joiner’s slides earliest tilt top tea table . They were designed mainly to prevent wear on the drawer bottoms and also to prevent the drawer from tipping downwards when more than half open inlaid silver black bone china antique . It was found, however, that the slide grooves required disproportionately thicker linings to the drawers so that the cabinet-maker, with his improved ideas of jointing and finer standard of craftsmanship, caused the joiner’s slide to become obsolete about the year 1690 dutch rococo cupboard . Any antique chest of drawers with joiner’s slides may be safely said to be earlier than this date although this ancient construction has been revived in the last few years for modern kitchen units and office furniture milanese ebonized antiques .
Cabinet-maker’s chests with their broad, flat surfaces provided suitable subjects for veneering antique glass top tea table bird . By the end of the Restoration period, chests with marquetry decoration were in fashion and it is not uncommon to find country-made oak chests of this time with panelled oak sides and the top and drawer fronts veneered scottish chest drawers . Smaller chests of drawers, of 3-feet width and under and covered with oystershell veneer, are scarce and in good condition might be worth up to £80 and more antique mahogany french bedside commode .
During the William and Mary period, the chest of drawers on a stand made its appearance and shortly after developed into a chest on a chest or tallboy what are japanese black laquer screen made screen . The chest on a stand did not last long as a furnishing piece but the tallboy remained popular throughout the greater part of the 18th century german antique romer drinking glasses . It is difficult to understand this, as access to the upper drawers of a tallboy is very awkward and necessitates standing on a chair or stool antique west indies console table . Perhaps, for this very reason, they were considered safer for the storage of valuables revolvong bookcase .
Bachelor chests and dressing chests were brought into use during the first half of the 18th century 19th century commode with chamber pot . These were intended primarily for bedrooms, the former having a folding top which opened outwards on lopers, or pull-out supports vintage mahogany drop leaf table 1940 . Sometimes, instead of the folding top, a pullout slide for brushing clothes was included in the construction turkish sofa design . The dressing chest had a top drawer fitted with a toilet set and further reference will be made to it in Chapter 9 antique french drawleaf table .
Another type, adapted for a special purpose, was the linen chest with a press 17th century marquetry bombe commode . It was usually about 3 feet long and had several small drawers near the top art deco writers . Its particular feature was a wooden screw-press, mounted on the top for the purpose of compressing the linen before putting it away in the drawers french 17th century cabinent makers . On several occasions I have come across these chests, with rectangular pieces of wood let into the top at each end to fill the spaces left where the screw-press uprights had been removed antique chippendale display cabinet .
Two other varieties belong to the Chippendale and Sheraton periods 1930s frankart lamps . One was the commode, a very elaborate chest of drawers which was raised on shaped legs engliosh design consoles furniture . It often had a convex or bombe front and later types were embellished with ormolu mounts in the French style value of 18th century dressing table . The other was the military chest, used during the campaigns of the Napoleonic wars in the early 19th century 17th century dining tables . It was made in two stages for ease of transport and is easily recognised by the clean-cut rectangular shape, the addition of brass corner pieces and the sunk handles on the drawers japanese art nouveau desk . A design usually associated with Sheraton was the bow-fronted chest and these continued to be made well into Victorian times portois fix .
Certain details of drawer construction, handle design and feet are invaluable in dating a chest of drawers antiques marks on furniture . Dovetailing of a rather crude nature had been used for the corners of boxes and small chests before the Restoration kidney shaped antique furniture . During the years between 1660 and 1750 the technique of making fine dovetail joints was brought to a high degree of craftsmanship latter carving on pembroke table . Large tails and widely spaced pins are indicative of early or country production roccoccoware . Herring-bone stringing, set in walnut veneer, was used for drawer front decoration during the Queen Anne period but became obsolete soon after 1720 spanish marquetry dining table .
Oak chests of drawers, belonging to the second half of the 17th century and the early years of the 18th, are sometimes found with the corner joints lapped and nailed world market carved brass charger plate . This is, of course, the mark of a poorly made piece georgian sideboards and serving tables . I believe the idea of nailing drawer fronts was adapted from cheap, imported furniture and the practice was undoubtedly followed by our own country joiners, of whom a few were prepared to produce shoddy furniture, even in those days 1940’s decco furniture .
Until the time of Hepplewhite, drawer bottoms consisted of thin boards, fitted into a rebate on the inside of the drawer front and nailed along the under edge of the back lining earth driven electrical clock bentleys . About 1775, a new method of securing the bottom appeared whereby a centre batten running from the front to the back of the drawer held the bottom boards in grooves whilst the boards, instead of being placed from front to back, now ran parallel to the drawer front meissen porcelain blumen design .
Bun feet were the normal means of support for chests until around 1700 when bracket feet were introduced art deco kneeling dancer lamp . At first, bracket feet were high and appeared out of proportion but by 1750 they were made lower and continued so until the end of the century early imperial ming porcelain . Cabinet-makers during the Chippendale era used bracket feet of an ogee shape on the better class of work, but these lent a heavy, baroque appearance to the chest amphora czechoslovakia . A lighter type of foot, known as the French foot and associated with Sheraton furniture, is usually found on the earlier bow-fronted chests antique cabnit barley twist legs . After the Regency, this design was displaced by an uglier, turned foot which remained in use until the mid-Victorian period wooden cylinder pedestal .
The first chests of drawers had brass, drop handles which were pear shaped or flat with split ends 19th century ceramic wooden clock . These handles were fixed to the drawer by means of a split pin, which passed through the drawer front and was then opened out on the inside and the ends driven into the wood louis 16th sofas . Small wooden knobs were also in use at this time but these became obsolete and did not reappear until they were adopted by Hepplewhite for his mahogany chests about 1775 antique paper mache card table . Drop handles were succeeded by a ring type around 1700 and these are sometimes referred to as Dutch drops inlaid wood chinese duncan phyfe occasional table . From these developed loop handles with brass back plates which were first seen from about 1710 meissen porcelain marking . To begin with, back plates were simple butterfly shapes but by 1730 had become very elaborate, in a variety of fretted and saw-pierced patterns art deco lamp globe . By 1750, the back plates to drawer handles had disappeared, being replaced by small circular discs behind the handle mounts antique card table 1920 fold over top . Towards the end of the century knobs of cast brass or wood superseded the loop type of handle and were in use well into the Victorian period regency day bed . Back plates, either round or octagonal in shape and with longer loop handles attached, were revived during the time of the Regency repair antique dresser drawers .
Among the more diminutive chests and boxes which were made during the 17th century was one type, about 20 inches long and 14 inches wide 16th century antique refectory tables . It was used for storing the large, black letter family Bible or for documents antique calamander . Another box, not quite so long and narrower, was used for keeping lace and neck-ruffs victorian cedar drop leaf table . It was really an early form of collar box dinning table carved like an animal . These boxes were usually made in oak with hasp locks and were decorated with chip-carving and gouge-cuts meissen cris de paris . These small chests should not be confused with the sloping topped table desk which will be dealt with in the chapter on desks and bureaux antique octagonal tilt top tea table .
Candle and salt boxes were in everyday use in the kitchens during the 17th and 18th centuries, those for candles being long and comparatively narrow to accommodate tapers as well as candles antique monks chair . Later examples were often made in oak with mahogany cross-banded edges scottish dresser .
Table knives, particularly those with silver handles, were carefully safeguarded in the dining room furniture ornaments ny . In the Chippendale period, beautifully veneered and inlaid knife-boxes were made to stand on the sideboard, while similar boxes were provided for spoons and forks 1930 art deco french armchairs . Servants of the 18th century must have been notoriously dishonest or masters and mistresses of an equally suspicious nature, for it was the practice never to allow the cutlery and silver to be removed from the dining room gate leg table english oak antique . After a meal the knives, forks and spoons would be washed at the sideboard and the butler would then count and lock them away in their respective boxes english ironstone pottery .
Tea was an expensive commodity between 1700 and 1800 and here again a special little box or coffer, which could be kept locked, was used to hold the precious leaves rectangular drop-leaf table . Tea was always made at the tea table and the mistress of the house would keep the key of the tea caddy among the other housewifely belongings which hung on the chatelaine from her waist victorian dome revolving re serving dishes .
Tea caddies usually had two compartments, lined with lead foil to preserve the tea, but those dating from the early years of the 19th century are sometimes found with a cut-glass sugar bowl of Irish glass, situated between the compartments antique draw leaf dining table . A collection of wooden tea caddies is an admirable way of getting together, in a small space, examples of all the different types of wood and the decorative processes used by the cabinet-makers of the 18th century 19th century mechanical desks .
Reference must be made to the wine cellarets and portable liqueur cases, which were in general use between 1775 and 1830 gabriel viardot . The cellaret was a heavy, strongly made coffer about 2 feet square and lined with lead antique pemproke tables . It stood on feet and was placed beneath a side-table in the dining room andrea baccetti . Cellarets were nearly always made of mahogany with large brass ring handles at the sides barocan roll furniture .
The portable liqueur case was essentially a travelling companion and contained four or six square shaped decanters whose contents would fortify the traveller on the long coach journeys of those days sideboards . It was often finely veneered in walnut or mahogany and strengthened, like the military chest, with engraved brass corner pieces enterprise porcelain italy . These, in the finer examples, were sometimes of chased silver northern song dynasty ru ware . I have seen these little chests made in oak, shaped like a trunk and reinforced with wrought-iron bands antique table from a monastery in europe . As these oak types usually contain Liege glass decanters I think they must be of French or Flemish origin 1620 plate british cobalt blue .
Ladies’ sewing and needlework boxes, particularly those of the first half of the 19th century, can still be purchased for a pound or two chenghua foot rims . They are usually veneered in walnut or mahogany with ebony or brass inlay or with rosewood inlaid with ivory carlo zen furniture . A popular form of decoration at this time consisted of a very fine parquetry in various coloured woods, known as Tunbridge ware tables with chamber pots . These work boxes can be included, to advantage, with a collection of tea caddies and other small boxes chippendale drum table 2 drawers .

Wardrobes after 1840.
Wardrobes of the 19th century represent a natural progression from linen-presses and armoires, but the term “wardrobe” did not come into use until the second half of the 18th century, when it was popularized by the designer George Hepplewhite (d.1786). Although intended primarily for hanging clothing, rather than simply storing it folded, wardrobes, which were increasingly manufactured, did not completely supersede other storage furniture until the late 1800s. Moreover, in terms of both design and craftsmanship, the wardrobes that were produced are considered to be less interesting than their antecedents.
Wardrobes after 1840
Wardrobes of the 19th century represent a natural progression from linen-presses and armoires, but the term “wardrobe” did not come into use until the second half of the 18th century, when it was popularized by the designer George Hepplewhite (d.1786). Although intended primarily for hanging clothing, rather than simply storing it folded, wardrobes, which were increasingly manufactured, did not completely supersede other storage furniture until the late 1800s. Moreover, in terms of both design and craftsmanship, the wardrobes that were produced are considered to be less interesting than their antecedents.
TYPES OF WARDROBE
Wardrobes produced after c.1840 were influenced by the designs set out in the Encyclopaedia of Cottage, Farm and Villa Architecture and Furniture (1833) by John Claudius Loudon (1783-1843) and, in North America, The Architecture of Country Houses by Andrew Jackson Downing (1815-52), published several times between 1850 and 1866. Designs in the Grecian, or “modern” Italian, Gothic, and Romanesque styles were among those illustrated; each of these wardrobes is tall, and possesses two doors of varied ornamentation, and the inside is evenly divided between hanging and shelf space. One wardrobe of particular interest was described as “a lady’s winged wardrobe” and resembled the traditional break-front bookcase in its construction. With a full-length door at either side, the centre portion was divided into two halves, the top with doors, the bottom with two short drawers and two long ones; these are reminiscent of the arrangement of the Georgian linen-press. It was “to be made of any fine wood, French polished, and showing no brasswork in any part of the front. The knobs are of mahogany or ebony, the mouldings on the doors are made to project, and the fronts of the drawers are made to recede, and to have a moulding raised upon them”. Inside the wardrobe great attention was paid to the practicalities: there were pegs provided for hanging dresses, shelves for storing bonnets and shoes, and sometimes even a locker with a fold-down front for dirty linen.
Wardrobes of the mid- to late-Victorian period are characterized by an increase in size and function with a corresponding decrease of ornamental flourishes, consistent with the large, heavy, utilitarian, and somewhat sombre
design ethos. Thus by the mid-1880s some wardrobes expanded to tripartite and break-
front forms, with a central wardrobe flanked by cupboards and drawer slides, or were “broken up” and lopsided, as in the example of the “Beaconsfield”. This was a type of asymmetrical, multi-purpose wardrobe, which had book and display shelves in addition to drawers and cupboards. Sometimes the ends of the wardrobes had open shelves and fret-cut decoration. Fitted wardrobes also gained favour during the mid-1880s, as did corner ones, which were designed to maximize space in small rooms.
Wardrobes also began to be designed en suite with other bedroom furniture. In the “Benedict” bedroom suite, items of furniture were duplicated for the husband and wife; hence the wardrobe had two cupboards and two mirrors and was intended to prevent marital strife. Various other anomalies were also produced, such as papier-mache suites; first introduced in the late 1830s, these had dark or black grounds that were enriched with mother-of-pearl inlay or brightly coloured floral painting. By the end of the century, some wardrobes had become increasingly ornamented, with marquetry inlaid decoration, moulded cornices, and cushion or cavetto friezes. Some Edwardian wardrobes were in painted satinwood, with the doors sporting swags, urns, and scrolling foliage, while others were plainer and more restrained decoratively, featuring only panelled doors.
REVIVAL STYLES
Many styles of wardrobe were revived and popularized in France, particularly the Renaissance and the “Louis” styles, which covered Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical. Of these the Rococo Revival was probably the most important as it carried on until the end of the 19th century, when it was combined with Art Nouveau. There was also an interest in Naturalism (with direct allusions to flowers and fruit), Orientalism, and a revived interest in the Middle Ages. The craze for light woods mostly disappeared during the 1840s, and was followed by a taste for the darker woods.
In Germany and Austria, the Biedermeier style, with its geometrical and simplified forms, was still popular in the 1840s, although it ultimately gave way to Germanic interpretations of Gothic and Rococo. German Rococo was generally based on Parisian Louis XV forms, albeit heavier and more exaggerated than its prototype. It was made of carved natural woods, especially walnut and limewood.
The rest of Europe was dominated by various revival styles. Exhibitions, trade catalogues, and pattern-books prompted the dissemination of styles continent-wide, particularly the French “Louis” and the Renaissance styles; the latter was particularly well suited to machine production, and to wardrobes in particular. Each country adapted these styles in its own way, particularly in the second half of the century as each looked to its own cultural roots for inspiration.
CONSTRUCTION
As the furniture industry of each country was essentially localized, each used different woods for its pieces, especially in the hidden woods of the carcase. The British mainly used mahogany and satinwood for the better pieces, and pine for those less expensive. Mahogany–. ebony, oak, and even stained pearwood were the French choice from the 1840s onward. The Dutch used native oak and exotic woods imported from their colonies in the West Indies, whereas the rest of Europe generally imported their exotic woods from the Caribbean. Scandinavian countries used pine, as
did rural Alpine regions; it was frequently painted in a variety of colours and designs to hide the poor quality of the wood. Italy also used inexpensive woods in many
cases, although walnut and rosewood were still employed for grander pieces, which were frequently enriched with ivory or gilding. Spanish and Portuguese cabinet-makers copied and interpreted the
French styles while at the same time continuing their traditional heavily carved 17th-century-style furniture.
The majority of wardrobes were made by cabinetmakers. In Britain they were constructed so that cornices and plinths could be lifted off and drawers and shelving pulled out; French wardrobes were made in many parts, and were often fixed together with long bolts, and a hinge on the door allowed it to be lifted off.
While small free-standing mirrors or those attached to dressing tables were common, full-length mirrored doors on wardrobes were an important 19th-century innovation. Plate glass was used, and no doubt the lowering of the price of producing glass by Pilkington Brothers Ltd (est. 1826), at St Helens, near Liverpool, contributed to its more widespread use. Such mirrors, either sharply bevelled (unlike the gently bevelled glass of the 18th century), or in a decorative frame, was very thick, and usually placed on the single door in a single door wardrobe or on the centre door of a tripartite wardrobe.
• WOOD look for good quality and patina.
• MIRRORS the effect of damp can cause spotting on the silvering, but the mirrors can be resilvered; old mirrors give a mellow image, while new ones are very bright and give a sharp image.
• ALTERATIONS when large break-front wardrobes went out of fashion they were often broken up, and so they can be relatively scarce and very sought after; because of their size they could be reduced in both height and width, and it is usually possible to trace this by the proportions and by looking at the wood – screwholes should not appear on the wrong places; some linen-presses were made into wardrobes in the 19th century.
• COLLECTING Victorian mahogany wardrobes are very common; wardrobes in satinwood (a much more expensive wood) are the least common; Edwardian examples are often of the highest craftsmanship and therefore very desirable.
MAKERS’ MARKS
From 1741, Parisian cabinet-makers were ordered by their guilds to stamp their work, and although the requirement was removed some 50 years later the practice continued. During the 19th century,
part of the brasswork was often engraved with a script signature and the date of manufacture. English cabinet-makers were never legally required to identify their furniture, although metal-punched name stamps or brass name tablets were used by some makers during the 18th century. After 1820 attitudes changed, and the practice became more common: so much so that there are plenty of examples of furniture signed not only by its makers, but even by restorers, dealers, or retailers.
The branded mark of Holland & Sons (est 1803), of London, one of the most famous Victorian furniture makers in Britain.
Wardrobes produced after c.1840 were influenced by the designs set out in the Encyclopaedia of Cottage, Farm and Villa Architecture and Furniture (1833) by John Claudius Loudon (1783-1843) and, in North America, The Architecture of Country Houses by Andrew Jackson Downing (1815-52), published several times between 1850 and 1866. Designs in the Grecian, or “modern” Italian, Gothic, and Romanesque styles were among those illustrated; each of these wardrobes is tall, and possesses two doors of varied ornamentation, and the inside is evenly divided between hanging and shelf space. One wardrobe of particular interest was described as “a lady’s winged wardrobe” and resembled the traditional break-front bookcase in its construction. With a full-length door at either side, the centre portion was divided into two halves, the top with doors, the bottom with two short drawers and two long ones; these are reminiscent of the arrangement of the Georgian linen-press. It was “to be made of any fine wood, French polished, and showing no brasswork in any part of the front. The knobs are of mahogany or ebony, the mouldings on the doors are made to project, and the fronts of the drawers are made to recede, and to have a moulding raised upon them”. Inside the wardrobe great attention was paid to the practicalities: there were pegs provided for hanging dresses, shelves for storing bonnets and shoes, and sometimes even a locker with a fold-down front for dirty linen.
Wardrobes of the mid- to late-Victorian period are characterized by an increase in size and function with a corresponding decrease of ornamental flourishes, consistent with the large, heavy, utilitarian, and somewhat sombre
design ethos. Thus by the mid-1880s some wardrobes expanded to tripartite and break-
front forms, with a central wardrobe flanked by cupboards and drawer slides, or were “broken up” and lopsided, as in the example of the “Beaconsfield”. This was a type of asymmetrical, multi-purpose wardrobe, which had book and display shelves in addition to drawers and cupboards. Sometimes the ends of the wardrobes had open shelves and fret-cut decoration. Fitted wardrobes also gained favour during the mid-1880s, as did corner ones, which were designed to maximize space in small rooms.
Wardrobes also began to be designed en suite with other bedroom furniture. In the “Benedict” bedroom suite, items of furniture were duplicated for the husband and wife; hence the wardrobe had two cupboards and two mirrors and was intended to prevent marital strife. Various other anomalies were also produced, such as papier-mache suites; first introduced in the late 1830s, these had dark or black grounds that were enriched with mother-of-pearl inlay or brightly coloured floral painting. By the end of the century, some wardrobes had become increasingly ornamented, with marquetry inlaid decoration, moulded cornices, and cushion or cavetto friezes. Some Edwardian wardrobes were in painted satinwood, with the doors sporting swags, urns, and scrolling foliage, while others were plainer and more restrained decoratively, featuring only panelled doors.
REVIVAL STYLES
Many styles of wardrobe were revived and popularized in France, particularly the Renaissance and the “Louis” styles, which covered Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical. Of these the Rococo Revival was probably the most important as it carried on until the end of the 19th century, when it was combined with Art Nouveau. There was also an interest in Naturalism (with direct allusions to flowers and fruit), Orientalism, and a revived interest in the Middle Ages. The craze for light woods mostly disappeared during the 1840s, and was followed by a taste for the darker woods.
In Germany and Austria, the Biedermeier style, with its geometrical and simplified forms, was still popular in the 1840s, although it ultimately gave way to Germanic interpretations of Gothic and Rococo. German Rococo was generally based on Parisian Louis XV forms, albeit heavier and more exaggerated than its prototype. It was made of carved natural woods, especially walnut and limewood.
The rest of Europe was dominated by various revival styles. Exhibitions, trade catalogues, and pattern-books prompted the dissemination of styles continent-wide, particularly the French “Louis” and the Renaissance styles; the latter was particularly well suited to machine production, and to wardrobes in particular. Each country adapted these styles in its own way, particularly in the second half of the century as each looked to its own cultural roots for inspiration.
CONSTRUCTION
As the furniture industry of each country was essentially localized, each used different woods for its pieces, especially in the hidden woods of the carcase. The British mainly used mahogany and satinwood for the better pieces, and pine for those less expensive. Mahogany–. ebony, oak, and even stained pearwood were the French choice from the 1840s onward. The Dutch used native oak and exotic woods imported from their colonies in the West Indies, whereas the rest of Europe generally imported their exotic woods from the Caribbean. Scandinavian countries used pine, as
did rural Alpine regions; it was frequently painted in a variety of colours and designs to hide the poor quality of the wood. Italy also used inexpensive woods in many
cases, although walnut and rosewood were still employed for grander pieces, which were frequently enriched with ivory or gilding. Spanish and Portuguese cabinet-makers copied and interpreted the
French styles while at the same time continuing their traditional heavily carved 17th-century-style furniture.
The majority of wardrobes were made by cabinetmakers. In Britain they were constructed so that cornices and plinths could be lifted off and drawers and shelving pulled out; French wardrobes were made in many parts, and were often fixed together with long bolts, and a hinge on the door allowed it to be lifted off.
While small free-standing mirrors or those attached to dressing tables were common, full-length mirrored doors on wardrobes were an important 19th-century innovation. Plate glass was used, and no doubt the lowering of the price of producing glass by Pilkington Brothers Ltd (est. 1826), at St Helens, near Liverpool, contributed to its more widespread use. Such mirrors, either sharply bevelled (unlike the gently bevelled glass of the 18th century), or in a decorative frame, was very thick, and usually placed on the single door in a single door wardrobe or on the centre door of a tripartite wardrobe.
• WOOD look for good quality and patina.
• MIRRORS the effect of damp can cause spotting on the silvering, but the mirrors can be resilvered; old mirrors give a mellow image, while new ones are very bright and give a sharp image.
• ALTERATIONS when large break-front wardrobes went out of fashion they were often broken up, and so they can be relatively scarce and very sought after; because of their size they could be reduced in both height and width, and it is usually possible to trace this by the proportions and by looking at the wood – screwholes should not appear on the wrong places; some linen-presses were made into wardrobes in the 19th century.
• COLLECTING Victorian mahogany wardrobes are very common; wardrobes in satinwood (a much more expensive wood) are the least common; Edwardian examples are often of the highest craftsmanship and therefore very desirable.
MAKERS’ MARKS
From 1741, Parisian cabinet-makers were ordered by their guilds to stamp their work, and although the requirement was removed some 50 years later the practice continued. During the 19th century, part of the brasswork was often engraved with a script signature and the date of manufacture. English cabinet-makers were never legally required to identify their furniture, although metal-punched name stamps or brass name tablets were used by some makers during the 18th century. After 1820 attitudes changed, and the practice became more common: so much so that there are plenty of examples of furniture signed not only by its makers, but even by restorers, dealers, or retailers.
The branded mark of Holland & Sons (est 1803), of London, one of the most famous Victorian furniture makers in Britain.