History of Hardwood Furniture

An important document in the history of 19th century English furniture was a book of designs by George Smith, who held the appointment of “Upholder extraordinary to HRH the Prince of Wales” (the future King George IV). Smith had a business premise at Princess Street, Cavendish Square, London, and his book of 158 designs was published in 1808 by William Taylor of Holborn. The hardwood furniture designs include cornices, tables, bedsteads, chairs, dark oak bookcase, commodes, window drapery, and other items, the names of which, adapted from the French, possibly appear in the English language for the first time - escritoire, jardiniere, dejune tables, chiffoniers. The designs show the taste of the Regency fashion prevalent in England at that time. Smith, in his “Preliminary Remarks”, gives an interesting insight into the prevailing taste of the period:

“The following practical observations on the various woods employed in cabinet work may be useful. Mahogany, when used in houses of consequence, should be confined to the parlour and the bedchamber floors. In furniture for these apartments the less inlay of other woods, the more chaste will be the style of work. If the wood be of a fine, compact, and bright quality, the ornaments may be carved clean in the mahogany. Where it may be requisite to make out panelling by an inlay of lines, let those lines be of brass or ebony. In drawing-rooms, boudoirs, ante-rooms, East and West India satin woods, rosewood, tulip wood, and the other varieties of woods brought from the East, may be used; with satin and light coloured woods the decorations may be of ebony or rosewood; with rosewood let the decorations be ormolu, and the inlay of brass. Bronze metal, though sometimes used with satin wood, has a cold and poor effect: it suits better on gilt work, and will answer well enough on mahogany.”

Amongst the designs, some display a subdued Gothic character - these are usually carved in light oak, or painted in a light stone color, some of them having heraldic shields, with coats of arms and crests highlighted in color. There are also some window seats painted to look like marble, with Roman or Greco-Roman ornaments painted in green to look like bronze. Some of the finest are mahogany with bronze green ornamentation.

Nowadays, of course, Regency style hard wood furniture may not be affordable or appropriate. For contemporary decor, many people choose oak desks or mabye oak bookshelf furniture for their homes.

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