A posthumous publishing of a George Hepplewhite manuscript in 1788, The Cabinet Maker and Upholsterers Guide gives a lot of insight into his furniture, which was popular as the Hepplewhite Collection and was in vogue during the end of the Georgian Period, from 1780 to 1810. This was during the Federal Period in America and the style was neoclassical. Another designer during this period who had also documented his work was Thomas Sheraton. However, Hepplewhite’s style possessed carvings and were significantly more ornate compared to Thomas Sheraton’s furniture style. Hepplewhite’s furniture was called the “city furniture” and was more popular in America especially in the east coast region.
Unlike the earlier Queen Anne style when cabriole legs were popular, Hepplewhite furniture had straight legs. They were either tapered or square and imitated the edges of the classical columns. Many of the chairs had a piece of wood connecting the legs in the shape of an “H”. The feet were simple and complimented the straight legs. The style for the feet was either a tapered arrow or a rectangular shaped spade foot. Heavier furniture had bracket feet. This was used mostly for book cases, desks, chests and other heavy furniture.
As inlay work was a specialty in Hepplewhite pieces with contrasting veneers, there was often more than one kind of wood used. The types of wood favored by Hepplewhite were mahogany, maple and satinwood. For the veneers, sycamore was more common but other woods like rosewood, birch and tulipwood were also used. The craftsmen following Hepplewhite’s designed frequently used whatever wood was on hand and this is why much of the American furniture designed by Hepplewhite is made of pine or ash wood.
Unlike the Chippendale and Queen Anne furniture, Hepplewhite’s pieces were light and had a more graceful and elegant appearance. There was inlay work in intricate designs and contrasting wood was used for veneers. The pieces also had carvings and painted patterns on them. Some of the more popular motifs were trees, urns, feathers and ribbons.
Hepplewhite furniture was often made in geometric shapes like curves or circular forms. The arms of chairs and couches were curved outwards while the seats were rounded in front and the backs of the chairs were either oval or like shields. The pattern of a chair with a shield back is one of the best known in his styles.
Jonathan L. Fairbanks along with Elizabeth Bidwell Bates wrote in the book “American Furniture: 1620 to the Present”, that it was Hepplewhite who brought in the chest of drawers and sideboards into use and popularized them.
During the nineteenth century, Hepplewhite’s designs were revived by British furniture makers. However, the designs were not as decorative or solid as those of the earlier furniture pieces. This was primarily due to that they were mass reproductions of Hepplewhite’s original designs and could not reach the same high standards. Many furniture makers kept up the tradition of these designs and some like the Kittinger Furniture in New York made some good quality work which is popular amongst collectors seeking Hepplewhite furniture.
Hepplewhite furniture has never gone out of style. The fluted legs, shield back and serpentine front are still popular when it comes to conventional furniture designs.
A China Cabinet and a Bookcase with Secretaire. Designed by Thomas Sheraton and published in his, Cabinet Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book, 1793.
This neoclassical style of furniture came into existence in the latter part of the 18th century. The furniture was designed by Thomas Sheraton who was the contemporary of Hepplewhite. These two designers had their furniture in vogue during this period. Sheraton’s style had been inspired by the features of Louis XVI, which was known for the tapered round legs and contrasting inlays of veneer. The exotic woods primarily used by Sheraton to create his lighter, almost feminine furniture with delicate straight lines, were rosewood, sycamore, tulipwood, mahogany and satinwood. Apart from the inlaid finish, a lot of the pieces had brass fittings and painted finish.
Thomas Sheraton started life in Durham, England in 1751. Sheraton was a deeply religious man and published numerous papers and religious tracts and was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1800. He moved to London in the late 18th century and taught craftsmen cabinet design and architecture. His books on techniques of making chairs and cabinets influenced other cabinet makers all over the country.
Nelson's Chairs. Designed by Thomas Sheraton and published October 29th, 1806.
He published several books on the techniques of cabinet and chair making widely influential over a large part of the country. Among his favorite motifs were rams’ heads, festoons, flutings, husks and swags. His style was most reproduced during the Federal Period in the United States. Though he had the gift of a superior craftsmanship, he almost gave up being actively involved in carpentry and was more into designing and publishing books. His fame grew through his books.
One of his publications “The Drawing Book” had 84 designs. This edition is not dated and is very rare and difficult to find. The book had 111 plates. Later he published another edition with 119 plates and then a 3rd one which had 122 plates. An encyclopedia called the “Dictionary” had 125 parts but he lived only till the 30th publication. A book called “Designs for household furniture” was published posthumously. He was popularly known as the last of the great craftsmen.
Though he had carved a niche area for Sheraton furniture when he was alive, he hardly made much money on his superior craftsmanship and died essentially as a poor man.
Sister's Cylinder Bookcase. Designed by Thomas Sheraton, 1802.
Amongst Sheraton’s other famous designs were clock cases, canopies of immense grace, pulpits which had spiral stairs, tables which were extremely elegant and elaborate beds. He ridiculed the style of Chippendale which was still popular those days. His book “The cabinet dictionary” had 99 plates but unfortunately some of the designs were bizarre and this brought down the popularity of his later work. His work in later years became grotesque because of brass mounts and carvings that were clumsy. He had undoubtedly lost his earlier touch for the elegant style. However, some of the volumes published posthumously did have some useful designs which were elegant, especially in the upholstery category and also in the chair and cabinet sections.
His final years were spent in Golden Square though he had lived in different parts in London earlier. His death also brought the conclusion to an era of glory for Georgian furniture and saw his own downfall from a great designer to one who had lost the touch for the style of his earlier work. His work was appreciated more posthumously than during his lifetime and also was more popular in the United States than in England.
Continued from Chinese Pottery and Stoneware Early Tz’u-chou Part I. Foliated shape with lobed sides; dense light buff Tz’u-chou ware with pale ivory-white glaze and brownish-black decoration. The lanceolated upper panel sustaining a flying duck bearing a stem of …
According to Pere d’Entrecolles, porcelain was made of kaolin and pe-tun-tse, the former being decomposed felspar of granite, which took its name, “lofty ridge,” from the hill where it was found;
We trust that you will be able find the studies to follow as fascinating as we did, reading from a manuscript regarding antiques, which in and of itself is now an antique, to draw from this Introduction to Chinese Porcelain salient historical information and facts pertaining to porcelain and porcelain manufacture in ancient China.
The earlier dates given in the following Chronological Summary of Chinese Dynasties have been calculated backward by later historians from the lengths of the reigns and other data recorded in the current annals, and must consequently be taken as only approximate.
Both silver and aluminum have high acceptance rates of sulfur, but aluminum’s is higher, thus the transfer of the sulfur from the silver to the aluminum without losing any of your silver, leaving you with beautiful looking Tiffany & Co. sterling silver tea set or prized Georgian sterling silver salt cellar once again.
