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Antique Edwardian Mahogany Bookcase by Shoolbred c.1900

Posted by Regent Antiques

13 May, 2020

Antique Edwardian Mahogany Bookcase by Shoolbred c.1900

US$11,046.40

This is an absolutely stunning antique Edwardian flame mahogany three door inlaid bookcase, circa 1900 in date. The bookcase bears the brass plaque of the renowned maker and retailer James Shoolbred. This bookcase features a rich and striking grain, and has been accomplished in flame mahogany, a very attractive and highly desirable wood. It has elegant reeded canted corners, a beautiful moulded canted cornice and stands on bracket feet. The three glazed top doors having beautiful thirteen pane astragals with satinwood crossbanding and ebony and boxwood outline stringing. The interior having adjustable shelves that are also inlaid. The base having three panelled doors with satinwood crossbanding, ebony and boxwood outline stringing and fabulous marquetry floral decoration with urns and ribbons. This bookcase has original shelves, locks, glazing, and a solid mahogany panelled back. Instill the elegance of a bygone era to a special place in your home with this fabulous antique bookcase. Condition: You are viewing this item in its excellent original untouched condition. Any restoration that is required will be accomplished before delivery and is included in the price. Dimensions in cm: Height 237 x Width 194 x Depth 45 Dimensions in inches: Height 7 feet, 9 inches x Width 6 feet, 4 inches x Depth 1 foot, 6 inches James Shoolbred started his company in Tottenham Court Road by purchasing number 155 in the 1820s. He was involved in supplying textiles to the burgeoning interior decoration market in London. He must have done well and quickly because he soon purchased numbers 154 and 156, either side of the original building. With his newly expanded premises, the shop was restructured and the stock was expanded. The new premises included a haberdashers and a carpet warehouse, as well as expanded accommodation for the stock of textiles, which included wool, silk and linen. By the 1880s the company had expanded to such an extent that the business had to move again, this time into premises that functioned as an early department store. The new store was popular from the start. One aspect that proved popular with customers was the detailed displays of interior decorative schemes. Furniture, textiles, carpets and various accessories would be laid out as they would be seen in a real interior. This made it much easier for customers to perceive what their purchases would look like outside the constraints of the department store. It was also a good retail trick as it encouraged customers to buy whole ensembles, which they could reconstruct in their own home without having to hire an interior designer or sort out interior schemes themselves. This marketing trick is still used extensively today by such retail giants as Ikea. By the 1870s, the company had started to design and manufacture their own furniture. This furniture, along with other interior accessories, were displayed in a series of catalogues that started to appear from about 1873 onwards. The catalogues were meant to expand the appeal of James Shoolbred & Co beyond their department store, and more importantly, beyond London. Furniture design became an increasingly important aspect of the company and therefore played a large part in the catalogues that the company produced every year. All the major fashionable Revival movements were included, ranging from Gothic to Japanese, and included the numerous French styles. Interestingly, because James Shoolbred & Co produced catalogues that were so detailed and wide ranging, many were used as literal pattern books in order to copy the latest London styles. This was a particular problem in far-flung British outposts like Australia and New Zealand where there was a brisk trade in James Shoolbred & Co furniture design, with details being worked out from the illustrations generously provided by the company. This furniture was then passed off as being part of a locally designed production. The catalogues today are an intriguing view of interior tastes and styles of the later nineteenth century and are an invaluable tool, as are all catalogues, for any researcher, historian or anyone with an interest in the history of domestic interior design and decoration. Despite James Shoolbred & Co’s popularity and market presence, the company struggled after the market crash of 1929 and closed for good in 1931. Marquetry is decorative artistry where pieces of material (such as wood, mother of pearl, pewter, brass silver or shell) of different colours are inserted into surface wood veneer to form intricate patterns such as scrolls or flowers. The technique of veneered marquetry had its inspiration in 16th century Florence. Marquetry elaborated upon Florentine techniques of inlaying solid marble slabs with designs formed of fitted marbles, jaspers and semi-precious stones. This work, called opere di commessi, has medieval parallels in Central Italian "Cosmati"-work of inlaid marble floors, altars and columns. The technique is known in English as pietra dura, for the "hardstones" used: onyx, jasper, cornelian, lapis lazuli and colored marbles. In Florence, the Chapel of the Medici at San Lorenzo is completely covered in a colored marble facing using this demanding jig-sawn technique. Techniques of wood marquetry were developed in Antwerp and other Flemish centers of luxury cabinet-making during the early 16th century. The craft was imported full-blown to France after the mid-seventeenth century, to create furniture of unprecedented luxury being made at the royal manufactory of the Gobelins, charged with providing furnishings to decorate Versailles and the other royal residences of Louis XIV. Early masters of French marquetry were the Fleming Pierre Golle and his son-in-law, André-Charles Boulle, who founded a dynasty of royal and Parisian cabinet-makers (ébénistes) and gave his name to a technique of marquetry employing shell and brass with pewter in arabesque or intricately foliate designs. Flame Mahogany Thomas Sheraton - 18th century furniture designer, once characterized mahogany as "best suited to furniture where strength is demanded as well as a wood that works up easily, has a beautiful figure and polishes so well that it is an ornament to any room in which it may be placed." Matching his words to his work, Sheraton designed much mahogany furniture. The qualities that impressed Sheraton are particularly evident in a distinctive pattern of wood called "flame mahogany." The flame figure in the wood is revealed by slicing through the face of the branch at the point where it joins another element of the tree. Our reference: 06384 Please feel free to email or call us (+44 20 8809 9605) to arrange a viewing in our North London warehouse. Shipping: We ship worldwide and deliver to Mainland UK addresses free of charge. A shipping cost to all other destinations must be requested prior to purchase. To request a shipping quote for the items in your cart, please click HERE. Delivery and return policy: We require that someone be home on the agreed delivery day if applicable, otherwise a redelivery fee will apply. In accordance with Distance Selling Regulations, we offer a 14-day money back guarantee if you are not satisfied with the item. The item must be returned in its original packaging and condition. Unless the item is not as described in a material way, the buyer is responsible for return shipping expenses. Buyers are fully responsible for any customs duties or local taxes that may be incurred on items sent outside of the European Union.

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