?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? A?Thesis?Submitted?for?the?Degree?of? Doctor?of?Philosophy? By?Ernest?Riall? Brunel?University/Bucks?New? University? 27?NOVEMBER?2010? ? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE?IN?ENGLAND?AND?FRANCE? DURING?THE?AGE?OF?ELEGANCE? ?? ? On?the?cover:?Engraving?by?Nicolas?Lavrince?(1737?1807),?shows?Madame?la?Comtesse? d?Ogny?simultaneously?studying?music?(see?the?music?in?her?left?hand?and?the?instructor? sitting?next?to?her?tuning?up?his?guitar?(?)),?having?her?hair?combed?out?(see?the?lady? hovering?behind?Madame?la?Comtesse?d?Ogny)?and?picking?out?wallpaper.?This? engraving?was?taken?from:?A.?Bolton,?H.?Koda,?&?D.?Kisluk?Grosheide,?Dangerous? Liaisons:??Fashions?and?Furniture?in?the?Eighteenth?Century,?Yale?University?Press,?CT.,? USA,?2006,?P?21. ?? ? ? ? ?The?culture?of?any?society,?whether?it?be?primitive?or?highly?civilized,?is?unerringly?revealed? by?the?material?things?which?that?society?needs?and?the?degree?of?skill?which?it?displays?in? producing?or?acquiring?them.??The?converse?is?also?true;?the?nature?of?the?things?themselves? can?be?best?understood?if?they?can?be?judged?by?the?known?standards?and?requirements?of? the?society?which?used?them.?1? ? ? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 1?Quoted?by?E.?Mclung?Fleming?in?E.?Fleming,?Early?American?Decorative?Arts?as?Social?Documents,?The? Mississippi?Valley?Historical?Review,?Vol?45,?No?2,?1958,?pp.?276?284.??E.?Fleming?is?quoting?E.?Milby?Burton?s? book?on?Charleston?Furniture,?1700?1825;?E.?Burton,?Charleston?Furniture,?1700?1825,?University?of?South? Carolina?Press,?Charleston,?1955,?p.?5.? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE?IN?ENGLAND?AND?FRANCE? DURING?THE?AGE?OF?ELEGANCE? Abstract? The?primary?aim?of?this?thesis?has?been?to?describe?the?complex?influences?governing?the? production?of?fashionable?furniture?in?C18th?England?and?France?in?order?to?reassess?the? connection?between?material?practices,?the?cultures?in?which?they?reside?and?the? philosophical?ideas?from?which?they?emerge.?This?has?been?achieved?by?detailing?the?factors? influencing?the?design?and?production?of?late?C18th?furniture?in?England?and?France?and? developing?a?comparative?model?developed?around?the?Harewood?Library?Table?by?Thomas? Chippendale?and?The?Wallace?Collection?F302?Secr?taire???abattant?by?Riesener,?in?order?to? isolate,?identify?and?interpret?differences?between?them.?This?innovative?case?study?sits?at? the?heart?of?this?thesis?and?describes?in?detail?how?these?pieces?were?designed?and? constructed?and?how?they?relate?to?the?wider?cultures?from?which?they?emerged.?The?result? of?this?is?apparent?in?a?number?of?outcomes.?Firstly,?the?thesis?offers?a?definitive?summary?of? the?key?characteristics?of?Chippendale?s?and?Riesener?s?work?which?will?better?enable? practitioners?(conservators,?curators,?collectors,?etc.)?to?identify?pieces?made?by?these? makers,?analyze?their?condition?and?help?conserve?these?important?pieces?of?furniture:? furniture?history?currently?is?over?dependent?on?much?more?subjective?approaches?to?this? process?of?identification.?Secondly,?the?thesis?examines?different?aspects?of?furniture?making? in?England?and?France?(literature?on?the?workshops,?information?on?economic?conditions,? evidence?relating?to?tools?and?materials?etc.)?and?integrates?them?in?such?a?way?as?to? provide?an?authoritative?account?of?the?complex?processes?involved?in?the?commissioning?of? such?fashionable?furniture.??The?thesis?not?only?helps?us?better?understand?furniture?making? in?England?and?France?at?a?structural?level?during?this?key?period?of?transition?but?also? provides?an?original?and?systematic?approach?to?writing?a?history?around?such?material? cultures,?demonstrating?how?important?it?is?to?the?full(est)?comprehension?of?history?that? such?fashionable?objects?be?understood.??Where?other?frequently?more?privileged?objects? (written?documents,?paintings?and?sculptures?etc.)?have?been?seen?to?provide?valuable? historical?insights,?this?thesis?argues?that?fashionable?furniture?can?now?be?seen?to?provide? its?own?unique?perspectives?on?the?time?and?on?the?society?in?which?it?was?created.??? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?i i ? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE?IN?ENGLAND?AND?FRANCE? DURING?THE?AGE?OF?ELEGANCE? ? Table?of?Contents? ? Topic? Page? Number? Abstract? i? Table?of?Contents? ii? Illustrations?and?Photographs? v? Acknowledgements?? xv? Preliminary?Definitions? xvii??? I. Introduction? A. Initial?Thoughts/Introduction? B. A?Summary?of?Aims?and?Objectives? C. Methodology? D. The?Case?Study? E. New?Knowledge? F. Literary?Review? G. Organisation?of?the?Thesis? 1? 2? 13? 14? 24? 26? 28? 42? II. On?Becoming?Fashionable?in?18th?Century?England?and?France?? A. Introduction? B. What?Makes?a?Fashion?? C. Fashion?in?18th?Century?France?and?England? D. Fashionable?Furniture? E. Writing?Furniture?? F. Concluding?Remarks? 44? 46? 46? 80? 99? 110? 116? III. How?did?the?Neo?Classical?Style?Develop?in?England?and?France??? A. Introduction? B. The?Neo?Classical?Revival?in?England?and?France?? C. How?were?Neo?Classical?Designs?Applied?to?Furniture?? D. Concluding?Remarks?? 118? 120? 121? 138? 148? ? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?i i i ? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE?IN?ENGLAND?AND?FRANCE? DURING?THE?AGE?OF?ELEGANCE? ? Table?of?Contents? ? Topic? Page? Number? IV. How?was?Fashionable?Furniture?Made?In?the?18th?Century??? A. Introduction? B. Selling?to?the?Customer? C. Business?Conditions???France? D. Riesener?s?Business? E. Business?Conditions???England? F. Chippendale?s?Business? G. Moving?Toward?Mechanization? H. Concluding?Remarks? 151? 153? 155? 163? 170? 174? 183? 186? 190? V. Case?Histories? A. Introduction?? B. Theoretical?Overview? C. Identification?and?Evaluation? D. Histories? E. Detailed?Evaluation? F. Materials?Used?for?these?Types?of?Furniture? G. Special?Topics? H. Exceptions? I. Concluding?Remarks? 192? 194? 196? 197? 207? 212? 286? 301? 316? 330? VI. Final?Thoughts?and?Conclusions? A. Introduction? B. Reflections?on?Research?Journey? C. Findings? D. Contributions?to?Knowledge? E. Further?Research? 332? 334? 335? 339? 347? 352? VII. Account?of?Sources? 355? ? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?iv ? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE?IN?ENGLAND?AND?FRANCE? DURING?THE?AGE?OF?ELEGANCE? ? Table?of?Contents? ? Topic? Page? Number? VIII. Appendices? Illustrations?used?in?the?Appendices? A. Historical?Timeline? B. Key?Words,?Translations?and?Definitions,?Units?of?Measurements,? Formulas? ? Terms?Related?to?Making?Glues,?Dyes,?and?Varnishes?? ? ? Units?of?Measurements?(e.g.,?distances,?weights,? economic)? ? Surface?Covering?Formulas???including?varnishes?and? waxes? ? Dye?Formulas? ? Glue?Formulas?? ? Primary?Furniture?Woods? ? Key?Words?and?their?Translation?to?and?from?French? ? ? C. Overview?of?Library?Tables?by?Chippendale?and?Secr?taire??? abattants?by?Riesener? D. Overview?of?Drawer?Construction? E. Overview?of?other?Constructional?Elements?? F. Detailed?Constructional?Data? G. Secr?taire???Abattant?by?Riesener?Mentioned?in?the?Garde?de? Meuble? H. Data?Collection?Documents? I. Cabinet?Woods?Mentioned?in?Roubo?? 384? 385? 390? 392? ? 393? 410? ? 413? ? 429? 455? 459? 463? ? 478? ? 524? 553? 591? 607? ? 623? 635? ? ? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?v ? ? o Illustrations?and?Photographs? Figure? No.? Description?and?Source? Page? No.? Cover? ? Engraving?by?Nicolas?Lavrince?(1737?1807),?shows?Madame?la?Comtesse?d?Ogny? simultaneously?studying?music?(See?the?music?in?her?left?hand?and?the?instructor?next?to? her?tuning?his?guitar),?having?her?hair?combed?(See?the?lady?hovering?behind?Madame)? and?picking?out?wallpaper.?This?engraving?was?taken?from:?A.?Bolton,?H.?Koda,?&?D.? Kisluk?Grosheide,?Dangerous?Liaisons:??Fashions?and?Furniture?in?the?Eighteenth?Century,? Yale?University?Press,?CT.,?USA,?2006,?p.21.? NA? P?1? ? Picture?of?the?Wernher?or?Luton?Hoo?Secr?taire???Abattant?by?Riesener?from?Christies? Catalogue,?for?sale?on?5?July?2000.? ?xvii? P?2? ? See?T.?Chippendale,?The?Gentleman?and?Cabinet?Maker?s?Director,?Third?Edition,?Dover? Publications,?NY,?1966,?Plate?83?(reprint?of?volume?published?in?1762).? ?xvii? Chapter?I:??Introduction? Cover? ? Picture?of?Harewood?House?taken?from?the?website,? http://www.jamessmithnoelcollection.org/images/harewood%20house.jpg,?Accessed? 01/11/09,?From;?Francis?O.?Morris?Series?of?Picturesque?Views?of?Seats?of?Noblemen?and? Gentlemen?of?Great?Britain?and?Ireland,?Kessinger?Pub?Co,?Whitefish,?MT,?USA,?2007.? NA? Cover? ? Picture?of?the?Petite?Trianon??Marie?Antoinette?s??private??estate?on?land?associated?with? Versailles,?picture?taken?from?the?website?http://g?ecx.images? amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/aa/a5/1f2b124128a01e45670bb010.L._SL500_AA240_.jp g???accessed?01/11/09.??This?drawing?was?taken?from?the?cover?of?Gourcuff,?A.,?Views? and?Plans?of?the?Petit?Trianon?at?Versailles,?Alain?De?Gourcuff,?Paris,?1999.?? NA? 1?1? ? Picture?of?secr?taire???abattant?by?Riesener?which?is?currently?in?The?Wallace?Collection? inventory?number?F302,?the?picture?was?taken?from?The?Wallace?Collection?files?on?this? secr?taire.??Files?accessed?08?December?2009.?? 24? 1?1? ? Picture?of?the?Harewood?Library?Table?by?T.?Chippendale.?Picture?of?Harewood?Library? taken?from?website? http://www.leeds.gov.uk/templenewsam/house/collect_furn_hw.html,?Accessed?06? January?2009.?? 24? Chapter?II:??On?Becoming?Fashionable?in?18th?Century?England?and?France? Cover? ? Sir?Joshua?Reynolds.?Georgiana,?Duchess?of?Devonshire.?1775?76.?Oil?on?canvas,?Henry?E.? Huntington?Art?Gallery,?San?Marino,?CA,?USA.??Taken?from?website:? http://www.abcgallery.com/R/reynolds/reynolds135.html?accessed?on?09?February? 2010.? 44? Cover? ? Elisabeth?Vig?e?Le?Brun,?1778,?Oil?on?canvas,?currently?at?the?Kunsthistorisches?Museum,? Vienna,?taken?from?website:?http://www.ladyreading.net/marieantoinette/det2? en.htmlaccessed?on?09?February?2010.? 44? 2?1? ? Fran?ois?Boucher?1756?portrait?of?Madame?de?Pompadour,?oil?on?canvas,?currently?at?the? National?Galleries?of?Scotland,?Edinburgh,?taken?from?the?website:? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_de_Pompadour?accessed?on?February?2008.? 57? 2?2? ? L'Assemblee?au?Salon?by?Francois?Nicolas?Barthelemy?Dequevauviller?(1745?1807)?drawn? in?1783.??Showing?how?furniture?was?essential?in?a?social?setting.?Taken?from?Website:? http://www.paulmccarron.com/18thCentury.html,?09?December?2008.? 59? 2?3? ? Example?of?furniture?advancement?in?this?case?it?is?a?mechanical?desk?designed?for?Marie? Antoinette?by?Riesener?in?1778,?Picture?taken?from?MET?website? http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ffurn/ho_33.12.htm#?accessed?01?December? 2008.?? 63? 2?4? ? The?Duchess?of?Devonshire?(by?Thomas?Gainsborough?(1727?1788)?from?the?Devonshire? Collection,?Chatsworth??Painted?in?1787.)?wearing?the?latest?in?dress?and?hair?fashions.? From?website:? http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Thomas_Gainsborough_Lady_G eorgiana_Cavendish.jpg?accessed?01?December?2008.? 80? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?vi ? o Illustrations?and?Photographs? Figure? No.? Description?and?Source? Page? No.? 2?5? ? Marie?Antoinette???la?rose?(1783)?painted?by??Vig?e?Lebrun?(1755???1842)?wearing?the? latest?fashions???the?pouf?hairstyle?and?elaborate?dress.?Taken?from?website:??www.art? prints?on?demand.com/kunst/marie_elisabeth_louise_accessed?01?December?2008.? 81? 2?6? ? The?Ribbon?Seller?or?La?Marchande?de?modes,?by?Fran?ois?Boucher?in?1746.?Taken?from? the?website?http://membres.lycos.fr/modefrancaise/marche.html?on?12?December? 2008.? 83? 2?7? ? Le?Marchand?de?Rubans,?c.?1700,?Etching?of?visit?to?dress?makers?shop?in?C18th?France.?? Taken?from?C.?Sargentson,?Merchants?and?Luxury?Markets,?Victoria?&?Albert?Museum,? London?1996,?p?6.? 85? 2?8? ? Mademoiselle?Rose?Bertin?by?Jean?Francios?Janinet?1752?1814.?This?watercolour?was? painted?around?1780?based?on?etchings.?Picture?came?from?cover?sheet?in??.?Langlade,?? (Translated?by?A.?Rapport),?Rose?Bertin:??The?Creator?of?Fashion?at?the?Court?of?Marie? Antoinette,?John?Long,?Limited,?London,?1913.? 87? 2?9? ? Trade?Card?for?Abraham?Price?another?wallpaper?seller?showing?the?street?in?front?of?his? shop,?1715,?Source:??British?Museum,?Heal?Collection.? 93? 2?10? ? Trade?card?of?James?Wheeley,?wallpaper?manufacturer?and?merchant?showing?the?inside? of?the?shop.?Source:??British?Museum,?Heal?Collection.? 94? 2?11? ? Making?fun?of?the?lengths?that?people?went?to?be?part?of?a?fashionable?society.??Mathew? or?Mary?Darly,?British,?The?Ridiculous?Taste?Or?the?Ladies?Absurdity,?ca.?1771,?Courtesy?of? The?Lewis?Walpole?Library,?Yale?University,?obtained?from?website:? http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/eighteenth?century_studies/v038/38.1cover_art.html,? Accessed?02?June?2008.?? 95? 2?12? ? France's?finance?minister,?Jean?Babtiste?Colbert???Taken?from?website:?? http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/colbert.htm,?accessed?on?7?Decmeber?2004.? 104? 2?13? ? Madame?de?Pompadour?(1715?1774)???the?court?arbiter?of?fashion?under?Louis?XV??? Taken?from?website?http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/230_? madame_de_Pompadour.php,?accessed?7?Decmeber?2004.? 107? 2?14? ? Saint?Jerome?in?his?study,?a?1514?copper?engraving?by?Albrecht?D?rer?showing?the?use?of? a?portable?writing?slope.?Source:?http://www.abcgallery.com/D/durer/durer2.jpg? Accessed?06?January?2009.? 109? 2?15? ? Writing?box?from?Henry?VIII?s?workshop?an?example?of?the?portable?nature?of?furniture? during?the?C16th???located?in?V?&?A?website:?? http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000?000?476?945? C&scache=62txv7vjgc&searchdb=scran,?Accessed?06?January?2009.?? 110? 2?16? ? Example?of?changes?among?women?as?it?relates?to?writing?furniture.??This?is?the?Marquise? Du?Ch?telet?(1706?49),?she?was?a?physicist?and?mathematician,?who?participated?in? debates?on?Newton?painted?by?the?female?artist?Marianne?Loir?(1715?69),?located?on? website:?http://chsweb.lr.k12.nj.us/kstokes/euroassign/scientific%20revolution.htm? accessed?on?01?December?2010.? 111? 2?17? ? A?set?of?five?English?'desks'?these?types?of?desks?were?some?of?the?ones?considered?for? this?project.?All?pictures?come?from?M.?Bridge,?An?Encyclopaedia?of?Desks,?The?Apple? Press,?London,?1988?(various?pages).? 114? 2?18? ? A?set?of?French?'desks'?these?types?of?desks?were?some?of?the?ones?considered?for?this? project.?All?pictures?come?from?M.?Bridge,?An?Encyclopaedia?of?Desks,?(various?pages).? 115? Chapter?III:??How?did?the?Neo?Classical?Style?Develop?in?England?and?France?? Cover? ? From?Robert?Woods?drawings?in?the?book,?Ruins?of?Palmyra,?1753?(first?edition)?Picture? taken?from?website:??http://www.manhattanrarebooks?art.com/wood.htm,?Accessed?10? May?2010.? 118? Cover? ? From?Robert?Woods?drawings?in?the?book,?Ruins?of?Palmyra,?1753?(first?edition)?Picture? taken?from?website:??http://www.manhattanrarebooks?art.com/wood.htm,?Accessed?10? May?2010.? 118? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?vi i ? o Illustrations?and?Photographs? Figure? No.? Description?and?Source? Page? No.? 3?1? ? The?Marquis?de?Marigny?Painted?by?Alexander?Roslin?in?1764.?(Currently?at?the?Ch?teau? de?Versailles)?In?this?portrait,?the?table?is?done?in?the?Neo?Classical?style?while?the?Chair?is? in?the?Rococo?style.?Picture?taken?from?website:? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis_of_Marigny,?Accessed?on?01?March?2009.? 124? 3?2? ? Portrait?De?Jacques?Germain?Soufflot,?Architect?(1713?1780)?by?Jean?Pierre?Mazies??taken? from?website:?http://www.chapitre.com/CHAPITRE/fr/PAINT/mazies?jean?pierre?connu? de?1861a?1895/portrait?de?jacques?germain?soufflot?architecte?1713? 1780,5673267.aspx,?Accessed?on?01?March?2009.? 124? 3?3? ? The?Pantheon?in?Paris,?one?of?Soufflot?s?most?widely?recognized?efforts.??Picture?taken? from?web?site:?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques?Germain_Soufflot,?Accessed?03? March?2009.? 125? 3?4? ? William?Chambers?painted?in?1764?by?Frances?Cotes???Taken?from?website:?? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sir_William_Chambers.jpg???Accessed?03?March?2009.? 127? 3?5? ? Front?page?of:?I?Quattro?Libri?dell'Architettura?or?The?Four?Books?of?Architecture?by? Palladium,?taken?from?website? http://www.comitatinazionali.it/upload/immagini/quattro_libri.JPG,?Accessed?03?March? 2009.? 128? 3?6? ? Portrait?Miniature?of?James?Stuart,?c.1778.?Attributed?to?Philip?Jean.?Watercolour?and? body?colour?on?ivory.?National?Portrait?Gallery,?London???Picture?taken?from?web?site:?? http://www.studio?international.co.uk/studio?images/james_stuart/4b.asp,?Accessed?03? March?2009.? 128? 3?7? ? Robert?Adam,?one?of?England?s?leading?proponents?of?Neo?Classical?Architecture??? attributed?to?George?Willison,?c.?1770?1775.?Taken?from?website:? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Adam,?Accessed?06?June?2010.? 129? 3?8? ? The?tapestry?room?at?Croome?Court?with?tapestries?supplied?by?Gobelins?in?France? (Taken?from?E.?Harris,?The?Genius?of?Robert?Adam:??His?Interiors,?Yale?University?Press,? London,?2001,?p.?47).? 136? 3?9? ? The?decoration?surrounding?a?mirror?frame?over?a?fireplace?mantle?in?Marie?Antoinette's? private?rooms?in?Versailles.??Notice?the?detailed?floral?design???present?on?much?of? Riesener's?later?furniture?for?the?queen.?Pictures?taken?at?Versailles?by?the?author,?06? March?2010.? 137? 3?10? ? Three?pictures?of??les?Appartements?Grand?de?la?Reine?in?Versailles?showing?how?the? designs?were?cordinated.??Pictures?taken?at?Versailles?by?the?author,?18?Feb?2008.? 139? 3?11? ? Bolsover?Castle?in?Derbyshire???Picture?taken?from?website,? http://www.simplygroups.co.uk/Locations/NationalTrust/NorthWestEngland/Default.as px?Accessed?11?December?2010.? 140? 3?12? ? Lalive?portrait?by?Greuze?in?1759?showing?a?piece?of?Neo?Classical?furniture??Picture?is? located?on?the?web?at:?http://www.nga.gov/fcgi?bin/timage_f?object=32686&image=? 5263&c=gg53,??Accessed?10?December?2008.? 140? 3?13? ? Drawings?of?two?Neo?Classical?English?chairs?that?were?recommended?for?purchase?for? the?Marquise.??Pictures?taken?from?A.?Gordon?and?M.?D?chery,?The?Marquis?de?Marigny?s? Purchases?of?English?Furniture?and?Objects,?The?Furniture?History?Journal,?Vol?25,?1989,? pp.?86???108.??? 141? 3?14? ? Filing?cabinet?made?for?A.L.?La?live?de?Jully?thought?to?have?been?made?before?1757.?? (Currently?in?the?Musee?Conde,?Chantilly)???Source:?H.?Roberts,?A?Postscript?on?Lalive?de? Jully's?Furniture?'??la?grecque'?The?Burlington?Magazine,?Vol.?131,?No.?1034,?1989,?pp.? 350?353.? 143? 3?15? ? Drawings?of?furniture?Matthew?Boulton?(1728??1809).?It?is?also?believed?that?these?are? based?on?the?designs?by?the?painter?L.?J.?Le?Lorrain?whom?Lalive?himself?was?said? designed?the?furniture.??Taken?from:??H.?Roberts,?A?Postscript?on?Lalive?de?Jully's? Furniture?'??la?Grecqu?,?pp.?350?353.? 144? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?vi i i ? o Illustrations?and?Photographs? Figure? No.? Description?and?Source? Page? No.? 3?16? ? Classically?inspired?chair?designed?by?William?Chambers?in?1759?for?the?Royal?Society?of? Arts.?Picture?was?taken?from?J.?Harris?and?M.?Snodin?(ed.),?Sir?William?Chambers:?? Architect?to?George?III,?Yale?University?Press,?New?Haven?CT,?USA?and?London,?1997.? 145? 3?17? ? On?the?left?a?late?C18th?bureau?a?cylindr??frequently?called?the?bureau?du?roi?by?Riesener? in?1769???it?was?the?first?piece?of?furniture?that?Riesener?delivered?to?the?Royal?family? after?he?took?over?Oeben?s?workshop?after?his?death.?On?the?right?is?a?picture?of?the? bureau?a?cylindr??taken?at?Le?ch?teau?royal?de?Fontainebleau???this?was?one?of?the?last? pieces?executed?for?the?Marie?Antoinette?by?Riesener.?The?picture?of?the?Bureau?du?Roi? was?taken?from?the?website?http://fr.academic.ru/dic.nsf/frwiki/248980?accessed?11? December?2010.??The?picture?of?the?piece?at?Le?ch?teau?royal?de?Fontainebleau?was? taken?by?the?author,?28?February?2010.? ? 146? Chapter?IV:??How?was?Fashionable?Furniture?Made?in?the?18th?Century? Cover? ? A?Cabinet?Maker?s?Office,?painting,?unknown?artist,?ca?1770,?Great?Britain.?Picture?was? obtained?from?the?Victoria?&?Albert?collection?from?the? websightehttp://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78662/painting?a?cabinet?makers?office/,? Accessed?on?09?July?2010.? 151? Cover? ? The?Cabinetmaker?s?Workshop;?Taken?from?C.?Gillispie?(ed.),?A?Diderot?Pictorial? Encyclopedia?of?Trades?and?Industry:??Manufacturing?and?Technical?Arts?in?Plates?Selected? from??L?Encyclop?dia?ou?Dictionnaire?Raisonn??des?Sciences?des?Arts?et?des?M?tiers??of? Denis?Diderot,?Doer?Publications,?NY.,?1959,?Plate?291.? 151? 4?1? ? ?Business?card?of?Hudson?and?Corney?offering?cabinet?making,?upholstery,?undertaking?as? well?as?'ware?rooms'?or?sales?rooms?(1790?1809).?A.?Heal,?London?Furniture?Makers:?? 1660?1840,?Portman?Books,?London,?1988,?p.?84.? 158? 4?2? ? The?Bureau?du?Roi,?the?first?piece?of?furniture?that?Riesener?delivered?to?Louis?XV.?Picture? obtained?from?website:?http://www.galerieversailles.com/page8.html,?Accessed?06? January?2010.? 171? 4?3? ? Simple?worktable?by?Reisener?for?someone?who?worked?for?Louis?XVI.??The?top? photograph?shows?the?top?with?the?Trellis?design?as?well?as?the?pull?out?leather?top?work.?? Photographs?were?taken?by?the?author?19?Feb?2008.? 172? 4?4? ? Worktable?for?an?assistant?to?Louis?XVI?by?Reisener.??The?first?picture?shows?the?side?with? the?burl?mahogany,?the?centre?picture?shows?the?top?with?a?leather?top.?Photographs? were?taken?by?the?author?February?2008.? 173? 4?5? ? Inside?cover?of?T.?Chippendales?Third?Edition?of?the?Gentleman's?Director?(Scanned?from? T.?Chippendale,?The?Gentleman?and?Cabinet?Maker?s?Director,?Third?Edition,?Dover? Publications,?NY,?1966?(reprint?of?volume?published?in?1762).? 183? 4?6? ? Schematic?of?Chippendales??St.?Martin?Lane?(London)?workshop,?showing?the?different? work?areas?used?by?Chippendale.?C.?Gilbert,?The?Life?and?Works?of?Thomas?Chippendale,? Studio?Vista/Christies,?London,?1978,?p.?23.? 184? 4?7? ? Chippendale?business?card?showing?his?partnership?with?Rannie.??Taken?from?the?Heal? Collection?of?business?cards?at?the?British?Museum,?Accessed?06?August?2008.?? 185? 4?8? ? Veneer?saw?mounted?on?a?sliding?frame;?thought?to?have?been?designed?in?1799?in? France.?P.?George,?Les?Bois?de?Placage?et?le?D?bit?M?canique?de?Bois,?La?Conservation?du? Bois?dans?le?Patrimoine?Culture,?Journ?es?D'?tudes?de?la?S.F.I.I.C,?(conference)?Besancon? Vesoul,?1990,?pp.?24.? 187? 4?9? ? French?workshop?as?Illustrated?in?Diderot's?L'?Encyclop?die?note?the?Marquetry?clamp? without?the?arm?(left?side?of?picture),?the?hand?sawing?of?timber?or?veneer?(centre),?and? the?number?of?different?projects?(wardrobe,?secr?taire,?commode,?etc.)?D.?Diderot,?and?J.? d'Alembert,?(editors?and?writers),??Encyclop?die,?ou?dictionnaire?raisonn??des?sciences,? des?arts?et?des?m?tiers,?Andr??Le?Breton,?Paris,?1751.? 189? 4?10? ? In?the?upper?drawing,?two?labourers?sawing?veneers?from?a?log?using?a?large?clamp?to? hold?the?log,?and?a?double?handled?saw?to?cut?it.??On?the?lower?left?is?someone?using?a? clamp?to?hold?the?veneer?to?allow?for?the?use?of?a?skill?saw?to?cut?marquetry?patterns,?on? 190? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?ix ? o Illustrations?and?Photographs? Figure? No.? Description?and?Source? Page? No.? the?lower?right?is?someone?using?a?molding?plane.??A.?Roubo,?l?Art?Du?Menuisier,?Leonce? Laget,?Paris,?1977?(reprint?from?original?1765?1775).??Plate?278?(upper),?Plate?292?(lower? left)?and?Plate?289?(lower?right).? ? Chapter?V:??English?and?French?Case?Histories? Cover? ? This?is?reported?to?be?a?portrait?of?Thomas?Chippendale?the?senior,?however?this?has?not? been?verified?and?there?is?substantial?reason?to?believe?that?this?might?be?a?portrait?of? his?son.??This?portrait?could?be?by?either?Thomas?Proctor?or?J.?T?Barber.???Currently?this? portrait?is?currently?owned?by?The?Chippendale?Society?(See?C.?Gilbert,?The?Life?and? Works?of?Thomas?Chippendale,?Vol?1,?Studio?Vista/Christies,?London,?1978,?p?299.?And?p? 4?in?Volume?2).??(This?copy?is?taken?off?of?the?web?site?http://www.antique? marks.com/antique?terms?c.html,?Accessed?03?March?2010).? 192? Cover? ? Portrait?of?Riesener?seated?at?one?of?his?writing?tables,?1786,?by?Antoine?Vestier? currently?at?the?Mus?e?de?Versailles?taken?from?website:? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riesener,?Accessed?03?March?2010.? 192? 5?1? ? Line?drawing?showing?sections?of?a?library?table?with?what?is?referred?to?as?the?middle? drawer?version?of?the?library?table.??The?author?10?January?2010?produced?drawing.?? 201? 5?2? ? Line?drawing?showing?sections?of?a?library?table?with?what?is?referred?to?as?the?Complete? Top?Drawer?Section?of?the?library?table.??The?author?produced?the?drawings?on?10?Jan? 2010.?? 201? 5?3? ? Picture?of?the?plinth/feet?of?the?Harewood?and?the?Nostell?Priory?Chippendale?Library? tables.??Pictures?taken?by?the?author?28?September?2009.?? 203? 5?4? ? Constructional?layout?for?the?secr?taire???abattant.?The?author?produced?the?drawings?in? 10?January?2010.?? 204? 5?5? ? Drawing?of?the?drawer?Constructional?elements?and?measurements.?The?author? produced?the?drawings?in?10?January?2010.? 206? 5?6? ? Chippendale?design?of?a?library?table?as?reported?in?the?Director?(third?edition)?plate? number?LXXXIII?(83).? 209? 5?7? ? The?Harewood?Library?Table?(back?view)?showing?the?different?structural?components.?? Picture?taken?by?author?29?September?2009.?? 215? 5?8? ? The?top?of?the?Harewood?Library?table?along?side?a?drawing?of?an?anthemion?pattern? from?Adam's?designs?(drawing?came?from?M.?Gerson,?1981,?A?Glossary?of?Robert?Adam's? Neo?Classical?Ornament,?plate?10)???Picture?taken?by?author?29?September?2009.? 216? 5?9? ? Picture?of?Harewood?Library?Table?showing?the?Guilloche?design?ormolu?and?drawings? from?Adam's?design?elements?(right???drawing?came?from?M.?Gerson,?1981,?A?Glossary?of? Robert?Adam's?Neo?Classical?Ornament,?plates?55?and?56)?This?forms?the?border?between? the?Top?Drawer?Section?and?the?pedestals???Picture?taken?by?author?29?September?2009.? 217? 5?10? ? Picture?of?the?bottom?of?one?of?the?pedestals?on?the?Harewood?Library?Table?pedestals??? Picture?taken?by?author?29?September?2009.?? 218? 5?11? ? Pictures?of?the?inside?of?the?pedestals?on?the?back?of?the?Harewood?Library?Table???on?the? left,?the?inside?of?the?back?left?pedestal?of?the?Harewood?Library?Table?with?the?file? dividers?inserted?into?the?slots.??On?the?right?an?example?of?the?file?divider?showing?the? oak?body?and?rosewood?serpentine?front??Pictures?taken?by?author?29?September?2009.? 219? 5?12? ? Pictures?of?the?inside?of?the?pedestals?for?the?Dumphries?Library?Table?showing?the?file? slots?(left?side)?and?the?dividers?(right?side)?which?are?made?of?Oak?and?Mahogany? (instead?of?Oak?and?Rosewood?on?the?Harewood?Library?Table?or?solid?Mahogany?on?the? Wilton?example)???Pictures?taken?by?author?29?September?2009.??? 220? 5?13? ? Three?photographs?of?the?inside?of?the?back?of?the?pedestals?on?the?Harewood?Library? Table.??The?tops?photograph?shows?the?left?hand?pedestal,?the?middle?picture?shows?the? right?pedestal?and?the?bottom?picture?shows?the?pigeon?holes?after?they?have?been? removed)???Pictures?taken?by?author?29?September?2009.? 221? 5?14? ? The?front?of?the?Harewood?desk?exposing?the?drawers?inside?of?each?pedestal)???Picture? 223? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?x ? o Illustrations?and?Photographs? Figure? No.? Description?and?Source? Page? No.? taken?by?author?29?September?2009.? 5?15? ? Picture?of?the?underside?of?a?pedestal?of?the?Harewood?Library?Table.??Picture?taken?by? the?author?04?February?2007.? 222? 5?16? ? Picture?of?ormolu?at?bottom?(above?the?plinth)?of?Harewood?table?(Picture?taken?by? author?July,?2009)?along?with?a?drawing?from?of?the?waterleaf?pattern?(drawing?came? from?M.?Gerson,?1981,?A?Glossary?of?Robert?Adam's?Neo?Classical?Ornament,?p.?82.)? 223? 5?17? ? Left?hand,?front?view?of?the?top?right?drawer?from?front?of?Harewood?Library?Table?? Picture?taken?by?author?July?2009.? 224? 5?18? ? The?left?hand,?back?view?of?the?top?right?drawer?from?the?front?side?of?the?Harewood??? Library?Table??Picture?taken?by?author?July?2009.? 225? 5?19? ? Bottom?of?right?front?drawer?as?constructed?by?Chippendale?s?workshop??Picture?taken? by?author?July?2009.? 226? 5?20? ? The?right?and?left?hand?views?of?the?inside?of?the?centre?drawer?cavity?of?the?Harewood? Library?Table?(not?shown?are?drawer?stops?at?the?front?of?the?cavity??Picture?taken?by? author?July?2009.? 232? 5?21? ? The?drawer?cavity?for?the?right?hand?drawer?(back?side)?of?the?Harewood?Library?Table??? Picture?taken?by?author?July?2009.? 232? 5?22? ? The?drawer?cavity?for?the?upper?left?hand?drawer?(back?side)?of?the?Wilton?Library?Table? showing?the?lack?of?specific?drawer?railing??Picture?taken?by?author?29?September?2009.? 233? 5?23? ? Door?lock?from?Harewood?Library?Table?that?has?been?removed?from?the?door?of?one?of? the?pedestals.??The?key?is?shown?in?the?left?hand?side???Picture?taken?by?author?29? September?2009.? 233? 5?24? ? Two?drawer?locks?used?on?the?Harewood?Library?Table.??The?top?picture?is?the?lock?on?the? centre,?front?drawer?and?the?lower?lock?is?for?the?left?front?drawer???Picture?taken?by? author?29?September?2009.? 234? 5?25? ? Lock?plate?on?left?hand?side?pedestal?on?the?backside?of?the?Harewood?Library?Table??? Picture?taken?by?author?29?September?2009.? 235? 5?26? ? On?the?left?is?a?door?that?has?been?removed?from?the?desk?detailing?the?amount?of? ormolu?that?contributes?to?the?weight?of?the?doors.??The?picture?on?the?right?shows?the? door?on?the?library?table.???Picture?taken?by?author?29?September?2009.? 235? 5?27? ? Pictures?showing?how?doors?are?attached?to?frame???Picture?taken?by?author?29? September?2009.? 236? 5?28? ? Additional?pictures?showing?doors?attached?to?the?frame???Picture?taken?by?author?29? September?2009.? 236? 5?29? ? Bottom?of?pedestal?showing?location?of?casters??Picture?taken?by?author?29?September? 2009.? 237? 5?30? ? Showing?how?the?casters?operate???Picture?taken?by?author?29?September?2009.? 237? 5?31? ? Comparing?profiles?of?corners?of?Harewood?Library?Table?and?Nostell?Priory?Library?Table? ??Pictures?taken?by?author?29?September?2009.? 238? 5?32? ? Pictures?of?the?ceiling?of?the?old?library?in?Harewood?House???Picture?sent?from? Harewood?House?in?email?15?Sept?2009.? 242? 5?33? ? Pictures?of?Harewood?Library?Table?showing?specific?design?elements?that?related?to? those?on?the?ceiling??Pictures?taken?by?author?29?September?2009.? 243? 5?34? ? Different?views?of?the?tools?used?to?cut?marquetry.??Upper?left?and?the?lower?pictures? show?different?versions?of?the?clamp?that?were?known?to?have?been?in?use?in?the?late? C18th.??The?picture?on?the?upper?right,?shows?the?version?with?the?arm?the?so?called? "chevalet?de?marqueterie."?Taken?from?three?different?texts:??? o Roubo,?l?Art?Du?Menuisier?,?Leonce?Laget,?Paris,?1977?(reprint?from?original? 1765?1775).?Vol?2,?p.?290.?? o P.?Ramond,?Marquetry,?Taunton?Press?Classics,?New?Town,?CT,?USA,?1989,? p.?205?? 246? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?xi ? o Illustrations?and?Photographs? Figure? No.? Description?and?Source? Page? No.? o D.?Diderot,?J.?d'Alembert?(editors?and?writers),?Encyclop?die,?ou? dictionnaire?raisonn??des?sciences,?des?arts?et?des?m?tiers,?Andr??Le?Breton,? Paris,?1751.? 5?35? ? Detailed?picture?of?marquetry?on?Top?Drawer?Section?of?Harewood?Library?Table???Picture? taken?by?author?29?September?2009.? 247? 5?36? ? Painting?by?Elias?Martin?(1739?1818)?of?two?marquetiers?working?in?England,?executed? between?1768?and?1780,?Currently?in?The?Swedish?National?Art?Museum,?Stockholm.?? Picture?taken?from?Y.?Chastang,?Paintings?in?Wood:?French?Marquetry?Furniture,?The? Wallace?Collection,?London,?2001,?p.?21.? 248? 5?37? ? The?trellised?marquetry?secr?taire???abattant?by?Riesener?from?The?Wallace?Collection? (labelled?F302)?picture?taken?from?P.?Hughes,?The?Wallace?Collection?Catalogue?of? Furniture,?Vol?II,?p.?997.? 251? 5?38? ? Crown?of?F302???picture?taken?from?P.?Hughes,?The?Wallace?Collection?Catalogue?of? Furniture?Vol?II,?p.?997.? 255? 5?39? ? Top?of?frame?of?the?Waddesdon?Manor?secr?taire???abattant.??The?left?picture?shows?the? front?of?the?frame?and?the?picture?on?the?right?shows?the?rear?joint.?Picture?taken?by? author?27?July?2009.? 255? 5?40? ? Top?view?showing?the?constructional?details?of?a?secr?taire???abattant?a?proposed?by?A.? Roubo?(See?A.?Roubo,?Trait??Th?orique?et?Pratique?de?L'?b?nistes?D'apr?s?Roubo,?Ch? Juliot???Librairie?Artistique,?Paris,?1884,?plate?276)? 256? 5?41? ? The?Top?Drawer?Section?pointing?out?where?the?drawer?pulls?are?embedded?with?in?the? scrolling?leaf?pattern???Picture?Taken?from???P.?Hughes,?The?Wallace?Collection?Catalogue? of?Furniture,?Vol?II.?p.?1002.? 256? 5?42? ? Putti?with?Mercury?(left?hand?side???see?winged?cap.)?with?a?dog?and?a?book???all?before? an?alter?(far?Right)?Picture?was?taken?from?A.?Pradere?(Translated?by?P.?Wood),?French? Furniture?Makers,?The?Art?of?the?Ebeniste?from?Louis?XIV?to?the?Revolution,?Sotherby?s? Publication,?London,?1989,?P?371.? 257? 5?43? ? Internal?view?of?the?Fall?Front?or?Abattant?Section?of?F302.?(Taken?from?The?Wallace? Collection?Catalogue????P.?Hughes,?The?Wallace?Collection?Catalogue?of?Furniture,?Vol?II,? p.1000)? 257? 5?44? ? Side?view?showing?the?constructional?details?of?the?drop?front?of?a?secr?taire???abattant?a? proposed?by?A.?Roubo?(See?A.?Roubo,?Trait??Th?orique?et?Pratique?de?L'?b?nistes?D'apr?s? Roubo,?Ch?Juliot???Librairie?Artistique,?Paris,?1884,?plate?276)? 259? 5?45? ? Canted?corner?of?F302??(From?Wallace?Collection?Catalogue???P.?Hughes,?The?Wallace? Collection?Catalogue?of?Furniture,?Vol?II,?p.?999.)? 260? 5?46? ? The?Lower?Storage?Section?of?F302,?with?the?two?doors?and?the?safe?opened????taken? from?The?Wallace?Collection?Catalogue????P.?Hughes,?The?Wallace?Collection?Catalogue?of? Furniture,?Vol?II,?p.?1002.? 261? 5?47? ? The?base?of?the?secr?taire???abattant?F302?by?Riesener???picture?taken?from?P.?Hughes,? The?Wallace?Collection?Catalogue?of?Furniture,?Vol?II,?p.?997.? 261? 5?48? ? Plaque?matching?the?one?on?the?front?centre?of?F302,?titled??Sacrifice?to?Love??by? Clodion.?Picture?taken?from:???No?Author?Given,?Christies?Sales?Catalogue?for?November? 1982:?Important?European?Furniture?and?Carpets,?Christies,?New?York,?1982.? 262? 5?49? ? The?underside?of?the?stand?for?F300?(left)?and?a?drawing?showing?how?it?was?constructed? on?the?right.?All?of?the?grain?for?these?pieces?of?wood?is?running?perpendicular?to?the? ground???Picture?taken?from?Wallace?Collection?files?for?F300,?accessed?in?November? 2009;?the?author?executed?this?drawing?on?12?January?2010.?? 263? 5?50? ? On?the?left?is?a?picture?of?the?bottom?of?the?drawer?for?a?typical?Chippendale?piece?(this? one?is?of?the?Harewood?Library?Table,?upper?side?drawer)?and?the?picture?on?the?right?is?a? typical?drawer?from?the?Riesener?workshop?(this?one?is?from?the?Waddesdon?Manor? Secr?taire???abattant?drawers?that?are?located?behind?the?abattant???Picture?taken?by? author?29?September?2009.? 269? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?xi i ? o Illustrations?and?Photographs? Figure? No.? Description?and?Source? Page? No.? 5?51? ? Examples?of?typical?dovetails?on?secr?taire???abattants?produced?in?Riesener?s? workshops.??Front?dovetails?are?shown?on?the?left?and?back?dovetails?on?the?right?(Taken? from?small?drawers?behind?the?fall?front?on?the?secr?taire???abattant?at?Waddesdon? Manor.)?Picture?taken?by?author?27?July?2009.? 269? 5?52? ? Inside?the?drawer?cavity?for?F302,?the?Top?Drawer?Section???Picture?taken?by?author?July? 2009.? 270? 5?53? ? Inside?drawer?cavity?for?the?drawers?that?are?behind?the?abattant?of?F302.?Notice?the? strip?of?Rosewood?that?lines?the?bottom?sidewalls???Picture?taken?by?author?July?2009.? 270? 5?54? ? Commode?made?with?a?trellis?and?water?lily?design?for?Marie?Antoinette?(Picture?taken? from?D.?Meyer,?(Translation?by?Ann?Sautier?Greening),?Versailles;?Furniture?of?the?Royal? Palace?17th?and?18th?Centuries?Vol?1?and?Vol?2,Faton,?Dijon,?France,?2002.? 271? 5?55? ? The?side?of?the?Michelham?secr?taire.?Which?shows?a?variation?of?the?idea?of?a?trellised? floral?design?by?Riesener,?Photograph?taken?from?file?notes?and?photographs?from?the? Mus?e?d?Art?et?d?Histoir???Geneva.? 272? 5?56? ? The?flanged?edges?of?the?doors?on?F302.?The?top?picture?shows?the?right?door?or?the? groove?of?the?door?while?the?lower?picture?provides?a?close?up?of?the?lower?door?shows? the?tongue?or?the?left?had?door.?Picture?taken?by?author?July?2009.? 277? 5?57? ? ?The?doors?on?the?Riesener?secr?taire???abattant?number?F300?from?The?Wallace? Collection,?showing?the?flange?or?tongue?and?groove?used?by?Riesener?on?many?of?his? cabinet?doors.??Picture?taken?by?author?July?2009.? 278? 5?58? ? These?two?pictures?of?Riesener?s?secr?taire???abattant?F302?showing?the?locking? mechanism?that?is?frequently?seen?these?pieces.?On?the?left?is?the?actual?lock?showing?the? slot?for?the??D?Shaped??latch?to?slip?into,?and?on?the?right?is?the?latch.?Picture?taken?by? author?July?2009.? 279? 5?59? ? The?bottom?plates?for?the?locks,?the?first?(on?the?left)?is?at?the?top?of?the?Fall?Front? Section,?the?second?(on?the?right)?is?the?views?of?the?same?shelf?from?the?top.?Pictures? taken?by?author?17?July?2009.? 282? 5?60? ? The?bottom?of?the?top?drawer,?showing?where?one?of?the?bolts?enters?to?hold?the?drawer? closed.?Pictures?taken?by?author?17?July?2009.? 282? 5?61? ? Two?pictures?showing?how?the?double?turn,?double?barrelled?lock?on?the?abattant?of?one? of?Riesener?s?secr?taires?work.?Pictures?taken?by?author?17?July?2009.? 283? 5?62? ? Internal?view?of?lock?for?Riesener?s?Secr?taire???abattant?F300,?showing?the?key?features.?? Obtained?from?Wallace?Collection?files?for?F300?Accessed?17?July?2009.? 284? 5?63? ? Two?different?locks?for?the?safes?on?Riesener?secr?taire???abattant.??On?the?left?is?the?lock? for?F302;?the?one?on?the?right?is?for?the?Waddesdon?Manor?secr?taire,?which?is?exactly? the?same?for?F300.?Pictures?taken?by?author?27?July?2009.? 285? 5?64? ? Inside?top?view?of?F302?showing?veneers?used.?On?the?left?is?an?overview?of?the?inside?of? the?top?section?of?F302,?on?the?right?is?a?close?up?of?a?drawer?front.?Pictures?taken?by? author?17?July?2009.? 290? 5?65? ? Section?of?fall?front?of?F302?showing?the?different?woods?used?in?its?decoration.?Picture? taken?by?author?July?2009.? 290? 5?66? ? Picture?of?a?French?cabinetmaker?applying?wax?to?the?surface?of?a?veneered?section?of?a? cabinet?or?table.?Taken?from?A.??Roubo,?l?Art?Du?Menuisier,?Leonce?Laget,?Paris,?1977? (reprint?from?original?1765?1775)?plate?296.)? 297? 5?67? ? The?gallery?for?The?Trellised?secr?taire???abattant?located?in?The?Wallace?Collection? (F302).??Picture?taken?from:??P.?Hughes,?The?Wallace?Collection?Catalogue?of?Furniture?Vol? II,?p.?997.? 301? 5?68? ? Pictures?showing?how?Riesener?attached?ormolu?to?a?Secr?taire???abattant.?Pictures? came?from:??F.?Watson,?Puzzles?and?Problems?in?French?Furniture?Mounts,?Apollo,?Vol? XCV,?no?121,?1972,?pp.?196?200.?? 302? 5?69? ? The?inside?of?the?top?drawer?of?the?Riesener?secr?taire???abattant?(F302?at?The?Wallace? 303? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?xi i i ? o Illustrations?and?Photographs? Figure? No.? Description?and?Source? Page? No.? Collection)?notice?the?round?bolts?that?are?used?to?hold?the?ormolu?to?the?face?of?the? drawer.?Picture?taken?by?author?17?July?2009.? 5?70? ? These?picture?show?examples?of?the?various?locations?where?Chippendale?s?workshop? used?screws?and?pins?to?hold?the?ormolu?in?place.?Pictures?taken?by?author?29?September? 2009.? 304? 5?71? ? These?details?of?the?ormolu?on?the?Chippendale?Harewood?Library?Table?(top)?and? Riesener?s?F302?(bottom)?demonstrates?the?higher?quality?of?the?chasing?on?the?Riesener? piece.?Pictures?taken?by?author?July?and?September?2009?and?from?P.?Hughes,?The? Wallace?Collection?Catalogue?of?Furniture?Vol?II,?p.?997.? 305? 5?72? ? Cavity?for?two?drawers?of?F302?showing?how?rosewood?was?used?as?a?type?of?guide?for? the?small?drawers?that?was?to?be?inserted.?Picture?taken?by?author?17?July?2009.?? 308? 5?73? ? Different?ways?Chippendale?stopped?the?drawers?on?the?Harewood?Library?Table.? Pictures?taken?by?author?29?September?2009.? 309? 5?74? ? ?On?the?left?is?a?picture?of?the?back?of?The?Waddesdon?Manor?secr?taire???abattant? showing?the?rail?panel?construction?of?the?back.?Picture?taken:??Wallace?Collection?Files? for?Various?pieces?of?furniture?F300.??Accessed?at?various?times?between?06/2007?and? 01/2010.? 311? 5?75? ? Above?is?the?inside?of?the?lower?section?of?the?Harewood?secr?taire,?showing?the?oak? back,?which?was?formed?by?the?attachment?of?the?boards?to?the?back.?Pictures?taken?by? author?29?September?2009.? 312? 5?76? ? To?the?back?of?the?Chippendale?Secr?taire.?This?picture?was?scanned?from?image?in? Harewood?House?files?on?the?Chippendale?Secr?taire,?which?were?accessed?28? September?2009.?? 314? 5?77? ? Back?of?F300?with?the?back?removed?exposing?key?sections.?Picture?taken:??Wallace? Collection?Files?for?Various?pieces?of?furniture?F300.??Accessed?at?various?times?between? 06/2007?and?01/2010.? 315? 5?78? ? Secr?taire???abattant?that?is?currently?located?at?Mus?e?des?Arts?D?coratifs?in?Paris.?? Photo?taken?from?internal?file?at?the?Mus?e?des?Arts?D?coratifs?in?Paris.?Accessed? September?2009.? 317? 5?79? ? Marquetry?design?on?top?of?the?Riesener?Secr?taire???abattant?in?Mus?e?des?Arts? D?coratifs?in?Paris.??This?figure?was?cut?in?one?piece?of?veneer.??(P.?Ramond,?(translated? by?T.?Levenson?and?B.?Considine),?Masterpieces?of?Marquetry,?Vol?3,?J.?Paul?Getty?Trust,? LA,?2000,?p.?53.? 318? 5?80? ? Acanthus?leaf?from?the?Riesener?Secr?taire???abattant?in?Mus?e?des?Arts?D?coratifs.? Picture?taken?by?author,?September?2009.?? 318? 5?81? ? Small?drawer?on?the?secr?taire???abattant?from?Mus?e?des?Arts?D?coratifs?showing?the? longer?than?average?front?dovetails.?Picture?taken?by?author,?19?February?2008.??? 319? 5?82? ? Ormolu?on?Versailles?secr?taire???abattant.?Picture?taken?by?author,?01?March?2010.? 320? 5?83? ? Lower?Storage?doors?with?rebated?edges???not?the?typical?tongue?and?groove?usually? used.??Picture?taken?by?author,?01?March?2010.? 321? 5?84? ? Drawer?from?behind?the?fall?front?of?the?secr?taire???abattant?from?Versailles.?Picture? taken?by?author,?01?March?2010.? 322? 5?85? ? The?top?of?the?Versailles?secr?taire???abattant?showing?how?the?third?piece?is?inserted?to? join?the?two?sides.??This?is?not?typical?of?how?Riesener?handled?this?join.?Picture?taken?by? author,?01?March?2010.? 322? 5?86? ? The?Harewood?Library?Table?(left)?and?the?Harewood?Dressing?Table?(right);?both?have? extensive?marquetry,?with?similar?woods?and?similar?Neo?Classical?design?elements? (Pictures?taken?from?websites???Harewood?desk:?? Http:wwwleedsmarquetry.org.uk/chippendale%20desk/web?chippendale%20panel,? Accessed?09/02/2007,?Bureau?dressing?table?at?V?&?A:? http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O9253/bureau?dressing?table/?Accessed?8?2010)? 324? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?xiv ? o Illustrations?and?Photographs? Figure? No.? Description?and?Source? Page? No.? 5?87? ? Inside?of?drawer?cavity?for?Harewood?dressing?table?showing?the?selection?of?timber?with? more?knots.?Picture?taken?by?author,?29?September?2009.? 325? 5?88? ? Rosette?design?on?Harewood?Library?Table?(left)?and?Harewood?Dressing?table.?Picture? taken?by?author,?29?September?2009.? 326? 5?89? ? Example?of?lower?quality?marquetry?on?the?Harewood?Dressing?table.??Notice?the?tilt?to? the?small?ball?at?the?top?of?the?flower,?the?inconsistencies?in?the?two?outside?petals,?and? the??wobbles??in?the?lines?of?the?petals.??Picture?taken?by?author,?29?September?2009.? 326? Chapter?VI:??Conclusions? Cover? ? The?Harewood?Library?Table?currently?at?Temple?Newsom,?picture?taken?by?the?author? 29?September?2009.? 332? Cover? ? The?Trellised?secr?taire???abattant?located?in?The?Wallace?Collection?(F302).??Picture? taken?from:??P.?Hughes,?The?Wallace?Collection?Catalogue?of?Furniture?Vol?II,?p.?997.? 332? Chapter?VII:??Account?of?Sources? ? ? A?Reading?in?the?Salon?of?Madame?Geoffrin?in?1755,?Oil?painting?by?Anicet?Charles? Gabriel?LEMONNIER,?(1743??1824)?found?on?web?site? http://humanexperience.stanford.edu/arcade,?Accessed?on?09?08?2010.? 355? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?xv ? ? Acknowledgements:? It?is?not?possible?to?thank?every?single?person?who?helped?in?this?project,?so?there?are? probably?a?number?of?people?who?I?have?missed,?so?I?apologise?in?advance?for?excluding? them.??Let?me?first,?in?general,?say?that?everyone?who?I?have?talked?to?regarding?this?project? (except?for?several?potential?funding?offices)?have?provided?nothing?short?of?absolute? support,?including?all?of?the?homes?and?museums?that?I?visited,?the?tutors?and?the?staff?at? Bucks?New?University,?all?of?the?people?in?the?libraries?and?most?of?all?my?friends?and?family? ??especially?my?wonderful?wife?Charlotte?who?has?put?up?with?translating?C18th?French,?my? mood?swings,?my?lack?of?time?and?the?amount?of?time?I?spent?away?from?home.? ? Now?let?me?go?into?more?detail?pointing?out?some?of?the?people?who?were?particularly? helpful.??? ? 1. My?two?tutors?Paul?Tear?and?Reg?Winfield?who?managed?to?adapt?to?my?somewhat? scattered?approach?to?dealing?with?this?project.?One?could?argue?that?they?were? merely?doing?their?job,?but?their?effort?was?more.??They?accepted?phone?calls?on? holidays,?weekends,?and?answered?emails?at?odd?hours?and?found?time?for?me? despite?being?overwhelmed?with?their?other?activities.? ? 2. Everyone?at?The?Wallace?Collection,?but?particular?Jurgen?Huber?and?Andrea?Gilbert.?? Both?offered?support,?time?and?thoughtful?direction?when?needed.??Jurgen?allowed? me?an?enormous?amount?of?time?with?the?furniture?at?The?Wallace?Collection,? without?which?I?could?not?have?begun?this?project.?? ? 3. Ian?Frasier?and?James?Lomax?of?Temple?Newsom?were?also?terrific?in?allowing?me?to? spend?so?much?time?measuring?and?handling?their?Chippendale?Library?Table.?? ? 4. Ulrich?Leben?of?Waddesdon?Manor?was?also?extremely?generous?both?with?his?time? and?in?allowing?me?such?access?to?the?collection?at?Waddesdon?Manor.??? ? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?xvi ? 5. Pierre?Costerg?of?Les?Arts?Decoratifs?and?Mus?e?Nissim?de?Camondo?in?Paris,?who? also?allowed?access?to?so?many?of?their?wonderful?pieces?of?furniture?and?spent?so? much?time?with?me?while?I?measured?and?took?photographs.??? ? I?will?finish?by?listing?each?of?some?of?the?other?collections?that?I?visited?during?the?research? phase?of?this?project,?each?of?whom?were?extremely?accommodating?in?providing?me?with? access?to?their?furniture?and?in?directing?my?research.??? ? ? Harewood?House??? Heather?Griffiths?and?Melissa?Gilmore? ? Wilton?House? ? Sarah?King? ? Versailles? ? Daniel?Rault? ? Dumfries? ? Charlotte?Rostek? ? Nostell?Priory? ? Julie?Brown,?Chris?Blackburn? ? Victoria?and?Albert?? Lucy?Wood? ? There?were?of?course?a?number?of?other?people?and?the?fact?that?I?am?only?listing?them?does? not?mean?that?their?time?and?effort?on?my?behalf?was?not?appreciated.??These?include:? ? Adam?Bowett? ? Laura?Bray? ? Arlen?Higginbotham? ? Jack?Metcalf?? ? Margaret?Mathias? ? Pierre?Ramond?? ? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?xvi i ? Preliminary?Definitions:?? ? In?Appendix?B:?Definitions?and?Units?of?Measurements?there?is?a?detailed?listing?of?some?of? the?words?that?need?to?be?defined?as?well?as?some?of?the?translations?of?key?words?between? French?and?English.??However?there?are?a?few?phrases?and?that?need?to?be?addressed?before? proceeding?with?the?introduction?and?the?actual?thesis?in?order?to?avoid?some?confusion.?? ? ? Secr?taire???abattant?or?secr?taire?en? armoire:??In?this?thesis?these?two?phrases?will? be?used?interchangeably?to?define?a?type?of? fall?front?secr?taire?(See?Figure?P?1)?that?has?a? flat?front,?a?top?section?with?small?drawers? and?pigeonholes?hidden?behind?a?fall?front? that?turns?into?a?writing?surface?when? lowered,?and?a?lower?storage?section,?all?on?a? small?stand.???As?it?seems?that?these?words? refer?to?the?same?types?of?furniture.??It?should? be?pointed?out?that?the?Journal?du?Garde? Meuble?uses?the?phrase?secr?taire?en?armoire? while?most?modern?texts?call?the?same?type? of?furniture?the?secr?taire? ??abattant.?? ? ? ?Library?Table?:?The?piece? of?furniture?that?is?to? represent?Thomas? Chippendale?s?work?is?what? he?referred?to?as?a??Library? Table??(See?Figure?P?2)?in? ? Figure?P?1:??Picture?of?secr?taire??? abattant?with?front?doors?open.?? This?is?known?as?the?Wernher? secr?taire?probably?made?between? 1763???68?by?Jean?Henri?Riesener.?? Figure?P?2:??Drawing?of?a?Library?Table?in?Thomas? Chippendale?s?Director.??This?particular?model?is?most? similar?to?two?that?are?discussed?in?this?study???the? Harewood?and?the?Nostell?Priory?Library?Tables.?? ? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?xvi i i ? his?book?The?Director1.???As?with?the?secr?taire???abattant?there?is?some?confusion? with?this?phrase.??In?more?modern?terms,?the?common?word?to?describe?this?type?of? furniture?is?a??desk??and?at?some?times?the?piece?of?furniture?called?a??library?table??is? nothing?more?than?a?large,?long,?but?simple?table,?frequently?with?a?leather?top? (Actually?very?similar?to?the?piece?of?furniture?known?by?the?French?as?the?Bureau? plat.)??For?this?thesis,?the?term?Library?Table?will?be?used?in?most?occasions?and?the? term??desk??will?be?used?on?occasion.??If?needed,?the?term?Bureau?plat?is?used?to? describe?the?long?table?referred?to?above.??? ? ? ??In?the?workshop?of?.?:??Throughout?much?of?this?thesis,?the?work?by?one?of?two? makers?(Thomas?Chippendale?and?Jean?Henri?Riesener)?will?be?discussed.??It?is?by?no? means?the?case?that?these?two?named?figures?actually?produced?the?pieces?of? furniture?discussed.??In?fact,?as?mentioned?before,?it?is?more?likely?that?workshop? cabinetmakers?and?their?apprentices?made?the?pieces?being?discussed.?What?the? association?of?a?particular?name?with?a?piece?of?furniture?does?mean?though?is?that? the?named?maker?supervised?the?making?of?that?particular?piece?of?furniture.?? Furthermore,?it?is?usually?assumed?and?it?seems?logical?that?the?furniture?associated? with?a?particular?maker?was?produced?by?his?workshop2?and?that?the?named?maker? set?out?standard?operating?procedures?that?all?makers?working?at?that?workshop? would?follow.??This?thesis?uses?the?phrase??in?the?workshop?of??or??made?by?the? workshop?of??throughout???most?likely?there?were?few?exceptions?to?this.??However,? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 1?T.?Chippendale,?The?Gentleman?and?Cabinet?Maker?s?Director,?First?Edition,?T.?Chippendale,?London,?1754,? Plate?LXXXIII?(83).? 2?We?know?that?each?of?these?workshops?had?a?number?of?employees?working?in?them?and?producing?much?of? the?furniture?(this?is?discussed?in?detail?in?Chapter?IV).??There?are?also?several?clues,?discussed?in?that?same? chapter,?that?suggest?that?neither?Chippendale?nor?Riesener?performed?all?of?the?furniture?making?tasks?of?the? workshop.??For?example,?Chippendale?spent?much?of?his?time?designing?furniture?and?visiting?clients.?? Furthermore,?the?variety?of?tasks?performed?in?his?workshop?suggests?multiple?people?with?different?skills.??As? far?as?Riesener?is?concerned,?the?shear?volume?of?furniture?produced?by?his?workshops?means?there?were? multiple?employees?making?the?furniture.??How?this?was?done?is?actually?one?of?the?areas?of?study?in?this? thesis.??It?is?assumed?that?these?workshops?operated?under?standard?business?practices?where?the?owner?or? manager?sets?the?standard?operational?approaches?for?each?of?their?employees?to?follow.??If?the?products? produced?by?the?workshop?showed?consistencies?in?how?they?were?made,?then?this?idea?would?be?supported.?? If?it?turned?out?that?there?are?no?or?few?consistencies?between?the?different?examples?of?furniture?produced?by? a?particular?maker,?then?the?assumption?that?most?furniture?associated?with?that?maker?was?produced?in?the? maker?s?workshop?could?be?questioned?or?it?could?mean?that?the?named?maker?did?not?have?any?set?standards? for?the?other?employees?to?follow.???As?it?turns?out?and?as?it?will?be?discussed,?there?were?definite?consistencies? in?the?furniture?made?by?these?two?cabinetmakers.?? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:?Table?of?Contents,?Illustrations?and?Photographs,?Acknowledgments??Page?xix ? this?does?mean?that?even?if?the?statement?does?not?mention?the??workshop?of???? that?the?piece?was?made?by?the?named?individual?s?workshop?and?not?the?individual.??? ? ? Neo?Classical?vs.?Le?go?t?Grec?or?Neo?Grec:??The?term?that?was?generally?used?by?the? English?to?describe?the?late?C18th?revival?of?classical?themed?architectural?designs? was??Neo?Classical?,?however?the?French?were?more?likely?to?use?one?of?the?terms?Le? go?t?Grec?or?Neo?Grec.??In?this?thesis,?for?simplicity,?the?term?Neo?Classical?will?be? used?for?this?style?for?both?countries.?? ? Ormolu:??While?it?is?very?common?in?the?literature?to?define?Ormolu?specifically?as?Gold? plated?bronze?that?it?used?to?decorate?very?ornate?pieces?of?furniture?such?as?the?two?that? are?the?subject?of?this?investigation,?it?may?not?be?a?completely?accurate?description.??In?the? only?metal?testing?that?was?put?forth?in?this?paper?(testing?of?the?base?metal?used?on?the? Riesener?pieces)?it?turns?out?that?the?base?metal?is?brass?(copper?and?zinc)?instead?of?bronze? (copper?and?tin)?as?it?had?a?relatively?high?content?of?zinc?(See?Chapter?V,?p.?297).??For?the? purposes?of?this?paper,?all?of?the?gold?decorative?metals?used?on?the?pieces?of?furniture? discussed?in?this?paper?will?be?called?ormolu,?without?defining?exactly?what?it?is.??Thus,?the? term?ormolu?will?be?used?to?describe?any?gold?plated?decorative?metal.??It?should?be?pointed? out?that?while?several?of?the?Riesener?pieces?were?tested,?none?of?the?Chippendale?pieces? were,?as?a?result?we?do?not?know?at?this?time?the?base?metal?for?these?pieces?at?this?time.?? ?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Chapter?I? Introduction? ? ? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE?IN?ENGLAND?AND?FRANCE? DURING?THE?AGE?OF?ELEGANCE? ? ? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?1? ? On?the?Cover:?? ? ? Picture?of?Harewood?House?taken?from?the?website,? http://www.jamessmithnoelcollection.org/images/harewood%20house.jpg,?Accessed?11/09,?From;? Francis?O.?Morris?Series?of?Picturesque?Views?of?Seats?of?Noblemen?and?Gentlemen?of?Great?Britain?and? Ireland,?Kessinger?Pub?Co,?Whitefish,?MT,?USA,?2007.? ? ? Picture?of?the?Petite?Trianon??Marie?Antoinette?s??private??estate?on?land?associated?with?Versailles,?picture? taken?from?the?website?http://g?ecx.images? amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/aa/a5/1f2b124128a01e45670bb010.L._SL500_AA240_.jpg???accessed? 11/09.??This?drawing?was?taken?from?the?cover?of?Gourcuff,?A.,?Views?and?Plans?of?the?Petit?Trianon?at? Versailles,?Alain?De?Gourcuff,?Paris,?1999.?? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?2? ? I. Introduction? ? Initial?Thoughts/Introduction? ? Just?how?was?fashionable1?C18th?furniture?created???This?is?the?question?that?dominates?this? thesis?and?defines?its?main?aim.? ? The?thesis?attempted?to?achieve?this?aim?by?addressing?three?inter?related?objectives:?? ? ? Firstly,?it?considered?all?of?the?cultural,?sociological?and?economic?factors?influencing? the?production?of?fashionable?furniture?in?late?C18th?England?and?France.? ? Next?it?considered?two?specific?pieces2?of?fashionable?furniture?(one?English?and?one? French)?in?order?to?detail?how?these?two?pieces?were?made.3? ? Finally?the?thesis?attempted?to?extrapolate?from?this?case?study?in?order?to?describe? just?what?these?two?pieces?of?furniture?can?tell?us?about?the?culture?and?society?that? produced?them.?? ? Thus,?it?can?be?seen?that?the?arc?of?this?thesis?can?be?said?to?trace?a?story?that?starts?with?the? influences?of?broad?cultural?effects?on?two?specific?objects,?then?it?interrogates?these?two? objects?in?turn?to?come?full?circle?and?make?inferences?on?the?culture?of?the?period.??? ? This?paper?also?presents?a?new?approach?to?organising?and?evaluating?furniture?studies? using?techniques?that?have?not?been?used?before.??These?include?the?extensive?use?of? comparisons?and?the?detailed?investigation?of?an?extensive?catalogue?of?a?particular?type?of? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 1?Though?frequently?thought?of?as?a?modern?term,?the?word??fashion??was?actually?found?to?be?in?use?in?the? C18th.??One?example?of?this?is?in?E.?Chambers,?Cyclop?dia,?or,?An?Universal?Dictionary?of?Arts?and?Sciences,?Vol? II,?J.?and?J.?Knapton,?London,?1728,?p.?12.??Here?this?dictionary?says:???FASHION,?see?Mode,?Custom,?etc.???In? France,?the?term?Mode?was?used?to?mean?fashion.??Thus?the?concept?of?fashion?was?in?existence?at?that?time.?? 2?The?rationale?for?selecting?two?pieces,?as?well?as?the?procedure?for?selecting?the?pieces?are?discussed?in?this? chapter?(see?page?25).? 3?The?rational?for?selecting?these?two?pieces?will?be?discussed?later?(p.?25),?for?ease?of?discussion,?the?two? pieces?identified?were?the?Harewood?Library?Table?by?Thomas?Chippendale?(1718?1779)?and?a?secr?taire??? abattant?by?Jean?Henri?Riesener?(1734??1806),?which?is?currently?in?The?Wallace?Collection,?inventory?number? F302.??? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?3? ? furniture?as?produced?by?a?single?maker.??This?process?is?charted?out?later?in?this?chapter? (See?page?29).?? ? As?one?might?imagine?there?are?many?different?factors?that?impact?upon?the?design?of? furniture.??In?describing?the?making?of?C18th?French?furniture,?M.?Hellman?for?example? suggested:? ? ?Furniture?could?be?designed?by?an?architect,?patron,?ornamentiste?(decorative?designer),?upholsterer,? furniture?maker,?or?dealer,?and?often?resulted?from?collaboration?between?members?of?two?or?more?of? these?groups.?The?manufacture?of?objects?was?governed?by?the?guild?system?of?the?ancien?r?gime,? which?defined?artisanal?production?according?to?material?and?technical?categories.?Thus,?every? ingredient?and?method?of?workmanship?involved?in?the?manufacture?of?furniture?and?fittings?was?the? exclusive?province?of?certain?craftsmen?in?certain?workshops.?Some?privileged?artisans?were?granted? royal?exemption?from?these?restrictions,?and?others?escaped?regulation?by?working?in?districts? protected?by?religious?authorities,?but?most?were?permitted?to?make?only?parts?of?things,?and?a?single? object?was?the?sum?of?numerous?individuals'?contributions.???4? ? Here?M.?Hellman?identifies?many?of?the?more?obvious?participants?in?the?production?of? furniture:?the?craftsmen,?the?architects,?the?clients?and?the?craft?guilds?which?oversaw?and? coordinated?furniture?making?activities,?together?with?the?vendor?responsible?for?selling?the? furniture?to?the?prospective?client.??However,?there?are?other?agencies?at?play?in?the? production?of?furniture,?which?are?less?obvious,?including?(for?example)?the?role?of? institutions?such?as?the?church,?the?government?and?the?royal?court.???Further?factors? included?such?things?as?the?general?fashion?of?the?day,?the?philosophical?beliefs,?the? economic?situation?and?the?political?and?social?systems?of?the?day,?particularly?as?they? related?to?business?structures.??The?skills?of?the?artisans?responsible?for?the?making?of? furniture?together?with?timbers?and?other?materials?also?played?their?part.??All?of?these? factors?come?together?in?the?creation?of?fashionable?furniture.??? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 4?M.?Hellman,?Furniture,?Sociability,?and?the?Work?of?Leisure?in?Eighteenth?Century?France,?Eighteenth?Century? Studies,?32.4,?1999,?pp.?415?445.? Hellman?is?referencing?an?important?book?about?C18th?Paris?called?Tableau?de?Paris,?published?in?1853?in?the? city?of?Paris.?It?is?a?collection?of?essays?by?a?Louis?S?bastien?Mercier?about?his?own?life?in?Paris?during?the?late? 18th?Century.???In?this?book?L.?Mercier?presents?a?number?of?different?articles?including?those?on?fashion,? politics,?day?to?day?life?in?Paris,?etc.??He?is?believed?to?have?been?from?an?aristocratic?family?or?he?had?close? friendships?with?aristocrats?as?he?writes?about?the?very?fashionable?shops?such?as?those?where?Marie? Antoinette?shopped.?(L.?Mercier,?Tableau?de?Paris,?Unknown?Publisher,?Paris?1854.)? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?4? ? ? While?the?study?of?the?cultural?and?sociological?factors?helps?us?understand?why?furniture? might?have?certain?characteristics,?the?reverse?is?also?true???an?understanding?of?how? fashionable?furniture?came?to?be?commissioned?helps?inform?us?about?the?culture?from? which?it?emerged.?Understanding?the?nature?of?furniture?not?only?requires?us?to?understand? its?constructional?elements?but?by?a?process?of?extraction?and?comparison,?helps?us?to? appreciate?the?thinking?that?goes?into?the?design?of?furniture.??While?it?is?often?the?case?that? the?study?of?cultural?factors?usually?foregrounds?written?sources?of?information?and/or? works?of?art,?design?historians?in?the?field?of?material?culture?argue?that?limiting?academic? study?to?written?documents?and/or?artistic?representations?at?the?expense?of?other?forms?of? material?evidence,?constitutes?an?unrepresentative?bias?and?that?the?study?of?more?ordinary? and?utilitarian?objects?can?help?provide?a?richer?understanding?of?culture.5?This?thesis? certainly?embraces?that?view.??? ? As?noted?previously,?this?thesis?illustrates?in?a?comprehensive?and?layered?way,?the?many? complexities?involved?in?creating?something?as?seemingly?simple?as?an?item?of?fashionable? furniture.?In?order?to?provide?a?greater?understanding?of?these?variables,?two?pieces?of? furniture?were?chosen?from?two?different?countries???England?and?France.????Selecting?two? pieces?to?case?study?in?this?way?helped?to?more?rigorously?conceptualise?the?processes? invested?in?such?items.?The?use?of?furniture?from?two?separate?countries?also?provided?a? method?of?isolating?and?identifying?many?of?the?important?national?issues?involved?in? creating?such?pieces,?thereby?throwing?interesting?differences?into?relief.?6?? ? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 5?See?for?example?J.?Prown?s?Style?as?Evidence?and?Mind?in?Matter:??An?Introduction?to?Material?Culture?Theory? and?Method,?as?well?as?P.?Zimmerman?s?Workmanship?as?Evidence:?A?Model?for?Object?Study?for?more? information.??In?summary,?the?argument?is?that?both?art?and?written?communications?can?either?hide?the?true? nature?of?things?or?they?can?be?misrepresentation?of?important?beliefs?or?behaviours.?Objects?can?be?more? ?honest??in?that?they?are?designed?primarily?to?fulfil?a?specific?set?of?functions???it?is?these?functions?(as?well?as? the?style),?which?needs?to?be?understood?and?interpreted.??Sometimes,?a?conclusion?can?only?be?obtained?by? looking?at?objects?and?not?the?writings?or?pictorial?representations?from?the?period.???This?is?discussed?in?more? detail?at?a?later?time?(p.?14).?? J.?Prown,?Style?as?Evidence,?The?Winterthur?Portfolio,?Vol?15?No?3,?1980,?pp.?197??210.? J.?Prown,?"Mind?in?Matter:?An?Introduction?to?Material?Culture?Theory?and?Method,"?Winterthur?Portfolio? 17,?no.?1,?Spring,?1982,?pp.?1?19.? P.?Zimmerman,?Workmanship?as?Evidence:?A?Model?for?Object?Study,?The?Winterthur?Portfolio,?Vol.?16,? ??No.?4,?Winter,?1981?pp.?283?307.? 6?While?this?is?a?methodological?issue?and?will?be?discussed?later?in?this?introduction?(p.?14),?it?is?mentioned? here?in?order?to?lay?the?groundwork?for?discussing?the?aims,?objectives?and?logic?behind?this?thesis.?? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?5? ? There?were?several?issues?that?shaped?the?research,?which?underpins?this?thesis.?These?were? signalled?in?some?ways?by?the?title,?namely??Making?Fashionable?Furniture?in?England?and? France?During?the?Age?of?Elegance?.? ? First?of?all,?it?is?significant?that?the?title?should?foreground?the??making??of?furniture?because? the?process?of?making?reveals?significant?insights?about?the?makers?themselves,?as?well?as? the?cultures?from?which?they?emerged.???In?the?past,?much?furniture?history?has? concentrated?on?the?superficial?aspects?of?style?and?appearance.??Though?there?has?been? some?work?in?terms?of?the??making??of?furniture,?such?histories?have?rarely?been?as?detailed? or?as?thorough?as?the?scholarly?exegesis?found?in?much?art?history???in?this?author?s?opinion.??? Fewer?authors?still?(to?the?best?of?this?author?s?knowledge)?have?looked?at?the?implications? of?the?process?of?making?on?culture?as?a?whole???something?this?thesis?attempts.? ? One?indication?of?the?importance?of?furniture?during?the?period?in?question???and?just?how? fashionable?it?had?become???lies?in?the?accolades?that?were?given?to?those?associated?with? its?production;?for?example?several?furniture?makers?in?England?for?example?were?admitted? to?prestigious?arts?societies?like?The?Royal?Society?of?Art7?which?was?set?up?to?encourage?the? manufacturing?related?arts.?Another?indication?was?the?popularity?of?the?books?written?by? these?furniture?makers.??For?example?many?high?ranking?families?purchased?Chippendales? Director8.??In?France,?the?King?held?responsibility?for?the?governance?of?all?artisanal?guild? members?and?furniture?makers?to?the?King?were?given?special?titles?(e.g.?Eb?niste?Ordinaire? du?Roi???Cabinetmaker?to?the?King;?Eb?niste?mechanicien?du?Roi???i.e.?Cabinetmaker? mechanic?to?the?King).??In?the?modern?UK,?this?might?be?the?equivalent?to?having?a? department?within?the?government?dedicated?to?making?furniture.??? ? During?the?time?considered?by?this?thesis?(1750??1789),?the?process?for?making?furniture?can? also?be?seen?as?the?early?stages?of?the?change?from?a?process?dominated?by?craft?toward? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 7?Thomas?Chippendale?was?made?a?member?in?1760.??William?Vile?was?also?a?member?as?were?other?furniture? makers.?See?C.?Gilbert,?The?Life?and?Works?of?Thomas?Chippendale,?Studio?Vista/Christies,?London,?1978,?p.?11.? 8?See?the?article?C.?Gilbert,?The?Subscribers?to?Chippendale?s?Director:??A?preliminary?Analysis,?The?Journal?of? the?Furniture?History?Society,?Vol?X,?1974,?pp?41?52?for?a?detailed?list?of?the?subscribers.?Some?of?the?aristocrats? who?subscribed?to?The?Director?include:??Duke?of?Hamilton,?The?Right?Hon.?the?Earl?of?Hopton,?The?Right?Hon.? the?Earl?of?Hallifax?Robert?Hamilton?of?Kilbrookmont,?esq;?Archibald?Hope,?of?Ranquillor,?esq,?Duke?of?Kingston? Mr.?John?Kier,?etc.?? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?6? ? one?dominated?by?manufacturing9,?offering?new?insights?into?the?changes?that?were?moving? across?society?rather?more?generally?and?so?speaking?not?only?to?the?style?of?the?day?(and?all? that?the?style?suggests),?but?also?to?the?day?to?day?lives?of?the?owners?of?such?furniture?and? of?the?skills,?processes?and?materials?used?to?make?these?privileged?objects.?? ? The?next?two?components?of?the?title?(the?countries?selected????England?and?France??and?the? period?of?time???the??Age?of?Elegance?)?are?addressed?jointly.???The?term??Age?of?Elegance?? has?come?to?refer?to?a?particular?time?period???the?late?18th?Century10.???This?thesis?deals? with?the?period?from?1750?to?the?French?Revolution?in?1789,?although?it?inevitably? references?events,?fashions?and?other?influences?that?took?place?prior?to?this?period.?11? However,?for?ease?of?discussion,?the?phrase??late?18th?Century??is?employed?to?describe?the? time?period?that?is?the?focus?of?this?thesis.? ? One?of?the?reasons?for?selecting?this?time?period?relates?to?the?Neo?Classical?style,?which? also?figures?large?in?this?thesis.??While?the?grounds?for?selecting?this?style?will?follow,?it?is? sufficient?to?say?here?that?the?time?frame?of?the?study?was?adjusted?to?cover?the?period? when?the?Neo?Classical?style?was?prominent?in?both?England?and?France.??The?year?1750?was? selected?because?it?marked?the?appearance?of?Neo?Classical?design?in?both?countries12.??The? latter?date?(1789)?was?selected?because?thereafter?the?situation?in?France?changed? dramatically?as?a?result?of?the?revolution?that?took?place?there,?cutting?short?the?fashionable? tendencies?evident?before?that?date.? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 9?As?with?most?major?changes?in?history,?this?change?from?a?crafts?based?industry?to?a?manufacturing?based? one?is?gradual?and?continued?well?into?the?C19th.??What?is?being?suggested?here?is?that?progress?toward?a? manufacturing?approach?was?being?taken???Some?of?the?indications?of?this?process?starting?would?be?the?use?of? standard?designs,?the?use?of?standard?approaches?to?the?furniture?made?by?a?particular?craftsman,?and?the?use? of?the?same?materials?(e.g.?the?same?locks,?the?same?decorative?elements?such?as?the?ormolu.)?? 10?While?it?is?true?that?1750?is?not?technically?the??late?C18th??for?this?thesis,?the?period?of?this?paper,?1750??? 1789,?will?be?referred?to?as??late?C18th?.??This?will?make?the?reading?of?this?document?easier?as?opposed?to? expanding?this?description?to?be??middle?to?late?C18th??or?to?mention?the?exact?time?each?occurrence.?? ?11?Other?periods?will?be?discussed?within?this?thesis;?however?they?will?only?be?brought?into?the?conversation? in?order?to?bring?out?important?points?relevant?to?the?period?that?this?period?will?be?primarily?focused?on???the? late?18th?Century.?For?example,?earlier?trends?in?Architecture?and?design?will?be?included?in?order?to? demonstrate?how?the?Neo?Classical?designs?moved?into?the?forefront?of?fashion?during?this?period?and?to?show? how?earlier?fashions?influenced?the?new?classical?designs.?? 12?This?will?be?discussed?later?in?Chapter?III?(which?examines?the?creation?of?Neo?Classical?architecture???p.118)? and?Chapter?IV?(which?talks?about?the?creation?of?Neo?Classical?furniture???p.?151).??This?was?also?discussed?in? detail?in?Eriksen?s?book?on?Neo?Classicism?in?France?(See?S.?Eriksen,?(Translated?by?Thorton,?P.),?Early?Neo? Classicism?in?France:??The?Creation?of?the?Louis?Seize?Style?in?Architectural?Decoration?Furniture?and?Ormolu? Gold?and?Silver?and?Sevres?Porcelain?in?the?Mid?Eighteenth?Century,?Faber,?London,?1974.)? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?7? ? ? The?C18th?represented?a?uniquely?important?periods?for?both?countries.??In?both?England? and?France,?society?was?subject?to?massive?change???both?as?it?related?to?the?creation?of? fashions?in?general?and?more?specifically?in?regard?to?the?creation?of?fashionable?furniture.?? Several?authors?describe?this?period?as?marking?the??birth?of?consumerism?,?while?others? suggest?it?marked?the??birth?of?the?industrial?revolution?.???Both?labels?appeared?to?be? appropriate?and?in?many?respects?coincident.?This?thesis?also?demonstrates?that?this?era?also? marked?the?beginning?of??modern?fashion?,?co?terminus?with?previous?two.13???Regardless?of? what?terms?of?reference?are?employed,?this?thesis?argues?that?what?we?see?emerging?in?this? period?was?a?definitive?modern?approach?to?the?design?of?fashionable?furniture.?One? symptom?of?this?lay?in?the?rapid?introduction?of?different?types?of?furniture?during?this? period,?reflecting?the?increased?sensitivity?on?the?part?of?designers?and?producers?of? furniture?to?the?needs?of?consumers?at?that?time.14?? ? During?the?C18th,?the?political?situation?in?France?certainly?saw?a?decline?in?the?influence?of? the?monarchy?in?favour?of?other?people?such?as?designers,?architects,?artists?and?fashion? leaders.15?Arguably?it?was?the?first?time?that?England?s?pre?eminence?in?both?the?design?and? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 13?The?labelling?of?this?period?as?the??birth?of?the?consumer?culture??and?the??birth?of?the?industrial?revolution?? will?be?discussed?in?detail?later?in?this?text?(See?Chapter?IV,?p.?155),?however?the?following?are?some?of?the?key? publications?that?have?discussed?this?time?period?from?this?perspective:??? ? ? N.?McKendrick,?J.?Brewer,?J.?Plumb,?The?Birth?of?the?Consumer?Society,?Europa?Publications,?LTD.,? London,?1982.? ? C.?Cipolla,?(ed.),?Industrial?revolution,?1700?1914,?Harvester?Press,?London,?1976.?? ? T.?Ashton,?The?Industrial?Revolution?(1760?1830),?Oxford?University?Press,?Oxford,?UK,?1948.? ? The??idea?that?this?period?of?time?was?the?start?of?the??modern?fashion??was?suggested?by?several?writings? including?the?biographies?of?Rose?Bertin?(e.g.,??.??Langlade,?(Translated?by?A.?Rapport),?Rose?Bertin:??The? Creator?of?Fashion?at?the?Court?of?Marie?Antoinette,?John?Long,?LTD,?London,?1913.)?However,?other?facts?also? suggest?this?such?as?the?apparent?shift?in?the?fashion?leadership?from?the?crown?in?France?to?the?aristocrats? and?to?designers?of?clothing?and?furniture,?the?increasing?buying?power?of?the?aristocrats?and?the?middle? classes?in?both?England?and?France?(again?taking?the?control?of?fashion?out?of?the?hands?of?the?Royal?Families.)? Again,?this?will?be?discussed?in?greater?detail?in?Chapter?II.? 14?As?we?will?see?later?(p.?110),?relevant?to?this?thesis,?there?was?a?dramatic?increase?in?the?number?of?types?of? writing?furniture?throughout?the?C18th?as?a?direct?result?of?the?increased?interest?in?reading?and?writing.?? 15?This?movement?from?the?top?down?diffusion?of?fashions?has?changed?to?where?fashions?can?come?from?any? segment?of?the?culture.??In?fact,?this?trend?has?progressed?over?time?to?the?point?where?many?times?new? fashions?today?are?started?from?what?many?would?argue?is?the?other?side?of?the?social?hierarchy.??An?example? of?fashion?starting?from?the?opposite?side?of?society?is?the?current?fashion?for?men?to?wear?very?loose?fitting? trousers,?which?was?reported?to?have?started?when?young?people?in?the?poor?gang?areas?of?Los?Angeles? emulated?convicted?criminals?who?were?wearing?loose?fitting?trousers?upon?their?return?from?prison.??? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?8? ? production?of?furniture?began?to?rival?that?previously?associated?only?with?France.?16??Both? countries?were?in?the?vanguard?of?the?development?of?the?classical?revival,?which?was?to? dominate?European?fashion?during?the?late?18th?and?early?19th?Centuries.??Besides?using? ancient?civilizations?for?inspiration,?both?countries?can?also?be?seen?to?produce?a?greater? typological?range?of?furniture?and?an?innovative?array?of?decorative?detail,?entirely? consistent?with?the?advance?of?consumerism?both?in?England?and?France?and?the?rapid? increase?in?the?size?of?the?middle?classes;?both?of?which?were?to?have?a?profound?effect?on? the?production?of?fashionable?furniture.?? ? There?is?(of?course)?a?scholarly?consensus?that?the?C18th?was?a?formative?period?for?both? England?and?France.?But?to?quote?H.?Greig?and?G.?Riello:? ?? ?There?is?little?argument?that?during?this?period?England?was?transformed?more?than?any?other?area?of? Europe?from?being??a?rather?undeveloped?nation?to?the?heart?of?a?new?late?eighteenth?century? European?industrial?world?with?material?conditions?and?cultural?vitality?unimaginable?just?a?century? earlier.??17? ? While?such?change?was?less?apparent?in?France,?it?does?appear?to?be?the?case?(as?will?be? shown)?that?France?was?also?moving?in?the?same?direction.???Before?the?revolution,?there? were?many?signs?that?the?production?of?furniture?(as?well?as?other?fashionable?items)?was? changing?radically?in?Paris.??As?C.?Sargentson?notes:?? ? ?Although?most?studies?of?consumption?and?commercial?developments?in?early?modern?Europe?have? looked?to?Britain?as?a?model?of?a??consumer?society?,?historians?are?beginning?to?look?at?consumer? behaviour?in?Paris,?particularly?within?the?luxury?market?place.??18? ? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 16?England,?as?will?be?discussed?in?Chapter?IV,?was?already?known?as?a?leader?in?the?craft?skills?related?to?the? production?of?furniture?however,?in?general,?they?were?though?of?as?design?followers?and?not?leaders?prior?to? the?18th?Century.? 17?H.?Greig?and?G.?Riello,?Eighteenth??Century?Interiors???Redesigning?the?Georgian,?Journal?of?Design?History,? Vol.?20,?Number?4,?2007,?p.?289.? 18?C.?Sargentson,?Merchants?and?Luxury?Markets:?The?Marchands?Merciers?of?Eighteenth?Century?Paris,?Victoria? and?Albert?Museum,?London,?1996,?pp.?5?6.?C.?Sargentson?clearly?draws?on?C.?Fairchild?s?article?The?Production? and?Marketing?of?Popular?Luxury?Goods?in?18th?Century?Paris?where?the?argument?for?inspiration?leading?to? the?conclusion?that?the?development?of?a?consumer?society?had?begun?during?this?time.?See?C.?Fairchilds?article? in?J.?Brewer?and?R.?Porter,?Consumption?and?the?World?of?Goods,?Routeledge,?London,?1993.? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?9? ? In?her?more?recent?review?of?Consumers?and?Luxury:?Consumer?Culture?In?Europe?1650? 1850,?S.?Richards?has?developed?this?position?further?by?arguing:? ?? ?It?is?abundantly?clear?that?the?consumption?of?culture?and?non?essential?goods?was?not?confined?to? the?social?elites?in?early?modern?Europe.??Scrutiny?of?legal?documents?like?wills?and?probate? inventories,?the?plethora?of?public?debates,?commentaries,?censures?and?satires?on?contemporary? luxury?consumption?and?consumer?behaviour,?bears?witness?to?the?complex?and?transformatory? relationships?constructed?between?people?and?things?lower?down?the?social?scale.???19? ? More?evidence?to?support?the?conclusion?that?France?was?developing?into?a?broad?based? consumer?social?structure?in?the?late?C18th?will?be?presented?later?in?Chapter?IV?(p.?151).?? ? In?both?England?and?France???in?part?as?the?result?of?these?changes???the?nature?of?business? was?changing?dramatically;?from?the?way?in?which?different?types?of?craftsmen?interacted? with?each?other?in?the?emerging?workshops,?to?the?types?of?material?that?craftsman?had? available?to?them?and?the?manner?in?which?furniture?was?commissioned.20??One?of?the?key? objectives?of?this?thesis?(for?example)?was?to?summarize?the?situation?in?England?and?France? and?to?interpret?the?business?models?that?underpinned?the?production?of?fashionable? furniture?during?the?late?18th?Century,?in?order?to?compare?the?ways?in?which?these?two? political?entities?responded?to?the?changes?in?train?and?to?show?how?the?empire?of?fashion? played?a?critical?role?in?the?development?of?the?Neo?Classical?style.?? ? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 19?See?S.?Richards,?Review:?Consumers?and?Luxury:?Consumer?Culture?in?Europe?1650?1850,?Journal?of?Design? History,?Vol?13,?No?1,?2000,?pp.?76.??Also?see?M.?Berg,?H.?Clifford?(eds.),?Consumers?and?Luxury:??Consumer? Culture?in?Europe?1650???1850,?Manchester?University?Press,?1999.? 20?Although?these?terms?were?not?used?at?this?time,?it?was?during?these?times?when?the?craftsmen?were?not? only?thinking?of?ways?to?make?production?more?efficient,?but?they?were?experimenting?with?many?new?skills? such?as?marketing?and?promoting?their?products.??Probably?the?best?example?of?this?were?the?business?cards? that?were?being?used?at?that?time,?but?another?example?are?the?books?which?furniture?makers?were?producing? to?show?clients?what?they?could?do?and?to?provide?clients?with?a?type?of?catalogue?from?which?the?potential? customer?could?select?the?design?that?they?wanted.?The?most?obvious?is?The?Director?written?and?published?by? Chippendale.??In?this?Chippendale?was?able?to?provide?potential?customers?with?a?catalogue?of?options,?sell?his? skills?as?a?designer?of?quality?furniture.?(See?T.?Chippendale,?The?Gentleman?and?Cabinet?Maker?s?Director,?First? Edition,?T.?Chippendale,?London,?1754).??Riesener?was?also,?more?subtlety,?marketing?himself?in?the?portrait? that?was?painted?of?him?(See?the?cover?sheet?for?Chapter?IV?p.?151).??In?this?Riesener?is?clearly?portrayed?as?a? designer?and?a?gentleman???not?a?tradesman.?? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?10? ? The?period?examined?by?this?thesis?was?extraordinary21?and?it?marked?a?defining?moment?in? the?design?and?manufacture?of?modern?fashionable?luxury?items?like?furniture,?identifying?in? the?process?the?key?variables?that?were?to?influence?the?way?in?which?luxury?was?marketed? in?the?18th?Century.?This?period?also?represents?a?time?when?craft?skills?in?both?England?and? France?were?at?their?peak.?22??For?example,?according?to?E.?Joy?(1968),?in?The?Connoisseur?s? Complete?Period?Guides:?? ? ?Few?students?of?furniture?history?would?quarrel?with?the?statement?that?the?half?century?or?so?after? 1760?marked?the?zenith?of?English?cabinet?making.???23? ? French?fashion?was?also?recognized?as?pre?eminent.?In?terms?of?its?furniture,?Oates,?while? referring?to?the?C18th,?claims?for?example:??? ? ?French?craftsmanship?reached?its?zenith?at?this?time???rarely?before?had?such?a?profusion?of?rich? materials?been?used?with?such?consummate?skill.??24?? ? After?the?C18th,?more?and?more?industrial?techniques?would?be?employed?in?the?production? of?furniture?and?as?a?result,?craft?skills?would?start?to?decline.?25?? ? The?pre?eminence?of?these?two?countries?was?also?widely?recognized?at?the?time.?Gustav?III? of?Sweden?for?example?visited?France?in?order?to?take?back?designs?to?his?own?country.?26?? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 21?As?mentioned?before?the?period?of?this?study?represented?a?major?shift?in?many?areas?such?as?politics,? consumerism,?the?distribution?of?wealth,?and?in?manufacturing.?? 22?Obviously?there?are?exceptions?to?this,?for?example?during?the?arts?and?crafts?of?the?late?19th?and?early?20th? Centuries;?many?of?these?craft?skills?would?once?again?be?embraced.??And?in?all?periods?there?would?be?a?few? select?craftsmen?who?would?practice?advanced?skills?such?as?these.?Similarly?there?are?always?particular? individuals?in?each?of?the?periods?that?followed?who?excelled?in?the?use?of?craft?skills?to?make?furniture.??? 23R.?Edwards,?and?L.G.G.?Ramsey,?The?Connoisseur?s?Completed?Period?Guides,?The?Connoisseur,?London,?1968,? p.?819.? 24?P.?Oates,?The?Story?of?Western?Furniture,?The?Herbert?Press,?London,?1981,?p.?134.? 25This?is?one?reason?that?considerable?attention?was?paid?to?the?actual?materials?and?techniques?used?to? produce?these?pieces?of?furniture.?Thus,?another?objective?of?this?thesis,?which?then?became?an?attempt?to? more?carefully?delineate?the?different?techniques?and?materials?that?were?used?to?produce?these?important? pieces?of?furniture?of?the?kind?selected?for?the?case?studies.?? 26?In?addition?to?visits?to?both?France?himself,?Gustov?III?had?the?leading?cabinetmaker?in?Sweden?on?a?training? trip?to?France.??When?Georg?Haupt??(1741?to?1784)?arrived?in?Paris?in?1764,?the?French?capital?was?in?the? process?of?transition?from?the?Rococo,?there?called?Louis?style,?to?classicism,"?In?Paris?he?worked?in?the?atelier? of?Simon?Oeben,?the?younger?brother?of?Jean?Fran?ois?Oeben,?Madame?de?Pompadour's?favourite?furniture? maker.?In?1767?Haupt?later?went?to?London?with?his?nephew,?the?artist?Elias?Martin?where?he?worked?with? John?Linnell?among?others.???Thus,?as?it?is?implied?England?also?had?some?influence?on?the?Danish?and?Swedish? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?11? ? Interestingly?enough?though,?he?was?equally?impressed?by?the?craftsmanship?of?the?English? furniture.?27? ? Other?countries?imported?French?style?too.?Germany?for?example?was?one?of?the?keenest? followers?of?the?Rococo?style?and?Roentgen?(maker?to?the?French?monarchy)?also?took?the? French?Neo?Classical?style?back?to?Germany.?Catherine?the?Great?of?Russia?was?another? advocate?of?French?style?but?also?employed?a?British?architect?(William?Chambers)?to?design? and?build?her?Summer?Palace?outside?St?Petersburg.?28?? ? As?noted?previously,?the?period?under?review?in?this?thesis?saw?a?shift?to?the?Neo?Classical.?? It?will?be?shown?in?Chapter?III,?how?this?shift?rippled?through?virtually?all?aspects?of?life? during?this?period.??J.?Prown?for?example?provides?a?convincing?argument?that?relates?the? introduction?of?the?elegant?and?symmetrical?line?of?Neo?Classical?style?to?the?adoption?of? Enlightenment?ideas29,?offering?insight?into?how?a?shift?in?historical?perceptions?can?come?to? reside?in?something?that?appears?to?be?unassuming?as?a?fashionable?piece?of?furniture.?30????? ? One?of?the?objectives?that?this?research?pursues?involves?a?detailed?description?of? construction?of?two?particular?pieces?of?furniture.??One?reason?for?attempting?this?was?to?be? better?able?to?identify?the?furniture?made?by?the?two?figures?associated?with?them??? Chippendale?and?Riesener.??The?need?for?this?became?apparent?following?a?series?of? conversations?with?a?number?of?leading?professionals?in?the?field?of?furniture?history?and? conservation,?including?curators,?conservators?and?academicians,?both?in?England?and? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? furniture?designs.?(W.?Moonan,?Of?Cabinetmakers?and?Kings,?Swedish?Style,?New?York?Times,?26?May?2006,? accessed?on?NY?Times?web?site:?http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/26/arts/design/26anti.html?accessed? 05/11/07).? 27??On?several?occasions,?A.?Fraser?mentions?the?visits?by?Gustov?III?with?Marie?Antoinette?with?a?primary? reason,?but?to?gather?design?and?architectural?ideas?from?the?French?designers.??See?A.?Fraser,?Marie? Antoinette,?The?Journey,?Weidenfield?&?Nicolson,?London,?2001.? 28?T.?Scheurleer?discusses?how?French?furniture?found?its?way?into?both?Russia?and?Holland?in?his?article?called? ?French?Eighteenth?Century?Furniture?in?Holland.???(See?T.?Scheurleer,?French?Eighteenth?Century?Furniture?in? Holland,?The?Burlington?Magazine,?Vol.?73,?No.?427,?1938,?pp.?166?176.)? 29?See?J.?Prown,?Style?as?Evidence,?p.?205.? 30?While?the?English?called?this?style?Neo?Classical,?it?went?by?other?names?in?different?countries.??In?France?this? style?was?referred?to?as?Neo?Grec?and?in?America?it?was?called?the?Federal?style.?Other?names?that?emerged?in? the?research?were?Neoclassicism,?early?Neo?Renaissance?and?Greek?Revival.?For?this?thesis?however,?the?two? phrases?used?to?label?this?style?is?limited?to?Neo?Classical?and?Neo?Grec.? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?12? ? France.31???When?asked?what?characteristics?might?identify?the?figure?(or?workshop)? responsible?for?a?particular?piece?of?furniture?in?the?absence?of?a?stamp?or?some?other?form? of?documentation,?many?respondents?did?not?(would?or?could?not)?provide?a?credible?or? consistent?answer.???Some?referred?to??certain?proportions?,?while?others?referred?obliquely? to??something?about?the?quality?of?the?furniture?,?without?further?definition?of?what?might? constitute?such??quality?.??In?one?memorable?instance?a?respondent?sidestepped?the?issue?by? expressing?a?reluctance?to?reveal?certain?so?called??trade?secrets?.?In?some?cases?no?answer? was?provided?at?all.??In?short,?these?experts?could?not?(or?would?not)?provide?simple?and? concrete?criteria?as?to?how?furniture?from?a?particular?designer?or?workshop?could?be?readily? identified.?Later?(p.?34),?while?reviewing?the?literature?around?Riesener?and?Chippendale,?a? similar?poverty?of?readily?identifiable?characteristics?emerged,?with?description?limited?(for? the?most?part)?to?aspects?of?style?or?very?general?features.?Sadly,?even?books?on?specific? furniture?makers32?often?offer?little?more?than?an?illustrated?catalogue?of?works;?providing? dates,?listing?materials,?some?contextual?history?and?(all?too?briefly)?a?discussion?of?the?style? and?general?features.??Seldom?does?there?appear?a?detailed?discussion?of?constructional? methods,?workshop?systems,?the?commissioning?process?or?marketing.??One?objective?of?this? thesis?is?to?attempt?to?address?this?shortcoming.??? ? In?part,?this?lack?of?detail?leads?to?one?hypothesis?posed?in?this?thesis:?namely;?whether?a? description?of?certain?combination?of?material?and/or?constructional?characteristics?can?be? used?to?identify?the?maker?of?a?piece?of?furniture.33??In?the?study?of?paintings,?for?example,? there?is?a?general?belief?among?art?historians?that?a?particular?set?of?characteristics?can?be? seen?to?identify?the?painter,?characteristics?both?intrinsic?and?extrinsic.???The?intrinsic? attributes?include?such?things?as?the?brush?stroke,?the?medium,?the?ingredients?of?the?paints? and?varnishes?used?to?create?the?painted?surface,?as?well?as?the?material?onto?which?the? painting?was?placed?(e.g.,?canvas,?wooden?board,?etc.).??Art?historical?connoisseurship?also? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 31?These?include?Ulrich?Leben?of?Waddesdon?Manor,?Paul?Tear?course?leader?of?Bucks?New?University,?Adam? Bowett?an?independent?consultant?in?the?field?of?furniture?history,?Jurgen?Huber?of?The?Wallace?Collection,?Ian? Frasier,?conservator?with?the?city?of?Leeds,?M.?Hirst,?Curator,?Waddesdon?Manor?(now?head?of?collections?at? Chatsworth,?and?the?staff?of?Les?Arts?D?cratifs?including?Sylvie?Legrand?Rossi,?curator,?and?Pierre?Costerg,? conservator.? 32?One?example?of?this?is?the?book?on?Riesener?written?by?P.?Verlet.??See?P.?Verlet,?(Translated?from?German?by? K.?Riall),?M?bel?von?J.?H.?Riesener,?Franz?Schneekluth?Verlag,?Darmstadt,?Germany,?1954.? 33?Note?that?this?and?other?objectives?will?be?discussed?in?detail?later?in?this?same?Chapter?(see?page?13).?? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?13? ? includes?extrinsic?characteristics?to?do?with?things?such?as?the?style?of?painting,?the?theme,? the?historical?context?etc34.??This?thesis?advances?the?idea?that?there?should?be?a?comparable? set?of?intrinsic?and?extrinsic?characteristics?employed?within?the?discourse?of?furniture? history?that?replicates?the?rigour?that?has?applied?to?the?identification?of?artists?by?art? historians.? ? A?Summary?of?Aims?and?Objectives? ? The?aim?of?this?research?has?been?to?describe?the?cultural,?structural35?and?sociological? influences?on?the?production?of?fashionable?furniture?in?C18th?England?and?France?and?by?so? doing,?allow?us?to?reassess?the?connection?between?material?practices?and?the?philosophical? ideas?from?which?they?emerge?and?the?cultures?in?which?they?reside.?This?has?been?achieved? by?realising?the?following?four?objectives:?? ? o Detailing?all?the?potential?historical?factors?influencing?the?design?and?production? of?late?C18th?furniture?in?England?and?France.? o Devising?case?studies?illustrative?of?the?development?of?fashionable?furniture?in? the?late?C18th?in?these?two?countries.? o Detailing?each?case?study?in?order?to?isolate,?identify?and?interpret?differences? between?the?items?of?furniture?at?issue?and?assess?the?implications?regarding?the? different?cultures?from?which?they?have?emerged.? o Relating?the?detailed?case?studies?to?the?historical?factors?mentioned?in?the?first? objective?in?order?to?extract?more?detailed?conclusions?about?the?making?of? furniture.?? ? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 34?There?are?a?number?of?different?sources?that?support?this?conclusion.??One?example?of?the?detailed?scientific? approach?to?the?study?of?paintings?and?their?identification?see?W.?Taft,?and?J.?Mayer,?The?Science?of?Painting,? Springer?Verlag?New?York,?New?York,?2000?and?for?examples?looking?at?specific?artists?see?N.?Schneider,? Vermeer???The?Complete?Paintings,?Taschen?Gmbh,?K?ln,?Germany,?2000?and?J.?Townsend,?and?J.?Turner,? Turner?s?Painting?Techniques,?Tate?Gallery,?London,?1993.?In?these?later?books,?all?characteristics?of?the?artists? painting?style?and?materials?are?identified?and?discussed.? 35?These?include?the?organisational?elements?surrounding?the?making?of?furniture?such?as?the?business?and? governmental?organisations,?descriptions?of?the?process?of?making?and?distributing?furniture?to??consumers?.??? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?14? ? In?terms?of?the?case?studies,?the?furniture?at?issue?comprises?the?Harewood?Library?Table?by? Chippendale?(made?in?1772)?and?The?Wallace?Collection?F302?Secr?taire???abattant?by? Riesener?(made?in?1783).?The?thesis?develops?an?analytical?model?which?examines?how? these?pieces?were?designed?and?constructed?and?advances?new?supposition?relating?to? identifying?characteristics?of?each?of?the?two?makers,?Chippendale?and?Riesener.?This?is? achieved?by:?? ? o Collating?detailed?historical?descriptions?of?each?of?these?two?pieces?of?furniture.? o Comparing?constructional?elements?of?these?two?pieces?of?furniture,?each?with? the?other?and?each?with?similar?(known)?pieces?of?furniture?made?by?these?same? two?furniture?makers.? ? The?result?of?this?is?apparent?in?a?number?of?outcomes.?The?most?immediate?is?that?this? thesis?provides?clues?as?to?how?to?identify?furniture?made?by?Chippendale?and?Reisener.?By? identifying?such?details,?the?thesis?also?attempts?to?construct?an?academic?model?that?will? help?us?better?understand?the?interactions?between?the?making?of?fashionable?furniture?and? its?place?in?a?larger?cultural?setting.??This?model?can?then?be?applied?to?other?situations?and? pieces?of?furniture.?? ? ? Methodology??? ? In?Style?as?Evidence,?J.?Prown?argues?that?the?study?of?furniture?styles?can?sometimes?be? more?telling?than?the?study?of?more?privileged?forms?of?artistic?expressions,?such?as? sculpture?or?painting.????Whereas?a?painting?or?sculpture?incorporates?both?different? messages?and?varied?means?of?communication,?furniture?also?embodies?one?other??? function.36??J.?Prown?offers?an?example?that?makes?use?of?a?comparison?between?an?African? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 36?An?individual?piece?of?furniture?usually?has?a?primary?function?(a?chair?is?primarily?for?sitting)?but?it?can?have? additional,?ancillary?functions?(e.g.,?a?foot?rest,?a?tray?for?placing?beverages).??My?argument?is?that?all?of?these? ?functions??and?the?relative?importance?(Is?the?tray?very?simple?or?is?it?a?very?elaborate?component?of?the? chair?)?provide?additional?pieces?of?information?about?both?the?piece?and?the?culture?from?which?it?emerges.?? To?take?this?example?to?the?next?step,?the?degree?of?attention?paid?to?the?tray?helps?to?define?how?important? the?tray?was?to?the?design.??A?very?elaborate?or?complicated?design?would?indicate?an?increased?importance,? while?a?very?simple,?less?complicated?design?would?indicate?the?opposite.?? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?15? ? throne?chair?and?an?C18th?side?chair?made?in?Philadelphia?in?what?the?Americans?called?the? ?Federal??Style.??He?points?out?that?while?both?chairs?serve?the?same?basic?function??(allowing? someone?to?adopt?a?seated?position)?both?communicate?a?lot?about?the?person?likely?to?own? or?use?it;?which?in?turn?tells?us?much?about?the?cultures?from?which?they?emerge.?More? importantly,?these?objects?also?talk?about?those?who?produced?the?chair???their?technical? skills?and?so?forth.??Different?types?of?chair?and/or?the?level?of?decoration?on?any?particular? chair?can?also?serve?to?provide?important?insights?into?the?sociological?context?from?which? the?piece?of?furniture?emerges.??So,?while?J.?Prown?focuses?on?changes?in??style??he?also? suggests?that?it?is?just?as?important?to?describe?construction?and?discuss?function?of?such? furniture?or?related?objects.?? ? The?furniture?type?fore?grounded?in?the?case?study???writing?furniture???is?very?instructive? regarding?changes?in?the?social?milieu.??As?will?be?shown?later?(see?Chapter?II,?p.?110),?this? kind?of?furniture?clearly?reflected?in?its?function?and?style,?the?values?of?the?society?for?which? it?was?made.????J.?Prown?argues?that?furniture?may?actually?be?a?better?indicator?of?social?and? cultural?development?than?literature?and?paintings:??? ? ?Although?a?society?may?prevaricate?or?intentionally?distort?actuality?in?its?utterances?(journalism,? propaganda,?diplomatic?communications,?or?advertising)?or?in?its?pictorial?statements?(portraiture,? mythological?or?religious?art,?socialist?realism)?a?society?does?not?bother?to?deceive?itself?or?others?in? such?mundane?things?as?most?buildings?or?the?furniture?or?the?pots?that?it?makes?for?its?own?use.37?? ? J.?Prown?s?assertion?is?an?interesting?one?though?needs?handling?with?some?caution.?An? example?relevant?to?the?topic?of?this?thesis?might?be?the?case?of?Louis?XIV,?who?excelled?in? projecting?a?particular?image38?through?the?furniture?and?objects?that?he?had?surround?him.?? In?order?to?achieve?this?he?went?so?far?as?to?create?a??department??specifically?charged?with? commissioning?architecture?and?furnishings?that?would?accomplish?this?end.??Therefore?in? this?instance,?material?objects?(whether?architecture?or?furnishings)?can?be?seen?as? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 37?J.?Prown,?Style?as?Evidence,?The?Winterthur?Portfolio,?Vol?15?No?3,?1980,?p.?200.? 38?In?most?cases,?this?image?that?Louis?XIV?projected?for?himself?was?one?of?a?ruler?who?was?divinely?guided.?? His?own?furniture?reinforced?this?through?the?use?of?rich?materials,?extraordinary?craftsmanship?and? ornamentation.???Furniture?designs?that?were?directed?through?his?administrators?(Colbert?and?La?Bruin)?were? designed?to??prove??that?France?was?a?leader?in?designing?and?making?furniture.??This?process?is?discussed?in? greater?detail?in?Chapter?2.? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?16? ? instrumental?in?effecting?social?dynamics?and?their?instrumentality?read?as?historically? indicative?documents?of?a?significant?kind.??? ? Whatever?the?merits?of?J.?Prown?s?case,?it?is?clear?that?the?stylistic?quality?of?furniture? provides?historically?significant?information.??J.?Prown?for?example?argues?that?in?America? the?shift?in?style?from?the?heavier?and?restless?lines?of?the?Rococo?to?the?simpler?lines?of?the? Federal?or?Neo?classical?period?coincided?with?a?shift?from?a?pre?revolutionary?to?post? revolutionary?society.???This?thesis,?will?argue?that?similar?changes?in?thinking?occurred? concurrently?in?both?England?and?France?during?the?period?of?1750???1789?and?the?stylistic? features?of?the?furniture?under?discussion?will?be?shown?to?provide?a?symptomatic?reflection? of?the?culture?from?which?it?emerged.??Neo?Classical?designs?(for?example)?are?(arguably)?co? terminus?with?a?more?sober,?intellectual?and?scientific?approach?to?design.??The?intellectual? interest?in?(and?emulation?of)?ancient?civilizations?was?a?way?to?exorcise?the?corruption?of? art?implicit?in?the?rococo.??According?to?Neil?Harris,?the?credo?of?the?Neo?Classical?era?was? that?the?rococo?represented??effeminacy,?intoxication,?extravagance,?vice?and?folly?.39??In? other?words,?the?rococo?came?to?symbolize?extravagance?and?luxury?and?Neo?Classical? austerity?came?to?symbolize?renewal?and?propriety.?? ? As?can?be?seen?from?the?above,?the?inspiration?for?the?methodology?employed?by?this?thesis? is?that?associated?with?the?study?of?what?contemporary?scholarship?describes?as?material? culture.?This?thesis?has?taken?some?of?the?ideas?associated?with?this?scholarly?domain,? expanded?upon?them?and?applied?them?to?two?fashionable?(and?arguably?iconic)?pieces?of? furniture?with?the?idea?that?the?study?of?such?objects?can?provide?a?way?of?better? understanding?man?and?his?culture?as?well?as?the?object?itself.?E.?Fleming?for?example?has? provided?the?following?theoretical?model?for?such?an?approach?(See?chart?on?next?page):??? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 39?N.?Harris,?The?Artist?in?American?Society:??The?Formative?Years,?1790??1860,?George?Brazililler,?New?York,? 1966,?pp.?30?36.??Harris?is?quoting?John?Adams?in?this?quote?on?p.?32.?? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?17? ? 40?41? ? ? I? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 40?It?should?be?pointed?out?that?Craig?Gilborn?proposes?a?model?that?uses?three?steps?or?operations:??these?are? description,?classification?and?interpretation.??These?were?suggested?in?his?analysis?of?a?Coca?Cola?bottle?in?his? paper:?C.?Gilborn,?Pop?Pedagogy:?Looking?at?the?Coke?Bottle,?in?T.?Schlereth,?(ed.),?Material?Culture?Studies?in? America,?AASLH,?Nashville,?1982,?pp.?183?191.? 41?This?model?is?based?on?the?model?put?forth?in?E.?Fleming,?Artifact?Study:??A?Proposed?Model,?The?Winterthur? Portfolio,?Vol.?9,?1974,?pp.?153?173?with?some?enhancements.?? ? Intrinsic?? Characteristics? Extrinsic? Characteristics? Artefact:?History,?Material,? Construction,?Design?and? Function? IDENTIFICATION?? (Factual?description)? EVALUATION? (Judgment)? CULTURAL? ANALYSIS? (Relationship? object??its? culture)? INTERPRETATION? ?(Importance)? Proposed?Model?for?Material?Cultural?Studies? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?18? ? If?we?accept?that?the?key?artifacts?around?which?this?thesis?will?be?developed?have?already? been?identified,?it?might?be?useful?to?consider?E.?Fleming?s?model?and?how?it?corresponds?to? this?thesis?by?examining?the?analytical?categories?it?proposes?in?more?detail.?E.?Fleming? identifies?the?first?of?these?by?the?term??identification?.??? ? ?IDENTIFICATION?? ? What?is?the?object?and?how?might?it?be?classified???Most?of?the?data?relevant?to?this?category? is?to?do?with?the?objective?measurements?and?observations?that?one?makes?while?trying?to? define?the?object.??Much?of?this?comprises?what?P.?Zimmerman?calls??intrinsic?data?42.?While? this?data?is?primarily?related?to?function?and?constructional?elements,?other?characteristics? may?be?considered.??Identification?is?intended?to??authenticate?the?object?.?This?is?a?process? intended?to?determine?the?history?of?the?object?under?scrutiny?and?takes?the?form?of? identifying?characteristics,?documentation,?or?support?from?written?or?pictorial?sources.?This? (ideally)?should?include?all?five?of?the?following?types?of?descriptive?properties:?? ? o History:??To?include?where,?when?and?by?whom?an?object?was?made???and?for?whom?it? was?made???a?history?of?ownership.? o Material:?To?include?all?of?the?materials?used?to?produce?the?object???timbers,? metalwork?etc.?? o Construction:?To?include?all?of?the?techniques?used?to?make?the?object???jointing,?gluing,? framing?etc.?? o Design:??To?include?categories?ranging?from?structure?to?form???ornamental?and/or? symbolic?detail,?stylistic?detail?etc.??? o Function:??To?include?primary?function?as?well?as?secondary?uses?(intended?and? unintended).? ? ? ? ? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 42?See:??P.?Zimmerman,?Workmanship?as?Evidence,?The?Winterthur?Portfolio,?Vol.?16,?No.?4,?Winter,?1981,?pp.? 283?307.? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?19? ? ?EVALUATION?? ? Once?the?object?has?been??identified?,?according?to?E.?Fleming?one?can?begin?evaluating?the? object;?identifying?the?aesthetic?qualities?and?the?effectiveness?of?the?design,?as?well?as?an? assessment?of?the?quality?of?the?craftsmanship?and/or?the?materials?used.??The?object?can? also?be?evaluated?by?making?comparison?to?similar?objects?in?order?to?make?further? judgments;?although?in?this?phase?of?the?process,?it?should?be?noted?that?judgments? inevitably?become?more?subjective.? ? ?CULTURAL?ANALYSIS?? ? Cultural?analysis?marks?the?shift?from?intrinsic?to?extrinsic?factors.?While?the?anchor?remains? the?selected?object,?this?aspect?of?the?analysis?begins?to?look?towards?the?cultural?and?social? context?from?which?the?object?emerges?in?order?to?illuminate?the?relationship?between?the? object?and?the?culture,?which?created?it.???This?raises?questions?like?such?as??How?exactly?did? people?use?the?object????What?special?features?made?this?object?different?from?similar? objects??;??What?value?was?attached?to?such?objects?;?etc.??At?this?stage?of?analysis?both? intended?and?unintended?functions?are?considered,?such?as?how?an?object?might?relate?to? religious?beliefs,?political?ideas,?class?etc.???This?phase?of?analysis?frequently?involves?an? interdisciplinary?approach,?which?considers?how?design?innovation?relates?to?changes?in? culture?as?a?whole.?? ? ?INTERPRETATION?? ? E.?Fleming?s?concept?of?interpretation?offers?a?final?(meta)?layer?of?analysis?which?reflects? upon?the?object?s?cultural?trajectory?and?attempts?to?trace?the?impact?of?this?object?on?later? cultural?development,?in?the?knowledge?that?objects?can?develop?new?and?different? meanings?in?the?course?of?time.? ? Some?critics?have?suggested?E.?Fleming?s?model?is?too?schematic.??For?example?where?E.? Fleming?suggests?in?the??evaluation??phase?that?a?factual?comparison?to?other?similar?objects? may?be?useful,?P.?Zimmerman?argues?that?such?descriptive?statistics??carry?no?particular? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?20? ? significance?.43?P.?Zimmerman?suggests?that?what?is?more?important?here?involves?isolating? patterns?to?reveal?either?the?intrinsic??structures??that?reside?within?objects?themselves?or? the?extrinsic?differences?which?characterize?specific?objects?or?object?types?within??the? system?of?objects??(Jean?Baudrillard?(1929??2007?44).?This?thesis?can?be?seen?to?attempt?just? such?a?structural?analysis.?? ? Furthermore,?while?most?authors?agree?that?objects?need?to?be?considered?in?the?context?of? the?culture?from?which?they?emerge,?nevertheless?too?many?furniture?historians?seem?to?fix? their?attention?solely?on?the?object?(sometimes?it?seems)?willfully?ignoring?broader?cultural? observations45.???One?of?the?fundamental?precepts?that?this?thesis?will?be?seen?to?embrace?is? that?both?are?equally?important:?in?other?words,?there?is?no?understanding?of?objects? without?an?understanding?of?the?cultural?and?social?milieu?from?which?they?emerge.?? ? Before?translating?this?formal?analysis?into?the?specific?methodology?employed?in?this?thesis,? some?further?discussion?of?the?assumptions?upon?which?this?thesis?rests?may?prove?useful.? For?example,?one?assumption?that?underpins?the?idea?of?material?culture?is?that?different? objects?made?by?the?same?entity?(in?this?case?by?the?workshop?of?either?Chippendale?or? Riesener)?will?share?many?of?the?same?characteristics.??In?order?to?feel?comfortable?with?this? assumption?we?need?to?investigate?the?workshop?situation?a?little?more?closely.???Let?us? begin?by?considering?the?kind?of?workshops?in?which?both?of?the?furniture?makers?used?in? this?study?found?themselves.46??While?the?actual?structure?of?the?workshops?of?the?two? furniture?makers?selected?for?this?thesis?will?be?discussed?in?greater?detail?later?(p.163,?p.? 174),?it?is?sufficient?here?to?suggest?that?most?of?the?furniture?produced?in?England?and? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 43?P.??Zimmerman,?Workmanship?as?Evidence:?A?Model?for?Object?Study,?The?Winterthur?Portfolio,?Vol.?16,?No.? 4,?Winter,?1981,?p.?284.? 44?The?System?of?Objects?is?the?title?of?one?of?J.?Baudrillard?s?works,?in?which?he?concludes?that?objects?obtain? value?by?their?function,?their?exchange?value,?their?symbolic?value,?and?their?sign?value???what?the?object? suggests?to?others.?? 45?Examples?of?this?can?be?seen?in?any?of?the?catalogues?of?furniture?put?together?by?the?owners?of?major? collections.??See?for?example:?G.?Bellaigue,??The?James?A.?De?Rothschild?Collection?at?Waddesdon?Manor??? Furniture,?Clocks?and?Gilt?Bronze?Vol?1&?2,?Office?du?Livre,?S.?A.?Fribourg,?SA,?1974?or?P.?Hughes,?The?Wallace? Collection?Catalogue?of?Furniture,?Vol?II,?Trustees?of?the?Wallace?Collection,?London,?1996?as?well?as?other? books?on?period?furniture?see?for?example?P.?Verlet,?(Translated?from?French?by?George?Savage),?French? Furniture?and?Interior?decoration?of?the?18th?Century,?Battle?&?Rockliffe,?London,?1967.? 46?In?England?this?includes,?for?example,?the?workshops?of?Thomas?Chippendale?(1718???1779),?William?Linnell? (1703?63),?Robert?Gillow?(1704?1772),?William?Ince?(died?1804)?and?John?Mayhew?(1736???1811)?and?other? similarly?scaled?operations.??In?France,?this?refers?to?all?of?the?top?guilded?cabinetmakers?such?as?Charles? Cressent?(1685???1768),?Jean?Fran?ois?Leleu?(1729???1807)?and?Jean?Henri?Riesener?(1734???1806)?and?others.? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?21? ? France?in?the?period?at?issue?was?produced?in?actuality?by?craftsmen?employed?by? Chippendale?and?Riesener?in?their?workshops.??Such?workshops?would?call?on?the?skills?of?a? number?of?craftsmen?who?would?be?managed?by?a?shop?foreman,?whose?efforts?were?in? turn?directed?by?figures?like?Chippendale?and?Riesener.???Every?workshop?would?work?to?a? particular?set?of?standards.?Now?this?would?not?mean?that?each?and?every?piece?of?furniture? produced?within?these?workshops?was?identical,?only?that?they?would?be?likely?to?share? many?of?the?same?characteristics.??As?D.?Pye?argued?in?The?Nature?and?Art?of? Workmanship47,?the?work?performed?by?craftsman?is?subject?to??risk?.48??So?even?when? dealing?with?a?workshop?of?high?quality,?we?should?expect?some?deviation?between?any?two? pieces?of?furniture?despite?careful?training?and?close?supervision???if?only?by?chance?alone.? ? In?addition?to?the?risk?outlined?above,?individual?craftsmen?might?occasionally?try?something? new???thus?there?is?an?element?of??randomness??that?enters?into?the?process.???Perhaps? because?of?specific?commissions?(e.g.,?having?to?make?a?piece?that?is?designed?to?fit?in?a? particular?sized?space)?or?contractual?obligations?(e.g.,?such?as?those?to?reduce?costs,?or? perhaps?shortages?of?certain?materials)?there?will?also?inevitably?be?further?examples?of? departure?from?a?workshop?standard.?Workshops?also?develop?their?skills?over?time?that? means?that?we?should?also?expect?there?to?be?historical?changes?that?will?reflect?such? improvement.49?? ? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 47?D.?Pye,?The?Nature?and?Art?of?Workmanship,?University?Press,?Cambridge,?1968.?? 48?D.?Pye?defines?two?different?categories?of?work,??Workmanship?of?Certainty??and??Workmanship?of?Risk?.??The? former?(Workmanship?of?Certainty)?is?the?work?that?will?always?be?exactly?the?same?on?each?piece?and?that?the? quality?of?the?work?is?predetermined?to?be?exactly?as?the?design?states?that?it?should?be?(D.?Pye,?p.?4?5).??Some? examples?include?pieces?that?are?produced?using?moulds?or?machines,?which?can?repeat?the?same,?processes? exactly?the?same,?over?and?over?again.??The?latter?is?what?concerns?this?situation,?and?that?is?the??Workmanship? of?Risk?,?which,?as?the?name?implies,?is?the?work?that?is?constantly?at?risk?of?not?following?the?original?design.?? An?example?is?the?wood?carver?who,?by?a?mere?slip?of?the?chisel?changes?the?piece?from?the?design.??It?has? been?suggested?that?there?is?a?third?category,?which?has?been?labelled??Workmanship?of?Habit??(See?P.? Zimmerman,?1981,?Workmanship?as?Evidence:?A?Model?for?Object?Study,?p.?287.??P.?Zimmerman?developed? this?concept?through?conversations?with?a?Benno?M.?Forman),?which?is?somewhere?between?the?two?extremes? of?Risk?and?Certainty.?This?is?what?is?most?applicable?to?this?situation,?where?the?professional?craftsmen?in?the? workshop?work?to?the?same?pattern?over?and?over?again,?so?that?the?product?they?produce?is?very?consistent? but?never?completely?free?from?some?form?of?risk.???? 49?It?should?be?noted?that?throughout?this?thesis,?the?phrase??made?by?Chippendale??or??made?by?Riesener??or? ?made?by???will?be?used.??This?in?no?way?is?intended?to?say?that?the?named?person? produced?the?piece?of?furniture?themselves,?it?only?means?that?it?was?made?or?manufactured?by?their? workshop?or?under?their?management?(in?a?few?cases?it?could?mean?that?the?furniture?was?made?by?another? workshop?but?for?the?named?individual.)? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?22? ? As?will?be?shown?in?the?thesis,?much?of?the?furniture?thought?to?have?been?produced?by?the? workshops?of?Chippendale?and?Riesener?was?designed?to?meet?certain?requirements? specified?by?the?architect,?by?the?situation?or?by?the?customer.??As?a?result,?we?should?expect? some?variation?between?similar?pieces?of?detail,?proportion,?materials?etc.??However,?we? should?expect?other?things?to?be?fairly?consistent???such?as?constructional?detail,?the? composition?of?dyes?or?varnishes,?the?types?of?locks?incorporated?etc.???? ? As?noted?previously,?P.?Zimmerman?suggests?that?analysis?will?consist?of?both?intrinsic?and? extrinsic?data.??Intrinsic?data?comprises?objective?description?of?the?object?itself?without? regard?to?either?qualitative?interpretation?or?reference?to?the?culture?from?which?it? emerges.50??This?thesis?includes?a?number?of?different?types?of?data?but?also?excludes?some? that,?for?logistical?reasons,?could?not?be?included.51?The?specific?types?of?data?included?in?this? analysis?are?discussed?in?Chapter?V?that?introduces?the?case?study?but?it?does?include? extrinsic?data?of?the?kind,?which?requires?a?degree?of?judgment?about?the?kind(s)?of? information?relevant?to?the?objects?at?issue.?Because?such?association?lies?outside?of?the? object?itself,?this?type?of?data?is?more?likely?to?be?subjective?in?nature?because?it?requires? some?form?of?interpretation?or?classification.??Some?examples?will?be?found?in?the?thesis? which?deal?with?things?like?different?design?elements?or?the?quality?of?execution?of?a? particular?element?of?the?design,?all?of?which?requires?an?informed?judgment?or? corroborative?detail?which?might?come?(for?example)?in?the?form?of?a?letter?or?invoice? relating?to?a?specific?piece?of?furniture?or?a?particular?commission.? ? Intrinsic?data?depends?upon?accurate?measurements?of?one?kind?and?another.??While?this? will?be?discussed?in?greater?detail?later?(see?p.?192),?these?kinds?of?measurements?can?be? characterized?at?this?stage?as?applying?to?the?following:?? ? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 50?Both?the?intrinsic?and?the?extrinsic?data?forms?the?data?that?is?collected?in?what?E.?Fleming?called?the? IDENTIFICATION?portion?of?his?analytical?process.?? 51?Some?of?these??logistical?reasons??include?the?fact?that?some?of?the?tests?required?either?the?application?of?an? invasive?technique,?which?would?only?be?available?at?the?time?of?conservation?of?the?piece?and?the?policies?of? the?owning?institution.??Most?institutions?would?not?allow?one?to?remove?pieces?of?ormolu?or?the?tops?in?order? to?see?how?the?structure?underneath?the?top?was?constructed.??In?both?cases,?it?was?attempted?to?find? examples?and?to?suggest?extrapolations?to?the?other?examples?or?to?hypothesize?as?to?the?approach,?in?other? cases?it?suffices?only?to?discuss?the?possible?alternatives?and?to?recommend?testing?at?a?later?time?in?order?to? investigate?this?issue?(p.?286?and?p.?362).?? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?23? ? o Constructional?characteristics:??With?regard?(for?example)?to?specific?techniques,? types?of?joints,?thickness?of?woods,?use?of?pins?or?nails,?the?use?of?screws,?overall? design.????? ? o Materials:?With?regard?to?the?type?and?the?quality?of?the?timbers?employed,?surface? treatments?or?finishes,?the?metals?used,?dyes,?the?types?of?glues?used,?the?use?of? veneers?(type?and?quality),?the?use?of?other?materials?(e.g.?leather,?paper).?? ? In?terms?of?the?extrinsic?data,?the?discussion?that?figures?most?prominently?in?this?thesis?is?to? do?with?style.??J.?Prown?argues?in?Style?as?Evidence?that?the?style?of?an?object?reflects?the? broader?cultural?milieu?of?the?time?in?which?it?was?created.?52???In?this?thesis,?we?have?two? Neo?Classical?items?that?were?developed?by?artisans?who?both?began?their?careers?as?strong? proponents?of?a?much?different?decorative?style???Rococo.??The?change?in?styles,?as?we?shall? see,?was?to?replicate?a?much?broader?shift?in?the?culture?of?the?day.?? ? In?terms?of?the?research?journey,?this?thesis?took?a?route?that?might?be?described?as?twofold.? Interviews?were?conducted?with?experts?in?the?field?(curators,?conservators,?etc.)?while?at? the?same?time?there?began?an?extensive?review?of?the?literature?(both?primary?and? secondary)?relating?to?the?period?in?question.??From?this?several?things?were?accomplished.?? Most?importantly,?aims?and?objectives?were?clarified.??This?included?selecting?two?pieces?of? furniture?for?the?case?study?and?identifying?the?kinds?of?information?that?needed?to?be? collated?around?the?pieces?that?would?be?studied?in?greater?detail?(see?Appendix?H:??Data? Collection?Documents?53).54??This?line?of?enquiry?provided?much?of?the?data?relating?to?the? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 52?J.?Prown,?Style?as?Evidence,?pp.?197??210.? 53?The?information?collected?included?what?measures?to?take?on?the?pieces?of?furniture,?what?observational? details?that?needed?to?be?collected,?what?questions?to?ask?of?the?curator/conservator?working?for?the?museum? or?stately?home,?etc.?? 54?This?includes,?in?addition?to?the?two?subjects?of?the?case?history,?a?number?of?other?similar?pieces?that?were? produced?by?the?same?two?makers?of?the?case?history?subjects.??The?information?about?the?other?pieces?made? by?the?same?makers,?will?be?used?in?the?EVALUATION?phase?of?the?reporting.?For?a?complete?listing?of?all?of?the? known?pieces?of?library?tables?made?by?Thomas?Chippendale?and?secr?taire???abattants?by?Riesener?see? Appendix?C:??Overview?of?Secr?taire???Abattants?by?Chippendale?and?Riesener?and?Library?Tables?by? Chippendale.????This?also?identifies?the?pieces?of?furniture?that?were?studied?in?detail?and?included?in?the? EVALUATION?phase?of?this?analysis.?For?Chippendale?there?were?9?Library?Tables?(including?one?Dressing? Table/Writing?table)?that?were?identified?and?6?included?in?the?detailed?analysis.??For?Riesener?there?were?23? identified?of?these?6?were?included?in?the?detailed?analysis.???Please?note?that?there?were?also?two?secr?taire??? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?24? ? identification,?evaluation?and?constructional?aspects?of?the?research.??Cultural?issues?that? needed?to?be?explored?were?also?identified?during?this?phase.? ? Next?there?began?a?broad?review?of?literature?relating?to?both?the?mechanical?and?cultural? strands?of?the?research???which?is?described?in?the?Literary?Review,?later?in?this?chapter?(p.? 29).?? ? The?final?stage?of?the?project?required?an?analysis?of?the?data?that?had?been?collected?in?the? first?two?phases.??This?analysis?consisted?of?a?substantive?description?of?the?two?pieces?of? furniture?selected?for?the?case?study,?followed?by?a?comparison?identifying?and?speculating? around?the?cultural?implications?emerging?from?the?two?pieces?of?furniture?under?scrutiny.??? ? ? The?Case?Study? ? In?terms?of?methodology,?something?further?needs?to?be?said?about?the?genesis?of?the?case? study?that?lies?at?the?heart?of?this?thesis.??After?a?lengthy?process,?two?pieces?of?furniture? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? abattants?that?were?made?by?Chippendale?that?were?also?included?in?order?to?have?a?direct?comparison? ? ? Figure?1?1:??On?the?left?is?a?picture?of?the?Riesener? secr?taire???abattant,?which?resides?in?The?Wallace? Collection?(inventory?Number?F302?and?the?Picture? above?is?the?Harewood?Library?Table?by?Chippendale.? These?are?the?two?pieces?of?furniture?that?will?be? described?in?the?Case?History?section?of?this?thesis.?? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?25? ? were?selected?for?detailed?study.??The?piece?selected?to?represent?English?furniture?fashion? in?the?late?C18th?was?the?Harewood?Library?Table?by?Chippendale?(currently?housed?in? Temple?Newsom,?Leeds).??The?piece?selected?to?represent?French?furniture?fashion?was?a? secr?taire???abattant?(a?fall?front?secretary)?produced?for?Queen?Marie?Antoinette?by? Riesener???currently?housed?in?The?Wallace?Collection?(catalogue?no.?F30255).56?? ? Certain?criteria?were?established?to?aid?the?selection?of?furniture.??In?summary,?both?pieces? had?first?to?be?iconic?representatives?of?furniture?that?lead?the?fashion?in?each?of?their? respective?countries.?It?was?also?necessary?that?both?pieces?of?furniture?had?to?have?been? associated?in?some?way?with?acknowledged?fashion?leaders?during?this?time.??As?will?be? discussed?in?Chapter?II,?in?England?during?the?late?C18th?it?was?moneyed?aristocrats?and?the? increasingly?affluent?middle?classes?who?led?fashion?who?were?most?likely?to?commission? such?pieces.???In?France,?because?fashion?was?still?lead?by?royalty?(despite?indications?that? royal?patronage?was?waning?and?fashion?slowly?shifting?towards?an?increasingly?affluent? middle?class),?the?piece?would?need?to?be?associated?with?a?figure?like?Louis?XVI?or?his?wife? Marie?Antoinette.???? ? The?case?study?needed?to?think?not?only?about?fashionable?furniture?but?also?about?a? specific?furniture?type.??In?both?England?and?France,?two?emergent?and?fashionable?activities? revolved?around?reading?and?writing???both?a?sign?of?wealth?and?status.??As?a?result,?it?was? decided?that?some?kind?of?writing?furniture?would?make?for?an?appropriate?furniture?type,?a? choice?confirmed?by?the?multiplicity?of?new?types?of?writing?furniture?that?can?be?seen?to? emerge?in?both?England?and?France?during?the?C18th.57?In?England?it?was?the?Library?Table? that?became?the?most?prominent?form???and?was?certainly?one?of?the?most?frequently? produced?items?by?Chippendale;?in?France?it?was?the?more?feminine?secr?taire???abattant,? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? between?Chippendale?and?Riesener.??? 55?This?is?the?call?number?assigned?by?Peter?Hughes?in?his?version?of?The?Wallace?Collection?Catalogue.?? 56?While?it?was?decided?that?the?appropriate?location?for?this?discussion?was?in?this,?the?first?chapter,?it?was?not? without?reservation?as?some?of?the?rationale?were?related?to?some?of?the?findings?that?was?to?be?discussed?in? later?chapters.??For?example?the?concept?of?what?was?fashionable?will?be?discussed?in?Chapter?II?(p.44)?and?the? history?of?these?two?pieces?will?be?discussed?in?Chapter?V?(p.?192).??Many?of?the?detailed?observations?that? support?some?of?the?statements?in?this?section?will?be?presented?in?those?later?chapters.?? 57?This?will?be?discussed?in?detail?at?in?Chapter?II?(p.?110).??Briefly?England?saw?the?invention?of?the?Secretary? (with?and?without?a?book?case?on?top),?a?Library?Table,?as?well?as?the?combination?Dressing?and?Writing?Table.?? France?saw?the?introduction?of?the?secr?taire???abattant;?the?Bureau?Plat?and?the?Bureau???Cylindre?and?both? were?presented?the?bonheur?du?jour.??Of?course?there?were?many?more?which?will?be?discussed?later.?? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?26? ? which?was?all?the?rage?and?was?to?become?the?furniture?type?most?often?associated?with? Riesener.?58??? ? So?then,?these?two?pieces?of?writing?furniture?had?now?to?be?representative?of?the?most? fashionable?style?of?the?time???the?Neo?Classical?style.??As?suggested?above,?the?Neo?Classical? was?to?eclipse?the?more?flamboyant?Rococo?style?in?virtually?all?areas?of?artistic?endeavour.? Finally,?it?was?decided?that?in?order?to?develop?a?case?study?that?would?prove?tenable,?each? of?these?pieces?of?furniture?had?to?be?produced?in?the?workshops?of?a?leading?furniture? maker?in?the?respective?countries.??In?England,?the?leading?designer?of?fashionable?furniture? was?without?doubt?Chippendale.??In?France?it?was?Riesener?who?was?given?the?title?of? ?b?niste?ordinaire?du?roi?in?1764???cabinetmaker?to?the?King.?? ? So?it?was?then?that?the?two?pieces?of?furniture?that?finally?came?to?be?selected?for?this? analysis?were?the?Harewood?Library?Table?by?Chippendale?and?the?secr?taire???abattant?by? Reisener,?originally?made?for?the?French?Royal?Court,?currently?housed?in?The?Wallace? Collection.?59??Together?they?best?met?the?criteria?required?to?formulate?this?thesis.? ? New?Knowledge? ? As?noted?above,?one?of?the?key?outcomes?of?this?thesis?offers?a?summary?of?the?key? characteristics?of?Chippendale?s?and?Riesener?s?work?which?will?better?enable?practitioners? (conservators,?curators,?collectors,?etc.)?to?conserve?known?pieces?of?furniture?or? authenticate?pieces?which?are?presently?unattributed???furniture?history?currently?is?over? dependent?on?much?more?subjective?approaches?to?this?process?of?identification.?? ? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 58?As?mentioned?earlier?this?type?of?furniture?is?the?tall,?usually?quite?shallow?desk?with?a?fall?front?that?breaks? or?opens?up?at?approximately?half?the?way?down?the?front.??While?in?most?texts,?this?piece?of?furniture?is?called? the?secr?taire???abattant?it?is?sometimes?referred?to?as?a?secr?taire?en?armoire.??In?most?cases,?the?former?term? will?be?used?however;?it?could?be?the?case?that?the?second?term?secr?taire?en?armoire?may?be?used?on? occasion.?? 59?For?simplicity,?these?two?pieces?of?furniture?will?be?referred?to?as?the?Harewood?Library?Table?or?the? Harewood?Table?and?The?Wallace?secr?taire?(F302).?It?should?be?pointed?out?that?there?are?two?other? secr?taire???abattants?by?Riesener?at?The?Wallace?Collection.??In?this?example,?the?Wallace?Collection?inventory? number?(F302)?for?this?piece?is?included,?in?the?future,?the?inventory?numbers?for?the?other?Wallace?Collection? Riesener?pieces?will?always?be?used?when?referring?to?them,?however?for?this?secr?taire?on?occasion,?the? inventory?may?not?be?included.??.?? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?27? ? While?there?are?books?that?discuss?different?aspects?of?furniture?making?(e.g.,?literature?on? the?workshops?in?England?and?in?France,?information?on?the?economic?conditions?in?the?two? countries,?literature?on?the?tools?and?materials?employed?in?the?late?C18th,?etc.)?few?have? successfully?integrated?these?in?such?a?way?as?to?provide?a?comprehensive?account?of?the? complex?processes?involved?in?the?commissioning?of?fashionable?furniture.??This?thesis?not? only?models?furniture?making?during?this?definitive?period?of?transition?in?both?England?and? France?but?also?provides?an?original?and?systematic?approach?to?writing?history?around?such? material?cultures.??? ? There?is?also?the?aspect?of?comparing?the?two?countries,?hence?the?two?pieces,?and?the?two? makers.??In?the?past,?nearly?all?research?in?this?area?has?evaluated?each?piece?of?furniture,? each?period,?each?countries?activity?and?objects?as?separate?areas?of?study60.??Yes,?there? would?be?the?occasional?comment?about?how?another?country?or?maker?approached?a? particular?issues,?but?in?general?each?individual?item?is?talked?about?as?a?separate?entity.??It? is?hypothesised?that?there?is?much?to?learn?by?comparing?different?situations.??First?and? foremost,?it?raises?questions?that?need?to?be?addressed,?second?it?brings?out?points?that? would?otherwise?go?unnoticed?and?last,?it?identifies?similarities?between?the?two? components.??This?last?point?will?also?bring?out?connections?between?the?two?countries.??? ? Looking?at?this?in?terms?of?the?object(s)?of?study,?this?thesis?also?demonstrates?how? important?it?is?to?the?full(est)?comprehension?of?history?that?fashionable?objects?be? understood.??Whereas?other?materials?(written?documents,?paintings?and?sculptures)?can? provide?valuable?historical?insights,?furniture?can?provide?its?own?unique?perspective?by? filling?in?some?of?the?gaps?in?knowledge.??For?example?if?a?piece?of?furniture?has?a?particular? use,?would?have?something?to?say?about?the?activities?of?the?people?owning?that?object.??By? combining?function?and?style,?the?study?of?fashionable?furniture?provides?unique? perspectives?on?the?time?and?society?in?which?they?were?created.??? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 60?Again,?one?can?see?this?in?most?catalogues,?and?most?reviews?of?furniture,?See?for?example:?G.?Bellaigue,?The? James?A.?De?Rothschild?Collection?at?Waddesdon?Manor???Furniture,?Clocks?and?Gilt?Bronze?Vol?1&?2,?Office?du? Livre,?S.?A.?Fribourg,?SA,?1974?or?P.?Hughes,?The?Wallace?Collection?Catalogue?of?Furniture,?Vol?II,?Trustees?of? the?Wallace?Collection,?London,?1996?as?well?as?other?books?on?period?furniture?see?for?example?P.?Verlet,? (Translated?from?French?by?George?Savage),?French?Furniture?and?Interior?decoration?of?the?18th?Century,? Battle?&?Rockliffe,?London,?1967.? ? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?28? ? ? One?aspect?of?this?research?is?that?while?using?the?ideas?that?were?put?forth?by?J.?Prown,??E.? Fleming?and?P.?Zimmerman?(and?others)?it?proposes?a?specific?process?or?analytical? approach?to?the?study?of?furniture?as?material?culture.??Specifically?the?analytical?approach? described?here?is?well?illustrated?in?a?process?chart?that?is?shown?next.?? ? ? ? ? ? ? Literary?Review? ? This?thesis?covers?a?wide?range?of?subjects,?each?supported?by?its?own?body?of?literature.?? These?different?strands?of?research?included?the?following:?? Proposed?Research?Process? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?29? ? ? o Material?Culture?Studies? o Fashion?Theories? o Consumer/Economic?History?(Clothing,?Furniture?and?General)? o Furniture?Design?History?in?the?C18th?(Chippendale?and?Riesener)? o Commissioning?and?Making?or?Manufacturing? ? It?was?also?necessary?to?use?a?slightly?different?approach?to?the?Literary?Review?because?of? the?large?number?of?topics?covered.??In?this?thesis,?lists?of?key?references?were?provided?in? many?cases?as?a?way?to?summarize?the?most?important?sources?of?literature.??The?process?of? writing?a?full?Literary?Review,?in?the?traditional?way,?proved?to?be?too?long?and?cumbersome? and?as?a?result?did?not?do?a?good?job?in?summarizing?the?key?findings.?? ? Material?Culture?Studies:??? ? In?order?to?research?and?develop?aspects?of?material?culture,?this?thesis?drew?on?two? academic?papers?in?particular?that?set?out?different?theoretical?models?for?the?study?of? objects.??The?first?(and?probably?more?influential)?was??Artefact?Study:?A?Proposed?Model??by? E.?Fleming.??His?paper?was?fundamental?to?determining?the?approach?for?the?case?study? developed?in?Chapter?Five.??E.?Fleming?s?paper?referenced?an?interesting?study?into?the? iconic?Coca?Cola?bottle?by?C.?Gilborn?called??Pop?Pedagogy:??Looking?at?the?Coke?Bottle?,? which?also?provided?this?author?with?interesting?food?for?thought.??Beyond?these?two? papers,?this?thesis?made?use?of?several?key?articles?(many?originating?from?the?Winterthur? Museum,?U.S.A.)?reflecting?upon?theoretical?models?of?study?discussed?in?the?first?two? papers.?These?included?the?following:?? ? o P.?Zimmerman,?Workmanship?as?Evidence:?A?Model?for?Object?Study?Vol.?16,?No.?4,? Winter,?1981?pp.?283?307.? o P.?Zimmerman,?A?Methodological?Study?in?the?Identification?of?Some?Important? Philadelphia?Chippendale?Furniture,?Winterthur?Portfolio,?Vol?13,?1979,?pp.?193?208? o J.?Prown,?Style?as?Evidence,?Vol?15?No?3,?1980,?pp.?197??210.? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?30? ? o J.?Prown,?Mind?in?Matter:??An?Introduction?to?Material?Culture?Theory?and?Method,? Winterthur?Portfolio,?17,?no.?1,?Spring,?1982,?pp.?1?19.? o J.?Kowenhoven,?American?Studies:??Words?or?Things,?in?T.?Schlereth?(ed.),?Material? Culture?Studies?in?America,?AASLH,??Nashville:?1982,?pp.?79???92.? ? In?addition?to?these?papers,?useful?understanding?of?craftsmanship?was?gained?from?D.?Pye?s? iconic?text?The?Nature?and?Art?of?Workmanship?61?and?some?useful?insight?into?the?analysis? of?symbolic?meanings?from?I.?Hodder?s?The?Archaeology?of?Contextual?Meanings?(Cambridge? University?Press,?Cambridge,?UK,?1987).? ? In?order?to?develop?some?insight?into?fashion,?this?thesis?explored?the?work?of?early?theorists? like?T.?Veblen?and?G.?Simmel?who?described?fashion?as?a??top?down??process?in?which? fashions?were?first?generated?in?the?upper?classes?of?society?before?being?adopted?by?the? middle?and?working?classes?(see?T.?Veblen,?The?Theory?of?the?Leisure?Class,?Macmilllian,?New? York,?1899?and1?G.?Simmel,?Fashion,?The?American?Journal?of?Sociology,?University?of? Chicago?Press,?Chicago,?1957,?pp.).???T.?Veblen?and?G.?Simmel?based?their?theories?on? observation?and?historical?reference?and?provided?a?framework?with?which?to?interpret?the? data?and?delineate?a?system???T.?Veblen?for?example?was?a?Marxist?whose?theory?of?fashion? reflected?this?political?point?of?view.? ? T.?Veblen?famously?came?up?with?the?term??conspicuous?consumption??which?seems?in?itself? to?suggest?his?subjective?opinion?of?fashion.??G.?Simmel?s?work?also?rested?on?a?similar?top? down?theoretical?model?driven?by?the?conflict?between?imitation?and?differentiation.?Like? Veblen,?he?believed?that?it?was?the?wealthy?elite?who?was?responsible?for?initiating?fashion.? ? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 61?E.?Fleming,?Artefact?Study:??A?Proposed?Model,?pp.?153?173.? ????C.?Gilborn,?Pop?Pedagogy:?Looking?at?the?Coke?Bottle,?in?T.?Schlereth?(ed.),?Material?Culture?? ??????Studies?in?America,.AASLH,??Nashville:?1982,?pp.?183?191.? ????J.?Kouwenhoven,?American?Studies:??Words?or?Things,?in?T.?Schlereth?(ed.),?Material?Culture? ??????Studies?in?America,.AASLH,??Nashville:?1982,?pp.?79???92.? ????J.?Prown,?"Mind?in?Matter:?An?Introduction?to?Material?Culture?Theory?and?Method,"?pp.?1?19.? ????D.?Pye,?The?Nature?and?Art?of?Workmanship,?1968.?? ????P.?Zimmerman,?Workmanship?as?Evidence:?A?Model?for?Object?Study,?pp.?283?307.? ????P.?Zimmerman,?A?Methodological?Study?in?the?Identification?of?Some?Important?Philadelphia? ???????Chippendale?Furniture,?Winterthur?Portfolio,?Vol?13,?1979,?pp.?193?208.? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?31? ? The?thesis?also?explores?the?ideas?of?H.?Blumer,?who?rather?more?recently?has?suggested? that?it?is?not?the?wealthy?elite?who?drive?fashion?but?a?specific?group?he?referred?to?as?the? ?fashion?elite????which?might?include?fashion?designers,?fashion?writers,?etc.???H.?Blumer? suggests?that?the?concept?of?fashion?affects?all?areas?of?life?and?not?just?the?consumption?of? things?such?as?clothing,?furniture,?decorative?styles,?etc.??H.?Blumer?s?work?marks?a?moment? when?the?study?of?fashion?moves?from?anecdotal?evidence?and?historical?observations?to?an? approach?based?on?more?scientific?evidence?of?the?kind?gathered?from?surveys?and? developed?around?the?analysis?of?empirical?data.??In?this?connection,?the?thesis?explored?the? work?of?the?French?sociologist?P.?Bourdieu,?who?agreed?with?many?of?the?ideas?of?H.?Blumer? but?who?developed?the?idea?of?fashion?as?operating?like?a?kind?of??code??for?differentiating? different?groups?of?people???again?moving?the?emphasis?away?from?the?top?down?model?of? influence?to?a?more?complex?and?layered?system.62????The?following?are?some?of?the?other? authors?whose?work?was?investigated?in?the?course?of?the?research?for?this?thesis:?????? ? o M.?Barnard,?Fashion?As?Communication,?Routledge,?London,?1996? o M.?Barnard,?(Editor),?Fashion?Theory:??A?Reader,?Routledge,?Oxon,?UK,?2007? o H.?Blumer,?Fashion,?in?D.?Sills?(eds),?International?Encyclopedia?of?the?Social?Sciences,?Vol.? 5,?MacMillan,?New?York,?1968,?pp.?341???345.? o P.?Bourdieu,?(Translated?from?French?by?R.?Nice),?Distinction:??A?Social?Critique?of?the? Judgment?of?Taste,?Routledge,?London,?1986.? o D.?Crane,?Diffusion?Models?and?Fashion:?A?Reassessment,?Annals?of?the?American? Academy?of?Political?and?Social?Science,?Vol?566,?No.?1,?1999,?PP.13?24.? o D.?Crane,?Fashion?and?Its?Social?Agendas:??Class,?Gender?and?Identity?in?Clothing,? University?of?Chicago?Press,?Chicago,?IL,?USA,?2000? o F.?Davis,?Fashion,?Culture,?and?Identity,?University?of?Chicago?Press,?Chicago,?1992.? o G.?A.?Field,?The?Status?Float?Phenomenon:?The?Upward?Diffusion?of?Innovation,?Business? Horizons,?Elsevier,?Vol.?13(4),?1970,?pp.?45?52? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 62?Concurrent?with?the?shift?in?the?theoretical?models?from?top?down?to?a?more?diffused?process,?there?was?a? shift?in?the?research?approach?from?one?of?personal?observation?and?historical?notes,?to?being?based?on?more? accepted?research?methodologies?such?as?interviews,?sociological?and?business?data.??Also,?while?hypothetical? at?this?stage,?it?appears?that?the?theories?changed?from?a?top?down?diffused?model?to?a?dispersed?diffusion? model?at?the?same?time?that?the?source?of?fashions?changed?from?being?top?down?to?a?more?dispersed?source? of?fashions.??Could?it?be?the?case?that?the?theorists?at?each?stage?were?describing?accurately?the?fashion? process?that?was?occurring?at?that?time??? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?32? ? o G.?Simmel,?Fashion,?The?American?Journal?of?Sociology,?University?of?Chicago?Press,? Chicago,?Vol?62,?No.,?6,?May,?1957? o G.?Sproles,?Analyzing?Fashion?Life?Cycles:?Principals?and?Perspectives,?Journal?of? Marketing,?Vol?45?(No.?4),?1981,?pp.?116?124.? o T.?Veblen,?The?Theory?of?the?Leisure?Class,?Macmillan,?New?York,?1899? o E.?Wilson,?Adorned?in?Dreams:??Fashion?and?Modernity,?University?of?California?Press,?Los? Angeles,?1987.? ? Consumer/Economic?History?(Clothing,?Furniture?and?General):??? ? Probably?one?of?the?best?studies?of?fashion?and?furniture?in?the?C18th?is?to?be?found?in?L.? Auslander?s?Taste?and?Power:??Furnishing?Modern?France?(University?of?California?Press,? 1996).??This?thesis?is?certainly?indebted?to?the?work?of?L.?Auslander?and?subscribes?to?(and? builds?upon)?her?suggestion?that?the?changing?styles?of?decorative?arts?reflected?the?changes? in?the?political?and?social?structures?in?France?from?the?17th?to?the?20th?Centuries.??? In?terms?of?research?around?C18th?furniture,?this?thesis?drew?first?of?all?(inevitably?enough)? on?Christopher?Gilbert?s?two?volume?set?The?Life?and?Works?of?Thomas?Chippendale.63?? While?it?is?certainly?not?the?only?book?on?Chippendale,?it?is?by?far?the?most?detailed?and? thorough?book?and?it?provides?an?excellent?model?of?its?kind.??For?Riesener,?there?is?no?such? single?text?that?provided?an?authoritative?account?of?his?furniture?and?this?thesis?relied?on?a? variety?of?texts?relating?to?C18th?French?furniture.??These?include?works?on?the?collections?of? French?furniture?to?be?found?at?The?Wallace?Collection,?Waddesdon?Manor,?Mus?e?Nissim? de?Camondo,?The?Getty?and?Versailles,?as?well?as?work?by?the?author?Pierre?Verlet?64.????The? only?monograph?dedicated?to?Riesener?is?by?Verlet?whose?text?is?not?nearly?as?thorough?as? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 63?C.?Gilbert,?The?Life?and?Works?of?Thomas?Chippendale,?Studio?Vista/Christies,?London,?1978.? 64?F.?Watson,?Wallace?Collection?Catalogues.?Furniture,?William?Clowes,?London,?1956.? ????P.?Hughes,?The?Wallace?Collection?Catalogue?of?Furniture,?Vol?II.,?Trustees?of?the?Wallace?Collection,? ??????London,?1996.? ????G.?Bellaigue,?The?James?A.?De?Rothschild?Collection?at?Waddesdon?Manor???Furniture,?Clocks?and?Gilt? ??????Bronze?Vol?1?&?2,?Office?du?Livre,?S.?A.?Fribourg,?SA,?1974.? ????D.?Meyer,?(Translation?by?Ann?Sautier?Greening),?Versailles;?Furniture?of?the?Royal?Palace?17th?and? ??????18th?Centuries?Vol?1?and?Vol?2,Faton,?Dijon,?France,?2002.? ????P.?Verlet,?French?Royal?Furniture???A?historical?Survey,?Followed?by?a?study?of?Forty?Pieces?Preserved? ??????In?Great?Britain?and?the?United?States,?Barrie?and?Rockliff,?London,?1966.? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?33? ? C.?Gilbert?s?monograph?on?Chippendale.65??However,?all?of?the?books?cited?above?offer? relatively?little?in?the?way?of?historical?context?66?and?none?go?into?detail?about?the? constructional?elements67;?most?focus?style?above?all?else.?? ? Furniture?Design?History?in?the?18th?Century?(Chippendale?and?Riesener):? ? The?understanding?of?how?furniture?was?designed?during?this?period?relies?on?two?sources?of? information.??First?of?all?a?study?of?architectural?and?general?designs?and?the?second?is?the? study?of?other?fashionable?activities.??? ? While?it?may?appear?self?evident?that?architectural?designs?would?be?considered?when? looking?for?influences?on?furniture?designs,?there?is?not?always?a?clear?connection?between? the?architecture?and?the?actual?designs?of?the?furniture???especially?in?England.??However,?as? it?will?be?uncovered,?there?was?a?very?strong?relationship?between?the?two??(architecture? and?furniture?designs)?during?the?Neo?Classical?period.??There?were?several?key?texts?in?this? area?that?aided?this?understanding,?there?were?two?general?overviews?of?architecture?during? this?period.??First?was?A.?Braham?s,?The?Architecture?of?the?French?Enlightenment68?and?then? there?was?S.?Eriksen?s?book?Early?Neo?Classicism?in?France:??The?Creation?of?the?Louis?Seize? Style?in?Architectural?Decoration,?Furniture?and?Ormolu,?Gold?and?Silver?and?Sevres?Porcelain? in?the?Mid?Eighteenth?Century69?which?provided?a?solid?overview?of?the?development?of? Neo?Classicism?in?France,?detailing?the?activities?of?the?architects,?how?they?learned?their? crafts?and?what?they?did?to?promote?Neo?Classicism.??S.?Eriksen,?also?drew?the?connection? between?architecture?and?the?design?of?decorative?items?such?as?furniture.??Supplementing? this?general?history?and?adding?information?about?the?English?development?of?Neo?Classical? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 65??The?reference?for?this?book?is?P.?Verlet,?M?bel?von?J.?H.?Riesener,?Darmstadt,?Germany,?1954;?it?was?roughly? translated?by?K.?Riall.?? 66?Please?note?that?because?this?thesis?covers?so?many?different?disciplines?the?survey?of?the?literature?has? been?broken?up?by?section?of?the?text?in?the?introductory?paragraphs.??This?brief?note?provides?the?key? literature?that?is?used?to?describe?the?general?furniture?history?of?the?two?furniture?makers.?? 67?It?should?be?pointed?out?that?there?are?a?number?of?journal?articles?that?detail?aspects?of?the?constructions? of?different?aspects?of?these?pieces?of?furniture?(which?will?be?used?as?part?of?this?thesis)?but?they?were?not?put? together?as?a?way?to?help?to?identify?a?maker?or?to?better?understand?the?making?of?a?particular?piece?of? furniture.??? 68?A.?Braham,?The?Architecture?of?the?French?Enlightenment,?Thames?and?Hudson,?London,?1980.? 69?S.?Eriksen?(Translated?by?P.?Thorton),?Early?Neo?Classicism?in?France:??The?Creation?of?the?Louis?Seize?Style?in? Architectural?Decoration,?Furniture?and?Ormolu,?Gold?and?Silver?and?Sevres?Porcelain?in?the?Mid?Eighteenth? Century,?Faber,?London,?1974.? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?34? ? architect?was?B.?Fletcher?s?A?History?of?Architecture.70?Supplementing?the?understanding?of? the?French?situation?were?a?number?of?other?sources?such?as?T.?McCormick?s?book?titled? Charles?Louis?Cl?risseau?and?the?Genesis?of?Neo?Classicism?which?detailed?the?development? of?Cl?risseau?s?approach?to?Neo?Classicism?and?P.?Cret?s?article?titled?The?Ecole?des?Beaux? Arts?and?Architectural?Education?which?talked?about?the?French?approach?to?teaching?Neo? Classical?architectural?theories.71??This?reference?to?the?educational?system?in?France?proved? to?be?very?important?as,?it?will?be?shown,?much?of?the?development?of?Neo?Classical?designs? took?place?with?the?French?educators,?and?the?French?educational?system.??It?even? influenced?some?of?the?learning?in?England.?? ? In?England,?the?story?starts?with?another?general?book?on?the?development?of?architecture72? and?developed?through?a?series?of?detailed?biographies?of?the?three?key?architects?(Robert? Adam,?William?Chambers,?and?James?Stuart.)73?and?books?about?their?work74.??This?included? books?written?in?support?of?the?houses?where?these?architects?worked.??H.?Cescinsky?s? article?The?Influence?of?the?Architect?on?English?Furniture?75?started?to?draw?the?connection? between?architecture?and?furniture?design?in?England.?As?did?a?number?of?other?articles?such? as?J.?Parker?s?1959?article?on?The?Architecture?and?Furniture?and?M.?Page?s?Furniture? Designed?by?Architects.76??? ? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 70?B.?Fletcher?(Edited?by?J.?Musgrove)?,?A?History?of?Architecture,?19th?Edition,?Butterworths,?London,?1987.? 71?T.?McCormick,?T.,?Charles?Louis?Cl?risseau?and?the?Genesis?of?Neo?Classicism,?Architectural?History?? ????????Foundation/MIT?Press,?New?York,?1990.? ????P.?Cret,?The?Ecole?des?Beaux?Arts?and?Architectural?Education,?The?Journal?of?the?American?society?of?? ????????Architectural?Historian,?Vol?1.,?No.?2,?1941,?pp.?3?15.? 72?J.?Summerson,?Architecture?in?Britain?1530?1830,?Yale?University?Press,?London,?1993.? 73?Some?of?the?key?examples?of?books?specifically?written?about?the?architects?them?selves:??? ????J.?Harris?and?M.?Snodin?(eds.),?Sir?William?Chambers:??Architect?to?George?III,?Yale?University?Press,?New?? ????????Haven?CT,?USA?and?London,?1997.? ???D.?Watkin,?Athenian?Stuart,?Allen?&?Unwin,?London,?1982.? ???D.?Yarwood,?Robert?Adam,?J.M.?Dent?&?Sons?Ltd,?London,?1970.? ???J.?Lees?Milne,?The?Age?of?Adam,?Batsford,?London,?1947.? 74?These?include?books?such?as?J.?Swarbrick,?Robert?Adam?&?His?Brothers:??Their?Lives,?Work?&?Influence?on?? ???????English?Architecture?Decoration?and?Furniture,?B.T.?Batsford,?London,?1915.? 75?H.?Cescinsky,?The?Influence?of?the?Architect?on?English?Furniture,?The?Burlington?Magazine,?Vol.?36,?No.?204? (March),?1920,?pp.?134???135?+?138???140.? 76?J.?Parker,?The?Architecture?and?Furniture,?The?Metropolitan?Museum?of?Art?Bulletin,?New?Series,?Vol?18,?No?3,?? ?????????1959,?pp.?79?95.?? ??M.?Page,?Furniture?Designed?by?Architects,?Architectural?Press,?London,?1980? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?35? ? In?both?cases,?it?was?difficult?to?identify?direct?linkages?between?the?furniture?makers?and? the?architects?so?a?number?of?correlations?had?to?be?drawn?through?the?study?of?the?design? elements?rooms?and?the?pieces?of?furniture?themselves,?and?that?were?written?by?either?the? furniture?maker?or?others?related?to?the?situation.?? ? The?comparisons?between?the?design?elements?used?on?the?furniture?and?in?the?architecture? in?England?were?particularly?aided?by?one?article????that?was?M.?Gerson?s?Glossary?of?Robert? Adam.?77??In?this?article,?M.?Gerson?illustrates?and?defines?many?of?the?different?motifs?that? Robert?Adam?used?in?his?interiors.??This?process?proved?to?also?be?very?helpful?in?identifying? the?similar?designs?in?the?French?furniture.?? ? Commissioning?and?Making?or?Manufacturing:?? ? To?understand?the?process?for?making?and?distributing?furniture?to?its?clientele?there?were? several?sources?of?information.??To?understand?the?processes?related?to?the?English?furniture? business,?there?were?two?books?that?were?invaluable:??these?were?C.?Edward?s?Eighteenth? Century?Furniture?78??and?P.?Kirkham?s?The?London?Furniture?Trade:??1700?187079?both?of? these?very?thoroughly?addressed?the?issues?that?related?to?the?furniture?trade?in?general.??In? addition?to?these?general?texts,?the?detailed?study?of?the?business?cards?and?advertisements? in?the?Heal?and?Banks?collection?proved?invaluable.??They?helped?to?identify?how?the? businesses?that?related?to?furniture?making?were?organized?(What?services?did?the?different? companies?provide?,?How?did?they?promote?their?businesses?,?etc.).??While?there?are?a? number?of?different?general?history?texts?that?touch?upon?the?some?of?the?different?issues? related?to?the?furniture?business?during?this?time,?these?two?are?the?best?researched,?the? most?through?and?their?findings?are?very?consistent?with?each?other.??While?they?generally? covered?the?same?topics,?both?had?specific?areas?that?one?covered?in?a?little?more?detail? than?the?other,?so?in?many?respects,?they?were?great?compliments?to?each?other.? ? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 77?M.?Gerson,?A?Glossary?of?Robert?Adam's?Neo?Classical?Ornament,?Architectural?History,?Vol?24,?1981,?pp.??59????? ?????????82.? 78?C.?Edwards,?Eighteenth?Century?Furniture,?Manchester?University?Press,?Manchester,?1996.? 79?P.?Kirkham,?The?London?Furniture?Trade:??1700?1870,?The?Furniture?History?Society/W?S?Maney?and?Sons,? Ltd,?Leeds,?1988.? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?36? ? However,?the?limitation?the?information?provided?by?both?C.?Edwards?and?P.?Kirkham?was? that?they?did?not?discuss?the?extreme?upscale?businesses80?that?both?Chippendale?and? Riesener?represented.?To?address?these?questions?a?variety?of?resources?had?to?be?relied? upon.??These?were?the?number?of?books?and?articles?that?related?specifically?to? Chippendales?business.?This,?of?course,?includes?C.?Gilbert?s?two?volumes?of?The?Life?and? Work?of?Thomas?Chippendale.??In?this?text,?everything?from?a?general?description?of? Chippendale?s?business,?the?shop?location,?the?workshop,?how?he?dealt?with?clients,?etc.,?as? well?as?detailed?listing?of?billings?for?each?of?Chippendale?s?major?clients.??From?this?latter? source,?the?types?of?work?that?Chippendale?performed?can?be?extrapolated.??Gilbert?also,? where?available,?reported?on?the?records?kept?by?the?different?houses?such?as?Harewood? House.???But?in?addition?to?these,?details?were?supplemented?by?reviews?of?files?at? Chippendale?s?major?client?s?homes?(e.g.?Harewood?House,?Dumfries?House,?Nostell?Priory),? articles?written?about?the?dealings?between?Chippendale?and?his?major?clients81.??? ? There?were?several?sources?of?information?covering?the?business?practices?in?France?during? the?late?C18th;?probably?the?one?that?stands?out?is?C.?Sargentson?s?book?entitled82? Merchants?and?Luxury?Markets:?The?Marchands?Merciers?of?Eighteenth?Century?Paris.??In? this?C.?Sargentson,?discusses?the?activities?of?an?important,?growing?group?within?in?the? trade?of?fashionable?furniture?in?Paris.??This?was?supplemented?by?several?more?general? books?that?covered?the?business?developments?during?this?period,?these?include?the? catalogues?for?the?major?museums?(The?Wallace?Collection,?Versailles,?Waddesdon?Manor),? several?books?by?P.?Verlet?(French?Royal?Furniture???A?historical?Survey,?Followed?by?a?study? of?Forty?Pieces?Preserved?in?Great?Britain?and?the?United,?French?Furniture?and?Interior? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 80?Both?Chippendale?and?Riesener?provided?furniture?for?a?very?small,?very?wealthy?group?of?clients?where?as? both?C.?Edwards?and?P.?Kirkham?were?reporting?on?the?entire?business?segment?of?the?English?furniture?trade.?? The?fact?that?both?Chippendale?and?Riesener?service?such?a?small,?very?upscale?clientele?is?where?the?term? ?extreme?upscale?business??is?derived.?? 81?For?example?see:??? ? C.?Gilbert.,?Thomas?Chippendale?at?Dumfries?House,?The?Burlington?Magazine,?Vol?111?No?800,?1969,?pp.? 663?677A.?? ? Coleridge,?Chippendale?at?Leeds,?The?Burlington?Magazine,?Vol?110,?No?789,?1968,?pp.?718,?720?721.? ? Stephenson,?Chippendale?Furniture?at?Harewood,?Furniture?History?Society,?Vol?4,?1968,?pp.?63?69? ? L.?Boynton?and?N.?Goodison,?Thomas?Chippendale?at?Nostell?Priory,?Journal?of?The?Furniture?History? Society,?Vol?VI,?1966,?pp.?10?61? 82?C.?Sargentson,?Merchants?and?Luxury?Markets:?The?Marchands?Merciers?of?Eighteenth?Century?Paris.? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?37? ? decoration?of?the?18th?Century,?French?Furniture?of?The?Eighteenth?Century)?83?proved?very? helpful?in?providing?a?general?description?of?how?the?furniture?trade?was?operating?during? this?time.??However,?the?most?detailed?account?of?the?business?practices?(besides?the?book? by?C.?Sargentson.)?was?the?book?by?A.?Pradere?titled?French?Furniture?Makers:?The?Art?of?the? Ebeniste?from?Louis?XIV?to?the?Revolution,84.??In?this,?A.?Pradere?details?the?costs?of?doing? business?and?the?interactions?between?the?furniture?makers?and?the?Royal?household.?? ? While?both?A.?Pradere?and?C.?Sargentson,?addressed?the?elite?classes?of?furniture?buyers?in? France,?neither?spent?much?time?specifically?discussing?the?situation?with?Riesener?s? workshop.??For?this?part?of?the?research,?the?translation?of?P.?Verlet?s?book?on?Riesener85? had?to?be?relied?upon,?as?well?as?notes?in?files?and?several?short?articles?on?Riesener?himself.??? It?should?be?pointed?out?that?the?detailed?information?that?is?available?on?Chippendale?is?not? available?anywhere?on?Riesener???so?a?lot?of?the?conclusions?are?based?on?speculation?from? the?fewer?pieces?of?information?that?is?available.??There?was?one?other?source?of?information? that?helped?to?illuminate?Riesener?s?business?practices???this?was?the?log?of?the?Garde? Meuble.86???From?this,?one?can?understand?the?volume?of?furniture?that?was?produced?by? Riesener?for?the?Royal?family?and?the?types?of?furniture?(the?function?of?the?furniture,?the? type?of?decoration,?etc.)?while?this?information?is?somewhat?incomplete?in?many?ways?(the? note?taker?did?not?always?provide?a?detailed?description?of?the?furniture,?for?example).?? Again?A.?Pradere?s?books?did?fill?in?much?of?the?details?left?out?of?the?other?sources.?????? ? In?France,?one?cannot?gain?a?full?understanding?of?the?business?environment,?without?an? investigation?into?the?guilds?that?set?most?of?the?rules,?by?which?the?furniture?industry? operated.??Again,?A.?Pradere?s?and?C.?Sargentson?s?books?along?with?the?various?museum? catalogues?provided?the?initial?pieces?of?information,?but?in?addition?to?this?there?were? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 83?P.?Verlet,?French?Royal?Furniture???A?historical?Survey,?Followed?by?a?study?of?Forty?Pieces?Preserved?in?Great? Britain?and?the?United?States,?Barrie?and?Rockliff,?London,?1966.? P.?Verlet,?(Translated?by?George?Savage),?French?Furniture?and?Interior?decoration?of?the?18th?Century,?Battle?&? Rockliffe,?London,?1967.? P.?Verlet,?French?Furniture?of?The?Eighteenth?Century,?University?of?Virginia?Press,?London,?1991.? 84?A.?Pradere?(Translated?by?Wood,?P.),?French?Furniture?Makers:?The?Art?of?the?Ebeniste?from?Louis?XIV?to?the? Revolution,?Sotheby's?Publications,?London,?1989.? 85?P.?Verlet?(Translated?from?German?by?K.?Riall),?M?bel?von?J.?H.?Riesener,?Darmstadt,?Germany,?1954.? 86?This?was?a?log?of?all?of?the?furniture?that?had?been?delivered?to?any?of?the?Royal?households.??This?was?kept? consistently?starting?with?Louis?XIV?and?throughout?the?reign?of?Louis?XVI.??? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?38? ? several?other?sources?that?helped?complete?the?picture.??This?included,?P.?Hugh?s?file?notes? as?well?as?articles?on?the?stamping?process?and?on?the?history?of?guilds87.????? ? Of?course,?in?England,?the?guilds?were?in?decline?only?to?be?replaced?by?trade?societies?that? served?to?protect?and?to?support?the?furniture?makers?working?at?the?time.??Again?the?two? main?sources?of?information?about?the?development?of?the?trade?societies?were?the?works? by?C.?Edwards?and?P.?Kirkham,?with?other?articles?and?texts?addressing?particular?questions.?? ? In?order?to?understand?the?woods?that?were?used?during?the?late?C18th,?A.?Roubo?s?l?Art?Du? Menuisier?was?one?historic?text?that?this?thesis?found?indispensable?in?regards?to?furniture? trade?in?France???no?comparable?text?exists?for?the?English?trade.??However?A.?Roubo?s?work? left?many?questions.??In?part?this?was?because?the?science?of?wood?identification?was?poorly? developed?in?the?late?C18th?and?much?of?his?information?has?subsequently?been?found?to?be? incorrect?(see?P.?D?tienne,?Les?Bois?Exotiques?D?crits?par?A.?Roubo,?en?1774,?Bois?et?Forets? de?Tropiques,?No?274?(4),?2002,?pp.?89?96).??Recent?research?based?on?modern?wood? identification?techniques?has?revealed?that?many?of?the?timbers?used?by?Riesener?were?not? even?listed?in?A.?Roubo?s?text,?leading?to?two?possible?conclusions:??either?new?timbers?were? introduced?into?the?furniture?trade?in?France?in?the?C18th.,?leaving?A.?Roubo?s?text?out?of? date?as?soon?as?it?was?published;?or?that?timbers?described?by?A.?Roubo?were?simply? misidentified.?It?is?possible?that?a?combination?of?these?factors?came?into?play.??Interestingly? enough,?English?encyclopaedias?appeared?to?have?had?similar?problems,?using?terms?such?as? ?deal??to?describe?a?variety?of?different?types?of?pine.??Fortunately,?the?thesis?was?able?to? draw?upon?several?more?modern?texts?which?proved?to?be?helpful.?These?included:??? ? o L.?Hinckley,?Directory?of?the?Historic?Cabinet?Woods,?Bonanza?Books,?New?York,?1960.? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 87?The?following?are?some?of?the?articles?that?were?helpful?in?putting?together?the?comments?about?guilds?in? France:?? ? Watson,?F.,?1959,?Makers??Stamps?on?French?Furniture?of?the?18th?Century:??What?they?are?and?What? they?Signify,?The?Antique?Collector,?December,?PP.?221???225.? ? Augard,?J.,?1982,?Marks?on?French?Furniture?and?the?Decree?of?Parliament?of?1749,?The?Decorative? Arts?Society?Newsletter,?Vol?8,?No?4,?PP?2?5.? ? Epstein,?S.,?1998,?Craft?Guilds,?Apprenticeships?and?Technological?Change?in?Pre?industrial?Europe.,? The?Journal?of?Economic?History,?Vol?58,?No?3.,?PP?684?713.? ? Hughes,?P.,?(date?unknown)?Notes?for?a?speech?on?guilds?for?The?Wallace?Collection,?from?their?files?as? obtained?via?Paul?Tear,?obtained?07?2008.? ? Sargentson,?C.,?Interview?at?V&A,?13/01/05?on?the?influence?of?guilds?in?pre?revolutionary?France.? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?39? ? o F.?Philip,?Coloured?Woods?on?Eighteenth?Century?Furniture,?WAG?Postscripts,?1999,? Found?on?line?at?http://cool.conservation?us.org/coolaic/sg/wag/?and?was?Accessed? 06/06/2009.? o H.?Zinnkann,?Furniture?Woods,?Prestel,?London,?2003.? o A.?Bowett,?Furniture?Woods?in?London?and?Provincial?Furniture:?1700?1800,?Regional? Furniture,?Vol?22,?2008,?pp.?83?113.? o P.?D?tienne,?Les?Bois?Exotiques?D?crits?par?Roubo,?en?1774,?Bois?et?Forets?de?Tropiques,? No.?274?(4),?2002,?pp.?89?96.? o Viaux?Locquin,?J.,?Les?Bois?d?Ebenisterie?dans?le?Mobilier?Francais,?Leonce?Laget,?Paris,? 1997.? ? In?order?to?address?Dyes,?Surface?Coatings?and?Glues,?the?thesis?identified?two?useful? sources?for?the?varnish?and?dye?formulas?used?in?the?18th?Century.?These?took?the?form?of? contemporary?instructional?books?and?pamphlets?together?with?some?rather?more?modern? documents?that?provided?useful?interpretation?of?these?original?source?materials.?? ? The?C18th.?was?also?a?period?when?publishing?expanded?at?a?rapid?pace.??One?area?of? publishing?that?became?very?significant?was?the??encyclopaedia????works?providing?practical? information.?On?the?English?side,?there?were?texts?such?as?The?Handmaid?to?the?Arts? (probably?the?most?well?known?and?important?text?in?this?area)?and?the??how?to??pamphlets? such?as?the?Genuine?Receipt?for?making?the?famous?VERNIS?MARTIN?and?Weber?s?The? Cabinet?Maker?s?Guide.?88??While?the?former?texts?were?aimed?at?the?advancement?of?the? crafts,?the?latter?were?probably?designed?to?be?promotional?devices.????The?French?were? marginally?more?inclined?toward?more?encyclopaedic?types?of?documents?that?summarized? how?to?polish?and?to?colour?furniture?(these?included?Roubo?s?classic?l?Art?Du?Menuisier,? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 88?There?are?actually?some?question?as?to?whether?or?not?someone?named??Weber??ever?wrote?this?booklet,?as? virtually?this?same?booklet?was?published?a?number?of?times?under?different?titles?and?different?authors.??One? version?was?actually?published?in?the?US.??This?version?was?almost?identical?to?the?Weber?booklet,?without?any? acknowledgement?of?the?source.??Furthermore?only?a??second??edition?has?ever?been?located,?so?in?all? likelihood?there?never?was?a?first?edition.??It?has?been?speculated?that?this?was?done?to?make?people?think? there?was?a?first?edition?and?therefore,?it?was?so?popular?that?a?second?edition?needed?to?be?printed.?(See?the? introduction?to?R.?Mussey?(Ed),?The?First?American?Furniture?Finisher's?Manual?(A?Reprint?of?"The?Cabinet? Maker's?Guide"?of?1827),?Dover?Publications,?New?York,?1987.?? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?40? ? L?Art?du?Peintre,?Doreur,?Vernisseur,?and?finally?the?exhaustive?Encyclop?die,?ou?Dictionnaire? Raisonn??des?Sciences,?des?Arts?et?des?Metiers?by?D.?Diderot.)?? ? Most?information?on?glues?employed?by?the?thesis?were?the?same?as?those?mentioned?for? dyes?and?surface?coatings,?except?for?the?addition?of?one?document?that?was?written? specifically?on?glues?in?France?in?1771.??This?document?was?recently?translated?into?English? and?published?electronically.??The?reference?is?as?follows:?? ? o M.?Duhamel?Du?Monceau,?(Translated?by?A.?Heginbotham)?The?Art?of?Making? Various?Kinds?of?Glues,?Royal?Academy?of?Sciences,?Paris,?1771.?? ? The?documents?that?were?used?to?research?this?section?of?this?text?overlap?a?great?deal?with? the?materials?used?to?both?identify?dye?and?varnish?formulas.??Modern?treatments?on?the? topic,?of?course,?include?S.?Rivers?and?N.?Umney,?Conservation?of?Furniture,?2003.??Other? resources?include?primary?sources?from?the?C18th?which?include?The?Golden?Cabinet:??Being? the?Laboratory?or?Handmaid?to?the?Arts.?89??Other?contemporaneous?French?sources? included?A.?Roubo?s,?L?Art?Du?Menuisier??b?niste?(Paris,?1772)?and?D.?Monceau?s?The?Art?of? Making?Various?Kinds?of?Glues?(1771)???translated?into?English?by?A.?Higgenbotham?(Getty? 2005).??In?addition?to?this?the?thesis?drew?upon?a?number?of?other?pamphlets?and? dictionaries/encyclopaedias?written?during?the?late?C18th?and?early?C19th.90??The?following? list?identifies?some?of?the?key?sources:?? ? English?Sources:?? ? o J.?Barrow,?New?and?Universal?Dictionary?of?Arts?and?Sciences,?John?Hinton,?London,? 1754.?? o E.?Chambers,?Cyclopaedia?or?a?Universal?Dictionary?of?Arts?and?Sciences,?London,?1781.? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 89?(No?author?given),?The?Golden?Cabinet:??Being?the?Laboratory?or?Handmaid?to?the?Arts?(Second?Edition),? James?Hoey,?Dublin,?1773? 90?As?stated?before,?early?C19th?documents?were?also?considered?for?developing?formulas?and?directions?for? making?some?of?these?materials.??The?reason?for?this?is?that?there?was?most?likely?a?time?lag?between?when? formulas?were?developed?and?when?these?were?published?for?general?consumption.? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?41? ? o (No?author?given),?Genuine?Receipt?for?making?the?famous?VERNIS?MARTIN;?or?as?it?is? called?by?the?English,?MARTIN'S?COPAL?VARNISH,?Paris,?1773.? o R.?Dossie,?The?Handmaid?to?the?Arts,?J.?Nourse,?London,?1758.? o G.?A.?Siddons,?The?CABINET?MAKER'S?GUIDE,?RULES?AND?INSTRUCTIONS?in?the?Art?of? Varnishing,?dying,?staining,?japanning,?polishing,?lacquering?and?beautifying?WOOD,? IVORY,?TORTOISESHELL?&?METAL,?(5th?Edition),?Sherwood,?Gilbert,?and?Piper,?London? (?),?1830.?? o T.?Sheraton,?The?Cabinet?Dictionary,?W.?Smith,?King?Street,?Seven?Dials,?London,?UK,? 1803.? o P.?Tingry,?A?Painters?and?Varnisher's?Guide,?G.?Kearsley,?London,?1804.? o P.?Weber,?The?Cabinet?Maker?s?Guide,?John?Arliss,?London,?1809.? ? French?Sources:?? ? o A.?Roubo,?l?Art?Du?Menuisier?,?Leonce?Laget,?Paris,?1977?(reprint?from?original?1765? 1775).? o J.?Watin,?L?art?du?peintre,?doreur,?vernisseur?3rd?Ed,?Paris,?1776.? o D.?Diderot,?and?J.?d'Alembert,?(editors?and?writers),??Encyclop?die,?ou?dictionnaire? raisonn??des?sciences,?des?arts?et?des?m?tiers,?Andr??Le?Breton,?Paris,?1751.? ? General?Sources:? ? o G.?Parker?and?J.?Stalker,?A?Treatise?of?Japanning?and?Varnishing,?Alex?Tiranti?Limited,? Reading,?OX,?UK,?1998.? o D.?Thompson,?(translated?by),?Cennino?d'Andrea?Cennini,?The?Craftsman's?Handbook,?"II? Libro?dell'?Arte",?Dover?Publications,?New?York,?1960?(based?on?early?C15th?text?originally? in?Italian).? o Properties?of?Natural?Resins?taken?from?website?for?Conservation?and?Art?Materials? Encyclopedia?from?the?Museum?of?Fine?Arts,?Boston,?from?web?site? www.mfa.org/cameo?accessed?on?01?11?08? ? ? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?42? ? Modern?Sources:? o S.?Allen,?Classic?Finishing?Techniques,?Sterling?Publishing,?New?York,?1995.?? o F.?Philip,?Coloured?Woods?on?Eighteenth?Century?Furniture,?WAG?Postscripts,?1999,? Found?on?line?at?http://cool.conservation?us.org/coolaic/sg/wag/?Accessed?06/06/2009? o S.?Rivers,?and?N.?Umney,?Conservation?of?Furniture,?Elsevier:?Butterworth?Heinemann,? Oxford,?2003.? o M.?Sturmer,?Veneers?and?Colours?Used?by?the?Cabinet?Makers?of?the?18lh?Century,? Translated?from:?Maltechnik?Restauro,?1978,?January,?No?1.,?pp.?9?26.? ? Organisation?of?the?Thesis? ? Chapter?II:?On?Becoming?Fashionable?follows?this?introduction?and?explores?the?nature?of? fashion?during?the?late?18th?Century.??A?brief?review?of?prevailing?fashion?theories?is?offered,? together?with?a?description?of?how?fashion?in?C18th?England?and?France?developed.? ? Chapter?III:?The?Development?of?Neo?Classical?Design?shifts?the?focus?to?furniture,?outlining? influences?on?design?and?discussing?the?production?of?fashionable?furniture.???Descriptions?of? key?individuals?and?workshop?systems?are?developed,?together?with?a?review?of?current? knowledge?regarding?England?and?France?during?the?time?of?Chippendale?and?Riesener.?A? discussion?of?how?prevailing?theories?of?fashion?might?be?applied?to?this?newly?emerging? category?of?luxury?goods?is?also?mounted;?more?specifically,?this?chapter?traces?the? development?of?Neo?Classical?ideas?and?just?how?they?came?to?be?embedded?in?furniture? ? In?Chapter?IV:?Making?Fashionable?Furniture?in?C18th?England?and?France,?further?detail?is? developed?around?the?making?and?the?marketing?of?fashionable?furniture?and?comparisons? are?developed?in?order?to?characterise?key?differences?in?the?cultural?milieu?of?England?and? France.???? ? Having?set?up?the?historical,?social?and?political?background?for?the?production?of?luxury? furniture?in?the?three?preceding?chapters,?Chapter?V:?Case?Histories?sets?up?a?detailed?case? study?around?Chippendale?s?Harewood?Library?Table?and?Riesener?s?F302?Secretaire?a? Abbattant.??These?two?pieces?of?furniture?are?examined?and?compared?both?to?each?other? ?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE:??Chapter?I???Introduction? Page?43? ? and?to?other?pieces?of?furniture.??Finally,?details?from?the?case?histories?and?the?background? analysis?are?brought?together?to?provide?an?over?arching?interpretation?of?the?making?of? fashionable?furniture?in?England?and?France,?in?the?so?called?age?of?elegance.? ? In?Chapter?VI:?Final?Thoughts?and?Conclusions,?some?reflection?is?offered?on?the?thesis?in? terms?of?the?complexities?of?the?research?journey?and?the?conclusions,?which?eventually? emerged.?Some?thought?is?also?given?over?to?further?research?and?potential?lines?of?enquiry.???? ?