[Rarebooks] fs: A Chair! A Chair! My Kingdom for a Chair !! (nicely upholstered)

[Joslin Hall Rare Books, ABAA]

>From our JUST CATALOGUED pages-
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Small, John W. "Ancient & Modern Furniture"

Edinburgh; John W. Small: 1883. Limited to 500 copies.

A wonderful example of historicism and revivalism in Victorian furniture
design from plonk in the middle of the period. Small, an architect and
furniture designer, even outlines in straightforward terms the "everything
that's old is new again" thinking behind all that Revivalism in his
Preface-

"Modern designers of furniture, in consequence of the never ending cry for
'something new', have had to fall back on the store-houses of the past,
and draw inspiration from old work of all periods, to enable them to bring
out new designs. I have thought it advisable to devote one-half of the
present volume to examples of old work of various periods, hoping these
may by as useful to those who have anything to do with designing,
manufacturing, or buying, as they have proved to myself. Apart from
bringing these old examples under contribution for modern purposes, I
trust the putting of them on record in this form may help to preserve them
for future use, when the articles themselves may very possibly have been
lost sight of or perished".

After illustrating examples of furniture from the 15th-18th centuries, he
then presents his own designs, based upon them-

"In the latter half of the volume, I have shewn examples of Modern
Furniture which, during the last few years, have been designed and
executed for manufacturers and others, from full-sized drawings supplied
by the author. Some of them have had great success in the trade, so far as
the number made forms any criterion. Others are of such a nature, that
they have only been made once. I trust this half of the book will be of
use to those who may be thinking of embellishing their homes with 'cunning
workmanship' in wood."

The list of 159 subscribers' to the book also makes interesting reading,
and is largely made up of architects, upholsterers, decorators and
"manufacturers"; also appearing on the list are a brass worker and a glass
stainer; several libraries, including the Boston Public Library and
Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art; several booksellers, including B.T.
Batsford, Bernard Quaritch, and Little, Brown & Co., and Dr. Irvine (sic)
W. Lyon of Hartford, U.S.A., the noted collector of American furniture and
author of "Colonial Furniture of New England".

Hardcover. 10"x12.5", [viii] pages plus 50 lithographed plates; pictorial
board covers; covers somewhat worn, with some chipping, bumping, rubbing,
etc; hinges a bit wonky; internally a minor bit of soil and wear, but
overall a nice copy of this fragile book and binding in its original
state. [05530] $400.00


Illustrations-
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Our JUST CATALOGUED pages-
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193 More books & catalogs on FURNITURE-
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