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The Mentor, No. 30, Furniture and its Makers




THE MENTOR

“A Wise and Faithful Guide and Friend”

    Vol. 1                      No. 30

FURNITURE AND ITS MAKERS

    CHARLES ANDRÉ BOULLE

    DANIEL MAROT

    J. HENRI RIESENER

    THOMAS CHIPPENDALE

    THOMAS SHERATON

    GEORGE HEPPELWHITE

[Illustration]

_By PROFESSOR C. R. RICHARDS Director of Cooper Union, New York._


It is rather surprising to find how late a development furniture is
in the modern sense. Up to the seventeenth century chairs were far
from common. Outside of the large and heavy armchairs reserved for the
head of the family, benches, chests, and stools were the only seats in
all but the wealthiest households. Before the sixteenth century fixed
tables were unusual. Dining tables were almost always composed of a
set of boards placed upon trestles at mealtime. Going a little further
back to the fourteenth century we find furniture, even in castles of
the nobility, of the scantiest and simplest. In the sleeping rooms the
pieces were limited to a bed, one or two chests, a bench before the
fireplace, and seats built into the wall, commonly under the windows.
In the hall where meals were served the only indispensable article
besides the trestle tables and benches was a dressoir or buffet for
the display of plate. All of these pieces were exceedingly heavy and
massive, and oftentimes built into the structure of the room. Not
until the seventeenth century did furniture become lighter, more easily
movable, and more comfortable. It was at this period that chairs began
to be made with sloping backs and furnished with cushioned seats of
leather or woven stuff.

[Illustration: LOUIS XIV CABINET

EXAMPLE OF BOULLE]

Every age has impressed its artistic standards strongly upon the
furniture of the period. Long after Gothic cathedral building had
ceased, the cabinetmakers of northern Europe continued to carve their
delicate window tracery upon the panels of chests and buffets and to
copy the moldings of pier and mullion.

[Illustration: FRENCH OR FLEMISH CABINET OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY]

The Renaissance brought a great change in the surface appearance of
furniture, and in Italy, France, Flanders, and Germany the new art
spirit manifested itself in different forms, each of which reflected
the peculiar genius of the people of the land.

But all the earlier developments in furniture were overshadowed by
the splendid achievements of French art in the latter part of the
seventeenth century. These began under Louis XIV, and continued with
undiminished productiveness and refinement of design through the reigns
of Louis XV and Louis XVI, to a decline under the Empire.


LOUIS XV--FURNITURE OF THE BOUDOIR

The foundation by Colbert, minister of Louis XIV, of the Manufactures
Royales des Meubles de la Couronne, commonly called the Gobelins,
brought together for the production of furniture and tapestry for the
royal palaces the most talented designers and expert craftsmen of the
time. Of these Charles André Boulle was the master cabinetmaker. His
name is commonly identified with marquetry of tortoise shell and
brass, which he carried to a high state of perfection; but he was much
more than a craftsman. He developed a furniture style that harmonized
perfectly in its vigor and magnificence with the splendid proportions
of the great royal residences. Large in scale and massive in
construction, his pieces rely for their effect upon bold and striking
decoration of gilded bronze and marquetry.

[Illustration: AN EXAMPLE OF RIESENER MARQUETRY

STYLE OF LOUIS XV]

Boulle’s pieces accord thoroughly with the years of pomp and splendor
of Le Grand Monarque; but even before the death of Louis a notable
change in the appearance of furniture set in. The nobility, whose
resources had been severely strained to maintain the splendor set by
the king, found it necessary to substitute smaller apartments for their
great rooms and galleries. Moreover, the heroic quality of the earlier
Louis XIV decorations was no longer suited to the growing softness
and effeminacy of the age. Smaller and more delicate furnishings were
demanded. The Louis XIV chairs had borrowed the high upholstered backs,
together with the S curves for arms and legs, from the Italians--later
on the bold _bombé_ curve appeared in the supports of the tables.
By the time of the Regency these outlines had become more slender
and refined and the reign of the curved line in furniture became
established,--a reign that lasted for fully half a century, during
which time some of the ablest masters of design that have ever lived
played and conjured with curves delicate and curves bold, now bringing
forth an outline pure and exquisite in quality, and again with amazing
inventiveness interlacing curve with curve in combinations of infinite
variety and bewildering richness.

Most Louis XV furniture develops naturally from that of Louis XIV, and
is built upon thoroughly structural lines. The reaction, however,
against severity and the increasing demand of a frivolous aristocracy
for new and more striking effects, gradually produced a style in which
decoration was often not subordinated to structure, but made an end in
itself.

[Illustration: LOUIS XV TABLE]

The rococo (from _rocaille_, rock, and _coquille_, shell) ran its
extravagant course with increasing exaggeration and license during the
first half of the reign of Louis XV; but it should not be thought of as
affecting all the furniture even of this period, for its manifestations
were mainly in the field of the carver and bronze worker, and the
outlines of furniture were very little influenced, except in the case
of the smaller and lighter pieces, such as console tables. About the
middle of the reign the limit of artistic license had been passed and
a reaction set in. The ormolu, which had reached excessive size and
had become overloaded on the surface, was withdrawn to the edges, and
made smaller and more suitable for the delicate proportions of the
pieces. In its place marquetry of beautiful colored woods, more or less
practised for over a century, was brought to a perfection never before
equaled.

[Illustration: LOUIS XV COMMODE]


LOUIS XVI--THE INFLUENCE OF THE CLASSIC

The reaction against the excesses of the rococo which had set in
as early as the middle of the eighteenth century continued to gain
strength during the next two decades, and to carry the design of
furniture farther and farther from the fashion of the early years of
Louis XV.

[Illustration: LOUIS XVI COMMODE]

The new impulse turned naturally to the straight contour. This meant
almost inevitably the adoption of classic lines. At first the change
showed itself in the straightened bodies of commodes, cabinets, and
writing tables, which still retained their curved supports. Finally the
legs themselves were made straight or rather tapering; until by the end
of the reign of Louis XV the curved outline had quite disappeared and
the style called Louis XVI was fairly launched.

[Illustration: LOUIS XVI TABLE]

The ormolu takes new forms. It is limited to the edges and to frames
of panels, to friezes, and to important centers, and follows the
classic spirit: not an outright imitation of Roman or Greek forms, but
a charming French interpretation of the antique. The designs of the
metal worker had never been more delicate, or his execution finer.
Delicacy and appropriateness of ornament, fineness of proportion, and
sobriety of treatment were the ideals of the new cabinetmakers. The
art of marquetry was still further advanced, and reached perhaps its
culminating expression in the fine examples of Riesener and Röntgen.

It was during this reign that mahogany began to be extensively and
almost exclusively used as a cabinet wood, in place of the walnut
previously employed. Where walnut was still used, as in the case of
chairs, it was generally gilded or enameled. The chair and the canape
or sofa stand out as among the most successful achievements of the
Louis XVI designers. Simple as to structural lines, their details were
worked out with scrupulous care and, from fluted tapering legs to the
carved frames inclosing the beautiful tapestry backs, they represent
extreme elegance and consistency of style.

Toward the end of the reign of Louis XVI the quality of furniture
design degenerated. Instead of charming adaptations and interpretations
of the classic spirit, mechanical imitations of Greek and Roman forms
appear, and heavy bronze caryatids overweigh and distort the outlines
of cabinets and tables. Dull heaviness takes the place of elegance and
the play of fertile invention. The decline had begun.

[Illustration: LOUIS XVI TABLE]


EMPIRE--THE IMITATION OF THE CLASSIC

[Illustration: EMPIRE ARMCHAIRS]

The new order, built on the overthrow of monarchical society and with
no sympathy for delicacy and refinement, desired a setting free from
the traditions of the past. The cabinetmakers, however, had only their
training of the reign of Louis XVI, and this they could not transcend.
For motives they had only their knowledge, or what they considered
knowledge, of the antique. On this they endeavored to build a new
style by direct adoption of classic forms. In chairs and couches they
attempted to reproduce the actual shape used by the Greeks and Romans.
Figures of caryatids and sphinxes take the place of simpler structural
supports in tables and stands.

Ormolu was no longer employed in an architectural manner in which one
decorative detail is set off against another in a play of rhythm and
contrast; but was applied as single figures or small ornamental motives
on a plain surface of mahogany. Oftentimes this ornament has so little
relation to the space decorated that it could well be omitted without
loss of real effectiveness. This enthusiasm for the antique passed
through Egyptian, Greek, and Roman phases. Heavy and unimaginative
as most of the Empire pieces seem, it can at least be said that they
are more consistent and satisfying than the inharmonious mixture that
characterized the furniture of the last year of Louis XVI. Many of the
Empire chairs indeed are of real dignity and beauty of proportion. In
some of these ormolu, introduced for the first time in chairs, was used
in combination with polished mahogany; but in most cases the woodwork
was sparingly carved with rosettes and enameled in white and gold. For
the coverings, silk brocade and appliqué in the prevailing colors of
yellow and red took the place of tapestry.

[Illustration: JEWEL CABINET OF MARIE LOUISE

LATE EMPIRE]

[Illustration: EMPIRE ARMCHAIR]

[Illustration: EMPIRE COMMODE]


CHIPPENDALE--THE MASTER OF LINE

[Illustration: CHIPPENDALE PIECRUST TABLE]

The French styles were the result of many designers working upon common
lines; but in England during the last half of the eighteenth century
certain noted individual cabinetmakers set the fashion, and for a
period of years the designs of Chippendale, Heppelwhite, and Sheraton
were each in turn recognized as the established vogue.

Thomas Chippendale began business in London on his own account about
1735, and evidently rapidly built up a very flourishing establishment,
inasmuch as the “Gentleman and Cabinet-maker’s Director,” which he
published in 1754, contains a wide variety of designs suitable only for
wealthy customers.

[Illustration: CHIPPENDALE SETTEE--FRETWORK]

The “Director” contains many designs that are fantastic, and many that
are difficult and even impossible to execute. Fortunately Chippendale’s
fame does not rest upon these designs, made to catch the eyes of his
richer patrons, but upon the pieces actually made, and it is refreshing
to see how much finer are these latter, evolved by the trained
craftsman, understanding every limitation and every possibility of his
material. Chippendale’s chairs represent by far the best expression
of his genius. Starting with the modified Dutch forms introduced by
William and Mary and Queen Anne, in which the _cabriole_ leg with
ball and claw feet and the flowing curved back with solid splat are
the prominent features, he soon developed an individual style marked
by great dignity, strength, and originality. His earliest chairs are
perhaps the finest. In these the _cabriole_ leg is always employed,
and the side frames of the back curve outward as they run up to more
or less pronounced ears at the top. The top rail takes more or less of
a cupid bow shape, and the central splat fills in the inclosed space.
It is in the design of these central splats and the inclosed framework
that Chippendale is at his best. The almost inexhaustible variety of
figure in these pierced and interlaced centers, always in the happiest
relation to the framework, gives the principal interest to these
chairs, and stamps Chippendale as one of the great masters of design.

[Illustration: CHIPPENDALE ARMCHAIR]

Chippendale’s styles represent many influences. His early work was
patterned closely upon Queen Anne models; but with the “Director”
appeared many examples of Gothic and fretted furniture. The Gothic,
unsuitable as it was for domestic use, obtained little vogue; but the
ornamentation of chairs and tables, either by open or, more commonly,
applied fretwork, was popular for a dozen years or more, and is
characteristic of some of Chippendale’s most successful if not most
showy productions.

During this same period a rage for things Chinese possessed the popular
taste, and in many latticed chair backs and canopied tops of cabinets
the versatile cabinetmaker catered to this new interest.

Besides his chairs, the name of Chippendale is closely associated with
the charming tripod tables, generally made with tilted top and often
with molded or “piecrust” border, with the flat card tables so much
used in the gaming of the period, and with the all-china cabinets and
bookcases with glass fronts, and oftentimes with a characteristic
broken pediment at the top.

The two other men who identified their names with English styles
worked under the influence of the classical revival brought about in
England largely by the influence of the brothers Adam. In the case of
Heppelwhite this influence greatly affected but did not absolutely
determine the style; for this practical cabinetmaker was a man of
independent if not original ideas, and his work bears a strong stamp
of individuality. Heppelwhite died in 1786, and the “Cabinet-maker and
Upholsterer’s Guide,” published by his widow and partners in 1788,
shows us in the form of a trade catalogue much of the spirit and
quality of his work.

[Illustration: CHIPPENDALE TABLE

_This table shows strong Chinese influence._]


HEPPELWHITE--THE EXPONENT OF ELEGANCE

[Illustration: HEPPELWHITE CORNER CABINET]

The most characteristic designs of Heppelwhite are his chair backs.
These are commonly shield or oval shaped, with open center splats,
in the center of which were often introduced the ostrich plumes of
the Prince of Wales. Another form of back frequently employed by
Heppelwhite was that with slightly curved sides and strongly bowed top,
known as the “camel back.”

The legs of Heppelwhite’s chairs are almost always tapering and
square in sections and end in a spade foot. The proportions of these
chairs give an effect of extreme elegance and refinement. They seem
almost fragile; but the material is disposed with such skill and the
workmanship is so excellent that in reality they are far stronger than
might appear.

[Illustration: EXAMPLES OF HEPPELWHITE CHAIRS]

From the time of the Middle Ages the buffet has existed as an important
article of furniture; but to Heppelwhite is due the credit of
perfecting the sideboard in its present English form. He combined the
pedestal cellaret and side table of Robert Adam in one structure, and
effected a union of utility with elegance, which he executed in many
pleasing designs of bow and serpentine front.

To Heppelwhite we must also give credit for the most refined and
tasteful use of inlay and of veneers to be found in English furniture.
On the doors of wardrobes and on the front of drawers he employed
veneers of the beautiful curl mahogany that came into favor about
1760, and on the front of his solid mahogany tables, sideboards, and
bookcases he substituted for carving the inlay of low-toned colored
woods in the form of lines and narrow bands and other ornamental
motives.

[Illustration: HEPPELWHITE COMMODE]


SHERATON--THE PURIST

The last of the three great cabinetmakers represents the culmination
of the classic spirit derived both from the brothers Adam and the
French Louis XVI style. Sheraton’s productions, or rather his designs,
depicted in the “Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing-Book,” have
little of the vigor and strength of Chippendale’s work; but they are
always characterized by delicacy and refinement.

[Illustration: EXAMPLES OF SHERATON CHAIRS]

Sheraton designed furniture both in mahogany and in satinwood,
decorated by inlay and by painting, and it is with this last style, the
introduction of which was largely due to the popularity of the gifted
young artist Angélique Kauffmann, that he is particularly identified.
His work in mahogany is characterized by simplicity of form and by the
tasteful use of inlay, in which respect he was perhaps the equal of
Heppelwhite.

His chair backs are almost always based upon the straight line, and,
although sometimes made petty by the introduction of inappropriate
classic ornament, they exhibit on the whole much skill and refinement
in composition. In the legs of chairs and tables he almost invariably
used turned and tapering supports, which were frequently decorated by
reeding. In the sides and often the backs of his chairs he reintroduced
the vogue of canework, which had not appeared in fashionable furniture
since the seventeenth century.

Sheraton’s satinwood furniture took the form mainly of commodes or
bureaus, small writing desks, toilet tables, and other lighter articles
for the boudoir. The daintiness and elegance of some of these pieces
decorated by the brush of Angélique Kauffmann or Pergolesi challenge
comparison with some of the exquisite furniture made during the reign
of Louis XVI, and they mark the final culmination of English furniture
before its degeneration into the mediocrity of later times.

[Illustration: SHERATON SIDEBOARD]


SUPPLEMENTARY READING

    French Furniture                                           _A. Saglio_
    A History of English Furniture                        _Percy Macquoid_
    French Furniture in the Eighteenth Century                _Lady Dilke_
    Colonial Furniture in America                  _Luke Vincent Lockwood_
    English Furniture of the Eighteenth Century        _Herbert Cescinsky_
    Furniture                                           _Esther Singleton_
    French and English Furniture                        _Esther Singleton_
    The Furniture Designs of Thomas Chippendale            _J. Munro Bell_




[Illustration: ANTIQUE CHEST--THIRTEENTH CENTURY]




_FURNITURE AND ITS MAKERS_

_Old Furniture_

ONE


People have always used furniture; but the kind of furniture we use
today is of comparatively recent origin. Wood, ivory, precious stones,
bronze, silver, and gold have been used from earliest times in the
construction and for the decoration of furniture, but modern furniture
is a development of little more than four centuries.

Furniture has always varied in kind and style, according to the needs
and customs of its users. There are few examples left of really ancient
furniture. This is due partly to the perishable materials used in its
making, and partly to the fact that the people of olden times had
little furniture of any kind. Even the poorest home of today is better
supplied with some household appliances than the most aristocratic
house of splendid Egypt, tasteful Greece, or luxurious Rome.

And in the long period between the destruction of these ancient
civilizations and the Renaissance the making of furniture developed
very little. The rulers of Egypt were as well housed as the early
kings of England. Household furnishings were the privilege of the
great alone. No person of mean degree could or would dare to have used
a chair--one of the commonest objects in every modern home. Active
people, as they were, living much in the open air, they needed but
benches on which to sit at meals, and beds on which to sleep. Our
luxuries were not only unknown, but unnecessary to them.

The Egyptians used wooden furniture, carved and gilded; they also used
chests in which to keep things. The tables and couches of the Assyrians
were inlaid with ivory and precious metals. The wood used was mostly
cedar and ebony. Solomon’s bed was of cedar of Lebanon. The furniture
of Greece was oriental in form, and from this the Romans absorbed many
ideas. The Roman tables were of marbles or rare woods. They used gold
and silver plentifully, even cooking utensils being made of these
precious metals.

Most medieval furniture of Italian make was richly gilded and painted.
In the north of Europe carved oak was used to a greater extent. The
feudal halls were furnished with benches carved and paneled. Chests
of oak or Italian cypress were used as receptacles for clothes and
tapestries. The oak coffer with wrought iron bands shown in the picture
is of French make, of the latter half of the thirteenth century.

The Renaissance made a great change in furniture making. Cabinets and
paneling were done in the outlines of palaces and temples. In Florence,
Rome, Venice, and Milan there began on a large scale the manufacture
of sumptuous cabinets, tables, chairs, and chests. Spain, France, and
Germany soon followed the fashion, and in England Henry VIII greatly
encouraged the art of furniture making.

Then came the great period of furniture, the eighteenth century. From
being massive and exceedingly scarce and costly, furniture became
light, plentiful, and cheap.

    PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
    ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 30, SERIAL No. 30




[Illustration: LOUIS XIV ARMCHAIR]




_FURNITURE AND ITS MAKERS_

_Boulle and Marot_

TWO


There was no limit to the prices a reckless and profligate court was
willing to pay for luxurious beauty during the sumptuous, extravagant
reign of Louis the Magnificent of France. For much that was most
splendid and beautiful in furniture making at this period stands the
name of Charles André Boulle. His imagination and skill were given full
play, and he proved equal to the demands made upon him.

Boulle was a remarkable man. In a court whose only thought was of
pleasure and display, he realized that his furniture must not only
excel all others in richness, beauty, and cost; it must also be both
comfortable and useful. He was appointed cabinet maker to the Dauphin,
the heir to the throne of France. This distinction, together with his
own tastes, led him to copy some of the manners and bearing of his rich
customers.

He was an aristocrat among furniture makers. He spent the greater part
of his large fortune in filling his workshop with works of art. His
warehouses were packed with precious woods and finished and unfinished
pieces of magnificent furniture. In his own rooms were priceless works
of art, the collection of a lifetime--gems, medals, drawings, and
paintings, which included forty-eight drawings by Raphael.

Boulle’s ruin came in a single night. When he was seventy-eight years
old all his property was destroyed by fire. His loss was not only of
fortune, but of reputation as well; for when he was down and out he
resorted to tricks and questionable dealings which brought him many
lawsuits. He died in debt and poverty, a discredited and broken man.

The English court vied with France in its extravagance, and heaped
honors and wealth on the man who, like Boulle, in France, was foremost
among designers of furniture in that country. The authorities on fine
furniture frequently speak of Marot’s work in connection with that of
the great Boulle. Daniel Marot was the son of Jean Marot, an architect
and engraver. After he went to England with William III he principally
concentrated his talent upon the adornment of Hampton Court Palace.
Much of the furniture at Hampton Court bears unmistakable traces of
his authorship. At Windsor Castle also there is a silver table that is
attributed to him.

Marot’s work differs from that of Boulle in that he inserted, in
medallion form, pictorial subjects in a heavy framework of ornament.
In other pieces the inlay took the form of geometrical, floral, and
animal patterns, combined with the warmer and more beautiful tints of
the exotic woods. The whole was marked by an unsurpassed degree of
excellence in workmanship.

Besides furniture, Marot designed carved chimney pieces, panels for
walls, ceilings, and wall brackets. He was also famous as a designer of
gold and silver plate, and he even made tea urns and cream jugs.

    PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
    ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 30, SERIAL No. 30




[Illustration: LOUIS XV SIDEBOARD--MADE BY RIESENER]




_FURNITURE AND ITS MAKERS_

_J. H. Riesener_

THREE


The early years of the life of Jean Henri Riesener would seem to
indicate that he was born under a lucky star. But long before his
death, at the age of seventy-one, in the first decade of the nineteenth
century, his star had set. Before the outbreak of the French Revolution
he commanded enormous prices for his work. One small table that he
constructed is said to have been sold for more than a thousand dollars.
Yet in his old age he was only saved from utter ruin by his son, a
portrait painter.

Œben, the famous and successful furniture maker, under whom Riesener
served as an apprentice, died and left, besides a young and handsome
widow, one of the largest workshops in Paris and a large fortune. The
young man promptly married the widow, and upon her death, six years
later, came into possession of both the property and the fortune. Three
years later he married the daughter of a citizen of Paris; but again
his marriage proved of short duration, for after a few stormy years of
wedded life he took refuge in the new divorce laws of the country, and
returned again to the state of single blessedness.

Œben, his master, had been commissioned by King Louis XV of France
to make a bureau. King Louis was called the “well beloved,” although
he was really hated by the majority of his subjects. This bureau
contributed greatly to Riesener’s fame; for its construction took three
years, and, Œben having died in the meantime, his pupil completed it.

The massive bronze doors of this royal bureau were ornamented
with elaborate and intricately modeled figures, and the whole was
fashioned after a complete and perfect miniature model. The degree
of craftsmanship that was brought to bear upon this historical piece
of furniture was of such a character that a second bureau, built
similarly, was begun and completed by a competitor before the original
was finished.

Riesener became a greater artist than his teacher, Œben, and was
recognized as one of the leading furniture makers of his time. His
great activity is shown by the quantity and elaborate detail of the
furniture he made.

At the beginning of the French Revolution evil days came upon Riesener.
Those wealthy customers who did not flee and escaped the guillotine
were made bankrupt. In 1793 he held a sale of his prized collection of
furniture; but he was forced to buy most of it back himself. A little
later he tried again to realize some money on the furniture; but this
also was a failure.

His son, who had joined the army, returned to Paris and saved the aged
furniture maker from starvation.

    PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
    ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 30, SERIAL No. 30




[Illustration: INTERIOR SHOWING THREE CHIPPENDALE CHAIRS]




_FURNITURE AND ITS MAKERS_

_Thomas Chippendale_

FOUR


A young art student came to a furniture shop in London and the talk
was of beauty of line, the dignity of proportion, and the introduction
of mahogany in the manufacture of furniture. The art student afterward
became Sir Joshua Reynolds, the world famed painter. The furniture
maker was Thomas Chippendale, known as “King of the Eighteenth Century
Furniture Designers.” And to these early friendly talks and arguments
Chippendale attributes his reputation as a master of line and a genius
of proportion.

Before the time of Chippendale most of the furniture was made of the
heavier native woods, such as walnut or oak. Mahogany made a powerful
appeal to him, because of its highly polished surface and the exquisite
beauty of the wood itself; for the young cabinet maker who came up to
London from Worcestershire had a passionate love of beauty and he was
a master workman. From his father, who had achieved considerable local
fame, he inherited this love, and he had learned how to make the wood
carvings that are characteristic of his designs.

After a fire he converted four adjacent dwelling houses into a shop,
which was situated on St. Martins Lane, in the fashionable section of
London; and because he protested against the amount of his taxes it
seems probable he was prosperous. Moreover, he belonged to the Society
of Arts, with Gibbon the historian, Richardson the novelist, Dr.
Johnson the lexicographer, and Horace Walpole the politician. If you
add to this that he married in 1748 and died in 1779, there is summed
up practically all there is known of Thomas Chippendale himself.

Chippendale made beautiful furniture. He was recognized by both the
nobility and gentry, not only as an authority on the subject, but as
an artist. He was probably better known as a designer of chairs than
of any other form of furniture. Chippendale was familiar with artistic
designs in Japan, Italy, and Spain, and was ready always to take ideas
from the humble as well as the great, as is shown from the fact that
subscribers to his book, “The Gentleman and Cabinet-maker’s Director,”
range from the Duke of Northumberland to a local bricklayer. A large
part of his reputation is attributed to this book, which was not so
much a guide to his finished productions as an outline of the designs
he would like to make. And these designs have served as a guide to
furniture makers ever since.

    PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
    ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 30, SERIAL No. 30




[Illustration: LOUIS XVI CHAIR, WITH BEAUVAIS TAPESTRY]




_FURNITURE AND ITS MAKERS_

_Thomas Sheraton_

FIVE


At forty years of age Thomas Sheraton was a poverty-pinched journeyman
cabinet maker and Baptist preacher in Stockton-on-Tees. Then in 1790
he went to London, where he found even a greater poverty, but where he
made for himself as a designer of furniture a name that will last as
long as the world loves beautiful things. The fifteen remaining years
of his life were tragically sad.

Sheraton’s knowledge was gained through years of hardship and
privation. He lived to see his chosen art reach its zenith, and then to
see it fall away. He had scarce perfected his creations when they were
overwhelmed by a wave of bad taste that swept much beauty from English
furniture.

When Sheraton reached London he hadn’t enough money to set up shop,
much less to employ skilled workmen. So, instead of making furniture,
he wrote about it, varying this occasionally by writing sermons or
tracts. He made little money, but many enemies, for he had a bitter
tongue.

Adam Black, afterward the famous publisher, was then a printer’s
apprentice, and lived for a time in Sheraton’s humble home. “The night
I arrived,” Black wrote, “there were but two cups and saucers, one of
which I used, Sheraton’s wife sharing her young daughter’s porridge
bowl.”

Black published Sheraton’s “Encyclopedia of Furniture.” This brought
Sheraton some fame, but little food. The big work showed the great
range and variety of Sheraton’s art.

We love his furniture for its finely curved surfaces, graceful sweeps
of sideboards and cabinets reflecting the light. Aside from its beauty,
Sheraton’s furniture was essentially practical--sometimes in most
original fashion. For example, he invented a summer bed, divided in the
center so as to give a greater circulation of air. There was likewise
a hollow-front sideboard that became popular for the ease with which
a butler could reach across for a stray glass or piece of china ware.
His “conversation chair” was designed for the beaux of Georgian times,
whose coat-tails were too costly to be sat upon. The proper position
in this chair was for the sitter to face the back of the chair, with
his arm resting on the top rail, so that his coat-tails could hang. The
so-called “Pouch Table,” much beloved today by neat housewives, was
Sheraton’s invention. It was a work table with a pouch of silk on each
side.

Besides his great book, Sheraton got up a handbook for the benefit of
his brother craftsmen, in which he gave in a helpful manner minute
descriptions of his various pieces. The spirit that prompted him to do
this was the finest thing in Sheraton’s nature. He had his faults. He
was narrow, self-centered, and bitterly resentful of the success of
others, but he believed it to be a man’s duty to give to the world the
benefit of his full knowledge, and he sacrificed himself through life
to do this.

    PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
    ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 30, SERIAL No. 30




[Illustration: LOUIS XVI CABINET]




_FURNITURE AND ITS MAKERS_

_George Heppelwhite_

SIX


George Heppelwhite was one of the great names in furniture making.
His wife published after his death a book, “The Cabinet Maker and
Upholsterer’s Guide, or Repository of Design for Every Article of
Household Furniture in the Newest and Most Approved Taste,” on which
his reputation rests. This book went through three editions in 1788,
two years after the author’s own death.

The designs in his book are characterized by comfort rather than
artificiality. With this is combined great technical excellence and
extreme lightness and durability. Curiously, however, these designs are
not all of equal value. Some are as good as the best work of any era,
while others are most commonplace.

Although even at that time tea cost five dollars a pound, its use
had become very popular throughout England. Heppelwhite introduced
many articles that had to do with the tea service. Many peculiarly
constructed and choice urn stands, tea trays, chests, and caddies are
attributed to him.

Heppelwhite’s furniture had an interesting characteristic. The legs
tapered delicately on the inside faces only, and were finished with a
square foot. This gave the impression of grit and power to otherwise
fragile furniture.

There were several stock designs, or ornaments, of which this furniture
maker made frequent use. He was particularly fond of inserting ovals in
the backs of his chairs. Frequently a carved ear of corn was used as
a decoration. Heppelwhite also made abundant use of a Prince of Wales
feather in delicate carving, combined with an inlay of colored woods.
This use of the royal plume was attributed to his loyalty to the Prince
of Wales. It was conclusive proof of the popularity of the Prince’s
party when the illness of George III caused such national strife.

The fact that Heppelwhite was accused by his enemies of plagiarism does
not detract a bit from his real position. It shows rather that, like
all real artists, he remained a student until the close of his career.
He never disdained to profit by the experience and teachings of others,
even those less eminent than himself.

    PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
    ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 30, SERIAL No. 30