Burr Walnut Brown Leather Regency Metamorphic Reading Armchair to Library Steps

We are delighted to offer for sale this large and collectable lightly restored William IV circa 1830 Flamed Mahogany, metamorphic armchair which converts into Library steps attributed to Gillows of Lancaster and London. This is a wonderful piece of English history, I have never seen another with such elegant turned front legs, usually they are plainer and straight timber. The seat pad has been upholstered with a grey linen, the steps and raw flamed mahogany and look amazing. This chair is an important and extremely expensive looking thing that commands attention in any setting. You can see the same model made by Gillows currently viewed in the Victorian & Albert Museum, below is an extra from their listing. The period 1800-1825 was a great one for ‘patent’ or ‘metamorphic’ furniture This chair, which transforms into a short set of steps for use with bookshelves, is close to a design for a ‘Library Chair’ published in Rudolph Ackermann’s Repository of the Arts in July 1811, which was made by the London firm of Morgan and Saunders, of Catherine Street, Strand. They were well known for their ingenious furniture, including reading chairs with writing surfaces attached and a great variety of travelling beds...

We are delighted to offer for sale this absolutely stunning, highly collectable, Limited Edition 52/150 Steward Linford William Shakespeare Metamorphic library steps armchair made from Historic Oak and Pewter from Shakespeare Warwickshire, exhibited in The Living Chair Museum This is pretty much the best-looking chair I have ever seen and certainly the most decorative library steps. The design is based on a Regency Gillow’s of Lancaster model of a metamorphic library steps, the idea being with tall Georgian bookcases you have a reading chair next to the bookcase and when you need to get a book down from on high, you simply flip the chair top over and you have steps This one has been specially made as a homage to William Shakespeare, the top of the back rest has been hand carved with a city scene depicting Shakespeare theatre, under we find a painted scene of Romeo courting Juliette, on the back you have William Shakespeare’s name hand carved in with the edition number 52/150, converting it to steps we find a pewter plaque...

We are  delighted to offer for sale this lovely antique Arts & Crafts Victorian metamorphic library steps chair in oak with period upho...

We are is delighted to offer for sale this lovely antique Mid Victorian metamorphic library steps chair in oak with period carvings to the back A very charming and highly collectable piece, designed as an at home library steps and reading chair, these are used to add a sense of grand occasion to a standard bookcase...

We are delighted to offer for sale this pair of large and collectable Regency style metamorphic armchairs which converts into Library steps after the original 18th century design by ...

We are delighted to offer for sale this large and collectable fully restored Regency circa 1810-1820 metamorphic armchair which converts into Library steps attributed to Gillows of Lancaster and London This wonderful piece of English history has been on a journey of restoration, the frame has been washed back and French polished by a Victorian trained polisher, the leather upholstery is all new, it is Italian cattle hide, upholstered plain then hand dyed six times, antiqued and sealed, it has a lovely rich reddish brown colour to it. This chair is larger than any other of its type you would have seen, it is an important and extremely expensive looking thing that commands attention in any setting. You can see the same model made by Gillows currently viewed in the Victorian & Albert Museum, below is an extra from their listing. The period 1800-1825 was a great one for ‘patent’ or ‘metamorphic’ furniture This chair, which transforms into a short set of steps for use with bookshelves, is close to a design for a ‘Library Chair’ published in Rudolph Ackermann’s Repository of the Arts in July 1811, which was made by the London firm of Morgan and Saunders, of Catherine Street, Strand. They were well known for their ingenious furniture, including reading chairs with writing surfaces attached and a great variety of travelling beds...

With horizontal tablet crestrail with scrolled ends over down scrolled arms raised on saber legs, chair folds forward to form a ladder.

A set of Regency mahogany metamorphic library steps, this sturdy armchair unfolds to reveal four leather-inset steps which rest on the cresti...

A beautifully hand crafted Olive leather tufted Bench with a Mahogany frame. The Top tilts up revealing a set of 5 Library Stairs. The stairs lock into place and a lower pull out s...

A Regency mahogany library reading chair, of rectangular form with slatted back and sides, with two deep buttoned cushions and padded elbow rests re-upholstered in distressed black l...

The rectangular padded seat covered in brown leather, opening to reveal a set of library steps, over a solid inlaid seat-rail and ring-turned tapering legs ending in castors. 18in. high, 34 1/2in. wide and 16 1/2in. deep. Opened, 36in. high and 49in. wide. Rooms organized during the Regency period as libraries often had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. The upper shelves were difficult to reach, so movable library stairs were invaluable. Further, libraries were one of the most important rooms in a stately house, symbol of its owner's wealth, culture and status. As a consequence, designers, architects and cabinet or chair makers devoted much attention to its architecture and decoration. Hence, the emrgence of innovative ideas such as our bench. Enter the Regency era metamorphic library chair/bench (chairs are more common than benches)! The tables, chairs and stools containing library steps were patented in Great Britain by Robert Campbell in 1774 but this innovative chair-based design did not become immediately popular. Once the Regency was established, a neo-classical interpretation of Campbell’s Metamorphic Library Chair concept started to become popular in London. Any early attributions rely heavily on two contemporary sketches...

This chair converts to a stepladder for accessing your library books or to use a display area.