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Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

British

For more than two centuries, the name Howard & Sons Ltd has been synonymous with elegance and exceptional handcrafted quality. Their Victorian furnishings graced grand old hotels like The Savoy in London, British Royal residences and luxury yachts of the day, including American business tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt’s North Star

Today, stately armchairs, sofas and rich, hand-carved serving tables from Howard & Sons continue to be a gold standard among the most discerning furniture collectors. Queen Elizabeth II is even said to have owned the world's most extensive collection of Howard & Sons chairs.

Howard & Sons Ltd was founded in 1820 on Leman street in London by cabinetmaker and upholsterer John Howard. Although he had three sons — George, Charles and Joseph — it was only George who later joined his father in running the family business. Before their upholstered armchairs and sofas garnered universal acclaim, Howard & Sons was a cabinetry company that collaborated with another well-known cabinetmaker, Gillows of Lancaster and London, on large projects and likely manufactured upholstered furniture for Gillows. 

Howard & Sons Ltd showcased their pieces and won awards at several important exhibitions towards the end of the 19th century. They were given medals at the 1878 Paris Exhibition, the 1894 Antwerp Exhibition and the 1900 Paris Exposition. In 1901, they received their first Royal warrant to supply upholstered furniture to King Edward VII.

Howard & Sons Ltd continued production until 1947. During the 1950s, a London decorating firm called Lenygon & Morant began to trade under the Howard name. The company re-emerged in 1967 as Howard Chairs Ltd. Today, the brand is again known again as Howard & Sons and carries on the tradition of creating bespoke furniture from their London-based workshop.

On 1stDibs, find a range of antique Howard & Sons Ltd seating, case pieces and storage cabinets, tables and other collectibles.

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Creator: Howard & Sons Ltd
Huge Restored Antique Victorian Howard & Son's Brown Leather Chesterfield Sofa
By Howard and Sons, Howard & Sons Ltd, Howard Chairs Ltd.
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this very fine, fully restored Howard & Son’s Berners Street London, large Baring sofa upholstered with vintage brown le...
Category

19th Century English Victorian Antique Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Leather

Fine Victorian Howard & Son's Claw & Ball Feet Brown Leather Chesterfield Sofa
By Howard and Sons, Howard & Sons Ltd, Howard Chairs Ltd.
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this very fine, fully restored Howard & Son’s Berners Street London, large Baring sofa upholstered with new Fully Anilin...
Category

19th Century English Victorian Antique Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Leather

Large Vintage Howard & Son's Oxblood Leather Fully Stamped Chesterfield Sofa
By Howard Chairs Ltd., Howard & Sons Ltd, Howard and Sons
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning, lightly restored vintage Oxblood leather Chesterfield Tufted club sofa by Howard & Son's which is fully stamped. This sofa is pre...
Category

20th Century English Victorian Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Leather

Antique Howard & Sons Aesthetic Movement Sofa Claw & Ball Feet Chinoiserie Fabic
By Howard Chairs Ltd., Howard & Sons Ltd, Howard and Sons
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning exceptionally rare and original Howard & Son's circa 1880 two seat sofa with duvet feather padded arms and seat cushions, with Aesthetic movement ebonised frame and Claw & Ball feet in the original Chinese Chinoiserie upholstery. I have a large collection of very fine restored and original unrestored Howard & Son's seating listed under my other items. This is simply put the most comfortable sofa in the world, the arms back and base are all feather and fibre filled, you sink when seated in a similar manner to a very plump feather filled duvet. The upholstery is super rare original Victorian, heavily distressed, its Chinese Chinoiserie and has wonderful colours. The frame is period Victorian, it is the only Aesthetic movement ebonised frame I have seen and one of very few Claw & Ball examples as well. Howard & Sons are simply put are the finest sofa and armchair makers in history, the Queen even had a private collection. This piece is totally original and unrestored, it will only every be original once, as such I have left it as it is for the new owner to decide what to do with it, I can help with full restoration should the new owner wish. Dimensions Height:- 74cm Width:- 137cm Depth:- 77cm Seat height:- 44.5cm Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point. A History of Howard and Sons The name of Howard and Sons is probably one of the best known and highly sought-after names in Upholstered furniture. Over the next few paragraphs, I will do my best to give you a brief history of the company. The company was started by John Howard in 1820 trading from 24 Leman St, London as a Cabinet Maker. Over the next 25 years they would make several changes of premises within the Whitechapel area. First to 27 Great Alie St (Now just Alie St) before moving a short distance to 34 Great Alie St. In 1844 the company made its first venture into upholstered furniture by opening a showroom/workshop at 36 Red lion St. This was also to be a big move towards what would be their next and most famous location. In 1848 they moved to a new address much more accustomed with the name; Berners St. London as “Cabinet Maker, Upholsterer and Decorator” under the name John Howard and Sons. The business seemed to boom at this location with workshops opening up at Tottenham St, Charlotte Mews and Fitzroy Sq and an expansion to a second Berners St building in 1853. In 1869 the company consolidated its many workshops into the one building on Cleveland St. By 1872 the company was occupying 25, 26 and 27 Berners St. These adresses would remain unchanged until 1935. During this period they became a limited company in 1899 and won the first of their Royal warrants in 1901. In 1935 the the well-established decorators Lenygon and Morant...
Category

1880s English High Victorian Antique Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Upholstery, Hardwood

Important Antique Victorian Howard & Son's Chesterfield Sofa Inc Ticking Fabric
By Howard and Sons, Howard & Sons Ltd, Howard Chairs Ltd.
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale very rare, original Victorian circa 1860 Howard & Son’s Chesterfield sofa with the original ticking fabric and long, ...
Category

1860s English High Victorian Antique Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Walnut

Unrestored Antique Victorian Howard & Son's Chesterfield Sofa Inc Ticking Fabric
By Howard Chairs Ltd., Howard & Sons Ltd, Howard and Sons
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer very rare, original Victorian circa 1860 Howard & Son’s Chesterfield sofa with the original ticking fabric I actually have ...
Category

1860s English High Victorian Antique Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Hardwood

Howard & Sons Fully Stamped Sofa Feather Filled Feather Cushions Ticking
By Howard & Sons Ltd
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning exceptionally rare original Howard & Son’s sofas with the original ticking fabric This has to be the most comfortable sofa I have ever sat on, the back rest is fibre filled so its like a seat cushion for your back, the base cushions is a split panel feather filled cushion, so you have a fibre filled core with feathers on top...
Category

20th Century English Victorian Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Upholstery

Super Comfortable circa 1920 Howard & Son's Lenygon & Morant Ticking Fabric Sofa
By Howard Chairs Ltd., Howard & Sons Ltd, Howard and Sons
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this very rare original Howard & Son’s Lenygon & Morant sofa with the original ticking fabric This has to be the ...
Category

1920s English Victorian Vintage Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Upholstery

Antique Howard & Sons Portarlington Large Sofa Original Ticking Upholstery
By Howard Chairs Ltd., Howard and Sons, Howard & Sons Ltd
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer this stunning exceptionally rare and original Howard & Son's circa 1910-1920 Portarlington three seat large sofa with duvet padded arms and feather and fibr...
Category

1910s English Edwardian Vintage Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Upholstery

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Previously Available Items
Fine Victorian Howard & Son's Claw & Ball Feet Brown Leather Chesterfield Sofa
By Howard Chairs Ltd., Howard & Sons Ltd, Howard and Sons
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this very fine, fully restored Howard & Son’s Berners Street London, large Baring sofa upholstered with new Fully Aniline cattle hide leather with hand carved Claw & Ball feet This is pretty much the finest sofa ever made, Howard & Son’s are known as simply put the makers of the most comfortable sofas in the world. This is a highly collectable Baring model, it has an extra deep seat that you can comfortably curl your legs up on and then some. The inside back left leg is stamped with the serial numbered Howard & Son's LTD Berners street This sofa has been on a journey of restoration, it came to me with all the fabric removed and ready for reupholstery, the feathers had all sagged and lost their plumpness so the first thing was to have the backs and sides refilled with down feathers, the sofa then went to my French polisher to have the woodwork washed back and traditionally French polished from the ground up, the piece then went back to the upholsterers to be fully upholstered, I have used a very fine Italian Cattle Hide leather, this is fully aniline leather which is upholstered plain, with this type of leather you can see the natural grain and patina of the hide for a more authentic Victorian look, we then had new feather filled seat cushions made and it was off to the leather polishers, to achieve this colour the piece had to be hand dyed six times, antiqued, sealed and then finally waxed down This is the finest quality and condition Howard & Son's sofa for sale anywhere in the world today bar none. Dimensions Height:- 86.5cm Width:- 194.5cm Depth:- 105cm Seat height:- 58.5cm Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point. A History of Howard and Sons The name of Howard and Sons is probably one of the best known and highly sought after names in Upholstered furniture. Over the next few paragraphs I will do my best to give you a brief history of the company. The company was started by John Howard in 1820 trading from 24 Leman St, London as a Cabinet Maker. Over the next 25 years they would make several changes of premises within the Whitechapel area. First to 27 Great Alie St (Now just Alie St) before moving a short distance to 34 Great Alie St. In 1844 the company made its first venture into upholstered furniture by opening a showroom/workshop at 36 Red lion St. This was also to be a big move towards what would be their next and most famous location. In 1848 they moved to a new address much more accustomed with the name; Berners St. London as “Cabinet Maker, Upholsterer and Decorator” under the name John Howard and Sons. The business seemed to boom at this location with workshops opening up at Tottenham St, Charlotte Mews and Fitzroy Sq and an expansion to a second Berners St building in 1853. In 1869 the company consolidated its many workshops into the one building on Cleveland St. By 1872 the company was occupying 25, 26 and 27 Berners St. These adresses would remain unchanged until 1935. During this period they became a limited company in 1899 and won the first of their Royal warrants in 1901. In 1935 the the well established decorators Lenygon and Morant appear to take over the name with the business address being given as 31 Old Burlington St (Lenygon and Morants...
Category

19th Century English Victorian Antique Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Leather

Huge Restored Antique Victorian Howard & Son's Brown Leather Chesterfield Sofa
By Howard Chairs Ltd., Howard & Sons Ltd, Howard and Sons
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this very fine, fully restored Howard & Son’s Berners Street London, large Baring sofa upholstered with vintage brown leather that has Thomas Chippendale style floating button cushions Please note I have another of these which is in the process of being restored as we speak, it will be upholstered with all new leather and it has the duvet arms and back which are feather filled This is pretty much the finest sofa ever made, Howard & Son’s are known as simply put the makers of the most comfortable sofas in the world. This is a highly collectable baring model, it has an extra deep seat that you can comfortable curl your legs up on and then some. The cushions have oversized floating buttons, they have a fabric stitch pattern to them although they are solid. The inside back left leg is stamped with the serial numbered and the back right leg Howard & Son's LTD Berners street The sofa has been fully restored to including having the base lightly washed back and traditionally French polished, the leather has been totally washed back, hand dyed six times, antiqued, sealed, waxed down and polished, this is the only sofa in the world with this exact colour finish Dimensions Height:- 85.5cm Width:- 196cm Depth:- 108cm Seat height:- 47cm, seat width:- 156cm, seat depth:- 84.5cm Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point A History of Howard and Sons The name of Howard and Sons is probably one of the best known and highly sought after names in Upholstered furniture. Over the next few paragraphs I will do my best to give you a brief history of the company. The company was started by John Howard in 1820 trading from 24 Leman St, London as a Cabinet Maker. Over the next 25 years they would make several changes of premises within the Whitechapel area. First to 27 Great Alie St (Now just Alie St) before moving a short distance to 34 Great Alie St. In 1844 the company made its first venture into upholstered furniture by opening a showroom/workshop at 36 Red lion St. This was also to be a big move towards what would be their next and most famous location. In 1848 they moved to a new address much more accustomed with the name; Berners St. London as “Cabinet Maker, Upholsterer and Decorator” under the name John Howard and Sons. The business seemed to boom at this location with workshops opening up at Tottenham St, Charlotte Mews and Fitzroy Sq and an expansion to a second Berners St building in 1853. In 1869 the company consolidated its many workshops into the one building on Cleveland St. By 1872 the company was occupying 25, 26 and 27 Berners St. These adresses would remain unchanged until 1935. During this period they became a limited company in 1899 and won the first of their Royal warrants in 1901. In 1935 the the well established decorators Lenygon and Morant appear to take over the name with the business address being given as 31 Old Burlington St (Lenygon and Morants...
Category

19th Century English Victorian Antique Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Leather

Howard & Sons Fully Stamped Sofa Feather Filled Feather Cushions Howard Chairs
By Howard Chairs Ltd., Howard & Sons Ltd, Howard and Sons
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer this stunning Howard & Son’s Bridgewater sofa with stamped back leg and original label This has to be the most comfortab...
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20th Century English Victorian Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

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Restored Victorian Howard & Son's Chesterfield Brown Leather Corner Sofa Chaise
By Howard Chairs Ltd., Howard & Sons Ltd, Howard and Sons
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this very rare highly collectable Victorian circa 1870-1880 Howard & Son’s Berners Street, Walnut framed corner sofa chaise lounge with Chesterfiel...
Category

1870s English High Victorian Antique Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Leather

Howard & Sons Beckett Sofa
By Howard & Sons Ltd
Located in Conwy, GB
A really good original example, having been owned by one family in northern Scotland from new, we have simply refreshed it with new H&S factory ticking of the correct weight and colo...
Category

Early 20th Century English Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Oak

Howard & Sons Beckett Sofa
Howard & Sons Beckett Sofa
H 31.5 in W 65.7 in D 31.5 in
Large 19th Century Howard & Sons Wimborne Sofa
By Howard & Sons Ltd
Located in Conwy, GB
Raised on turned oak legs with factory stamped brass castors, stamped and numbered rear leg, makers, paper label to the central under stretcher. A scarce model in wonderful condit...
Category

1880s English Antique Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Oak

Antique Victorian Howard & Son's Berners Street Small Two Seat Library Sofa
By Howard Chairs Ltd., Howard & Sons Ltd, Howard and Sons
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning exceptionally rare and original early Howard & Son's circa 1840-1860 stamped small two seat sofa with duvet padded arms, feather fill...
Category

1840s English Early Victorian Antique Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Upholstery, Walnut

Stunning Howard & Sons Victorian Walnut Framed Claw & Ball Legs Hand Carved Sofa
By Howard Chairs Ltd., Howard & Sons Ltd, Howard and Sons
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning exceptionally rare and original Howard & Son's circa 1860-1880 fully stamped three seat sofa with Claw & Ball legs, duvet padded arms...
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1860s English High Victorian Antique Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

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1 of 2 Howard & Sons Fully Stamped Sofa Feather Filled Cushions Ticking Fabric
By Howard & Sons Ltd
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale 1 of 2 stunning exceptionally rare original Howard & Son’s sofas with the original ticking fabric This has to be the most comfortable sofa I ha...
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20th Century English Victorian Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Upholstery

Restored Howard & Sons Chesterfield Victorian Brown Leather Crescent Framed Sofa
By Howard & Sons Ltd, Howard and Sons
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning exceptionally rare original fully restored Victorian walnut framed Howard & Son’s Berners Street sofa with leather upholstery Thi...
Category

19th Century English Victorian Antique Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Leather

Howard & Sons Victorian Walnut Crescent Half Moon Framed Sofa Ticking Fabric
By Howard & Sons Ltd
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning exceptionally rare original Victorian walnut framed Howard & Son’s Berners Street sofa with the original ticking fabric...
Category

19th Century English Victorian Antique Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

Materials

Walnut, Upholstery

Victorian Walnut Claw and Ball Framed Howard & Sons Sofa Professional Stripped
By Howard & Sons Ltd
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning exceptionally rare original Victorian walnut framed claw and ball feet Howard & Son’s Berners Street stamped sofa with the original f...
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19th Century English Victorian Antique Howard & Sons Ltd Settees

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Howard & Sons Ltd settees for sale on 1stDibs.

Howard & Sons Ltd settees are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of upholstery and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Howard & Sons Ltd settees, although gray editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original settees by Howard & Sons Ltd were created in the Victorian style in united kingdom during the 19th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider settees by Howard Chairs Ltd., Howard and Sons, and Chesterfield. Prices for Howard & Sons Ltd settees can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $14,248 and can go as high as $36,916, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $23,963.

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Questions About Howard & Sons Ltd Settees
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Yes, all Howard and Sons chairs are stamped. However, the type and location of the stamp varies. You may see a name or number on a caster wheel or foot on some pieces. Others display the stamp on a paper label sewn onto the fabric. On 1stDibs, shop a variety of expertly vetted Howard and Sons chairs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    To spot an authentic Howard & Sons chair, first look for a name or number on the inside of the back foot. There may also be a paper label sewn into the hessian or a name stamp on the wheel. On 1stDibs, you can shop a collection of expertly vetted Howard & Sons chairs from some of the world’s top sellers.

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