Antique Victorian Military Band Drum by Hawkes & Son 19th Century

Antique Victorian walnut writing table, circa 1850 in date. One of the drawers is stamped by the maker: C.Hindley & Sons, late Miles & Edwards, 134 Oxford Street, London. It bears the inventory number 12451 The rectangular top features a moulded edge with a striking inset red leather writing surface over two cedar lined drawers to the frieze, fitted with Bramah locks. It is raised on four decorative barley twist legs terminating in brass castors. It is finished on all sides so that it can stand freely in the middle of a room. Complete with working Bramah locks and special key. Condition: In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 76 x Width 123 x Depth 69 Dimensions in inches: Height 2 foot, 6 inches x Width 4 foot x Depth 2 foot, 3 inches Hindley, Charles & Sons Berners Street & Oxford Street, London; cabinet makers, upholsterers and retailers (fl.c.1820-1892) Charles Hugh Hindley (b.1792- d.1871) was the son of Christopher, a merchant in Mere, Wiltshire. He moved to London with an elder brother to live with his uncle, who was possibly running the London branch of the Wiltshire business. In 1817 Charles joined the upholstery firm of Benjamin Merriman Nias at 32 Berners Street. Within a few years he bought the Nias business with a £1,000 investment from his family. Despite his business being described as a 'carpet warehouse' in London directories from 1820-1841, by the mid-1830s upholstery and cabinet work had joined his repertoire and he had taken on more showroom space next door at 31 Berners Street. Family records of the 1840s showed that individual custom-order business expanded to also ‘supplying established furnishing houses with goods on wholesale terms’. Jobs ranged from supplying Pentonville Prison with 100 hair mattresses and pillows, to altering spring roller blinds, to fulfilling private commissions with suites of parlour furniture. Hindley was the father of eleven children with three involved in the business: Charles Hugh (b. 1818), Frederick (b. 1820), and Albert Daniel (b.1822). Charles Hugh and Frederick joined the family firm about 1832, thus establishing the family partnership, Charles Hindley & Sons. Albert Daniel learned the carpet manufactory and trade in Kidderminster and eventually established a carpet manufactory in Liversedge, Yorkshire, supplying the family’s London store and others. In 1845 he patented an early tufted carpeting technique. Charles Hindley & Sons acquired the firm, Miles & Edwards in September 1844, including their premises at 134 Oxford Street. Both companies operated from this address until 1845 when Miles & Edwards was closed. The purchase of Miles & Edwards enabled Hindley & Co. to compete with other West End firms by offering everything from cabinet making and upholstery to painted decoration and interior design for the middle and upper class market. In a sample of 737 orders from October 1842-June 1845, six per cent of the clientele were upper and lower aristocracy with approximately seventy per cent gentry or middle class. The aristocratic clientele included the surnames of Hoare, Kirland, Drummond, Montefiore, Ashburton and Rothschild, and the Oriental Club at 18 Hanover Square (1824). Bramah is London's oldest security company. Established at 124 Piccadilly, London in 1784, and today based in Marylebone, London and Romford, Essex. Bramah made their first lock in 1784 and the patent was awarded in 1787. The designer was Joseph Bramah. Joseph Bramah was a leading inventor of the industrial revolution, patenting over 18 new ideas, including a new valve for the water closet (toilet), the hydraulic pump, a fountain pen, and a fire engine. Bramah also introduced a beer hand pump for use at the bar, to prevent fluid loss when barmen went downstairs to pour a new jug! Due to the quality of his manufacturing, his name became a by-word amongst British Engineers for engineering excellence and many of his inventions are on display in the Science Museum in London. You can find one of his original toilets still working in Osborne House, Queen Victoria's home on the Isle of Wight. The Bramah lock was unique and advanced property and valuables protection enormously. Indeed it was 50 years ahead of any Chubb lock...

This is an excellent antique mahogany pool scoreboard by Palmer & Sons, London late 19th century in date. This is one of the best examples of a pool scoreboard, with nine slides and a moulded pediment above the maker's label: PALMER & SONS, 111, HIGH STREET, BORO', LONDON Together with two prints in oak frames, THE RULES OF POOL & THE RULES OF PYRAMID POOL, Burroughes & Watts, London. Provenance: Sotheby's Belgravia sale on 6th December 1979 of World Champion Billiards/Snooker player 'Joe Davis' This is a fun piece which is sure to attract a lot of attention from your guests and be a welcome addition to any games room.. THE BOTANICAL NAME FOR THE MAHOGANY THIS ITEM IS MADE OF IS SWIETENIA MACROPHYLLA AND THIS TYPE OF MAHOGANY IS NOT SUBJECT TO CITES REGULATION. Condition: In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 65 x width 44 x depth 9 - scoreboard Height 58 x width 41 x depth 2.5 - print with frame Dimensions in inches: Height 25.6 x width 17.3 x depth 3.5 - scoreboard Height 22.8 x width 16.1 x depth 1.0 - print with frame Burroughes & Watts, London - firm, which would become one of the most famous of the English billiard table manufacturers, was founded in 1836 by William Burroughes in partnership with F. Watts. William had learnt his trade with Thurston's, and set up his new business at 19 Soho Square, London. He brought with him from Thurston's all the latest innovations for billiard tables, immediately starting to produce models with rubber cushions and slate beds. Even though the natural rubber cushions would give extremes of elasticity according to temperature, and the slates where only an inch thick, this was to be the future of billiard tables, and Burroughes and Watts were at the forefront from the very beginning. They were quickly recognised as a world-class manufacturer and received a prize medal for a table entered for the Great Exhibition of 1851, with a similar award being received at the subsequent London Exhibition of 1862. In 1860 they were making a modest 150 full-sized tables a year, but by the end of this decade production had doubled. In 1869 they followed the lead of Thurston's and improved their cushions with "vulcanised" rubber, which were designed to minimise the effect of temperature variations. The business now looked for expansion away from London, and in the early 1870's they opened up branches in Dublin and Belfast. At this time most tables in Ireland were made with cast iron frames, and the wooden framed Burroughes & Watts tables proved popular with the locals. In 1873 the company secured a major contract for billiard tables to "Her Majesty's War Department and Admiralty" and around the same time received the warrant of Queen Victorian and Edward, Prince of Wales. The following year, the champion, William Cook...

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