Antique Carved Oak 1890 Attributed to Gillows Metamorphic Library Armchair Table

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...

We are delighted to offer for sale this sublime original Regency circa 1810-1820 fully restored metamorphic library steps table with oxblood leather steps This is an important and sophisticated piece of English Regency furniture. Every discerning gentleman’s library should have one. They were the height of elegance and technology in the late Georgian to early Victorian era The one is a very fine, fully restored example, the steps are hidden inside the bottom drawer, the idea being you sit this table near a very large library bookcase...

This magnificent games table incorporates some of the rarest English marbles, hardstones and fossil specimens, including Derbyshire Blue John. The scarcity of these coveted stones makes an inlaid circular piece of this size a truly exceptional and unique masterpiece. The tabletop, with its fabulous specimens surrounding an Ashford marble chessboard...

A William IV rosewood free-standing end support table attributed to Gillows, the rectangular top with the original leather and an ormolu gallery on three sides, all above a single di...