19th Century Victorian Flame Mahogany Apothecary Box

Antique late-19th Century Victorian walnut cased games compendium. The box itself is protected by a lock and key, the lid applied with decorative brass playing cards, surrounded by c...

19th c. Charming antique miniature chest of drawers. The chest has a marble top. The case is figured mahogany, with four stacked drawers, the ...

18th Century Spanish Glass Apothecary's Container

Large Chinese carved wood apothecary balance scale with stand and storage drawer cabinet. It features beautiful carved fretwork on the top and sides...

People like to use the term ‘apprentice pieces’ when referring to small pieces of miniature furniture,but more often than not this isn’t the case. But what is an apprentice piece and why are they often confused with miniatures? Here we aim to answer these questions! The majority of miniature furniture are in fact sample pieces used by travelling salesmen. Workshops would send out salesmen on lengthy country-wide tours, with a miniature of each piece on his sales cart. This meant the cabinet maker could use the smaller form to show off his skills, without the salesman having to carry a full size piece of furniture wherever he went. Using exactly the same skills and techniques as used on the full sized pieces, the miniatures offered a way of potential buyers being able to get a feel of the quality of goods the workshop produced, before committing to a purchase. Better than a flat ink drawing in a catalogue. A much smaller number of these miniatures are termed ‘apprentice pieces’. Apprentice pieces, although again a scaled down version of the workshops’ offerings, were made by an often inexperienced apprentice. They were given lesser quality materials to work with and the craftsmanship was often less refined. Antique miniature furniture...

A Victorian display case with taxidermy turaco birds, labelled for and by George F. Butt for Rowland Ward Late 19th-early 20th century The...