Antique Edwardian Kidney Desk 'Waring & Gillow' c.1900

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About the Item

This is an antique Edwardian mahogany and satinwood crossbanded kidney shaped writing table circa 1900 in date. The desk bears an enamel label for Waring & Gillow the renowned furniture makers. The desk has the original green gold tooled leather inset. There is a long central drawer flanked by two short drawers to provide decent storage space. The desk stands on tapering legs. The handles, brass caps and castors are all original. This stunning desk will create a sense of style in your home or office. It is sure to become the centrepiece of your furniture collection and will receive the maximum amount of attention wherever it is placed. Condition: You are viewing this item in its excellent original untouched condition. Any restoration that is required will be accomplished before delivery and is included in the price. Dimensions in cm: Height 74 x Width 119 x Depth 55 Dim ensions in inches: Height 29.1 x Width 46.9 x Depth 21.7 Mahogany is probably one of the largest ‘families’ of hardwood, having many different varieties within its own species. Mahogany has been used for centuries in ship building, house building, furniture making etc and is the core structure of just about every 19th century vanity box, dressing case or jewellery box. It became more of a Victorian trend to dress Mahogany with these decorative veneers, such as Rosewood, Kingwood, Burr Walnut and Coromandel, so that the actual Mahogany was almost hidden from view. Mahogany itself is a rich reddish brown wood that can range from being plain in appearance to something that is so vibrant, figured and almost three dimensional in effect. Although Mahogany was most often used in its solid form, it also provided some beautifully figured varieties of veneer like ‘Flame’ Mahogany and ‘Fiddleback’ Mahogany (named after its preferred use in the manufacture of fine musical instruments). Satinwood is a hard and durable wood with a satinlike sheen, much used in cabinetmaking, especially in marquetry. It comes from two tropical trees of the family Rutaceae (rue family). East Indian or Ceylon satinwood is the yellowish or dark-brown heartwood of Chloroxylon swietenia. The lustrous, fine-grained, usually figured wood is used for furniture, cabinetwork, veneers, and backs of brushes. West Indian satinwood, sometimes called yellow wood, is considered superior. It is the golden yellow, lustrous, even-grained wood found in the Florida Keys and the West Indies. It has long been valued for furniture. It is also used for musical instruments, veneers, and other purposes. Satinwood is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Rutaceae. Waring & Gillow is a noted firm of English furniture manufacturers formed in 1897 by the merger of Gillow of Lancaster and Waring of Liverpool. The firm of Gillow's of Lancaster can be traced back to the luxury furniture and furnishings firm founded by Robert Gillow (1704–72) in 1730. Robert Gillow served an apprenticeship as a joiner. During the 1730s he began to exploit the lucrative West Indies trade exporting mahogany furniture and importing rum and sugar. Following his death in 1772, the business was continued by his two sons, Richard (1734–1811) and Robert (1745–93). In 1764 a London branch of Gillow's was established at 176 Oxford Road, now Oxford Street, by Thomas Gillow and William Taylor. The firm rapidly established a reputation for supplying high-quality furniture to the richest families in the country. During the final years of the 19th century the company ran into financial difficulty and from 1897 began a loose financial arrangement with Waring of Liverpool, an arrangement legally ratified by the establishment of Waring & Gillow in 1903. Waring's of Liverpool was founded by John Waring, who arrived in the city from Belfast in 1835 and established a wholesale cabinet making business. He was succeeded by his son Samuel James Waring who rapidly expanded the business during the 1880s, furnishing hotels and public buildings throughout Europe. He also founded Waring-White Building Company which built the Liverpool Corn Exchange, Selfridge's department store and the Ritz Hotel. Samuel James's son and namesake Samuel James Waring (1860-1940) continued the family business and was elevated to the peerage as Baron Waring in 1922. Gillow's had established a reputation for the outfitting of luxury yachts and liners, including the royal yacht Victoria and Albert, liners Lusitania,Heliopolis and Cairo, Queen Mary (1936) and Queen Elizabeth (1940) for Cunard. During the First World War the Lancaster factory was turned over to war production, making ammunition chests for the Navy and propellers for De Havilland DH9 aircraft. They also established a large tent-manufacturing facility of 8,000 workers during WW1 on the now closed former exhibition site at White City (the former Machinery Hall). They also made gas masks and trench covers from this site.During this time it was also at the White City site that the Workers Union first got recognition after a four-day strike mainly by women. The company also manufactured ammunition belts for use with machine guns, nosebags for horses and protective clothing for use during gas attacks. During World War II the factory produced parts for gliders and the Mosquito aircraft, while kit-bags, tents and camouflage nets were made by the upholstery department. However, the business of the firm began to decline and the Lancaster workshops closed on 31 March 1962. In 1980 Waring and Gillow joined with the cabinet-making firm Maple & Co, to become Maple, Waring and Gillow, subsequently part of Allied Maples Group Ltd, which includes Allied Carpets.

Place of Origin:
England
Period:
20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
c. 1900
Condition:
You are viewing this item in its excellent original untouched condition. Any restoration that is required will be accomplished before delivery and is included in the price.
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 053351stDibs: LU9506970536

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