Early 19th Century Six-Drawer Writing Table by Gillows

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Early 19th Century Six-Drawer Writing Table by Gillows

About the Item

Large six-drawer writing table by Gillows of Lancaster with fluted turned legs terminating in castors. Provenance: Robert Gillow (2 August 1704 – 1772) was an English furniture manufacturer. Born in Singleton, Lancashire he served an apprenticeship as a joiner and cabinet maker. He joined with a family of traders called Sattersthwaite and sailed with them to the West Indies as a ships carpenter. In Jamaica he became interested in mahogany and brought samples of the wood back to Lancaster in 1720. This may have been the first mahogany to be imported to England. He married Agnes Fell in 1729 in Lancaster. He founded the luxury furniture and furnishings firm Gillow of Lancashire in 1730. During the 1730s he began to exploit the lucrative West Indies trade exporting mahogany furniture and importing rum and sugar, in addition to fitting out ships cabins and doing finishing work in construction. The firm rapidly established a reputation for supplying high quality furniture and furnishings to the richest families in the country. They also had a London workshop in Thames Street. In 1764 a permanent London branch of Gillow's was established at 176 Oxford Road, now Oxford Street, by Robert's son, Thomas Robert Gillow (1745–1793), and William Taylor. Following Robert's retirement in 1769, the business was continued by his two sons, Richard (1734–1811) and Thomas Robert (his other children were Alice, Edward and John). [2] Richard Gillow was an architect of some note and he is credited with originating the telescopic dining-table and the first English billiard-table. For over a century, the firm was known for its luxury furniture and furnishings. 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. RR.

Creator:
Gillows of Lancaster & London (Manufacturer)
Dimensions:
Height: 29.5 in (74.93 cm)Width: 69.5 in (176.53 cm)Depth: 39.5 in (100.33 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Mahogany
Place of Origin:
United Kingdom
Period:
19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1820
Condition:
Seller Location:
Peterborough, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 14151stDibs: LU103281160508

Shop All Gillows of Lancaster & London

Gillows of Lancaster & London

It would be difficult to find an antique furniture enthusiast or collector unfamiliar with the name Gillows of Lancaster and London. The British furniture company — which has earned references in the writings of Jane Austen and elsewhere in literature — is renowned for its exceptional quality craftsmanship, and attracted designers such as Thomas Chippendale, Thomas Sheraton and George Hepplewhite in its heyday.

The firm was founded circa 1730 by Robert Gillow (1704–72), who worked as a joiner, housebuilder and overseas merchant before making furniture for homes and export. Gillow established his business in his home city of Lancaster. However, the company later expanded into London in the 1750s after Robert entered into a partnership with his son, Richard, who apprenticed with a London architect and learned the merchant trade in Barbados. Richard had entrepreneurial aptitude — he managed apprenticeships at the firm, ensured that quality materials were a priority, navigated economic hardships, and designed furniture, too. He created seating based on sketches drawn by his cousin, James Gillow, in London.

London’s wealthy upper class took notice of the Gillows’ high-quality furniture, which came to include bedroom furniture, cabinets, a range of seating and other pieces made of rosewood or rich mahogany imported from the West Indies and Jamaica. By the end of the 18th century, the manufacturer was one of the leading furniture makers in Britain. Gillows designed its own furnishings and worked with significant designers; they had in-house upholsterers and cabinetmakers and employed decorative techniques such as “japanning” in their designs.

Gillows of Lancaster and London became Gillow & Co. in 1813 after selling to Redmayne, Whiteside and Ferguson. The company continued to thrive throughout the Georgian era and into the Victorian period, a time that yielded well-known collaborations with Scottish architect and designer Bruce Talbert on a regular basis. High-brow clients of the manufacturer clamored for their inventive and functional designs for tables and writing desks, many of which incorporated whimsical elements such as secret and pop-up drawers. There was also demand for earlier Gillow designs such as Baroque and Gothic Revival pieces as well as adaptations of Chippendale works.

Despite their success, Gillow & Co. entered into financial hardship during the late 1800s with the advent of mass-produced furniture. By 1903, they merged with Waring of Liverpool to become Waring and Gillows and, in 1980, were taken over by Maple & Co. to become Maple, Waring and Gillow. Today, many Gillows of Lancaster and London pieces are in museums throughout the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.

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