Lot Essay
James Shoolbred & Co are recorded at the Victoria and Albert Museum as furniture makers. They exhibited 'a very extensive selection of items' in the 1878 Paris Universal Exhibition. Much of the furniture they designed was influenced by the 'Aesthetic Taste', popularised by Oscar Wilde and the architect E.W. Godwin.
An identical mahogany hall stool stamped by James Shoolbred & Co. and with a registration mark for 13 December 1883, was sold anonymously in these Rooms, 14 July 1994, lot 163. A pair of hall stools of the same model were sold from the collection of Mary, Viscountess Rothermere, Christie's New York, 16 April 1994, lot 150, and two further single oak stools were sold anonymously, in these Rooms, 6 June 1996, lots 29 and 63.
An identical mahogany hall stool stamped by James Shoolbred & Co. and with a registration mark for 13 December 1883, was sold anonymously in these Rooms, 14 July 1994, lot 163. A pair of hall stools of the same model were sold from the collection of Mary, Viscountess Rothermere, Christie's New York, 16 April 1994, lot 150, and two further single oak stools were sold anonymously, in these Rooms, 6 June 1996, lots 29 and 63.