Lot Essay
The design of this cheval-screen bookcase corresponds exactly to a pattern published by George Smith in his Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide, London, 1826-27, pl. CXXXVIII. The plate is marked 'Published by Jones & Co. Aug. 11. 1827'.
The design is printed on a scale of one inch to the foot, to which this bookcase corresponds exactly. The screen may have been manufactured by Smith himself. In the Guide, he titled himself 'Upholsterer and Furniture Draughtsman' to King George IV and that he had already been employed 'by some of the most exalted characters in the country to manufacture many of the designs'.
The design is printed on a scale of one inch to the foot, to which this bookcase corresponds exactly. The screen may have been manufactured by Smith himself. In the Guide, he titled himself 'Upholsterer and Furniture Draughtsman' to King George IV and that he had already been employed 'by some of the most exalted characters in the country to manufacture many of the designs'.