Lot 139
139
Various Properties
AN EARLY VICTORIAN MAHOGANY AND EBONISED BREAKFRONT BOOKCASE in the gothic style, the cornice with ogee-arched finials flanked and divided by beaded pinnacles above a concave frieze mounted with flowerheads and a beaded arch filled with a pair of gothic-glazed doors and trefoil spandrels, enclosing two shelves, flanked by a conforming door to each side each enclosing two shelves, the lower section with a shaped panelled secretaire-drawer enclosing a black leather-lined writing-surface, pigeon-holes and mahogany-lined drawers, flanked by blind gothic-arches with mahogany-lined drawers, above a pair of low-arched ogee-panelled doors flanked by a conforming door to each side, on blind ogee-arched plinth base, restorations and some replacements

Details
AN EARLY VICTORIAN MAHOGANY AND EBONISED BREAKFRONT BOOKCASE in the gothic style, the cornice with ogee-arched finials flanked and divided by beaded pinnacles above a concave frieze mounted with flowerheads and a beaded arch filled with a pair of gothic-glazed doors and trefoil spandrels, enclosing two shelves, flanked by a conforming door to each side each enclosing two shelves, the lower section with a shaped panelled secretaire-drawer enclosing a black leather-lined writing-surface, pigeon-holes and mahogany-lined drawers, flanked by blind gothic-arches with mahogany-lined drawers, above a pair of low-arched ogee-panelled doors flanked by a conforming door to each side, on blind ogee-arched plinth base, restorations and some replacements
98in. (249cm.) wide; 110½in. (290cm.) high; 22in. (56cm.) deep

Lot Essay

The prototype for this 'Gothic tracery work' bookcase, with the addition of heraldic escutcheons, was illustrated in A Collection of Designs for Household Furniture, 1808, pl.103, published by George Smith, 'Upholder' to George, Prince of Wales, later King George IV. The bookcase exemplifies the Prince's taste for the florid 'gothic' style in the decorations carried out for him at Carlton House, London by James Wyatt (d.1813), whose detailed study of King Henry VII's Chapel, Westminster, and various cathedral restorations, combined with the publications of the antiquarian John Carter, Ancient Architecture of England, 1795-1814, encouraged the Prince's enthusiasm for this 'Old English' style. A closely related bookcase is illustrated in F.Collard, Regency Furniture, Woodbridge, 1985, (reprinted 1987), p.171.

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