EARLY 19TH CENTURY AND LATER, ORIGINALLY FITTED AND SUBSEQUENTLY RECONSTRUCTED TO FORM FREE-STANDING BOOKCASES IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Details

A pair of Regency oak library bookcases
Early 19th Century and later, originally fitted and subsequently reconstructed to form free-standing bookcases in the second half of the 20th Century
En-Suite to the previous lot
the reverse with painted inventory numbers 'A4' and 'GL4', with a later paper property label for Princess Margaret
130 in. (230 cm.) high; 57½ in. (146 cm.) wide; 17½ in. (44.5 cm.) deep (2)

Provenance

Almost certainly commissioned by Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773-1843) for his Library at Kensington Palace, where they remained until dismantled by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (d.1940).

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The Kensington Palace bookcases, with their golden trellis grills, were made for the Library forming the South Range of the Palace's Clock Court. The Library, which was drawn by George Cruikshank (d.1878), was illustrated in T.J. Pettigrew's, Bibliotheca Sussexiana 1827-39. The bookcases, which would have been designed under the direction of the King's Architectural Board of Works, may have been executed by the Mount Street firm of Thomas Dowbiggin (d.1854).

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