RARE DAYBED, CIRCA 1865

Philip Webb has been acknowledged as a leading exponent of Arts and Craft architecture. Born in Oxford, he became an assistant in the architectural practice of G. E. Street and whilst there he met William Morris. He left to set up his own practice in 1858 and one of his first commissions was for Morris' home, the Red House, designed in 1859, in Bexleyheath, south-east London. Closely allied throughout his career with Morris, and co-founder with him of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (S.P.A.B.) in 1877, he was a major designer for the firm of Morris & Co., using much of the output of the firm in his interiors, such as at Rounton Grange, 1 Palace Green, Kensington, and Standen. Preferring to work with just one or two assistants, most notably George Jack, rather than articled pupils, Webb was admired for his high standards and meticulous work, and retired in 1901.

The present lot is one of only two documented examples of this design. The other example belonged to William Morris and formed part of the original furnishings for his country home, Kelmscott Manor in Lechlade, Gloucestershire, where it remains. A period photograph of that piece in situ is included in the May Morris archive, held by the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.