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Lot Essay
This imposing pair of Italian walnut bookcases is similar to a pair of bookcases with gilt-metal enrichments photographed circa 1960 at Powderham Castle, Devon, in the Ante-Room, beside the celebrated pair of padouk-veneered, brass-inlaid and gilt-metal mounted bookcases, supplied for the Library in 1740 by John Channon (d. 1779), now in the Victoria & Albert Museum, museum no. W.1-1987 (Lady Paulina Pepys, Powderham Castle, Devon: an illustrated survey of the historic home of the Courtenay family, Derby, 1960, plate 6). The 1762 and 1803 inventories for the house refer respectively to other bookcases in addition to those cited above including 'Two Mahogany Do. [bookcases] plain with close Pediments & Carv’d Capitals’ and '3 Mahog Do. [bookcases] with Pilasters… and cups with Pediments’, which, despite being described as mahogany, may conceivably be the present examples (C. Gilbert, T. Murdoch, John Channon and brass-inlaid furniture 1730-1760, New Haven and London, 1993, p. 140; Devon Heritage Centre, Ms. L1508M/F/Household/1). Sir William Courtenay, de jure 6th Earl of Devon of Powderham Castle (d. 1735), and his son, also Sir William, later Viscount Courtenay (d. 1762) made extensive improvements to Powderham Castle; the latter was responsible for the superb rococo plasterwork on the hall and staircase walls and it is his coat of arms over the doorway leading into the Marble Hall.
Michael Inchbald was related to the Earls of Devon at Powderham through his mother, Rosemary Evelyn Inchbald née Ilbert (d. 1958), and it is therefore likely not only coincidence or the design of his new library circa 1970 that inspired him to buy these bookcases from David Drey. In 1704, the 6th Earl of Devon married Lady Anne Bertie, daughter of the Earl of Abingdon. The marriage produced five sons and seven daughters; the fourth daughter, Bridget, married William Ilbert of Bowringslea, Devon. Michael Inchbald’s great-grandfather, Reverend Peregrine Arthur Ilbert (d. 1894), a direct descendant of this marriage, had six sons, including Sir Courtenay Peregrine Ilbert (d. 1924) of Troutwells, Penn, Buckinghamshire, parliamentary draftsman, acting Viceroy of India and Michael Inchbald’s great-uncle, and Arthur Ilbert (d. 1899) of Westbrook Upwey, Dorset, a merchant and Michael Inchbald’s great-grandfather, who by family tradition was 'the richest taipan in Shanghai’ (P. Inchbald, Jack of All Trades: And His Family, privately published, 1999, p. 41).
Michael Inchbald was related to the Earls of Devon at Powderham through his mother, Rosemary Evelyn Inchbald née Ilbert (d. 1958), and it is therefore likely not only coincidence or the design of his new library circa 1970 that inspired him to buy these bookcases from David Drey. In 1704, the 6th Earl of Devon married Lady Anne Bertie, daughter of the Earl of Abingdon. The marriage produced five sons and seven daughters; the fourth daughter, Bridget, married William Ilbert of Bowringslea, Devon. Michael Inchbald’s great-grandfather, Reverend Peregrine Arthur Ilbert (d. 1894), a direct descendant of this marriage, had six sons, including Sir Courtenay Peregrine Ilbert (d. 1924) of Troutwells, Penn, Buckinghamshire, parliamentary draftsman, acting Viceroy of India and Michael Inchbald’s great-uncle, and Arthur Ilbert (d. 1899) of Westbrook Upwey, Dorset, a merchant and Michael Inchbald’s great-grandfather, who by family tradition was 'the richest taipan in Shanghai’ (P. Inchbald, Jack of All Trades: And His Family, privately published, 1999, p. 41).