LATE 18TH CENTURY

The demand for multipurpose, mechanical furniture such as this functional yet refined games table grew in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and designers such as Thomas Sheraton featured various examples of furniture with special functions in their pattern books. A design for a similar table with spring-activated compartment is illustrated in the 1802 Appendix to The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book, (see E. Joy, ed, Pictorial Dictionary of British 19th Century Furniture Designs, Woodbridge, 1977, p. 533. A related example from the estate of Marc Haas sold in these Rooms, 2 February 1991, lot 264