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Lot Essay
The form of this finely made writing table can be most closely linked with the work of the Seddon, Sons & Shackleton, the renowned furniture makers. The firm of Seddon at Aldersgate Street, London, was the largest furniture-making firm at the end of the eighteenth century, although few pieces are labelled or documented. The firm was established by George Seddon (d.1804) in about 1750. He was joined by his sons in 1785 and his son-in-law Thomas Shackleton in 1790-95. George Seddon II joined into partnership with Nicholas Morel in 1827 working largely for the Royal family (G. Beard and C. Gilbert, eds., Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, 1986, pp. 793-798).
The oval inlay to the central tablet on the drawer of this table appears to be a common decorative feature on furniture from Seddon's workshop. Most notably it is present on a lady's cylinder desk, now in the Leeds Art Galleries and illustrated in C. Gilbert, 'Seddon, Sons & Shackleton, Furniture History, 1997, figs. 24-26. Also of note on the same piece is the ribbed collar to the tops of the detached upright flanking the cylinder which corresponds to the collar to the ankle of the current table.
The oval inlay to the central tablet on the drawer of this table appears to be a common decorative feature on furniture from Seddon's workshop. Most notably it is present on a lady's cylinder desk, now in the Leeds Art Galleries and illustrated in C. Gilbert, 'Seddon, Sons & Shackleton, Furniture History, 1997, figs. 24-26. Also of note on the same piece is the ribbed collar to the tops of the detached upright flanking the cylinder which corresponds to the collar to the ankle of the current table.