AFTER A DESIGN BY JOHN MAYHEW & WILLIAM INCE, CIRCA 1760

MAYHEW AND INCE WAS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL AND ENDURING PARTNERSHIPS OF CABINET-MAKERS IN THE 18TH CENTURY. THEY ESTABLISHED THEIR WORKSHOP IN 1759 AND IN THE EARLY 1760S, DEVELOPED A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH ROBERT ADAM, ONE OF THE FOREMOST ARCHITECTS OF HIS ERA. THEY MADE FURNITURE TO ADAM'S DESIGNS AND IN 1762 THEY PUBLISHED THE UNIVERSAL SYSTEM OF HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE, A PATTERN BOOK OF THEIR OWN FURNITURE DESIGNS ALMOST ENTIRELY IN THE ROCOCO STYLE. THE PRESENT LOT IS TAKEN FROM PLATE 19, WHICH SHOWS TWO VARIATIONS OF BOOKCASES. MAYHEW AND INCE'S PATTERN BOOK, AS WELL AS THOMAS CHIPPENDALE'S THE GENTLEMAN AND CABINET-MAKER'S DIRECTOR, WERE THE FIRST PUBLISHED ENGLISH PATTERN BOOKS OF DOMESTIC FURNITURE. THEY WERE USED AS A FORM OF ADVERTISEMENT AND ALSO SERVED TO PROPAGATE THEIR STYLE AS OTHER CABINET-MAKERS AS WELL AS PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS WOULD COPY THEIR DESIGNS. LIKE CHIPPENDALE, IN A FEW YEARS MAYHEW AND INCE BEGAN EXPERIMENTING WITH THE 'ANTIQUE' TASTE SO THEIR DESIGNS ENCOMPASS A BROAD STYLISTIC OEUVRE. ALTHOUGH RECORDS EXIST OF THEIR COMMISSIONS, IT IS OFTEN DIFFICULT TO FIRMLY ATTRIBUTE THEIR WORK. NOT ONLY WERE THEIR DESIGNS COPIED, WITHIN THEIR WORKSHOP THERE ARE OFTEN INCONSISTENCIES IN STYLE, CONSTRUCTION AND QUALITY OF WORKMANSHIP.