BY GILLOWS, THE CRAFTSMAN JOSEPH WILCOCK, 1859

Details

A MID-VICTORIAN BURR-WALNUT AND WALNUT FOLIO CUPBOARD
BY GILLOWS, THE CRAFTSMAN JOSEPH WILCOCK, 1859
The rectangular overhanging double-ratchetted double-sided sliding adjustable top with gilt-tooled leather writing-surface and removable book stops, above a pair of crimson silk-lined and brass grill cupboard doors enclosing five adjustable folio shelves, with double-panelled veneered sides and back, on plinth base with recessed castors, signed to the underside 'Josi Wilcock 1859', stamped 'Gillow', the lock stamped 'I Bramah 124 Piccadilly' beneath a crown
34¼ in. (87 cm.) high; 75¼ in. (191 cm.) high, fully extended; 42½ in. (108 cm.) wide; 26½ in. (67 cm.)

Provenance

Supplied to William Duckworth (1795-1876), Orchardleigh, Somerset, circa 1859, and by descent;
sold by The Representatives of the late G.A.V. Duckworth, Christie's House sale Orchardleigh Park, 21 September 1987, lot 96.
Acquired from Ciancimino, London.

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 15% on the buyer's premium

Lot Essay

This Victorian Library folio-cabinet, supplied in 1859 by Messrs. Gillow of London and Lancaster, bears the signature of the Lancaster cabinet-maker Joseph Wilcock, who served his apprenticeship with L. Redmayne. It appears to have been supplied at the same time as walnut bookcases commissioned in 1859 from Messrs. Morant by William Duckworth (d. 1876) for his new house at Orchardleigh, Somerset. Duckworth purchased Orchardleigh in 1855 and commissioned Thomas Henry Wyatt to design a new house on the site of the old 17th Century mansion that had previously been the seat of the Champney family for about 300 years. Duckworth had earlier commissioned goods from Gillows of Lancaster between 1820 and 1828, to furnish his previous residence of Beechwood in the New Forest.

Messrs. Gillows' Estimate Sketch Book, no. 5106 for August 1836, features a pattern for this type of tray-fitted library cabinet as a 'Pedestal portfolio stand' and lists its manufacturing cost as £13.2.6. It proved a popular and practical piece of furniture, and amongst related examples was one provided for the library at Tatton Park, and the library at Mere Hall Cheshire (sold Christie's house sale, 23 May 1994, lot 196).

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