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Lot Essay
Though no records are known that relate to this striking pair of bookcases, design elements as well as the documented relationship between the Weld family of Lulworth Castle and the Gillows workshop leads to a definitive attribution to this legendary cabinet-making firm. The connection between the Weld family and the Gillows workshop dates back to Edward Weld (d.1775) but his son Thomas Weld, whose bookplate is pasted in two drawers, likely commissioned this pair of bookcases. Other documented Gillows furniture was almost certainly ordered by Thomas Weld for Lulworth include a pair of pedestals and vases from 1775-85 (S. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London 1730-1840, Suffolk, 2008, vol. I, p. 310, pls. 346-7). Interestingly, a satinwood cylinder bureau also attributed to Gillows and sold anonymously at Christie's New York (20-21 October 2010, lot 2) also had Thomas Weld's bookplate pasted in the drawer. It also shared the same distinctive handles, a pattern that was often used by Gillows (see the chest of drawers of circa 1790-1800 illustrated op cit., vol. II, p. 335, pl. D9 (b)).
Weld's ties to Gillows extended to the sponsorship of at least two apprentices in the 1780s and 1790s. Thomas Baker, of East Lulworth, Dorset, was sent to Lancaster in January 1780, and after three years, Baker went to London, probably to gain more experience in the London shop. Another apprentice, John Davis, went to Lancaster in about January 1788 and was noted for his unruly behavior and extravagant spending. Two bills that survive in the Dorset Record Office document that Richard Gillows was unable to curb Davis's spending despite his efforts (one of these is reproduced op.cit., vol. I, p. 70, pl. 41).
Weld's ties to Gillows extended to the sponsorship of at least two apprentices in the 1780s and 1790s. Thomas Baker, of East Lulworth, Dorset, was sent to Lancaster in January 1780, and after three years, Baker went to London, probably to gain more experience in the London shop. Another apprentice, John Davis, went to Lancaster in about January 1788 and was noted for his unruly behavior and extravagant spending. Two bills that survive in the Dorset Record Office document that Richard Gillows was unable to curb Davis's spending despite his efforts (one of these is reproduced op.cit., vol. I, p. 70, pl. 41).