CIRCA 1800

Such unusual extending dining-table mechanisms seem to have been a speciality of Thomas and William Wilkinson, who during the early 19th century came to specialise in patent tables (C. Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, London, 1996, pp. 55, 473). A related table of unusual form with swing-out legs and sofa-table-type central support was sold anonymously [formerly in the collection of Colonel Norman Colville, M.C. (1893-1974)], Christie's King Street, 22 April 2004, lot 105. The latter table was attributed to Benjamin Palmer Titter, on account of its similarity to a table labelled 'B. P. Titter ... Norwich'. Another unusual mahogany dining-table formed of joined sofa tables is at Kelmarsh Hall, Northamptonshire.