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Lot Essay
The chairs relate to designs by John Linnell (d.1796), the cabinet-maker and contemporary of Thomas Chippendale and Messr's Mayhew & Ince, whose family firm was established by his father William Linnell (d. 1763) in London's St Martin's Lane before moving to Berkeley Square in 1750. A pen and ink and watercolour design of circa 1768 - 70 in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum offers an intriguing comparison.
Such material provided a rich source of designs for 19th century cabinet-makers such as Wright & Mansfield. Lucy Wood notes 'A century later (i.e. in the 1860s) Wright & Mansfield were using old pieces - "the real work of the best makers, Chippendale, Sheraton, Hepplewhite, Adam, Richardson" - as "models for their atelier"', as reported prior to their closing down sale in 1887, "and with these are several admirable reproductions by English workmen which show that our modern cabinet-makers can execute any design put before them quite as well as the old masters of their craft...." - quoted from a report in The Times' (L.Wood, Upholstered Furniture in the Lady Lever Art Gallery, 2007, p. 36 / 37.
Such material provided a rich source of designs for 19th century cabinet-makers such as Wright & Mansfield. Lucy Wood notes 'A century later (i.e. in the 1860s) Wright & Mansfield were using old pieces - "the real work of the best makers, Chippendale, Sheraton, Hepplewhite, Adam, Richardson" - as "models for their atelier"', as reported prior to their closing down sale in 1887, "and with these are several admirable reproductions by English workmen which show that our modern cabinet-makers can execute any design put before them quite as well as the old masters of their craft...." - quoted from a report in The Times' (L.Wood, Upholstered Furniture in the Lady Lever Art Gallery, 2007, p. 36 / 37.