The firm of Thomas Butler was established at 14 Catherine Street, Strand, from 1787 and in 1800 he sold the business, whereupon it was moved to Oxford Street. Around 1802 Butler purchased the adjoining property, 13 Catherine Street. By 1814, Butler had retired and his great rivals Morgan & Sanders had taken over 'a considerable part of Mr Butler's late Ware-room'. Much of Butler's patented furniture was made for easy disassembly, as in the case of the present tables' removable legs (C. Gilbert, The Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London, Furniture 1660-1840, Leeds, 1996, pp.20, 125-131). An almost identical table to the present lot is illustrated in Gilbert, op. cit., figs. 177 & 178.