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Thomas Chippendale (Otley, near Leeds baptised 16 June [O.S. 5 June] 1718 - November 1779) was a London cabinet-maker and furniture designer in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. He went to London in 1749 where, in 1754, he became the first cabinet-maker to publish a book of his designs, titled The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director. Three editions were published, the first in 1754, followed by a virtual reprint in 1755, and finally a revised and enlarged edition in 1762, by which time Chippendale's illustrated designs began to show signs of Neoclassicism. Chippendale was much more than just a cabinet maker, he was an interior
designer who advised on soft furnishings and even the colour a room should
be painted. He worked in partnership initially with the upholsterer James
Rannie and later with Rannie's assistant, Thomas Haig, but artistic control
of the luxurious furnishings that came from his premises in St. Martin's
Lane was firmly in Chippendale's hands. He collaborated in furnishing interiors designed by Robert Adam and at
Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire, and Melbourne House, London, for Lord Melbourne,
with Sir William Chambers (c. 1772-75). His workshop was continued by his son, Thomas Chippendale, the younger (1749-1822), who worked in the later Neoclassical and Regency styles, "the rather slick delicacy of Adam's final phase", as Christopher Gilbert assessed it.[2] A bankruptcy and sale of remaining stock in the St. Martin's Lane premises in 1804 did not conclude the firm's latest phase, as the younger Chippendale supplied furniture to Sir Richard Colt Hoare at Stourhead until 1820 (Edwards and Jourdain 1955: 88). Recognizably "Chippendale" furniture was produced in Dublin
and Philadelphia, as might be expected, but also in Lisbon, Copenhagen,
and Hamburg. Catherine the Great and Louis XVI both possessed copies of
the Director in its French edition. (Gilbert 1978, xvii). As a folk hero
of English craftsmanship, he is enshrined as a full-size sculpted figure
standing among other notables adorning the facade of the Victoria and
Albert Museum, London. His designs became very popular again during the middle to late 19th
century, leading to widespread adoption of his name in revivals of his
style, so much so that dealers spoke of "Chinese Chippendale",
"Gothic Chippendale", and even "Irish Chippendale".
Many of these later designs that attach his name bear little relationship
to his original concepts. The "Chinese Chippendale" chair is characterized with having a pagoda roofline, dragon motifs, and flipped up ears on the top. The body of the chair has fretwork, a stretcher for carving, a drop in seat with an exposed wooden apron. Its legs are sober in the back and square in section, on block feet. The "Gothick Chippendale" chair has a cupid's bow crest rail, highly pierced splat, and a stretcher that is for show rather than function. The chair also has a completely covered seat as opposed to the drop in seat. The legs are straight or square but do not sit on feet. This chair has a masculine and rectilinear quality. The "Neo-classical Chippendale" chair is a lyre back chair. The integrated crest rail at the top has flipped up ears. There is a boss, or circular decorated motif, often incorporated into the design of this chair. The central splat is in the shape of a lyre. Greek and Roman motifs are often also incorporated into the chair. This chair differs from the Gothick Chippendale by having a drop in seat. It is similar to the Chinese Chippendale by having an exposed apron. There is a statue and memorial plaque dedicated to Chippendale outside the old Prince Henry's Grammar School in Manor Square, in his home town of Otley, near Leeds, Yorkshire. ---ooOoo--- Robert Thompson (7 May 1876 – 8 December 1955) He was part of the 1920s revival of craftsmanship, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement led by William Morris, John Ruskin and Thomas Carlyle. More specific to furniture making in this genre and era include Stanley Webb Davies of Windermere. The workshop, now being run by his descendants, includes a showroom and visitors' centre, and is located beside the Parish Church, which contains "Mouseman" pews, fittings and other furniture. The company is now known as "Robert Thompson's Craftsmen Ltd - The Mouseman of Kilburn." Fr Paul Nevill, a former Headmaster of Ampleforth College, asked Thompson to make the Ampleforth's Abbey furniture; they liked it so much that Ampleforth kept asking Thompson for more works, including the library and most of the main building. Fr Gabriel Everitt, current Headmaster, has recently asked the Mouseman company for more work. Most of Ampleforth College houses are decorated with Robert Thompson's furniture. ---ooOoo--- J B Priestley Priestley was born in what he described as an "ultra-respectable" suburb of Bradford. His father was a headteacher whilst his mother died young. On leaving grammar school Priestley worked in the wool trade of his native city, but had ambitions to become a writer. He was to draw on memories of Bradford in many of the works he wrote after he had moved south. As an old man he deplored the destruction by developers of Victorian buildings such as the Swan Arcade in Bradford where he had his first job. Priestley served during the First World War in the 10th battalion, the Duke of Wellington's Regiment. He was wounded in 1916 by mortar fire. After his military service Priestley received a university education at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. By the age of 30 he had established a reputation as a humorous writer and critic. His novel Benighted (1927) was adapted into the James Whale film The Old Dark House (1932); the novel has been published under the film's name in the United States. Priestley's first major success came with a novel, The Good Companions (1929) which earned him the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction and made him a national figure. His next novel Angel Pavement (1930) further established him as a successful novelist. However, some critics were less than complimentary about his work, and Priestley began legal action against Graham Greene for what he took to be a defamatory portrait in Greene's novel Stamboul Train (1932). He moved into a new genre and became as well known as a dramatist. Dangerous Corner began a run of plays that enthralled West End theatre audiences. His best-known play is An Inspector Calls (1946), later made into a film starring Alastair Sim released in 1954. His plays are more varied in tone than the novels, several being influenced by J.W. Dunne's theory of time, which plays a part in the plots of Dangerous Corner (1932) and Time and the Conways (1937). Many of his works have a political aspect. For example, An Inspector Calls, as well as being a "Time Play", contains many references to socialism — the inspector was arguably an alter ego through which Priestley could express his views |
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