Royal House Antiques

Description

We are delighted to offer for sale this large and collectable lightly restored William IV circa 1830 Flamed Mahogany, metamorphic armchair which converts into Library steps attributed to Gillows of Lancaster and London

Please note the delivery fee listed is just a guide, it covers within the M25 only for the UK and local Europe only for international, if you would like an accurate quote, please send me your postcode and I’ll provide you with the exact price.

This is a wonderful piece of English history, I have never seen another with such elegant turned front legs, usually they are plainer and straight timber. The seat pad has been upholstered with a grey linen, the steps and raw flamed mahogany and look amazing

This chair is an important and extremely expensive looking thing that commands attention in any setting. You can see the same model made by Gillows currently viewed in the Victorian & Albert Museum, below is an extra from their listing.

The period 1800-1825 was a great one for ‘patent’ or ‘metamorphic’ furniture This chair, which transforms into a short set of steps for use with bookshelves, is close to a design for a ‘Library Chair’ published in Rudolph Ackermann’s Repository of the Arts in July 1811, which was made by the London firm of Morgan and Saunders, of Catherine Street, Strand.

They were well known for their ingenious furniture, including reading chairs with writing surfaces attached and a great variety of travelling beds that could pack down into boxes. This chair, however must date from at least twenty years after the design was first published. The form of the chair, which revives a design of the early 18th century, is based on a design for an armchair created by the firm of Gillows of Lancaster in 1827. It is stamped by its maker ‘H. Howse’ and ‘H.H.’ but that maker has not yet been identified.

Condition wise we have cleaned waxed and polished the piece from top to bottom, it will have age and use related patina marks here and there as you would expect based on a 190+ year old piece

Armchair dimensions

Height:- 92cm

Width:- 54.5cm

Depth:- 60cm

Seat height:- 47.5cm

Steps dimensions

Height:- 75cm

Width:- 54.5cm

Depth:- 97cm

Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point, if you would like any additional or specific measurements please ask.

Any questions please feel free to ask.
Payments

We accept payment via Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash, Ethereum, Bacs, Chaps, PayPal or Card, we would kindly ask that all items are paid for within 48 hours and collected within 7 working days, we can hold all paid items for 14 days free of charge, there after a £20 a week storage fee will apply. We have long term storage which is very economically priced, we are happy to hold stock for as long as needed providing it is arranged prior to the purchase.

If sold items aren’t collected within three months and no arrangements have been made for long term storage you will forfeit the item and payment.