Royal House Antiques

Description

We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning fully restored original pair of Victorian Walnut framed Howard & Son’s Bridgewater model, Berners street armchairs, each chair is fully stamped to the inside back left leg and with all the original stamped castors

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.

I have various other Howard and Son's armchairs and sofas listed under my other items.

This is a rare pair of chairs, they are the most original examples you will ever see and in and most collectable model, the Bridgewater. The castors are all stamped Howard & Son's LTD London, the inside left back legs are stamped Howard & Son's Berners street with the serial numbers

These chairs have been fully restored to include having the old fabric removed, they have been lightly overstuffed with horsehair and fibre padding which is softer than usual therefore more comfortable. The leather is fully anailine, Italian Cattle hide leather which is upholstered plain, its then hand dyed six times, antiqued, sealed, waxed down and polished.

The way the chairs have been upholstered as in the floating buttons down the inside of the arms, the rolled front edge with tufting that follows all the way to the bottom, has been taken from the earliest Bridgewater armchair I have ever seen, they have been done perfectly and in keeping with the period taste

Howard & Son’s are simply put the finest chair makers in history, the late Queen even had one the largest private collections in the world.

They are sublimely comfortable, you just sink in to the chair and its like being hugged by a duvet

Armchair dimensions

Height:- 85cm

Width:- 75cm

Depth:- 97.5cm

Seat height:- 39cm

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

A History of Howard and Sons

The name of Howard and Sons is probably one of the best known and highly sought after names in Upholstered furniture. Over the next few paragraphs I will do my best to give you a brief history of the company.

The company was started by John Howard in 1820 trading from 24 Leman St, London as a Cabinet Maker. Over the next 25 years they would make several changes of premises within the Whitechapel area. First to 27 Great Alie St (Now just Alie St) before moving a short distance to 34 Great Alie St.

In 1844 the company made its first venture into upholstered furniture by opening a showroom/workshop at 36 Red lion St. This was also to be a big move towards what would be their next and most famous location. In 1848 they moved to a new address much more accustomed with the name Berners St. London as “Cabinet Maker, Upholsterer and Decorator” under the name John Howard and Sons.

The business seemed to boom at this location with workshops opening up at Tottenham St, Charlotte Mews and Fitzroy Sq and an expansion to a second Berners St building in 1853. In 1869 the company consolidated its many workshops into the one building on Cleveland St.

By 1872 the company was occupying 25, 26 and 27 Berners St. These adresses would remain unchanged until 1935. During this period they became a limited company in 1899 and won the first of their Royal warrants in 1901. In 1935 the the well established decorators Lenygon and Morant appear to take over the name with the business address being given as 31 Old Burlington St (Lenygon and Morants premesis since 1909). Lenygon and Morant later moved to South Audley St where from 1954 they advertised as 'Makers of Howard Chairs and Sofas'.

In 1967 the owners of Lenygon and Morant open Howard Chairs Limited, the company operating from Lyme St continue to make high quality sofas and armchairs.

Exhibitions and Important Houses:

At the 1862 International Exhibition (The 3rd World Expo) Howard and Sons entered a suite of library furniture for which they won a prize. They also went on to exhibit at the Paris World's Fair, called an Exposition Universelle twice once in 1878 and again in 1900. Also at the Exposition Internationale d'Anvers 1894 (International Exposition/World Fair Antwerp). Winning Prizes at them all including 1 silver and 2 golds. They also employed their eclectic styles working for many important clients providing furniture for important houses such as Sudbury Hall in Derbyshire, Elton Hall, Huntingdonshire and Stokesay Court, Shropshire.

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.