Gillows Victorian Desk Chair Attributed to Bruce James Talbert

Gillows late Victorian golden oak desk chair attributed to Bruce James Talbert. This fine chair has a carved back with detailed geometric designs, turned legs, a carved finial on top of both sides, a great condition upholstered brown seat and carved detailing throughout. Stamped “T 4369”, the coding system was a traditional stamp by Gillows on most pieces of furniture from 1870s onwards. The “T” is unique, most Gillows pieces, traditionally have a "L", for Lancashire or London, before the stock numbers, but there have been a rare few pieces made by Gillows with different letters for example chairs with “C” to start with. These pieces with original letting are believed to either be by specific workshops, cabinet makers or designers within the firm. Not only does the design attribute to Bruce James Talbert work, but we believe the T, for Talbert, signifies a piece made or designed by him. Gillows of Lancaster and London (Gillow & Co): By the mid-18th century the firm was one of the leading cabinet-makers in Lancaster. They had a reputation for manufacturing very high quality furniture. By the end of the 1700s most of the firm's partners were based in London. The firm merged with a Liverpool firm in 1897 to form Waring & Gillow. Bruce James Talbert: Bruce James Talbert (1838 – 28 January 1881) was a Scottish architect, interior designer and author, best known for his furniture designs. He moved to London in 1866 to design furniture for Holland & Sons. The following year his Reformed Gothic furniture won a silver medal at the 1867 Paris Exhibition. In 1868 he became a designer for Gillows of Lancaster and London. He also designed metalwork, tiles, stained glass, textiles, and wallpaper. His work with Gillows was displayed at numerous international exhibitions, including the International Exhibition of 1873, and his designs in the Medieval and Jacobean styles were imitated by many cabinet making firms. His designs tended to be highly detailed, including bold geometric inlaid patterns, intricately carved squares of boxwood and rows of small turned spindles.