Outstanding Quality Antique Victorian Pollard Oak Mirror Back Sideboard by James Schoolbred

Outstanding quality antique Victorian pollard oak mirror back sideboard by James Shoolbred & Co. having six bevelled edged mirrors, turned oak spindle galleries, shelf supported by turned columns, outstanding quality pollard oak top above a drop down full opening to reveal a storage compartment flanked by two pollard oak drawers stamped by the makers Jas Shoolbred & Co with original brass handles open display compartment flanked by a pair of pollard oak panelled doors opening to reveal a storage compartment and a wine cooler standing on a plinth base. An exceptional piece of furniture by James Shoolbred & Co who were established in the 1820’s as a draper’s shop, at Tottenham Court Road, London. The company first began supplying textiles to the furniture trade. By the 1860s, the company began designing, manufacturing and selling its own high quality antique furniture in their thriving and fashionable furniture shop. By the 1880s they had expanded to such an extent that the business had to move to larger premises and became one of the first large department stores in London who would supply quality antique furniture and accessories for the Victorian home. Their furniture was displayed in a series of catalogues that the company produced every year with their new and impressive designs. James Shoolbred’s furniture was always displayed and photographed alongside the textiles, carpets and other accessories that the company sold, creating an example of interior design for customers to view. They were granted a Royal warrant by the mid-1880s and their Victorian furniture was of the best quality available of the late Victorian period. Unfortunately, as with most great Victorian designers and furniture makers, James Shoolbred & Co didn’t survive the financial crisis of the late 1920s and ceased trading in 1931.