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Chippendale
Posted by ANTIQUES.CO.UK on 21/08/2022
Thomas Chippendale, the man whose name is synonymous with a certain type of furniture, famous the world over. He has spawned many a reproduction, and antique furniture is still crafted in his style today. He was born June 5th 1718. Born into a relatively modest little town in Yorkshire it appears that wood working was in the Chippendale family for years. He would have learnt about the intricate nature of wood, its foibles and vagaries from an early age, how to work with it, how to bend and shape it to his will. He would have learnt over many years woods’ possibilities. His own father was in the timber trade and young Thomas would have worked as his apprentice before moving to York to work with an eminent antique furniture maker. He worked his way up as a cabinet maker and designer, moving to London in the mid-1700s where he was to marry and have a large family.
Here, he would write one of the most famous books on cabinet making and furniture design that would propel him into business with a long and impressive list of clients, namely “The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Directory,” such was its popularity there were to be a further two editions. This was his own and unique way of promoting his knowledge and designs and it worked, Chippendale’s distinctive style and workmanship was to make him one of the most famous furniture designers of his time.
