Original Antique Robert Daws Rosewood Brown Leather Reclining Library Armchair

Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this absolutely stunning 100% period correct, fully stamped Robert Daws, William IV circa 1830 Rosewood reclining library reading armchair with built in footrest and super rare reading slope

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 chair is a wonder to behold, the reclining action is operated by two buttons one under each arm, you simply squeeze the arms and then slide back to one of the many different position settings, its all very well made. The inside back left leg is stamped as you can see R Daws under the Crown with GR either side which means they were given their Royal Warrant under the Throne of King George III

The frame is all hand carved from solid English Mahogany, the front legs have been faux painted in Rosewood which was super fashionable in the day, it showed you were ahead of all the current trends, The oversized brass castors are period and original to the chair as is the brass articulated mahogany reading slope, these are almost always broken and lost through time so to find a complete, functioning original is simply amazing

As you can see the foot rest sits perfectly inside the frame, it slides out easily and has a height adjustment so you can have it flat or rested on the seat

The chair has been fully restored to include being hand dyed this lovely deep cigar brown colour, the hide has natural imperfections and marks from honest use and fair ware, the frame has been lightly French polished being sure to keep all the original patina

Dimensions

Height:- 101.5cm

Width:- 67.5cm

Depth:- 89cm reclined depth with footstool 139.5cm

Seat height:- 43.5cm

In 1827, Robert Daws was one of the first to patent a reclining mechanism for a chair. Three years before his competitor George Minter, his application was approved for, “Certain Improvements on Chairs or Machines Calculated to Encrease Ease and Comfort” (Patent Office 1827).

The picture above shows the mechanism that was included within the patent for an ingenious spring loaded, ratchet system operated from underneath the armrest. This system appears on this piece and is in superb working order. Daw’s chair were numerous in decorative design but are of the quality to have featured in Christopher Gilbert’s renowned publication, “The Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840”. J.C Loudon, the famous domestic style commentator and designer also gave mention of the chair within his hugely popular, “Encyclopaedia of Cottage, Farm and Villa Architecture & Furniture” of 1833 which saw numerous reprints throughout the following decades.

Loudon writes, “Figure 1913 is a view of Dawe’s reclining chair for an invalid the position of the back of this chair can be varied at pleasure, and the projecting part in front can be elongated, or adjusted to any slope. When it is not wanted to be used as a reclining chair, the back can be fixed upright and the front projection slid in, so as to produce the appearance of a common easy chair.” (1833, Loudon) It must be remembered that the term invalid was also regularly equated with sufferers of gout during this period.

This example remains in the same working order as it would have been when it appeared in Loudon’s publication. The chair, although manufactured in the 1830’s, bears the patent stamps to the back legs for 1827

The original instructions for using this chair are as follows

“Manner of using R. Daws’s Patent Recumbent Easy Chair. A person while sitting in the chair may fix the back to any inclination by raising the spring beneath that part of the arm where the hand rests, and while holding up both springs, pr