George III Gillows Mahogany Cylindrical Bureau Bookcase

From Thomas Sheraton’s design by Gillows of Lancaster

No: 11205

An extraordinarily fine George III Period Mahogany, Kingwood crossbanded and Inlaid Cylindrical Bureau Bookcase by Gillows of Lancaster, the bookcase section with diamond glazing bars opening to an adjustable shelf, the Cylindrical fall opening to a sliding velvet writing panel/ easel and fitted with nine mahogany and line inlaid drawers and three dummy drawers, pen trays and inkwells as well as 2 small, lockable doors concealing further drawers and pigeonholes. The long drawer above is stamped Gillows of Lancaster, the base with one further full width, stamped drawer and a central arcaded kneehole flanked by a small drawer to each side and raised on square-section tapered legs with brass cups and castors.

Circa 1795

Price: £18,000

Height:73”,(185cm) Width: 38½”,(98cm) Depth: 20½”,(52cm)

Note: The importance of the drawing by Sheraton and the stamping of this piece by Gillows in two places begs the question of which came first, Gillows making the piece and being copied by Sheraton for inclusion in his book or vice versa. Maybe the answer is that the example illustrated in Stuart’s book and dated in the sketchbooks as by Lupton in 1794 are just coincidental. The current example is almost exactly as illustrated by Sheraton. It is of exceptional quality and ingenuity. We are fortunate to have had 3 examples of Gillows stamped Cylindrical Bureaux over the past quarter of a century and when we compare images of them, there is an extreme similarity that suggests they may all 3 have been made by the same cabinetmaker at Gillows, i.e.Charles Lupton

The cylinder has a lock set into the back of it with a bolt running from the central lock to the left-hand side wall of the cabinet, which has a bolt hole cut into it so that once locked, it cannot be opened without the key. The bolt itself is encased within a brass conduit.

Literature

1792 Thomas Sheraton’s design for a “Cylinder Desk and Bookcase” from the “Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing Book, Plate 47

Stuart, S.E. (2008). Gillows of Lancaster and London, 1730-1840: Volume II. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: Antique Collector’s Club. pp 24-28, 335. Plates 555-561, an almost identical piece with W.R.Harvey in 2001,

(Note: includes reference to original design drawn in the Gillows Estimate Sketch Book on 1 July 1794, available at Harvey’s).

Lindsay Boynton, “Gillow Furniture designs 1760-1800”

“Glorious Gillows”, Harvey’s exhibition catalogue, Chapter One. See https://wrharvey.com/product/satinwood-inlaid-mahogany-cylindrical-writing-desk/

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