Antique Burr Walnut Queen Anne Revival Dining Table by Maple & Co 19th C

This is a fabulous antique Queen Anne Revival burr walnut dining table by the renowned retailer and cabinet maker Maple & Co, and bearing their engraved brass label. Ther table dates from circa 1880.

The rounded rectangular figured walnut top with moulded edge above a walnut frieze carved with rope-twist moulding. It has it's original winding mechanism with winding handle and has four leaves which can be added or removed as required to suit the occasion.

Its raised on four cabriole legs carved with foliate cartouches terminating in ball and claw feet with a central support leg for extra stability. The table is fitted with a Joseph Fitter Patent wind-out mechanism, bearing his brass label.

The table has been French polished to revive it and bring out the beautiful grain of the  burr walnut, the table can seat ten in comfort.

It is a beautiful table which is sure to receive a lot of attention during your dinner parties.

Condition:

In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation.

Dimensions in cm:

Height 75 cm x Width 363 cm x Depth 137 cm  - Fully extended

Height 75 cm x Width 150 cm x Depth 137 cm  - All 4 Leaves removed

Dimensions in inches:

Height 2 foot, 5 inches x Width 11 foot, 11 inches x Depth 4 foot, 6 inches - Fully extended

Height 2 foot, 5 inches x Width 4 foot, 11 inches x Depth 4 foot, 6 inches - All 4 Leaves removed

Maple & Co

the renowned furniture retailer of London, Paris and Buenos Aires,   were famous for top quality furniture.

They were by Royal Appointment and  became one of the leading furniture manufacturers of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. They used only the finest quality timber which was imported directly from all over the world.

Maple and Company were founded in 1841 in Tottenham Court Road, London and had premises there until 1997.  By the 1880s they were the largest and most successful furniture makers in the world, their huge emporium having become a tourist attraction in its own right. In addition to their middle class clientele, they furnished Embassies, hotels, beautiful homes and palaces all over the globe, including Tsar Nicholas's Winter Palace, the Hoffburg Imperial Palace in Vienna, and many of Britain's country houses.

Walnut & Burr Walnut

Walnut is a hard, dense, tight- grained wood that polishes to a very smooth finish. It is a popular and attractive wood whose colour ranges from near white in the sapwood to a dark hew in the heartwood. When dried in a kiln, walnut wood tends to develop a dull brown colour, but when air-dried can become a rich purplish-brown. Because of its colour, hardness and grain, it is a prized furniture and carving wood. Walnut veneer was highly priced and the cost would reflect the ‘fanciness’ of the veneer – the more decorative, then the more expensive and desirable.

Burr walnut refers to the swirling figure present in nearly all walnut when cut and polished, and especially in the wood taken from the base of the tree where it joins the roots. However the true burr is a rare growth on the tree where hundreds of tiny branches have started to grow. Burr walnut produces some of the most complex and beautiful figuring you can find.

Walnut "burrs" were often used to make fabulous furniture.  Veneer sliced from walnut burl is one of the most valuable and highly prized by cabinet makers and prestige car manufacturers and is also a favourite material for shotgun stocks.

Winding Mechanism for extending tables

A man by the name of Samuel Hawkins applied for a patent on a screw expander on June 6th, 1861. Presumably, Mr. Hawkins either died or retired because his business was taken over by a young machinist named Joseph Fitter  in 1864.

Joseph Fitter operated a machinist shop where he produced winding mechanisms for extending tables as well as screw expanders for piano stools and other applications at 210 C