Inlaid Satinwood Carlton House Desk by Jas Shoolbred

A fine quality late Victorian period inlaid satinwood Carlton House desk by the prestigious cabinet makers Jas Shoolbred and Co of London. Of excellent construction in solid satinwood with attractive satinwood veneers onto a mahogany carcas. Decorated with profuse floral inlaid detailing throughout. The superstructure with a pair of stationary compartments with lift up tops and drawers beneath, all surmounted by a crisp brass gallery. The table itself has a central concave long drawer (lockable, key supplied) flanked by two pairs of shorter drawers, all fitted with their original brass handles. The desk is fitted with a sumptuous red leather writing surface complete with gilt tooled decoration to the surround. All standing on 6 elegant tapering legs which terminate in their original brass and ceramic castors. This desk is finished to the rear so could be free-standing within a room if desired. Sympathetically refinished in our workshops to a very high standard , this lovely desk is now offered for sale in excellent condition, with a splendid colour and finish.

Dimensions:

Width 115cms

Depth 59cms

Overall height 98cms

Knee hole clearance 61.5cms

James Shoolbred & Co

The name of James Shoolbred & Co is highly respected among admirers of Aesthetic Movement furniture. Their antique desks, Victorian dining chairs and antique marquetry furniture were produced for wealthy households up to 1931. A particularly fine example of James Shoolbred antique marquetry furniture – an ornate piano by designer Henry Batley – is on display at the V & A museum, London.

Established in the 1820s, James Shoolbred’s Tottenham Court Road company began life as a drapers. It began supplying textiles to the furniture trade, and expanded into the stores either side, branching into interior design. By the 1870s, the company was designing and manufacturing its own furniture.

A major factor of James Shoolbred’s success was their detailed catalogues, which were published from around 1873. Configured to showcase the company’s designs beyond the confines of London, they made Shoolbred an overnight success.

In the 1880s the firm moved to larger premises. Imaginatively laid out, with detailed room schemes showing off the company’s latest furniture and textile designs, it became an unmitigated success.

Although James Shoolbred & Co specialised in furniture of the Aesthetic Movement they encompassed all the fashionable trends of the time, from the motifs and patterns of Japanese design in their antique marquetry furniture, to Art Nouveau and gothic influences in their antique desks and Victorian dining chairs.