What is a regency period card table?

A regency period card table is a fold-over wooden table created during the early nineteenth century to accommodate evening games and social gatherings. These pieces feature hinged tops that open to reveal a baize-lined playing surface, supported by pillar pedestals or traditional legs.

How were they used historically?

These tables served primarily as multi-functional furniture in drawing rooms and parlours for card games, chess, and social conversation. When not in use for gaming, the tops folded closed to sit flat against a wall or serve as a side table for decorative objects.

How do I identify a George IV table?

George IV pieces share stylistic traits with earlier Regency furniture but often exhibit heavier proportions, bolder carved details, and dense mahogany or rosewood. Makers working in this era continued to use pedestal supports, brass inlay, and scroll feet established in previous decades.

Which woods are most common?

Mahogany and rosewood appear most frequently in the construction of these tables, supplemented by satinwood, burr elm, and exotic calamander. Cabinetmakers paired these primary timbers with contrasting string-inlay, brass embellishments, and oak internal framing.