CHAIR FASHIONS POSIES FOR PRINCESSES

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 57, 4 September 1937, Page 19

CHAIR FASHIONS

POSIES FOR PRINCESSES

SHERATON & CHIPPENDALt _.■ i •

HOMES OF OTHER DAYS

Lack of discrimination by collectors in matching antique furniture is {responsible <'or a great deal of inopngruousness in the selection and rangement of pieces for period roams. as the work of several different cabisettnakers is seen frequently in the sapie room. This view was. expressed by 4tr. P. M. Carew-Smyth, wiien lecturing jon "Homes of Other Days," at the National Museum in Melbourne recently. The lecture was the third of a series, and dealt with the furniture in the reign of George 111, when there web a marked improvement in the work coon-

pared with that of earlier periods. .;

Such inconsistency, he said, was ;otfensive to the taste of a connoisseur. The principal craftsmen were |he Adams brothers, Chippendale, Heppflewhite, and Sheraton, and examples jof the work of each should be kept separate, as there were marked differences in their styles.; The furniture] of Hepplewhite was designed with economy and good taste. Contrasting strongly with the elaborate designs of Chiippendale, which were derived from, cfie Gothic and the Chinese, those of; fhe Adams brothers were much simpler, and exercised a strong influence 6n both the furniture and the architecttfce

of the period,

GREATEST CHAIR MAKER, j

He'pplewhite was regarded as the greatest, chair maker in .history, and his pieces, notable for both, their lightness and their strength, were generally in use at the time. JThey distinguished by economy in the use .of'material,- and.in spite of their slender lightness could support, considerable weight. Due to the use of the cabijiole leg, cut from' a single block jof wood, the Chippendale chairs weoe much heavier.: Chippendale later discarded the/cabriole. design. . s. ' j .

: During the reign. of .King George Itll tables varied in shape and were somewhat lighter than .the .modern piecje. Although considerably larger, . there was a marked resemblance betyvean the Georgian dining table and the gateleg table as it was known, today. Ghig> pendale utilised, an adaptation, of , the

cabriole leg, slightly flatter in the; curve than used in his chairs. Thej sideboard, Mr. Carew-Smyth went on,) was introduced at a comparatively late* date, and had its genesis as a caryingi table. Contrary to popular opinion,; there was no such thing as a.Tudorl sideboard. Customarily sideboards) were surmounted wu. two knife boxes* of exquisite workmanship. Many o£jf these pieces extant today have been: adapted to a variety of uses, although^ their exterior beauty . has been pre-| served. A particularly interesting; piece of furniture was the powdering-; stand, which stood in a smau room on! the entrance of the more distinguished.} houses, 'When the gentlemen qf the< day called upon their ladies, they took; good care to see that their wigs were^ properly dusted, and these powderingi stands were equipped, for that purpose.. The appearance of tea drimdng had a) great influence on iurniture, and wa» instrumental in introducing what is | known today as the occasional table.

' Silhouettes were one' of the chief forms of waii decoration,, for at that! time the art of photography was un-'t known. The high price of miniatures! made them prohibitive for the average) home. Prints produced by the stipple! engraving process were also common.,' Included among these were examples; of the work of Hogarth, and although., he was usually regarded as a caustic, critic of the manners of the period, :, he also produced some excellent paint-

ings. * Rugs formed the principal floor covering, while the walls were generallypapered, but sometimes panelled to the ceiling.

Rose-sellers to the.Royal Family on Alexandra Day, June 23, had to change over.

The Hon. Esme Glyn, who sold roses in other years to the Duke and Duchess of York at their home in Piccadilly, was rose-seller at Buckingham Palace. She also presented posies of Alexandra roses to Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Queen Mary's rose-seller went this time to Marlborough House. For many years Mrs. Patrick Brunner, who was. a god-daughter of King George V, sold roses at Buckingham Palace. -

York House was visited by Mrs. Messer. The nurses of St. George's Hospital took roses to. the Duchess of Kent, who is president of Alexandra Day. There was a buttonhole of roses for Prince Edward and a rose doll for the baby Princess Alexandra, who bears the name of the first president.