CHAPTER XI

OLD ENGLISH CHINTZES

BY HUGH PHILLIPS

The charm of old English chintz--Huguenot cloth-printers settle in England--Jacob Stampe at the sign of the Calico Printer--The Queen Anne period--The Chippendale period--The age of machinery.

The present chapter has been added with perhaps some justification, since it seemed to the writer that such a subject as old English chintzes might appropriately take its place beside the equally homely craft of the rural cabinet-maker.

For the chintz is the _tapisserie d'aubusson_ of the peasant--it covers his chairs and drapes his windows, giving warmth and wealth of colour to the otherwise barren appearance of his cottage. Further, it reflects his simple horticultural tastes, for the brilliantly coloured roses, pansies, and convolvuluses which shine prominently on the glazed surface of the cloth are those flowers which are always to be found in his garden.

Chintz or printed cotton is the only decorative fabric known to the village upholsterer. When persons of wealth hung their windows with silk brocades and covered their chairs with costly needlework and damasks, the rural cabinet-maker was supplying his modest _clientèle_ with these homely patterns printed upon common cloth.

These unassuming fabrics were as much cherished by the cottagers as anything which they possessed. The classical ornament of expensive silks they did not understand, and the freely treated birds and flowers which figured on chintz represented the Alpha and Omega of beauty in textile design.

So great, indeed, is the fascination of these for the cottagers that to-day, in districts less penetrated by modern advance, the rural populace will not extend their affections to the up-to-date designs of upholsterers, but insist upon the old spot and sprig patterns of their ancestors.

There is much wisdom in the conservative taste of the peasant, for the old chintz of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries was of the highest artistic merit. In the heyday of its fame the fabric was exceedingly fashionable amongst the richest persons, and there are abundant records of the popularity of old English chintzes upon the Continent. For, at its best periods, the chintz was not a base imitation of more expensive fabrics; it did not, for instance, occupy the relationship of pewter to silver or moulded composition to genuine woodcarving. On the contrary, the designing of chintzes is an art of distinction, governed by canons which bear little relationship to other decorative textile crafts. For where the silk-weaver is confined to solid patterns which will appear in his transverse threads, the printer of cloths can wander unrestrained into designs of wonderful intricacy and beauty: every colour in nature he can imitate, and no object is too delicate or too rich to stamp upon his cotton. Indeed, his art stops little short of that of the painter of pictures.

A glance at the illustrations will more closely confirm this, for such designs could not be imitated by any other textile process, the multitudinous twists and curves and the delicate shades and patches of colour being only possible to the printer.

Interesting as is the study of old chintzes, the history of the art in England is even more fascinating. From the obscurity of a small local craft it became one of our great national industries.

Of its earliest history in England we know nothing, and a search among old documents fails to reveal any traces of chintz-printing before the Renaissance. There are several vague references to the subject in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but none of them disclose any solid information. Thus the question of who was the first chintz-printer remains an unsolved riddle. It appears, however, that in the seventeenth century there was a gradual immigration of foreign workmen of Dutch and French nationalities who were well versed in the art of cotton-printing--then well established upon the Continent. These people came over in gradually increasing numbers, their arrival culminating in the huge influx of foreigners about 1650 to 1700.

The majority of them were by trade silk-weavers and printers. Their departure was a serious blow to France, for they transferred to England what had been great national industries in France. Settling in and about London, the refugees peaceably recommenced their work, and soon the weaving of silks in Spitalfields and the printing of chintzes in Richmond, Bow, and Old Ford became a source of great prosperity to this country.

On p. 319 is an illustration of a seventeenth-century trade card of one of the chintz-printers, or, as they were then called, calico-printers. Here we see in a most lucid manner the process by which chintzes were produced in the time of James II. The inscription runs: "Jacob Stampe living at Ye Sighn of the Callico Printer in Hounsditch Prints all sorts of Callicoes Lineings Silkes Stuffs, New or Ould, at Reasonable Rates."

A printer is standing at a table upon which is stretched a length of cloth, which falls in folds on the floor. He holds in his hand a wooden block, which he is applying at intervals to the cloth. The other hand contains a mallet, which is about to strike the wooden block and stamp the colour firmly into the threads of the material. Behind him is an apprentice boy, standing over a tub of colour, preparing the blocks for his master to use.

By so clumsy a process very delicate work could not be produced, and, indeed, the few examples of this period which remain are very heavy in character. One of these, which has been lent by Mr. J. D. Phillips, the owner, is illustrated on p. 319. It belongs to the end of the seventeenth century and corresponds to the William and Mary period of English furniture, being contemporary with the pieces illustrated on pp. 77, 117 in the earlier chapters. It will be seen that this example contains two portraits in costume of the late Stuart period, possibly intended for portraits of William and Mary. Their portraits are of frequent occurrence on Lambeth delft of this period.

The printer has only produced the outline, the colour being added by hand with a brush, for at this date the printing of colour by the successive application of blocks had not been mastered. The black ink to-day lies thick upon the cloth, as coarsely as though it had been dabbed on with a stencil. The material is a rough hand-woven canvas. Printed cloths of the period of Charles II. and James II. and William and Mary are exceedingly rare and seldom met with, as, owing to their roughness, they have been destroyed by subsequent owners. A few, however, are to be found on walnut chairs under the coverings of later date. Often, indeed, one meets a chair covered in Victorian horsehair which will reveal underneath the successive coverings of many generations of owners, including perhaps the material in which it was first upholstered.

As the seventeenth century wore on and we enter upon the early years of the eighteenth century--the days of Queen Anne--the chintz-printers became more prosperous. Their work, owing to its increasing delicacy, met with great public approval, and it began to supplant woven silks for the purposes of curtains, coverings, and dresses. Thus the silk-weavers of Spitalfields found a declining market for their goods and soon came into friction with the printers. Much bad feeling ensued, and eventually their quarrels resulted in the distribution of defamatory literature which is to-day most amusing. The weavers circulated the curious "Spittlefields Ballad" against "Calico Madams," or the ladies who wore chintz dresses.

THE SPITTLEFIELDS BALLADS

OR THE

WEAVER'S COMPLAINT AGAINST THE CALLICO MADAMS

Our trade is so bad That the weavers run mad Through the want of both work and provisions, That some hungry poor rogues Feed on grains like our hogs, They're reduced to such wretched conditions, Then well may they tayre What our ladies now wear And as foes to our country upbraid 'em, Till none shall be thought A more scandalous slut Than a tawdry Callico Madam.

When our trade was in wealth Our women had health, We silks, rich embroideries and satins, Fine stuffs and good crapes For each ord'nary trapes That is destin'd to hobble in pattins; But now we've a Chince For the wife of a prince, And a butterfly gown for a gay dame, Thin painted old sheets For each trull in the streets To appear like a Callico Madam.

The poet in several long stanzas warms in his indignation, and finally directs his verse against the male friends of all fair wearers of chintzes, suggesting that--

"It's no matter at all If the Prince of Iniquity had 'em, Or that each for a bride Should be cursedly tied To some damn'd Callico Madam."

It is not surprising that the weavers should find it difficult to set their productions against those of the cloth-printers, for the chintzes of this period are surpassingly beautiful. One of them is illustrated on p. 323. Here the material is no longer a rough canvas, but is now a light dress cambric, similar to the thin smooth chintz cloth which has survived till to-day. A delicate pattern of intertwining stems winds upwards, the stalks having blossoms of finely cut outline and brilliant colours. Old chintzes of this period may be recognised by their lightness and by the long thin designs of intermingling flowers of Indian type. These were all more or less borrowed from the Marsupalitan printed cloths brought over by the India trading companies, and the flowers and colourings of this date are nearly always very closely copied from Eastern originals, the cornflower and carnation being among those most frequently met with.

The ill-feeling between the printers and weavers was of long duration, and eventually took the form of open riots and street demonstrations similar to those of to-day. On one occasion, in 1719, they went from Spitalfields to Westminster and protested against the popularity of chintzes and suggested that their use be forbidden. On the return journey they manifested their feelings by tearing off the chintz gowns of various ladies whom they met upon the route. Evidently Parliament pandered to these labour riots, for in 1736 printed cloths were forbidden by Act of Parliament, but this legislation was of short duration; the Act was soon repealed and the fascinating material became the rage once more.

The next stage at which we look upon chintz-printing is about 1760, in the middle of the period of Chippendale furniture. This is the golden period of its printing. Technically and artistically the hand-printed chintz now reached its climax. Colour-work by superimposed blocks was in full swing, and the designer had, in the works of contemporary artists, a wider field for the selection of subjects suitable for his fabric. Among the many varieties of chintzes which we find at this date the most prominent are the Gothic and Chinese designs to suit the current taste in furniture, and the exotic bird patterns, which are perhaps the finest of all.

The formation of the designs has changed considerably by this time and we no longer find the intertwining or serpentine form as in the Queen Anne chintzes. The flowers and objects to be printed are now massed together and represented as little disjointed islands floating in mid-air. By this distinctive feature they may easily be recognised. One of these charming exotic bird chintzes is illustrated on p. 327. Here a pheasant is resting under a palm-tree upon a small island of densely packed foliage. The whole idea of the design is taken from the Chinese porcelain of the period. The bird, the flowers, and every object portrayed come from the East and are drawn in the manner constantly seen upon the _Famille Rose_ dishes and vases of the period. These exotic bird patterns are not exclusively found upon chintzes, for the collector of English porcelain will be familiar with them in the early productions of the Bow and Worcester factories.

Another feature which one notices in printed fabrics at this date is the buff ground. The cloth is white, and the pattern is printed upon it in this state so that the pinks, blues, and greens of the flowers may have every advantage of transparency. The buff background is then printed in afterwards, leaving a thin margin around the design. In this manner great richness and depth is given to the colours without undue harshness, which would be the result if they were exhibited upon a white background. The illustration on p. 323 shows a chintz in the Chinese manner, designed to conform with the oriental furniture of Chippendale. Here again we see the detached islets of vegetation, but instead of exotic birds we have Chinese vases containing flowers, and in the foreground a rococo shell, one of the then little-known species from the East greatly treasured in England. The carnations and foliage will be readily recognised as copies from Chinese paintings. One might illustrate a very large number of these Chinese chintzes, but space will only permit one example. This particular specimen is probably unique; it is taken from an old roll of chintz printed about 1760 and left over after the owner had curtained his house. The roll (about twenty yards long) has been carefully preserved and handed down from generation to generation, so that its original colours and soft glaze remain intact.

A chintz in the Gothic manner is illustrated on p. 327. It differs slightly from the others in that the island formation is combined with serpentine foliage. In the centre is a patch of ground upon which are the ruins of a Gothic church. The artist, however, has not forgotten to please those patrons who might prefer the Chinese style, and therefore he has quietly added the incongruous elements of prunus flowers in the foreground and palm-trees in the background. At first this quaint admixture may appear a bad art, but it must be remembered that at this quaint period the whole principle of decorative design was upset by the rococo school, and quaintness and delicacy of detail outweighed the greater considerations of line and proportion. We find a similar treatment of design later on in many Spode plates, especially in blue transfer-printed subjects.

In the third quarter of the eighteenth century we enter upon a new era in the history of chintzes. We may appropriately call it the age of machinery, for from this date the mechanical processes came in whereby chintz-printing was raised from the position of a comparatively small craft to that of a huge national industry. The great manufacturing towns in the North, such as Manchester, were rising in importance, and Lancashire was forming the basis of its gigantic cotton trade. Following these trade movements, the old industry of cloth-printing gradually left its centre in London and was developed on a larger scale in the North of England.

In spite of this great commercial spirit which seized the printing of textiles, hand-block printing did not pass away, for it has survived till to-day as the best method for fine artistic work; cretonnes and chintzes produced in this manner, even during the nineteenth century, are always good. Mechanical roller work, however, was responsible for a large output of work which is little worthy of preservation, and in the nineteenth century we find much machine-printed chintz which, to say the least, is not reminiscent of the fine handwork which preceded it in the mid-eighteenth century. The earliest machine-work was carried out by means of engraved copper plates applied to the cloth in a printer's press. One of these is illustrated on p. 331. It is exceedingly fine in its details, and very few old specimens of this pattern are in existence. In several places are inserted the printer's name and date, "R. Jones, Old Ford, 1761." The design is doubtless borrowed from the _Toiles de Jouy_, printed by a Bavarian at Jouay, near Versailles, about this time. The drawing, however, is finer than any specimens of his work which have come to the author's notice. A shepherdess is tending to her flock amid a classical ruin while she is listening to the music of a flute. In another portion of the design, a cock and hen are mourning for the loss of one of their brood which has been carried off by an eagle. This design is worthy of interest for its superior quality, as it must have been produced for some very fine house. There is another specimen printed in red in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The one which is illustrated here was found upon an exceedingly fine Chippendale bedstead.

During the Hepplewhite and Sheraton periods of furniture the chintz ceases to have its pattern detached and grouped. Architectural details with figures disappear, and once more the designer returns to flowers as his subject for illustration. The foliage, however, now takes the form of vertical stripes, being contained within lace-like ribands placed at even distances. On p. 335 is an illustration of a chintz about 1790 in which these features will be noticed.

In the nineteenth century we find the chintz covered with disjointed sprigs, as though the flowers had been plucked and cast upon the cloth. Their outline is softened by a margin of dots. An illustration of this style is shown on p. 335.

One need not pursue the history of chintzes further, for to do so would entail a discussion of modern methods. Suffice it to say that in the nineteenth century we come across the hideous black grounds, the base imitation of woven designs, leopard skins, and other inartistic perversions. We must rather bid adieu to this beautiful art ere it has begun to decline. It will afford the reader much pleasure if he should form a collection of old specimens and frame them around his walls, for then he will fully appreciate their charm. In examining his own collection the author has spent many a pleasant hour, for these gaily coloured chintzes are among the most articulate relics which have come down to us. They breathe the spirit, the feelings, and the ideals of the periods wherein they were made. They show lucidly the various changes in fashion and the rise and wane in the popularity of certain forms of decoration. So delectable are their soft, faded colours, so fascinating are the designs, and above all, so enchanting is the old-world musty scent which always clings to them, that it would be hard indeed to withhold one's affection from them.

INDEX

Adam style table, 186

America, the Windsor chair acclimatised in, 246

America, spindle-back chairs, 239

America, carved chests of Puritan colonists, 60

America, types coincident with Jacobean, 60

Anachronism in country makers' work, 204

Anne, Queen, chintz printing in time of, 325

Anne, Queen, style--cabriole leg, advent of, 167

Anne, Queen, chests of drawers, 67

Anne, Queen, scandal at Court of, 158

Anne, Queen, so-called style, 167

Back--the chair, and its development, 203

Bacon cupboards, 154

Ball and claw foot, introduction of, 162

"Barley sugar" turning, illustrated, 105

Bedfordshire tables, 283

Bedstead, Jacobean, illustrated, 77

Bevel of panel indicating date, 204

Bible-boxes, 34, 139-154

Bloomfield, Robert, quoted, 268

Bobbins, Buckinghamshire, 153

Brittany dressers, 134

Broken corners, Queen Anne style, 167, 169

Buckinghamshire bobbins, 153

Bureau bookcase and cupboard, 176

Bureaus, marquetry in coloured woods, 169

Byzantine types of furniture existent in Elizabethan days, 37

Cabriole leg, advent of the, 167

Cabriole leg (Queen Anne period), 129

Cambridge tables, 283

Candle dipper, the, 288

Cane-back chairs, 203, 207

Cane-back chairs, late Stuart, 199

Cane-back chair, its influence on farmhouse styles, 208

Caning in chairs out of fashion, 162

Chairs-- America, Windsor chair, types of, 246 Back, the, its development, 203 Caned-back chair, its influence on farmhouse styles, 208 Caned chairs, late Stuart, 199, 203, 207 Caning out of fashion, 162 Charles II. period styles, 211 Chippendale styles, 179 Chippendale, Windsor styles, 254 Corner chairs, 240 Country Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton, 221 Cupid's bow top rail, 218 Cushions, their use with, 199, 207 Derbyshire chairs, 203 Elizabethan turned chairs, 37 Evolution of the chair, 189-241 Fiddle splat chairs, introduction of, 162 Fiddle splat, Queen Anne style, 217 Fiddle splat, Windsor, at its best, 254 "Fiddle-string" backs, 249 Goldsmith, Oliver, his chair, 253 Grandfather variety, 168, 230 Hepplewhite country styles, 221 Hepplewhite Windsor chairs, 254 Horseshoe back, Windsor, 259, 260 Jacobean, typical form, 196 Ladder-back chairs, 233 Lancashire rush-bottom chairs, 241 Lancashire spindle back chairs, 278 Modern office-chair, derivation of, 260 Prince of Wales's feathers in back, 227 Ribbon-back, introduction of, 179 Rush-bottomed chairs, 233 Shell ornament employed, 167 Sheraton country styles, 221 Sheraton Windsor chairs, 259, 260 Spindle-back chairs, 234 Splat, Queen Anne, the, 217 Straight-backed chairs, 203 Stretcher, evolution of the, 200 Tavern chairs, 249 Wheel-back Windsor chairs, 259 Woods used, Windsor chairs, 249, 250

Charles II. chests of drawers, 62

Charles II. period, impetus given to furniture design, 95

Charles II. period, styles of chairs, 211

Chests, Gothic, 34

Chests, sixteenth century, 34

Chests, Welsh carving, 277

Chests of drawers, 60

Chests of drawers, Charles II. period, 62

Chests of drawers, Queen Anne style, 67

Children's stools, Jacobean, illustrated, 77

Chimney crane, the, 294

China and glass cupboards, 180

Chinese designs in chintzes, 333

Chinese style of Chippendale, 227

Chintz printing becomes a national industry, 321

Chintzes, old English, 317-341

Chippendale and his contemporaries, 180

Chippendale clock cases, 312

Chippendale quoted, 227, 228

Chippendale, ribbon designs of, 179

Chippendale style, provincial, 221

Chippendale style Windsor chairs, 254

Chocolate houses, polemic against, 170

Chronology, seventeenth-century, 45-48

Claw-and-ball foot, introduction of, 162

Clock and dresser combined, 129

Clocks, grandfather, 306

Club foot, introduction of, 162

Cobbett, William, quoted, 67

Coffee-drinking and coffee-houses, 170

Coffee, women's petition against, 170

Corner chairs, 240

Cottage furniture and earthenware compared, 31

Country cabinet-maker, his mixture of styles, 211

Country Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton, 221

Country furniture, its sturdy independence, 24

Country makers little influenced by contemporary fashion, 50

Cradles, 148

Cromwellian chests with drawers, 52

Crusie, the Scottish, 277, 293

Cupboard, the bacon, 154

Cupboard, Welsh carving, 277

Cupboards, corner, introduction of, 162

Cupboards and drawers, taste for, 125

"Cupid's bow" underframing, 107, 185

"Cupid's bow" top rail of chair, 218

Cushions, their use with chairs, 199, 207

Delany, Mrs., quoted, 153

Denmark, the conservation of old farmhouse furniture in, 38

Derbyshire chairs, 203

Design books, eighteenth-century, publication of, 222

_Director_, by Chippendale, a working guide, 223

Drawer accommodation a feature in late dressers, 130

Drawers, chests of, 60

Drawers, chests of, Charles II. period, 62

Drawers, chests of, Queen Anne style, 67

Dresser and clock combined, 129

Dressers, farmhouse, 115-135

Dressers-- Brittany, 134 Lancashire, 134 Normandy, 134 Welsh, 133

Dutch artisans print early English chintzes, 321

Dutch influence early eighteenth century, 168, 170

Earthenware and cottage furniture compared, 31

Eighteenth-century dressers, 130

Eighteenth-century pleasure gardens, 249

Eighteenth-century styles, 157-187

Elizabethan turned chairs, 37

English chintzes, old, 317-341

English farmhouse furniture, desirability of its preservation, 42

English joiners' work, its solidity, 51

Essex tables, 283

Exotic bird patterns in chintzes, 333

"Farmer's Boy" (Robert Bloomfield) quoted, 268

Farmhouse furniture (English), desirability of its preservation, 42

Farmhouse furniture influenced by walnut styles, 208

Farmhouse styles contemporary with the cane-back chair, 208

Feet-- Arcaded foot, Charles II. period, 62 Ball, 62; illustrated, 65 Claw-and-ball foot, introduction of the, 162 Club foot, its introduction, 162 Hoof foot, the, 176 Scroll or Spanish foot, 104, 203 Spanish foot, the, 104, 203 Spanish foot, in corrupted form, illustrated, 105, 109 Trestle, in Gothic style, 90

Fiddle splat chairs, introduction of, 162

Fiddle splat, Queen Anne style, 217

Fiddle splat Windsor chair at its best, 254

"Fiddle-string" backs, 249

Firebacks, Sussex, 296

Firebacks, Sussex, fine examples exhibited, 305

Firedogs, cottage and farmhouse, 294

Food of country population, seventeenth century, 81

Foreign styles, slow assimilation of, 67

French artisans print early English chintzes, 321

Gate-leg tables, 85-112

Gate-leg table, double gates, 96; illustrated, 93

Gate-leg table, established as a popular type, 90

Gate-leg table, square top, illustrated, 105

Geometric panels, chests of drawers, 61; dressers, 121

Georgian styles, early types, 179

Gibbons, Grinling, the style of, 56

Goldsmith, Oliver, his chair, 253

Gothic brackets to chests, 34

Gothic chests, 34

Gothic trestle, gate-leg table, 89

Grandfather chair, the, 230

Grandfather chair, curved lines of, 168

Grandfather clocks, 306

Grandfather clock combined with dresser, 129

Great Seal of Queen Anne, showing style of ornament, 168

Hardwick Hall, suite at, 55

Hepplewhite clock cases, 312

Hepplewhite influence on village work, 207

Hepplewhite quoted, 229, 230

Hepplewhite style, provincial, 221

Hertfordshire tables, 283

Hogarth, the line of beauty the curve, 168

Hoof foot, the, 176

Horseshoe-back Windsor chairs, 130, 257, 260

Incongruity of provincial cabinet-maker, 211

Inlaid work rarely employed, 55

Inlaid work with walnut, 169

Inlaid work, woods used, 169

Irish Chippendale, 272

Ironwork, miscellaneous, 287-313

Ironwork, Scottish, 277

Isle of Man tables, 283

Jacobean cradles, 148

Jacobean dressers with geometric panels, 121

Jacobean furniture, typical styles, 49

Jacobean oak chair, typical form, 196

Jacobean period, its characteristics, 95

Jacobean period, late styles of, 115

Jacobean style, its transition to William and Mary, 207

Jacobean Sussex firebacks, 299, 300

Joinery, the solidity of English, 51

Jones, R., of Old Ford, chintz printer, 337

Kettle trivet, the cottager's, 295

Lacquer employed in clock-cases, 312

Ladder-back chair, the, 233

Lancashire chintzes, 337

Lancashire dressers, 134

Lancashire furniture, 278

Lancashire Queen Anne settle, 167

Lancashire rush-bottom chair, 241

Legs-- "Barley sugar" turning illustrated, 105 Cabriole leg, introduction of the, 167 Egg and reel turning, 43; illustrated, 93 Eight legs (gate table), 99 Elizabethan bulbous leg, 60 Jacobean straight-turned leg, 60 Jacobean, various forms of turning, 89 Queen Anne cabriole leg, 129 Six legs, gate table, illustrated, 99 Split urn leg, illustrated, 91, 119 Straight leg again in vogue, 180 Urn-shaped leg, 60 Urn-shaped splat, 121; illustrated, 91, 119

Linen-fold pattern on chests, 32

Local types, 33

Local types of furniture, 267-284

London and the vicinity, chintz printed in, 322

Longleat, oak furniture at, 55

Lyngby (near Copenhagen), collection of old farmhouse furniture at, 41

Macaulay quoted, 158

Macaulay, "State of England in 1685" quoted, 76

Mahogany gate-leg tables, 103

Mahogany styles, their gracefulness, 179

Mahogany, the chief designers of, of the golden age, 104

Marlborough, Duchess of, and her intrigues, 158

Marquetry bureaus in coloured woods, 169

Marquetry, woods used in, 169

Minor cabinet-makers' work lacking harmony, 212

Modern office-chair, derivation from Windsor type, 263

More, Hannah, and the agricultural classes, 175

Morris, William, his influence on furniture, 111

"Mule" chests, 52

Norfolk, oak furniture, 283

Normandy dressers, 134

Normans, furniture, styles of, introduced by, 37

North, Roger, quoted, 170

Oak, erroneously used to carry out walnut designs, 212

Oak, general in its use, 55

Oak supplanted by walnut in fashionable furniture, 207

Oak the chief wood employed, 33

Office-chair, derivation from Windsor type, 263

Oriental patterns in chintzes, 333

Panelling, bevel of, indicating date of, 204

Panels, sunk, Jacobean style, 62

Patterns, wood, used for firebacks, 300

People, changing habits of the, in seventeenth century, 72

Pepys's _Diary_, quoted, 79

Pleasure gardens, eighteenth-century, 249

Pot-hook, the, 294

Pot-hooks, fine examples, where exhibited, 294

Prince of Wales's feathers, 227

Provincial furniture many decades behind fashion, 50

Queen Anne, cabriole leg, 129

Queen Anne dressers, 122

Queen Anne flap tables, 89

Queen Anne period, the splat of the, 217

Restoration period, chests of drawers, 62

Ribbon designs, introduction of, 179

Roads in provinces, bad state of, 79

Rush-bottom chair, the, 233

Rushlight holder, the, 288

Scandinavian origin of Elizabethan chair, 37

Scotland, Union with, proclamation by Queen Anne, 161

Scottish types of ironwork, 277

"Seaweed" marquetry in clock-cases, 312

Settle, Lancashire form, 278

Settle, Queen Anne style, 167

Seventeenth-century, chronology of, 45-48

Seventeenth-century settle (Lancashire), 278

Seventeenth-century sideboard, typical style, 56

Seventeenth-century styles, 49-82

Seventeenth-century styles, types of, 72

Shell ornament, early eighteenth-century, 167

Sheraton clock-cases, 312

Sheraton influence on country makers, 234

Sheraton influence in Windsor chairs, 259

Sheraton style, provincial, 221

Sideboard, typical seventeenth-century style, 56

Sixteenth-century chests, 34

Sizergh Castle, oak room at, 55

Spanish foot, its use, 104, 107

Spanish Succession, War of the, 161

Spindle-back chair, the, 234

Spindle-back chairs (Lancashire), 278

Spinning-wheels, 153

Spitalfields weavers, complaint as to chintz fashions, 326, 330

Splat, the Queen Anne, 217

Staffordshire pottery and cottage furniture compared, 31

Stands for chests of drawers, 67

Stockholm, collection of farmhouse furniture at, 38

Stools, children's Jacobean, illustrated, 77

Straight-backed chairs, 203

Stretcher, evolution of the, 200

Stretcher, Yorkshire splat form, 96

Suffolk oak furniture, 283

Sussex firebacks, 296

Sussex ironworks, the, 295, 296

"Swan head" to cupboard, 168

Sweden, the conservation of old farmhouse furniture in, 38

Swift quoted, 161

Tables-- Adam style, 186 Arcaded spandrils, illustrated, 179 Bedfordshire types, 283 Cambridge types, 283 Collapsible form (Charles II.), 103 Cross stretcher, =X= form, 103 Cupid's bow underframing, 107; illustrated, 109 Elizabethan bulbous-leg form, 60 Essex types, 283 Flap tables (Queen Anne), 89; (Georgian), illustrated, 183 Gate-leg, 85-112 Gothic trestle, gate-leg table, 89 Hertfordshire types, 283 Isle of Man table, 283 Scalloped-edge tea-table, illustrated, 181 Scalloped underframing, illustrated, 73 Sixteenth-century style, 52 Spandrils, arcaded, illustrated, 179 Stretchers, splat form, 89; illustrated, 97 Tea-table, Queen Anne style, 185 Three-legged, 283 Underframing, Cupid's bow, illustrated, 109 Various local types, 283 Yorkshire type, 89

Tapers, how made by cottagers, 288

Tavern chair, the, 249

Tea-drinking becomes national, 170

Tea-gardens, eighteenth-century, 249

Tea-table, Queen Anne style, 185

Three-legged tables, 283

Transition from Jacobean to William and Mary styles, 207

Trestle in gate-leg table, 89

Triangular gate form, 86; illustrated, 87

Tripod tables, 185

Turning, various patterns in Jacobean leg, 89

Union with Scotland, 161

Varangian Guard introduce Byzantine furniture into Scandinavia, 37

Veneer, in walnut, early eighteenth-century, 169

Village cabinet-maker, originality of, 32

Wales, Prince of, feathers in chair back, 227

Walnut gate-leg tables, 103

Walnut in general use, 207

Walnut styles, early eighteenth-century, 169

Walnut supplanted by mahogany, 207

Warming-pan, the, 295

Wardrobe, Lancashire type, 278

Welsh carving, 272

Welsh dressers, 133

Wesley and the Methodist movement, 175

Whitefield and the colliers, 175

Wheel-back Windsor chairs, 257

William and Mary dressers, 126

William and Mary gate-leg tables, 104

William and Mary period, finely turned work, 75

William and Mary style, its development from Jacobean, 207

Windsor chair, the, 243-263

Windsor chair, the, Sheraton influence, 259

Windsor chair, its survival, 260

Windsor chairs, Chippendale style, 254

Wood patterns used for firebacks, 300

Woods employed in farmhouse furniture, 33

Woods used in Windsor chairs, 249, 250

Woods used in walnut marquetry, 169

Women's petition against coffee, 170

Yorkshire chairs, 203

Yorkshire splat stretcher to tables, 96

UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON.

VOLUMES FOR COLLECTORS

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE

Companion volume to "Chats on Cottage and Farmhouse Furniture"

_Press Notices, First Edition_

"Mr. Hayden knows his subject intimately."--_Pall Mall Gazette._

"The hints to collectors are the best and clearest we have seen; so that altogether this is a model book of its kind."--_Athenæum._

"A useful and instructive volume."--_Spectator._

"An abundance of illustrations completes a well-written and well-constructed history."--_Daily News._

"Mr. Hayden's taste is sound and his knowledge thorough."--_Scotsman._

"A book of more than usual comprehensiveness and more than usual merit."--_Vanity Fair._

"Mr. Hayden has worked at his subject on systematic lines, and has made his book what it purports to be--a practical guide for the collector."--_Saturday Review._

CHATS ON ENGLISH CHINA

_Press Notices, First Edition_

"A handsome handbook that the amateur in doubt will find useful, and the china-lover will enjoy for its illustrations, and for the author's obvious love and understanding of his subject."--_St. James's Gazette._

"All lovers of china will find much entertainment in this volume."--_Daily News._

"It gives in a few pithy chapters just what the beginner wants to know about the principal varieties of English ware. We can warmly commend the book to the china collector."--_Pall Mall Gazette._

"One of the best points about the book is the clear way in which the characteristics of each factory are noted down separately, so that the veriest tyro ought to be able to judge for himself if he has a piece or pieces which would come under this heading, and the marks are very accurately given."--_Queen._

CHATS ON ENGLISH EARTHENWARE

(Companion volume to "Chats on English China")

"Complementary to the useful companion volume, in this 'Chats' Series, on English China which Mr. Hayden issued five years ago."--_Times._

"Is a compendious account of our native English faïence, abundantly illustrated and accurately written."--_Guardian._

"A thoroughly trustworthy working handbook."--_Truth._

"It is a mine of knowledge, gathered from all quarters, and the outcome of personal experience and research, and it is written with no little charm of style."--_Lady's Pictorial._

"Mr. Hayden knows and writes exactly what is needed to help the amateur to become an intelligent collector, while his painstaking care in verifying facts renders his work a stable book of reference."--_Connoisseur._

"The volume has been written as a companion to Mr. Hayden's 'Chats on English China' in the same series, and those who recall the admirable character of that book will find this to be in no way inferior."--_Nation._

"The illustrations are profuse and excellent, and the author and the publishers must be commended for offering us so many reproductions of typical specimens that have not appeared in any previous handbook. The illustrations alone are worth the cost of the book."--_Manchester Guardian._

"Mr. Hayden's book is filled to overflowing with beautiful and most instructive and helpful illustrations, and altogether it is one that will give immense pleasure to collectors, and much information to the admiring but ignorant."--_Liverpool Courier._

CHATS ON OLD PRINTS

A Practical Guide to Collecting and Identifying Old Engravings.

"Mr. Hayden writes at once with enthusiasm and discrimination on his theme."--_Daily Telegraph._

"Any one who, having an initial interest in matters of art, wants to form sound and intelligent opinions about engravings, will find this book the very thing for him."--_Literary World._

"These 'Chats' comprise a full and admirably lucid description of every branch of the engraver's art, with copious and suggestive illustrations."--_Morning Leader._