History of Furniture: Chippendale

In our last installment of History of Furniture, we examined what is known as the Adam Style, based on the work of brothers Robert and John Adam, here. So it seems right to examine a style that was happening just before, a style known as Chippendale.

Chippendale is the first style of furniture not be named after a monarch but after a cabinet maker, Thomas Chippendale, born in 1718 in Otley in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Coming from a long line of wood workers, Thomas was trained by his father, and it is presumed he apprenticed with the aptly-named York wood worker Richard Wood.

He moved to London and married Catherine Redshaw at St George's Chapel, Mayfair. And in 1754, Chippendale relocated to 60–62 St. Martin's Lane in London, where he operated his business for the next 60 years. This same year he published a book of his designs entitled "The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director," the first work of its kind solely devoted to the furniture and furnishing of the 18th century British interior, which made him instantly known. He tapped into a certain style that was popular at that time and became the most famous name in the history of English furniture at a time when such craftsmanship was at its zenith. Chippendale’s patrons included aristocracy, gentry and public figures.

His furniture designs include chairs, settees, tables, desks, mirrors, bookshelves, and cabinets. Chippendale designs fall into three main styles: Gothic, Rococo (called "modern" in the book), and Chinese. And while he operated his own workshop and crafted pieces of exquisite beauty, others made furniture and furnishings based on patterns in the "Cabinet Maker's Director," so the term Chippendale refers to English furniture of the 1750s and ’60s made in a modified Rococo style.

Among his furniture designs, it is his chairs which garnered the most attention. Many of the Rococo designs were French in origin, but Chippendale modified some of them for the less flamboyant English market; among these are his French chairs, based on Louis XV designs.

Many of his chairs had yoked top railings and intricately pierced and carved back splats.

A feature of many Chippendale chairs is the ball-and-claw foot, so named for the literal claw holding a ball. This element left over from the Queen Anne period, seen here, also shows up on corner chairs, writing desks, and tall chests of drawers.

But Thomas Chippendale also espoused another simpler chair foot, the pad or club foot which looks much like a golf club.

Chippendale eventually developed an even simpler leg and foot: a square leg with a square foot called a Marlborough leg.

To honor his contributions and legacy, it is important to note that he was much more than cabinetmaker or furniture designer. He operated in the capacity of what would now be an interior designer although that term and job title did not exist at that time. He advised on all aspects of decor such as soft furnishings like rugs and drapery, and even the color a room should be painted. During Chippendale's period of greatest success, he worked with other specialists for the supply of fully decorated and furnished rooms or whole houses, once the principal construction was done. His son, Thomas Chippendale Jr. assumed management of the business in 1776 and worked in the emerging Neoclassical and Regency styles but eventually bankrupted the company in 1804.

There is a statue and memorial plaque dedicated to Chippendale outside The Old Grammar School Gallery in Manor Square, in his home town of Otley, near Leeds, Yorkshire. And in London, there is a full-size sculpted figure of Thomas Chippendale on the façade of the Victoria and Albert Museum created in 1906 by Albert Hodge.

Happy designing!