History of Furniture: George Hepplewhite

In the context of the history of furniture, there were a lot of cabinetmakers (an old term for furniture makers) in England in the 18th and 19th centuries but there are only a handful of legendary names:  Thomas Chippendale, Thomas Sheraton, and George Hepplewhite are known as The Big Three.

We have covered Chippendale in a post post here but let's take a look at George Hepplewhite. Not much is known of Hepplewhite's early life. Even his precise birthyear is unknown. But we do know he opened a cabinetmaker shop in London and died in 1786. However his widow Alice kept the business in operation.

Fascinatingly, it was not until 1788 when Alice posthumously published her late husband's designs in the CABINET MAKER AND UPHOLSTERER'S GUIDE that his work gained any notoriety. She published two further editions in 1789 and 1790. Chippendale was producing furniture at the same time and while he worked in a variety of styles, Hepplewhite stood by a single distinctive look featuring a neo-classical silhouette. Instead of the curvy cabriole leg of Queen Anne and Chippendale pieces, Hepplewhite looked to Grecian and Roman columns to make his straight legs--whether round or square--which were often fluted like a column of antiquity. He also pioneered and made popular the sideboard and the short chest of drawers which he designed with a serpentine or bow front, a relatively new feature in furniture for that period. Pieces are of contrasting veneered woods with inlays in interesting and pastoral shapes.

Hepplewhite created a unique chair back that is known as a "shield back chair," and it is easy to see why: the shape is that of a shield.

Hepplewhite also pioneered a decorative and functional object that every well appointed dinign room of the period held: the cutlery urn or box. These were carved wooden vessels with removeable lids that held knives but also spoons and forks. They were displayed on pedestals of their own often flanking a sideboard. The urn shape was popular but  Hepplewhite and Sheraton also designed square boxes with sloped and hinged lids.

Happy designing!