Neoclassicism - England - Part 5

One of the most extensive London firms in the later years of the 18th century was that of George Seddon, who was master of the Joiner's Company in 1795. He set up premises in Aldersgate Street at around 1750 and in spite of disastrous fires in 1768 and in 1783 his firm prospered and employed over 400 skilled men. It survived, under his sons George and Thomas, his son-in-law, Thomas Shackleton and several other generations of his family, until the mid-19th century. As early as 1768 George Seddon was described as 'one of the most eminent cabinet-makers in London' and his firm's output of handmade furniture must have been enormous, yet few pieces attributable to him have been unearthed. Those that have turned up with their original bills or, very occasionally in the early 19th century stamped 'T&G Seddon', are of fine quality and workmanship and most are of satinwood.

Hepplewhite's reign was a short one: the 1790s were dominated by frenetic social upheavals, fitted and non fitted furniture was stylistically affected by the prevailing restlessness. The traditional style the closed the 18th century and at  the same time heralded the cooler but still revolutionary period of the Regency, is known, for better or worse, as Sheraton.

Like Hepplewhite and Shearer, Thomas Sheraton is a somewhat shadowy figure who may never have had a workshop of his own. As his trade card of c1795 suggested, he was a designer rather than a maker of furniture: 'T. Sheraton No. 106 Wardour Street, Soho Teaches Perspective, Architecture and Ornaments, makes Designs for Cabinet-makers, and sells all kinds of Drawing Books etc'. He also published a number of religious tracts.

His chief work, and the one which embodies what we call the Sheraton style, was the Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book, issued in four parts between 1791 and 1794. Its designs are full-bodied refinements of the Neoclassical, and at the same time give forward glimpses of the Regency and Victorian periods. Comfortably rounded forms appear with Neoclassical motifs and draped silk; turned, simetimes even bulbous legs replace the straighter shapes associated with the Hepplewhite period; there is an evident delight in mechanical artifice, and upholstery is given a new prominence. The natural beauty of wood is revered and while inlaid and painted decoration are favoured, gilding an japanning are kept to a minimum.

Sheraton was largely concerned with perspective and geometry and his book differs from its predecessors in its attentions to the principles. He also provides 'accurate patterns at large for ornaments to enrich and embellish the various pieces of work which frequently occur in the cabinet branch'. The Sheraton style , which is actual furniture generally took a simpler form than most of the designs in the Drawing Book, , was disseminated far and wide, and not just in the British Isles and her colonies. It spread to Russia, Germany, Scandinavia, Italy, Spain and of course America, and by the early 19th century had totally overshadowed Hepplewhite.

To be continued...