bath cabinet makers

The Decorative Arts Society 1850 to the Present

BATH CABINET MAKERSAuthor(s): Rodney PayneSource: The Journal of the Decorative Arts Society 1890-1940, No. 5 (1981), pp. 23-30Published by: The Decorative Arts Society 1850 to the PresentStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41804183 .

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BATH CABINET MAKERS

by Rodney Payne

Competitive progressive furniture design has always been important to the Bath Cabinet Makers Company Limited of Bath. Between the years 1925-39, one can follow the sway from the 'moderne' epicurean Parisian style, to the streamline 'depression-modern' style of the mid to late 1930s. By examining quality specially designed articles produced for many projects ranging from the supplied pieces for the Paris Exhibition of 1925, to the fitting of the staterooms de luxe of the RMS Queen Elizabeth, for Cunard White Star Lines in 1937, one can trace this development. The company was established as a result of a long and bitter strike at the Bath furniture manufacturing firm of Norris, in 1892. Charles A. Richter and his brother Henry D. Richter - known for his flower paintings, took advantage of this strike to establish a cooperative cabinet works called the Bath Cabinet Makers Guild, where all men were given an opportunity to take up shares in the company. At first, small workshops in various parts of Bath were used. On obtaining financial support from many of Bath's prominent people, a new factory designed by local architects Silcock and Reay was built on Bellots Road, Twerton-on-Avon, in 1895. The company, then known as the Bath Cabinet Makers, was one of the largest and best equipped furniture factories present in England.1 As a result of some industrial dispute in 1900, the company became a limited liability company and then added Ltd to its name. In the early 1920s, another building was acquired on Lower Bristol Road. This branch of the company was called the Bath Artcrafts Company, and it is from here that many of the top quality pieces that will be mentioned were produced. This section had a total floorspace of 220,000 square feet, 47,000 of which was the woodworking area. The furniture manufacturing areas were supplied by the company operated Bath Timber Supply Company which was little more than a holding and storage area. In 1927 it stocked solid and veneer woods in natural, weathered, and sandblasted oak, sycamore, satinwood, rosewood, padouk, macassar ebony, draperie mahogany, walnut, pear, blackwood, zebra wood, palisander, amboya, laurel wood, and zebrano. This gives an incomplete list of the woods stocked but it does illustrate the range of woods employed. Also under control of the larger company was the School of Handicrafts, Tapestry and Design, or sometimes referred to as The Bath Guild of Handicraft Design. The workshops supplied embroideries, needlework and other related materials for the company's use or direct sale. In the early stages when it was under the direction of Mrs H. D. Richter, their designs were indebted to the forms popular in the Art Nouveau Style, but later when under Christabel Schottler it adopted more progressive designs. The workshops gave employment to local women and to students of the Bath Technical College. Production was interrupted by the first world war when their building was converted into an aircraft manufactory. The company was well established by 1900, when it received both a gold and silver prize from the Paris exhibition for two of its entries. No evidence has yet come forth to indicate which these pieces were. H. T. Keevil in his History of Bath Cabinet Makers, mentioned that 'in the first year of the century, the Bath Cabinet Makers Company Ltd, obtained one notable order for furnishing and fitment for the large private house of a wealthy client. Most of the work was carried out in the style of the Adams Brothers'. The company has never produced in just one style, so there is a good possibility that the products could have been of current design by H. D. Richter similar to the two projects illustrated in the 1907 Studio Yearbook of Decorative Arts. The first is a Drawing Room in the Arts and Crafts manner, executed in oak with brass fitting and details, at Cresthill, Bath.2 The second is an outstanding five-sided display cabinet of vaguely Art Nouveau design, constructed in 'silver grey wood' - possibly sycamore. This piece has a glazed upper section, a panelled mid-section articulated with stylised organic shaped trees, and a lower section having eight long cabriole legs connected with an inlaid box stretcher.3.

H. D. Richter designed many of the early projects, as well as exhibiting regularly at the Royal Academy. By 1925 C. A. Richter did a great deal of the designing but by the end of the decade J. P. Hully, V. P. Koroche, Ian Richter, Edgar Hayward, Jimmy Oakley and Harold Hyde were

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Plate 1 An extension table made of ancona walnut, macassar ebony and sycamore illustrated in July 1927 in Furnishing Trades Organizer

Plate 2 Table designed by Joseph Emberton, 1928 and executed in burl walnut veneer and chrome plated metal

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Plate 3 Sideboard made in 1928 with stylized flower decoration of Parisian inspiration

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supplying designs. In addition, outside designers like Joseph Emberton often sent projects to be executed by the company. The end of the first world war in 1919 signalled the beginning of a new way of life by many Britons especially those in the ever increasing middle classes. Their interest in modern decor was encouraged by the many recent publications like that of Mrs Fredericks calling for the Scientific Management of the House, articles in art magazines like The Studio and Architectural Review which examined the current forces in design on the continent and in Scandinavia, and the lectures of a few dedicated individuals and organisations pressing for greater awareness of 'modern' design. The development of the electrical appliance, i.e. the vacuum added another dimension for the designer to consider like the height from the floor to the bottom of the article to facilitate cleaning. C. A. Richter recognised the necessity for revaluation of current furniture forms and uses, and in his article in the Furnishings Trades' Organizer called 'Selling Points in Modernist Furniture', he outlined his approach to design which is presumably also that of the company.

'Modern furniture, like antique furniture is a collection of all kinds - good, bad, and indifferent. I wish to talk about the best - the best of its sort, whether inexpensive or costly, simple or luxurious.

Plate 4 Chair from a Claridges bedroom suite of grey sycamore with ebonised outline

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Truth, fidelity, honesty, a dignity suited to the character and conditions of the owner, utility, service, serviceability, fitness to purpose efficiency, pleasantness, comeliness and comfortableness, all these characteristics we must look for in our modern furniture.

It must be the fittest possible production as regards shape, size, arrangement, colour, texture, surface, and material for the purpose intended. It must not look like anything but what is pleasant to touch and sight, comely and comfortable, homely and companionable, and in regard to form and decoration, it must not be distracting, not too attractive or distinctive but look as if it will quietly stand and wait and when it is needed, unobtrusively serve.'4

New materials gave the company the freedom to achieve, or at least strive for, the aims set forth by C. A. Richter. Depending on the quality of the article, the composition of the material would vary. The best quality pieces combined solid wood with block-board using plywood for only the back panelling or dust boards. The cheaper versions generally would use different grades of plywood throughout except where solid wood was necessary. The use of composite boards eliminated the size restriction created by solid wood. It also gave added strength and elasticity as well as reducing the amount of deterioration to which solid wood was prone. In many cases

Plate 5 Main lounge of R.M.S. Queen Mary showing chairs designed by J. P. Hully

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Plate 6 Stateroom de luxe, R.M.S. Queen Mary

the composite boards were manufactured with a special waterproof glue which alleviated the problem of shrinkage and splitting. In addition, it made the pieces lighter, and possibly more important, it was cheaper. The company used two methods of applying veneer to the core material, the sand bag method and the hot plate method. The sand bag method required a form to be cut to the correct shape. To this, the board, the album glue, the veneer and a newspaper were placed respectively. The sand bag of considerable weight was heated, for the glue needed the heat to set properly, and was placed on the elements. The weight of the sand pressed the veneer into the shape of the board. The hot plate method required two forms, the upper and lower, between which, the board, glue, veneer, newspaper and hot plate were placed respectively. The pressure was applied with weights and clamps. The company produced a highboy-chest of drawers,5 and a boot cupboard6 for the British Pavilion at the 1925 Paris International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts. These pieces did give some contrast to the Gimson-style articles which were supplied by other companies for the display, but even so, the collection looked very dismal when compared to the 'hot house' epicurean style of the designers and department stores. Both pieces were designed by C. A. Richter. The walnut highboy exhibits a very heavy architectural form. This form is placed on a number of cilia-like feet, and is clad with two fluted pilasters which run the height of the piece except the attic section. The boot cupboard is of cherry mahogany and blackwood inlay. Its form is similar in its basically architectural outline but this is enhanced by a gentle blending of the veneers suggesting an awareness of the works of Ruhlmann or other Parisian designers. In 1927, the company illustrated twelve of its best designed and executed pieces, in the Furnishing Trades' Organizer. All have a strong architectural nature, use veneers and composite boards, and make some suggestion of the Parisian Moderne Style, if not in form then in material. In January, a simplified Parisian style toilet table, veneered in zebra and padouk wood was depicted. In

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April, a display cabinet of an early radio case form, veneered with palisander, aboyna, and macassar ebony, with highlights of mother of pearl and snail shells was shown. In July, an extension table, having an oval form and raised on two fluted pedestals or columns, veneered in ancona walnut, macassar ebony, and sycamore was displayed.7 In December, a mantel piece having a herring-bone pattern, veneered in laurel wood, macassar ebony, and zebrano was illustrated.

An outstanding table and matching sideboard was submitted by Joseph Emberton in the following year. These pieces are typical of his furniture of the period, in that they display a Parisian-inspired fondness for angularity and shiny surfaces. Both pieces have a very pronounced architectural form. Burl walnut is used on the upper section, while the double pedestal base is covered with chrome.

Much of the quality furniture as well as the mass produced pieces were made with these vaguely Parisian overtones but also in traditional styles. They were illustrated throughout these years in The Studio, and were displayed at the company's show rooms in London at 33 Great Pulteney Street (off Beak Street), Regent Street, W.l.

Claridges in 1930-32 refurbished the main rooms plus many of the bedrooms on the seven floors around the open court. The designer, Oswald Milne, instructed the company to produce the bedroom furniture. The suite produced usually included a desk and chair, dressing table and chair, a stool-luggage rack, two night tables, and two single head boards and frames. The suite was executed in grey sycamore with an ebonized outline, which makes a very striking combination. Examining two pieces from the set closely, i.e. the desk and chair, one can get a better picture of the suite's design. The desk is of the typical double form, except for the top elevation's shape. This is of a half bow-tie shape, and therefore, has a centre dimension that is less than that on outer case measurement. The desk is accented with some features like a partial back gallery, a draw-leaf on the side and black ebonized plinths. The complementing chair, which matches the chair for the vanity has a simple form somewhat suggestive of a Chippendale form. The front legs are squared elements placed on raised ebonised feet. The back is low and is lightly curved in outline.

In 1929, the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company launched its new ocean liner the Empress of Britain .8 It was then the fastest liner on the route from Vancouver to Yokohama. For this ship the company, under the direction of C. A. and I. E. Richter, produced all the furniture and wall panelling for the suite de luxe from the designs of Staynes and Jones. Each chamber contained an entrance vestibule, spacious sitting room, double bedroom, bathroom and dressing room. The design of the furniture was mostly in the traditional form, being stripped of its extraneous details. The occasional tables and the writing desks reveal the only suggestion of the curvaceous depression modern style that would be developed into its typical streamline forms by the middle of the decade.

The Cunard White Star Lines', RMS Queen Mary, one of the most important liners ever produced, was laid down in 1930, but not completed until 1936. For this liner the company was responsible for all the panelling and furnishing in the main lounge. This was a mammoth task, for the main lounge extends through three decks, with a height in the centre of nearly 30 feet. Its plan dimensions are 96 feet by 70 feet. Due to its placement and size it was the centre of the social life on the liner and was fitted accordingly. The furniture is of an assortment of forms. There are upholstered arm chairs having walnut frames and zebrano veneered seat rails. These chairs designed by J. P. Hully have an extremely simple design, incorporating tapering front legs incised just below the seat rails, and linearly strong arched backs. Sometimes the arms were upholstered-in making more of a tub form. The tables were likely designed by C. A. Richter, which once again have a strong architectural form. Many of them have square or circular tops veneered in burl walnut and edged in ivory, placed on black lacquer pedestals on circular chrome-plated plinths. The RMS Queen Elizabeth, also of the Cunard Line, was laid down in 1936, and launched unfinished in 1938. The company was responsible for the panelling and furnishing in the main hall and the stateroom de luxe. The main hall was covered with Canadian maple burr, assuming a delicate tawny-pink colour. The veneer was highlighted by the use of leather covered panels in light grey, pale blue and buff, all supplied by Connelly's of London.

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The staterooms de luxe which were bed rooms had furniture possibly designed by Harold Hyde and Jimmy Hendon. Here one can see the full development of the depression modern style drawing heavily on Scandinavian furniture design. Its clean flowing lines are best displayed in the small writing desk in grey sycamore. Here one sees a rectangular shaped writing surface supported by a continuous 'U' shaped side and stretcher element which is 18 inches wide. The curving lines are echoed by the head and foot boards, as well as in the outline of the chairs and the panelling. It is hoped that this brief discussion of the products of the Bath Cabinet Makers Company Ltd has indicated the unique and progressive designs produced during the period 1925-39. One can easily see the gentle development of the streamline depression-modern style out of the Parisian-influenced moderne-style, which will in the future deserve further interest and research.

References 1 H. T. Keevil, History of Bath Cabinet Makers, Bath, 1956. 2 The Studio Year Book of Decorative Arts, London, 1907, p. 67. 3 The Studio Year Book of Decorative Arts, London 1907, p.94. 4 The Furnishing Trades' Organizer, London, November 1927, p. 272 (ii). 5 Tallboy chest of drawers, shown in Paris in 1925, and Shoolbreds 1928. Illustrated in the Furnishing Trades'

Organizer, January 1928. 6 Boot cupboard, shown in Paris in 1925, illustrated in The Architectural Review, July 1925. 7 Sideboard sold at Christies in July 1980. 8 Canadian Homes and Gardens, Toronto, 1931, pp. 19-21.

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