h light on
the subject of the furniture of his time.[18] Amongst these are many of
his aristocratic patrons and no less than 450 names and addresses of
cabinet makers, chair makers and carvers, exclusive of harpsichord
manufacturers, musical instrument makers, upholsterers, and other kindred
trades. Included with these we find the names of firms who, from the
appointments they held, it may be inferred, had a high reputation for good
work and a leading position in the trade, but who, perhaps from the
absence of a taste for "getting into print" and from the lack of any brand
or mark by which their work can be identified, have passed into oblivion
while their contemporaries are still famous. The following names taken
from this list are probably those of men who had for many years conducted
well known and old established businesses, but would now be but poor ones
to "conjure" with, while those of Chippendale, Sheraton, or Hepplewhite,
are a ready passport for a doubtful specimen. For instance:--France,
Cabinet Maker to His Majesty, St. Martin's Lane; Charles Elliott, Upholder
to His Majesty and Cabinet Maker to the Duke of York, Bond Street;
Campbell and Sons, Cabinet Makers to the Prince of Wales, Mary-le-bone
Street, London. Besides those who held Royal appointments, there were
other manufacturers of decorative furniture--Thomas Johnson, Copeland,
Robert Davy, a French carver named Nicholas Collet, who settled in
England, and many others.

In Mr. J.H. Pollen's larger work on furniture and woodwork, which includes
a catalogue of the different examples in the South Kensington Museum,
there is a list of the various artists and craftsmen who have been
identified with the production of artistic furniture either as designers
or manufacturers, and the writer has found this of considerable service.
In the Appendix to this work, this list has been reproduced, with the
addition of several names (particularly those of the French school)
omitted by Mr. Pollen, and it will, it is hoped, prove a useful reference
to the reader.

* * * * *

Although this chapter is somewhat long, on account of the endeavour to
give more detailed information about English furniture of the latter half
of last century, than of some other periods, in consequence of the
prevailing taste for our National manufacture of this time, still, in
concluding it, a few remarks about the "Sideboard" may be allowed.

The changes in form