,transcriber's notes3      italics      
converted to      bold converted to     
small caps converted to      gesperrt   
converted to      page #cc 444he native 
effort fred444 typo repaired at         
444the native effort freed444           
illustration caption typo stretches     
repaired at stretchers     illustration 
caption typo carbriole repaired at      
cabriole     'patine' is the ,french    
version of the ,latin_/,italian1        
and ,english word 'patina'     page #aa 
word screscent repaired for crescent    
,this book contains instances of        
hyphenated and     unhyphenated variants
 of words4 ,all retained4               
,,jacobean ,,furniture   ,illustration3 
,plate ,i--,,the ,,small ,,jacobean     
,,room ,,of ,,elegance ,,and ,,intimacy 
,,jacobean ,,furniture   ,,and          
,,english ,,styles ,,in ,,oak ,,and     
,,walnut    ,,by   ,,helen ,,churchill  
,,candee    ,author of ,decorative      
,styles and ,periods1   ,the ,tapestry  
,book1 ,etc4    ,,with ,,forty-,,three  

,,illustrations  ,illustration    ,,new 
,,york   ,,frederick ,a4 ,,stokes       
,,company   ,,publishers                
,copyright1 #aiaf1 by   ,frederick ,a4  
,stokes ,company    ,all rights reserved
     ,,contents     ,,chapter           
,,page      ,i ,early ,jacobean ,styles 
#c       ,james ,i ,crowned #afjc4      
,,ii ,jacobean ,styles to ,charles ,,ii 
#ad    ,,iii ,the ,middle of the        
,century               #bg         ,end 
of the ,pure ,jacobean4     ,,iv        
,carolean ,styles or the ,restoration   
#cg       ,charles ,,ii1 #affj to #afhe4
      ,v ,the ,end of the ,seventeenth  
,century      #dh         ,william and  
,mary1 #afhi-agjb4     ,,illustrations  
,,plate    ,i ,the small ,jacobean room 
of elegance   and intimacy              
,frontispiece                           
,,facing                                
,,page    ,,ii ,late ,tudor mantel      
#d    ,,iii ,late ,tudor bed            
#e    ,,iv ,large oak chest             
#f    ,v ,early ,jacobean chest of      

carved oak                      #g      
,,vi ,oak chest with drawers            
#h    ,,vii ,oak stand and marquetry    
cabinet                       #i        
,,viii ,gate-leg table1 forming console 
with gate   closed                      
#aj    ,,ix ,oak chairs                 
#aa    ,x ,oak chest of drawers         
#ab    ,,xi ,early ,jacobean cabinet    
#ac    ,,xii ,oak chairs                
#af    ,,xiii ,spiral turned chair1     
characteristic of first half   of       
,century                                
#ag    ,,xiv ,oak cabinet1 dated #afec  
#bj    ,,xv ,oak gate-leg dining table  
#ba    ,,xvi ,oak day beds              
#bd    ,,xvii ,stuart chairs            
#be    ,,xviii ,marquetry cabinet about 
#agjj                       #bh    ,,xix
 ,walnut cabinet                        
#bi    ,,xx ,stuart settee with carving4
 ,second half of   ,,xvii ,century      
#db    ,,xxi ,charles ,,ii chairs in    
varying styles in carving       #dc     
,,xxii ,walnut sofa                     

#dd    ,,xxiii ,gilt mirror1 time of    
,charles ,,ii                    #de    
,,xxiv ,interesting chair transitional  
between ,stuart   ,styles and ,william  
and ,mary                               
#dh    ,,xxv ,chairs in variants of     
,william and ,mary               #di    
,,xxvi ,chest of drawers in burr walnut 
veneer              #ej    ,,xxvii      
,small walnut table                     
#ea    ,,xxviii ,carved chairs4 ,period 
of ,william and ,mary         #eb       
,,xxix ,walnut chairs1 ,william and     
,mary                     #ec    ,,xxx  
,queen ,anne single chair4 ,queen ,anne 
arm   chair4 ,walnut ,queen ,anne chairs
                          #ed    ,,xxxi 
,queen ,anne chair                      
#ee     ,,jacobean ,,furniture          
,,chapter ,i  ,,early ,,jacobean        
,,styles  ,,james ,i ,,crowned #afjc    
,when a passion for collecting antique  
furniture first swept ,america1 and     
prizes were plucked from attics1 cellars
 and old barns1 the eagle eye of the    

amateur sought only those fine pieces   
that were made in the age of mahogany   
and satin-wood4 ,every piece was dubbed 
,colonial with rash generalisation until
 the time when a little erudition       
apportioned the well-made distinctive   
furniture to its proper classes4 ,then  
every person of culture became expert on
 eighteenth century furniture1 and the  
names of ,chippendale and his prolific  
mates fell glibly from all lips4  ,that 
much accomplished1 the collector and    
home-maker then threw an intelligent eye
 on another page of history and realised
 that the seventeenth century and       
certain bits of oak and walnut that had 
stood neglected1 belonged to an equally 
interesting period of ,america's social 
development4  ,all at once the word     
,jacobean was on every tongue1 as       
,colonial had been before4 ,attics1     
cellars and barns were searched again1  
this time for oak and walnut1 not       
mahogany1 and for heavy square          
construction1 not for bandy legs and    

delicate restraint4 ,it was the         
marvellous carved chest that first      
announced itself1 and then a six-legged 
highboy1 and the lower part of a        
thousand-legged table--which now we call
 a gate4 ,these1 we said with           
inspiration1 are the gods of the first  
settlers2 mahogany is but modern stuff4 
,but this time we were more savant than 
before1 and instead of starving our     
eager minds on the occasional           
resurrected ,american bit1 we went at   
once to the source1 to ,england1 and    
there found in abundance 7for the long  
purse7 a charming sequence of styles    
covering all the times of our earlier   
history as settlers and colonisers4     
,thus were we able to identify these    
strange early pieces of our own and to  
recognise our quarry when found in a    
dusty corner4  ,that very old pieces    
still are found1 pieces brought over    
here in the days of their mode1 is      
proved to any collector4 ,in two towns  
on ,long ,island ,sound ,i recently     

found for sale two six-legged highboys1 
,william and ,mary1 and that great      
rarity1 a straight oak chair known as a 
,farthingale chair1 made without arms   
for the purpose of accommodating the    
enormous crinoline or farthingale of its
 day4 ,this chair may have supported the
 stiffly dressed ladies of ,elizabeth's 
court1 so like it was to the ,italian   
models of ,tudor times4  ,illustration3 
,plate ,,ii--,,late ,,tudor ,,mantel    
,from a house built in #afjf1 which     
shows a toning   of ,tudor style into   
,jacobean  ,illustration3 ,plate        
,,iii--,,late ,,tudor ,,bed    ,with    
motifs which characterised early        
,jacobean carving1 dated #aeic  ,the    
pity of it is1 that no sooner had the   
artistic eye of the true collector begun
 to search for seventeenth century      
furniture than the commercial eye of the
 modern manufacturer began to make      
hideous variations on its salient       
features4 ,he caught the name of        
,jacobean and to every piece of         

ill-drawn furniture he affixed a spiral 
leg and the ,stuart name2 or1 he set a  
serpentine flat stretcher and called his
 mahogany dining set1 ,william and      
,mary4 ,these tasteless things fill our 
department stores1 and it is they that  
are rapidly filling ,american homes4    
,and the worst of it is1 that both      
buyers and sellers are startlingly yet  
pathetically glib with attaching        
historic names to the mongrel stuff1 and
 thus are they misled4  ,new furniture  
must be made1 however1 or resort must be
 had to soap-boxes and hammocks4 ,the   
old models are the best to follow for   
the reason that the present is not an   
age of creation in this direction4 ,the 
stylist is always a hobby-rider1 and ,i 
must confess to that form of activity1  
but it is always with the idea in mind  
to make and keep our homes beautiful4   
,and so ,i make the plea to             
manufacturers to stick to old models of 
tried beauty1 and to buyers to educate  
their taste until they reject a hybrid  

or mongrel movable with the same        
outraged sense that they reject a       
mongrel dog4  ,now let us pass through  
the gate that leads to happy            
hunting-grounds of study where we find  
historic men and women1 both royal and  
common1 making the times that called for
 the furniture we now admire as deeply  
as they admired it4  ,one might almost  
say that since ,henry the ,eighth's     
introduction of the styles of the       
,italian ,renaissance into ,england1    
that country has produced no original   
style of furniture4 ,but lest this      
statement be resented by affronted      
savants and hurt sentimentalists1 side  
by side with that fact must be placed   
another1 that ,england has played upon  
the styles she imported with such skill 
and grace that she has thus produced    
variants of great and peculiar beauty4  
,england has taken the furniture        
creations of ,europe through the        
centuries and has impressed them with   
her national traits1 with a resulting   

beauty entirely her own4 ,the effect is 
bewildering to all but the student of   
styles1 for without study one is often  
unable to account for certain           
alterations of detail and construction4 
,it cannot be too often repeated that as
 each nation in turn adopted the        
,italian ,renaissance1 that nation      
impressed its own signet upon the style4
 ,thus came all the variations4  ,it is 
to be remembered that in the case of    
,england1 the affair is one of great    
interest and complication4 ,in the      
sixteenth century ,pistaccio and his    
artist mates hurried from ,italy at the 
bidding of ,henry ,,viii and planted    
their classic patterns in the ,british  
kingdom4 ,that was an infusion of the   
pure ,renaissance drawing is visible but
 with a general flattening of the relief
 blood of the ,renaissance1 and it      
lasted well into ,elizabeth's time      
before the ,anglo-,saxon temperament    
altered it characteristically4          
,illustration3 ,plate ,,iv--,,large     

,,oak ,,chest    ,in noblest type of    
early ,jacobean carving  ,courtesy of   
,charles  ,illustration3 ,plate         
,v--,,early ,,jacobean ,,chest ,,of     
,,carved ,,oak  ,by the time ,james ,i1 
in #afjc1 established the ,stuart reign1
 the style became markedly ,british1 and
 ,british styles called ,jacobean in    
compliment to ,james' ,latinized name1  
prevailed until another imported fashion
 came along4 ,then came another and     
another1 and so on even until the end of
 ,georgian styles and the beginning of  
,victorian4  ,the ,jacobean style       
developed serenely1 playing happy pranks
 with itself1 altered by mechanical     
inventions and by new woods1 until the  
second half of the seventeenth century1 
when ,charles ,,ii introduced strong    
,french influence and ,portuguese--which
 was not greatly different from         
,spanish4 ,the ,french influence came   
lightly from the light ladies of the    
frivolous court1 and the ,portuguese    
from ,charles' queen1 ,catherine1 whose 

home was ,braganza4 ,bombay as her dowry
 threw ,eastern colours and design into 
the mle4  ,british styles were not yet  
to be let alone1 for no sooner was the  
,french way set than the ,dutch pattern 
appeared1 brought over by ,william and  
,mary4 ,delicately it came at first1    
giving place for hints from the court of
 ,louis ,,xiv1 and then in full force by
 the time ,anne took the sceptre in     
#agjc4 ,and all these styles imported   
throughout the seventeenth century1 what
 were they but the several              
interpretations of the ,renaissance as  
it was expressed in ,france1 ,portugal1 
and ,holland8 ,let not the student      
stagger under these complications of    
,english styles1 for although there are 
yet more reasons for the shapes and     
ornament of furniture in ,england during
 the seventeenth century they are all   
bright with incidents of kings and      
courts4  ,tudor monarchs stop in #afjc  
at ,elizabeth's death1 but ,tudor styles
 were not at once outgrown1 rather they 

linger along far into the seventeenth   
century1 heavily and elegantly regarding
 the newly throned ,stuarts and their   
bewitching manners4 ,the ,tudor table1  
for instance1 was a serious piece of    
furniture1 put together as squarely and 
solidly as a house4 ,its enduring       
qualities are proved by the number of   
these tables still extant which1 as     
refectory tables1 are the smart thing   
for the dining-room of to-day4 ,bulbous 
legs with ,italian carving1 heavy square
 stretchers low on the ground1 and      
draw-tops1 are the distinguishing       
features4 ,it is even suggested by the  
erudite that these tables are the last  
flicker of the style left by the ,romans
 during their occupation of ,england1 so
 like are they to pictured tables of    
,rome at that time4  ,to fix in the mind
 certain important motifs used in early 
,jacobean carving1 a pause may be made  
before the fine oak bed pictured in     
,plate #c1 that we may discuss them4 ,it
 is dated #aeic1 ten years before ,james

 ,i1 but1 although ,tudor1 it has       
certain decorative features1 the        
development of which was left to the    
,jacobean styles of the seventeenth     
century4 ,note especially among these   
the characteristic round arch savouring 
of the ,norman1 of which two are shown  
on the bed's head4 ,these arches frame a
 rough inlay which appears also on the  
square blocks of the tester4 ,holly and 
bog oak were the favourite woods for    
this inlay on oak1 woods obdurate enough
 to make the labour difficult4 ,the     
half-circle repeat is used freely as a  
moulding on the headboard1 and this     
develops in later furniture into an     
important motif4 ,the general           
construction of this bed is noble in its
 proportions1 and in all changes of     
fashion must it stand with the dignity  
of a temple4  ,illustration3 ,plate     
,,vi-,,oak ,,chest ,,with ,,drawers     
,this is carved with all the            
characteristic motifs of early ,jacobean
   work--the arch1 the guilloche1 the ,s

 curve in pairs  ,illustration3 ,plate  
,,vii--,,oak ,,stand ,,and ,,marquetry  
,,cabinet    ,here are combined the     
,jacobean robust strength and ,spanish  
,moresque   detail  ,as pictures on a   
screen melt one into another1 so styles 
merge4 ,plate #f shows a chest full of  
,jacobean promise yet retaining ,tudor  
feeling4 ,the fact that it has drawers  
under the coffer pronounces it as a     
novelty of the early seventeenth        
century1 and therefore ,jacobean4  ,it  
especially well illustrates the pattern 
for carving that occupied workers       
through the reign of ,james ,i4 ,there  
is the ,norman arch1 low and wide1 set  
on short supports which have now lost   
their architectural look of a column4   
,the arches at the ends have as ornament
 the guilloche1 that line of circles    
that sinuously proceeds through all that
 time4 ,the carving just under the lid  
shows the characteristic ,s curve in one
 of its many varieties1 and the line of 
decoration just above the drawers       

indicates the development of the        
half-circle4 ,thus are shown in this one
 early piece the principal motifs of the
 carvers who were coaxing the models of 
a past ,renaissance into an expression  
that was entirely ,british4  ,the small 
oak cupboard on ,plate #aa is another   
transition piece1 being in feeling both 
,tudor and ,jacobean4 ,here the         
guilloche is enlarged to form a panel   
ornament1 and the acanthus becomes a    
long fern frond to ornament the         
uprights4 ,one hardly feels1 however1   
that this piece was ever the            
accompaniment of elegant living1        
although much antiquity gives its       
present distinction4  ,continuing with  
the low round arch as an ornament in the
 low-relief carving of ,james' time1 an 
example of its use is given in the      
folding gate-legged table which is the  
property of the author 7,plate #h74 ,the
 turned legs finished with squares1 top 
and bottom1 are characteristic of the   
first quarter of the century4 ,the arch 

is here used as an apron to give        
elegance1 and above is a drawer carved  
with leaves4 ,in construction this table
 presents three sides to the front1 as  
does the cabinet just considered1 and   
its ,italian inspiration is evident4    
,like all old oak of the time1 it is put
 together with wooden pegs1 and bears   
the marvellous patine of time4  ,had the
 chairs of early ,stuart time not been  
heavily made and squarely constructed we
 would not have had so many examples    
with which to gladden the eye4 ,almost  
without exception they are variants of  
the ,italian1 originality having not    
then appeared possible to chair makers4 
,three of the four chairs in the plates 
illustrate this so well that it is worth
 while to make a comparison with old    
,italian chairs4  ,illustration3 ,plate 
,,viii--,,gate-,,leg ,,table4 ,,forming 
,,console ,,with ,,gate ,,closed    ,the
 turned legs with square bases and tops 
indicate date as early   as #afaj4      
,the deep apron carved with fretted arch

 is an unusual feature  ,illustration3  
,plate ,,ix--,,oak ,,chairs ,early      
,,xvii    ,century ,italian ,inspiration
  ,the chair on ,plate #i with a        
crescent-shaped carving on the back had 
its first inspiration in ,venice1 that  
great port getting the idea from the    
wares of ,constantinople which the      
merchant ships brought to her with      
prodigality4 ,all of these chairs are of
 the square construction that endures1  
and all have baluster legs but of       
different styles of turning4 ,all are   
understayed with honest stretchers1 but 
one has the front stretcher close to the
 floor1 indicating a little earlier     
mode4 ,the colonnade of arches forming  
the back is nearer its ,italian origin  
where a column supports the arch rather 
than a bulbous spindle4  ,one more      
feature to note on these chairs1 that is
 common to both late ,tudor and early   
,jacobean styles1 is the decoration of  
split spindles or pendants applied to a 
flat surface4 ,this decoration is a     

favourite for wood panelling1 for chests
 of drawers and all large pieces about  
the middle of the century4  ,we have but
 to call to mind the costume of         
,henrietta ,maria1 the queen of ,charles
 ,i1 to realise why these armless chairs
 were the most popular of the time2 the 
voluminous skirts of the ladies of the  
court--whom others imitated--could not  
have been squeezed into an arm chair    
with courtly grace4  ,the sort of room  
in which this furniture was set--how    
happy we of to-day would be to have     
their panelling6 ,occasionally an entire
 room is taken from some old ,english   
home and set up in one of our ,american 
dwellings1 such as the rooms now owned  
by ,mr4 ,frederick ,pratt and ,mr4 ,w4  
,r4 ,hearst4 ,and thus we know what     
beauty surrounded the ,english family   
three hundred years ago4 ,panelling in  
squares covered the walls from floor to 
ceiling or to a high level1 above which 
hung tapestries or embroideries4 ,and as
 the architect of the house composed the

 panelling it was drawn with such skill 
as to miss either hap-hazard or         
monotony4  ,the linen-fold panel of     
,gothic and early ,tudor popularity was 
no longer repeated4 ,the true ,jacobean 
panel is small and square with carving  
on the pilasters and cornice in rooms of
 elegance4 ,to this day no more         
home-like way of treating the walls of  
large rooms has been devised than this  
wood panelling1 which gives a sense of  
seclusion and of richness that is never 
so well imparted except by the use of   
tapestry--and the combination of the two
 nearly approaches perfection4          
,jacobean styles1 so-called1 extend     
through the greater part of the century1
 but each succeeding ,stuart marked his 
special progress on them4 ,the styles of
 the first kings1 ,james ,i and his son 
,charles ,i1 lifted the family movables 
from heaviness to comparative lightness1
 and grew away from the ,renaissance in 
truly original ways4 ,on this fact rests
 much of its interest4 ,the other great 

fact for us is that these years of the  
first ,stuart kings were the years of   
the first ,american colonisation4       
,illustration3 ,plate ,x--,,oak ,,chest 
,,of ,,drawers    ,an interesting       
example of the ,jacobean use of         
decorative mouldings  ,illustration3    
,plate ,,xi--,,early ,,jacobean         
,,cabinet    ,carved and put together   
with wooden pegs4 ,a guilloche carving  
ornaments   each panel     ,,chapter    
,,ii  ,,jacobean ,,styles ,,to ,,charles
 ,,ii   ,brutally natural we may call   
the earlier characters in ,english      
history1 but attached to the ,stuart    
name there is always poetic romance4    
,and without romance what would our     
lives be6 ,so when we sit in our loved  
library or dining-room at home1         
embellished by a few bits of furniture  
such as the ,stuarts lived among1 those 
bits are like consolidated stories1     
things to dream about in the hours of   
ease4  ,james ,i and his son ,charles   
cared about things they lived with1 and 

cared1 too1 about giving them as much as
 possible a certain lightness of effect1
 in revolt from ,tudor bulk4 ,perhaps   
the necessity for surpassing strength   
was waning4 ,men no longer wore tons of 
armour1 furniture in the seventeenth    
century no longer journeyed from castle 
to castle4 ,inigo ,jones was at work    
also1 with his marvellous talent at     
classical architecture1 setting a       
standard of cheerful elegance in design 
that lightened the ,tudor magnificence4 
,when ,james ,i began to rule in #afjc1 
,inigo ,jones1 a lightsome young man of 
thirty1 was employed by the ,king as a  
composer of masques4 ,after developing  
his architect's talent he produced the  
palace at ,whitehall1 ,hatfield ,house  
and other residences4 ,his also was the 
invention that threw over the steps to  
the ,thames the noble water-gate1 ,york 
,stairs1 that stands there now1 a record
 of the merry days when ladies and      
cavaliers1 all gay as flowers1 crossed  
the greensward1 filed under this richly 

carved arch1 and were handed into       
elegantly equipped barges on the river4 
,while things of an artistic sort were  
progressing in ,england1 other events   
closely concerning us in ,america were  
also active4 ,the entire century runs   
two parallel lines of history1 one that 
of the gaiety of the house in power1 the
 other that of the struggle of the      
people divided into religious sects4    
,while 'twas merry in the ,hall1 when   
beards wagged all1 persecution was rife 
among religionists1 and the ,puritans   
were finding it hard to stay in their   
own loved land4  ,thus came the         
sufferers to ,america to plant new      
homes2 and thus coming1 brought with    
them such furniture as was in vogue at  
the time of migrating4 ,and so it       
happens that our earliest bits of       
furniture1 chairs that supported grim   
,pilgrim fathers1 tables which were set 
out by provident ,puritan mothers and   
maids1 are ,jacobean in mode4 ,the chair
 of ,elder ,brewster which has asylum in

 ,hartford1 ,conn41 is a fine example of
 the heavy turned work of the day1 and  
numerous oak chairs show the strap-work 
and other low-relief carving so well    
known in early ,jacobean pieces4  ,one  
especial class of chair 7,plate #ab7    
when found in ,england is called for one
 of its shires1 ,yorkshire1 but when    
drawn from ,new ,england hiding places1 
we name it a wainscote chair4 ,the      
design of the back easily gives reason  
for the name1 for it is formed from a   
bit of panelling similar to that in     
vogue for walls4 ,stolid and strong are 
these chairs1 square-built and stayed   
with four strong stretchers1 usually    
near the floor4  ,the collector         
considers the charm irresistibly        
increased when the front stretcher is   
well worn with the friction of many     
feet1 the resting feet of a long        
procession that has walked down the     
centuries4 ,even better is the          
smoothness of the chair-arms which comes
 by contact with the human hand1 that   

restless member with a habit of idly    
rubbing an inviting surface4 ,like all  
makers of chairs1 the ancient           
cabinet-maker left back-legs in         
utilitarian simplicity1 while he limited
 variety to the front-legs4 ,in this    
type of chair1 turning gave the usual   
ornamentation4 ,this baluster effect had
 many varieties1 but all united in      
finishing with a square block at the    
bottom and where the seat-frame met the 
leg1 or where the front stretcher       
crossed1 if it was placed high4  ,the   
ornamentation of the back was done with 
the light spirit that distinguished     
early ,jacobean styles from the         
preceding ,italian models1 yet without  
the elegance that appeared later in the 
century4 ,these chairs undoubtedly have 
charm and interest1 but as works of art 
they are not comparable to those which  
preceded1 nor to those which followed4  
,they were1 however1 distinctly         
,english1 and as such1 command interest4
  ,illustration3 ,plate ,,xii--,,oak    

,,chairs    ,called both ,wainscote and 
,yorkshire chairs  ,illustration3 ,plate
 ,,xiii--,,spiral ,,turned ,,chair1     
,,characteristic ,,of ,,first ,,half    
,,of ,,century  ,a close study of the   
motifs used by the wood-carver shows all
 the favourite lines1 the guilloche1    
that ever interesting play upon circles1
 the ,s curve in pairs1 the rounded     
arch1 the half-circle1 the rose and the 
tulip4 ,cushions were a part of the     
chair's equipment4 ,the tired ladies of 
the seventeenth century were not asked  
to recuperate on a thick oak plank      
unsoftened by padding4 ,loose cushions  
of velvet and of embroidery were usual1 
for this was an age when handsome       
fabrics were made all over ,europe1 and 
freely used in flashing blue and ruby   
red against the oak4  ,nearly allied to 
the wainscote chair1 yet infinitely more
 refined1 is the chair of spiral parts1 
with back and seat upholstered4 ,without
 arms it was favoured by ladies of      
voluminous petticoats who pattered about

 the thrones of ,james ,i and ,charles  
,i4 ,with arms it is sometimes called   
,cromwellian1 suggesting that the       
doughty ,dictator ruled therefrom4 ,but 
the austerity of the wainscote chair    
seems more fitting to his resolute      
manner4  ,this turned chair with its    
padded back and seat1 so often dignifies
 our modern interiors that it is worth  
our while to know about it4 ,while the  
wainscote chair belonged more especially
 to cottage furniture which was made all
 over ,england according to varying     
local taste1 this chair was more or less
 of an aristocrat1 and furnished the    
halls of wealth4 ,its origin is         
,italian4 ,france used it freely1 but   
she too got her first model from the    
,italians4 ,in the time these chairs    
prevailed1 ,england outside of ,london  
was scant of luxury4 ,the homes of all  
but the wealthiest were short of the    
comforts that ameliorate the jolt of    
life's car in these our modern days4    
,but the whole country was sprinkled    

with inns and taverns wherein were      
gathered such luxuries as the times     
afforded1 and thither went the man of   
the family1 bored by the too rigid      
manner of the home4 ,those who          
travelled1 too1 in the saddle or by     
lumbering coach1 fell happily into the  
warm embrace of the chairs at the       
hospitable inn at each stop on the      
journey4 ,the post-road made the string1
 the inns the pearls1 and in this way   
the surface of ,england was covered with
 a net for the delectation of the       
restless4 ,but old-time descriptions of 
the highways1 their ruts and sloughs1   
their highwaymen even1 show how         
laborious were the journeyings and how  
more than glad were travellers to       
alight4  ,ben ,jonson declared a tavern 
chair to be the throne of human         
felicity4 ,thus he spoke praise1 not    
only of the inn but of such furniture as
 pleases us in these days4 ,if1         
therefore1 any husband of to-day rebel  
against the stiffness of backs1 or      

weakness of legs1 of the antique chairs 
at home1 let him be reminded of         
,jonson's opinion on these same chairs4 
,the chair with spiral legs and other   
members runs through the larger half of 
the century1 and has significant        
variations4 ,one shown on ,plate #ac has
 a female head on the uprights of the   
arms1 which represents ,mary of ,modena4
 ,the figure is given at full length in 
a model that our furniture manufacturers
 have many times repeated4  ,while      
baluster legs for chairs and other      
furniture were a product of the reign of
 the first ,james1 we may set down the  
more elegant spiral twist as an evidence
 of a better developed taste for which a
 few leaders were responsible4 ,such a  
man as ,inigo ,jones must have          
influenced widely the public taste in   
all liberal arts4 ,although his examples
 were set in the larger art of          
architecture1 the crowd swaggering about
 the ,banqueting ,hall1 which still     
excites our delight at ,whitehall1 must 

have been inspired to introduce a       
daintier style at home4  ,it was in     
#afbe that ,charles ,i succeeded his    
father1 and soon after invited ,van     
,dyck to be of those who surrounded the 
royal person4 ,it sometimes seems to the
 art-seeking tourist1 that ,charles'    
patronage of art had as motive the      
production of an infinity of portraits  
of his own much-frizzed1 much-dressed   
self4 ,but apart from painting portraits
 of the ,king1 which the model made a   
bit pathetic1 through the attempt to    
associate majesty with preciosity1 ,van 
,dyck had a large part in improving     
,england's taste4 ,another name is that 
of ,sir ,francis ,crane1 he who helped  
his royal master with the noble art of  
tapestry-making at the ,mortlake ,works4
  ,to continue with the use of the      
spiral leg--as its modern use creates   
interest in the subject--it is found as 
the support on those most enticing of   
tables1 the gate-leg4 ,not that all     
gate-leg tables are thus made4 ,alas no1

 economy travels heavily in all ages1 so
 the less expensive baluster turning    
prevailed4 ,but the spiral is the       
favourite and gives great value to the  
old tables4 ,rarely indeed are they to  
be found at bargains since we in        
,america have taken to collecting       
,jacobean furnishings4  ,gate-leg tables
 are labelled with the name of ,cromwell
 by those liking to fix a date by       
attaching to it a ruler4 ,without doubt1
 the great ,commoner leaned his weary   
elbows on such a table when things went 
wrong1 or curved a smiling lip above    
it--if he could smile--when the table   
was weighted with savoury ,puritan      
viands4 ,but for many years before      
,cromwell1 ,english homes had found the 
gate-leg table a mobile and convenient  
replacer of the massive refectory tables
 of ,tudor or ,roman inspiration4  ,in  
large size these tables set a feast for 
the family1 in smaller drawing they held
 the evening light2 or1 smaller yet1    
they assisted the house-mother at her   

sewing4 ,the wonder is not that we of   
to-day find them invaluable1 but that   
mankind ever let them go out of fashion4
 ,collect them if you have the purse1   
but if you must buy a modern copy1      
remember that mahogany was not in use   
for furniture in ,england until the     
century after1 for modern manufacturers 
flout chronology and produce gate-leg   
tables in the wood of which the         
originals were never made4 ,they even   
lacquer them1 in defiance of history4   
,illustration3 ,plate ,,xiv--,,oak      
,,cabinet1 ,,dated #afec    ,decorated  
with split spindles1 and with inlay     
mother-of-pearl1 ivory   and ebony4     
,the legs show tendencies not developed 
until the next century under   ,queen   
,anne  ,illustration3 ,plate ,,xv--,,oak
 ,,gate-,,leg ,,dining ,,table    ,with 
oval top and rarely proportioned spiral 
legs4 ,a drawer   distinguishes the     
piece  ,since the fashion is for old    
tables in the dining-room1 these        
,jacobean gate-leg tables are found     

practical as well as beautiful4 ,the    
large size1 about four and a half feet  
wide by six feet long1 accommodates a   
moderate family and presents none of the
 inconveniences that make certain       
antiques mere objects of art or curios4 
,i must confess to a thrill of delight  
when sitting at such an old oak board   
set out with old lace and silver1 not   
only for its obvious beauty1 but by the 
thought of the groups who have gathered 
there through three hundred years1      
groups of varying customs1 varying      
habits of thought1 varying fashions in  
dress1 yet human like ourselves1 and    
prone to make of the dining-table a     
circle of joy4  ,the inlaid cabinet on  
,plate #aa is an aristocrat4 ,though it 
is dated #afec it exhibits the split    
spindles of earlier years1 and these are
 executed with such nice feeling that   
they accord well with the ,italian look 
of the piece4 ,in truth1 its principal  
decoration is ,italian1 an elaborate use
 of inlay in mother of pearl1 ivory and 

ebony4 ,its feet1 too1 are entirely     
un-,english1 yet it remains a ,jacobean 
piece of ,english make4 ,the influences 
always at work in ,england left their   
mark on the development of ,english     
styles4 ,always and always a monarch was
 marrying a foreign wife1 or importing a
 court painter or architect1 and these  
folk naturally brought with them the    
fashions of their own countries4 ,it    
seemed as though the ,english knew that 
native art was not a flower of the first
 order of beauty and so were modest     
about it1 and ever willing to adopt the 
art of other countries4  ,it is the     
custom of the inexact to include in     
,jacobean furniture all the styles of   
the seventeenth century up to the time  
of ,william and ,mary1 and this gives to
 such loose classification an           
extraordinary variety4 ,furniture does  
not die with a monarch1 nor do new      
designs start up in a night2 goods last 
after the master has gone1 and the new  
master uses the old style until a later 

one has been evolved4 ,james died and   
,charles ,i took his place in the year  
#afbe1 but the lightening and           
elaborating of furniture came not all at
 once1 and depended as much on          
mechanical invention and the use of new 
woods as on the rise and fall of        
monarchs4  ,and yet1 as the first man to
 be pleased was the king1 and as the    
king in ,charles' case had a lighter    
nature than his forerunners and had     
moreover a ,continental encouraging of  
that lightness1 we fancy we see an      
evidence of gaiety1 of jocundity1 in the
 furniture of his day4 ,he was a king   
who intended to take all the privileges 
of his state1 and one of these was to   
surround himself with beauty of the type
 that brought no reminders of hard      
living nor serious thinking1 no hint of 
grim ,puritan asceticism4  ,so the oak  
of ,england which had supplied austerity
 was now carved into shapes hitherto    
unknown4 ,typical of the results of     
elaborate oak carving are the chairs in 

,plate #ag4 ,the arm-chair is a typical 
example of a chair of the middle years  
of the century1 and later4 ,here the    
square construction of the chair is not 
altered from ,tudor days1 but note how  
every part has been lightened1 until an 
elegance and beauty have been attained  
which make it worthy of the finest rooms
 of any time4 ,the carver when given    
free rein has left little of the chair  
untouched4 ,legs1 stretchers and        
uprights1 are all made with a well      
proportioned spiral1 and at each square 
of joining a rosette is carved4  ,here  
also is seen an innovation in the       
ornamental stretcher across the front   
which1 instead of being near the ground1
 is raised to a height out of reach of a
 ruthless boot which might mar its      
elaboration4 ,this stretcher shows the  
use of the long curving palm in place of
 the classic acanthus1 and also         
introduces the fat little cherubs which 
,french designers affected4  ,other     
points to notice are the very open back1

 composed of spirals and three rows of  
carving4 ,it was at this time that      
pierced carving came into vogue1 so far 
surpassing in beauty the wainscote      
backs4  ,the incising of the seat-frame 
is another peculiarity of the middle of 
the century4 ,perhaps the most          
interesting matter of all is the caning4
 ,wooden seats were the only ones       
hitherto2 although cushions had been    
used to soften them1 they lacked at best
 the reciprocal quality that we call    
giving4 ,springs were far in the future1
 but a luxury-loving aristocracy seized 
at once upon this amelioration4  ,there 
is more or less quibbling upon the      
subject of caning1 as to the date of its
 introduction4 ,no one can fix it       
exactly1 which robs the enthusiast of   
the pleasure of announcing with oracular
 precision1 that his chair is of certain
 year because of its caning4 ,the middle
 of the century saw it1 the first part  
did not1 but it lasted through varying  
styles of furniture1 and is lasting     

still4  ,its origin is undoubtedly      
,eastern1 for the tenacious splints from
 which it is woven are from warmer      
climes than ,england's4 ,and that brings
 us again to one of those little facts  
in history of which our household gods  
are ever reminding us1 the trade that   
united ,india with ,portugal1 ,portugal 
with ,flanders1 and the ,flemish with   
,england4  ,the small chair in the      
,plate is1 to the careless eye1 a little
 sister to the larger1 but the wise     
observer notes at once the substitution 
of the ,s curve heavy in carving for the
 more elaborate pierced palm4 ,also the 
cane panels in the back1 and the very   
decided change in the shape of the front
 legs4 ,the heavy ,s curves are the same
 which later on gain in thickness and   
evolve into the ogee curve seen later1  
and which is often mistakenly ascribed  
to ,william and ,mary1 although         
originating earlier and receives the    
name of ,james ,,ii4 ,arbitrary names   
are hard to make consistently exact2    

dates are hard to place on every piece1 
but is it not enough to know within a   
very few years the time of making of    
one's valuable antiques8  ,illustration3
 ,plate ,,xvi--,,oak ,,day ,,beds       
,carved after manner in vogue in second 
half of ,,xvii ,century  ,illustration3 
,plate ,,xvii--,,stuart ,,chairs    ,of 
lightened construction1 open carving and
 incised seat frame  ,to finish the     
scrutiny of the smaller chair1 note the 
curve of the front legs1 the first      
attempt at deserting the straight       
perpendicular line of construction4     
,this is the beginning of an insidious  
,french influence which prevailed       
throughout the last third of the        
century4 ,it beautified1 of course1 as  
the gift of ,france to the world is the 
luxe of the eye1 but from the time of   
its introduction dates the end of the   
furniture which was of solely ,english  
invention4  ,so comes the end of this   
early ,jacobean mode1 in its best time  
of flowering when it was drowned in a   

flood of foreign influence4 ,it was in  
the styles prevailing through the reigns
 of the first two ,stuarts and of       
,cromwell1 that ,england expressed only 
herself in her furniture4 ,it is this   
which makes the periods rich with       
originality and of peculiar interest4   
,when the ,jacobean styles began        
,shakespeare was living those sad years 
whose disillusion produced his later    
plays1 and ,jacobean styles were at     
their height at the ,restoration when   
,charles ,,ii played the part of king   
for his royal pleasure4     ,,chapter   
,,iii  ,,the ,,middle ,,of ,,the        
,,century  ,,end ,,of ,,the ,,pure      
,,jacobean   ,two matters influenced    
greatly the furniture makers of the     
middle of the seventeenth century4 ,and 
these had less to do with kings and     
courts than with humble folk4 ,one was  
the invention of a saw1 the kind of a   
saw that would divide a plank into as   
many thin sheets of wood as were        
desired4 ,naturally1 those who looked   

upon these thin sheets imagined new ways
 of using them for the embellishment of 
furniture4  ,heavy carving had been     
almost the only ornament when inch-thick
 planks were the usual material4 ,now1 a
 wondrous field of possibilities lay    
before the ambitious in the way of inlay
 and veneer4 ,possibly ,andr ,boulle in 
,france gave the inspiration1 but even  
so the ,english inlay is a matter all by
 itself4 ,from the invention of that saw
 arose a style of decoration that       
developed from such simplicity as the   
rare and occasional flower seen on early
 ,jacobean panels1 to the exquisite     
elaboration known as the sea-weed       
pattern1 and other masses of curving    
filaments1 which found highest          
perfection in the last quarter of the   
century4  ,the cabinets on ,plates #ah  
and #ai illustrate the almost           
unbelievable fineness of the work4 ,in  
the larger cabinet the inlay is drawn   
with a free hand and is less            
characteristic of ,english design than  

the other1 excepting the navet of the   
birds and trees1 and the central panel  
wherein a gaily caparisoned youth       
strides a horse held by an infinitesimal
 blackamoor--a bit of the ,east's       
submission thus noted4  ,wherever a     
plain surface was found1 the new        
ornament seized it4 ,cabinets and chests
 of drawers offered the best            
opportunities1 but next to them were    
tables4 ,the tops gave a fine           
field--although there is always a lack  
of unity of feeling between a table     
maker and a table user4 ,the one thinks 
the table should be left inviolably     
empty1 the other regards it as a rest   
for books and bibelots4 ,but there is   
also the drawer of the table and its    
apron1 so upon these the inlay designs  
were put in all their dainty beauty of  
design4  ,this class of work must not be
 in any way confused with the ,dutch    
inlay of a later epoch and which is     
imitated to-day ad nauseam4 ,if you have
 naught else to guide you in knowing the

 old ,english from modern ,dutch1 there 
are the shapes of the pieces on which   
the inlay is put1 besides the pattern of
 the work4  ,the second matter which    
made a change in the general aspect of  
furniture in the second half of the     
seventeenth century was the use of      
walnut wood in place of oak4 ,it is a   
pretty bit of history1 that of the      
rich-toned walnut4 ,as far back as      
,elizabeth's day furniture of that wood 
was imported from ,italy in all its     
beauty of design1 colour and finish4    
,the wise queen ordered trees brought   
from ,italy and forests planted1 that   
,england might have a supply of the     
admired wood4 ,she did not live to see  
the trees of use1 but in the century    
following hers1 it came suddenly into   
vogue4 ,imagine the delight of those who
 had been working in the more obdurate  
oak1 to feel this finer1 softer wood    
under the tool4  ,illustration3 ,plate  
,,xviii--,,marquetry ,,cabinet ,,about  
#agjj ,showing ,dutch ,indian influence 

in its design and ornament              
,illustration3 ,plate ,,xix--,,walnut   
,,cabinet    ,with veneer and inlay of  
seaweed pattern showing the extreme     
skill   of cabinet   workers in the     
second half of the ,,xvii century4      
,drop handles are noticeable  ,putting  
together the invention of the saw which 
could slice wood as thin as paper as    
well as fret it into sea-weed1 and the  
adoption of walnut wood1 still another  
type of beauty in furniture was         
produced1 that of the plain             
large-panelled scheme4 ,by cunning skill
 panels of walnut veneer were produced  
where the grain of the wood supplied the
 design4 ,add to this the wonderful     
finish of the cabinet-maker1 and the    
piece had the beauty of bronze and the  
simplicity of classicism4 ,but no       
picture can give adequate idea of the   
beauty of the old burr walnut4 ,its     
bronze surface of innumerable tones1 all
 polished by generations of caressing   
hands and never by varnish1 must be seen

 and touched to be appreciated4 ,the    
patine of time is heightened by the     
patine of affection1 and both together  
make of the plain walnut furniture a    
thing of appealing beauty to those who  
love restraint in ornament4  ,a word    
about this thing we call patine4 ,it    
began in these old pieces with the      
original finish of the old maker1 who1  
having done all of the work himself1 was
 tenderly careful of results4 ,this     
early necromancer played on the wood of 
his precious meuble with soothing oil1  
with tonic of turpentine and with       
protective wax4 ,with the oil he fed the
 open pores of the wood1 until all were 
filled against the attack of less       
judicious nutriment1 then with pungent  
turpentine and fragrant honest wax1 he  
rubbed patiently the surfaces4 ,no      
varnish1 as he valued his art4 ,varnish 
as we know it now was not in his        
laboratory4 ,it was not needed when     
every man was lavish of the labour of   
his hand4  ,thus was begun the patine   

for which we collectors cry to-day4 ,but
 the assistance of the housewife was a  
necessary adjunct1 for never through all
 the centuries must she do other than   
rub with oil and wax the fine old oak   
and walnut4 ,i have seen the work of    
centuries destroyed by a modern vandal  
with a can of varnish4  ,the lawns of   
,england are made by centuries of       
unremitting care4 ,the patine on old    
,english furniture is brought about by  
the same virtue4 ,if there be any who do
 not value the rare old finish1 then for
 his household wares the manufacturers  
provide a vat of varnish into which     
whole sets of chairs are dipped to avoid
 even the labour of brushing on a coat  
of the shiny stuff4  ,roundhead and     
,cavalier each had to be suited with    
furniture1 so the varying styles1 the   
elaborate and the plain1 met all        
requirements4 ,in the midst of it all   
reigned ,charles1 the second of the     
,stuart kings1 fostering art with his   
wondrous assistant ,van ,dyck1 and      

making a thousand mistakes in the art of
 government1 yet ever standing a        
romantic figure4 ,we feel an interest in
 all that concerned his life as a man1  
feeling more pity than indignation at   
his futile descent upon ,parliament to  
pluck therefrom the five members who    
offended him4 ,and who does not1 when in
 ,london1 glance at his high-bred marble
 effigy at ,whitehall with a secret     
sympathy for his miserable end8 ,we all 
love a gentleman1 and time has nothing  
to do with effacing that4 ,the elegance 
,charles ,i introduced into his time    
delights us now1 and we thrill at the   
thought of owning any of the fine       
accessories with which he or his nobles 
surrounded themselves4  ,after ,charles 
came the ,commonwealth4 ,republican as  
we are1 we feel an unaccountable revolt 
against any suggestion of ,cromwell's   
taste in life's elegant accessories4 ,he
 was the great ,commoner1 and as such   
has no skill at dictating fashions for  
aristocrats4 ,so we accord to him a     

leather-covered chair with spiral turned
 frame1 and a gate-leg table1 feeling he
 should be grateful for the award1 as   
even these things were not of his own   
invention4  ,of the two great divisions1
 the ,cavaliers and the ,roundheads1 the
 aristocratic party fell into           
subjection4 ,all that was austere came  
to the fore1 and all that had the charm 
of gaiety and mirth1 elegance and       
extravagance1 was disapproved by those  
in power4 ,cromwell's personality did   
not inspire the makers of pretty        
kickshaws for my lady's boudoir1 nor    
luxuries for my lord's hall4 ,so nothing
 was to be done by the cabinet-makers   
but to repeat the previous styles4  ,the
 asceticism of the ,puritan inspired no 
art in the few years of ,roundhead rule1
 but there is no telling what might have
 happened had ,cromwell stayed several  
decades in power4 ,at the end he took   
most kindly to living in the royal      
palace of ,hampton ,court4 ,the quick   
assumption of elegance of the beggar on 

horseback is proverbial4 ,after         
,napoleon had forgotten his origin1 no  
king was more acquisitive than he in the
 matter of thrones and palaces1 nor more
 insistent in the matter of royal pomp4 
,but ,old ,noll did not live to rule    
like a prince of the blood1 nor to      
develop a style of luxurious living that
 left a mark on the liberal arts4  ,the 
development of walnut furniture went    
imperceptibly on1 with oak still much in
 use1 when all at once a new fact in    
history gave a new excuse for changes in
 the mode4 ,the ,cromwells passed and   
the people of ,england took back the    
,house of ,stuart1 and did it with such 
enthusiasm that even the furniture      
reflected it at once4 ,but it is just   
this reflection of events in the art of 
a period that gives undying interest to 
old styles1 and especially to those     
ancient pieces that are left from the   
hands which made them and those who     
first used them in palace or cottage4   
,back1 then1 came the old delight in    

royally born royalty1 in being governed 
by a king and not by a commoner4 ,with  
open arms the king was welcomed1 and    
,cavalier families that had been in sad 
plight1 blotted out by confiscation and 
disapproval1 sprang lightly back to     
their former places4 ,this was the time 
of the ,restoration1 that time when     
,england adopted the rottenness of the  
,continent to stimulate whatever of vice
 lay in the ,briton1 forgetting to take 
with it the fundamental good4 ,but the  
naughty game was one so prettily played 
that we never tire of its recounting4   
,and as it produced so many changes in  
house furnishings1 it must be           
considered4  ,it was in #affj that      
,charles ,,ii was called to smile from  
the throne on a pleased public4 ,it was 
about that time that a queen was chosen 
for him1 ,catherine of ,braganza1 who   
brought with her1 very naturally1 some  
goods of her own4  ,the styles in       
,england at this time were especially   
,england's1 the native effort freed from

 copying ,italy's ,renaissance4 ,but on 
this fell a sudden avalanche of new     
ideas greatly at variance with her      
methods1 and from now on the styles of  
,england took inspiration from the      
styles of the ,continent1 and have ever 
since continued the game4  ,but let this
 sink into the consciousness3 each style
 adopted takes on the strong            
characteristics of the country adopting 
them4 ,if to originate a decorative     
style was not the natural impulse of    
,britain1 it was her talent to alter    
that style in a way that expressed her  
characteristics4 ,in the time of        
,charles ,,ii she had a love for the    
light side of life1 coupled with        
prodigality and elegance1 and this can  
be read to-day in the relics of those   
times4  ,catherine the ,queen brought no
 children to inherit the throne--the    
,duke of ,york being accused of having  
selected purposefully a barren mate for 
his brother--but she brought ,bombay as 
a dower4 ,so1 with her ,portuguese      

furniture and her ,eastern designs1 her 
gifts turned the heads of artists and   
artisans4 ,in ,england are found those  
chairs for which we go to ,portugal1 yet
 they were made in ,england in the      
seventeenth century1 the high-back      
straight chair covered with carved      
leather in both back and seat1 put on   
with a prodigality of big nails1 and    
having bronze spikes as a finish to the 
uprights of the back4 ,the fluted foot  
came then1 a sort of compromise between 
a claw and scroll1 and known in our land
 as a ,spanish foot1 and used until the 
end of the seventeenth century4 ,it is  
found on much furniture of early        
,colonial times prior to ,anne's day4   
,but perhaps the first change in        
,charles' reign was seen on the chairs  
of pierced carving of palm and ,s curve 
and cherub1 with caned seats or backs4  
,the carving on these chairs at once    
took as its popular device the crown1   
the crown which had been hidden out of  
sight in the years of the ,commonwealth4

 ,as if to show the wealth of affection 
with which it was welcomed1 it was      
repeated as many as five conspicuous    
times on one chair4 ,with what          
complacence must ,charles have looked   
upon this gentle flattery6  ,for the    
,queen's satisfaction there were matters
 from the ,near ,east in the way of     
ivory and ebony inlay1 carved ebony1    
introductions of small black beings into
 designs1 always in obvious subjection  
to white masters4 ,but these were       
exotics of a sort that ,english taste   
preferred to import rather than         
manufacture4 ,ladies who took to        
embroidering affected the ,bombay       
designs and colours4  ,charles ,,ii had 
been reigning but six years when the    
,great ,fire swept away uncountable     
treasures in the way of furniture4 ,to  
be sure1 there was all the rest of      
,england4 ,but at that time ,london was 
practically all of elegant ,england4    
,country gentlemen had estates and big  
houses1 but owing to the impossibility  

of transportation on the always miry1   
rutted roads1 they went without the     
luxuries of town life4 ,so1 with the    
,great ,fire of ,london perished so much
 of old oak and walnut furniture as to  
make collectors weep who turn their     
thoughts thereon4  ,but as the phoenix  
rises unabashed from the flames1 so rose
 the inspirations of ,sir ,christopher  
,wren1 ,grinling ,gibbons1 and of minor 
artists and artisans4 ,wren rebuilt the 
fallen monuments1 giving to the world   
his great ,st4 ,paul's1 and a pattern of
 church steeple that climbs high in     
,american settlements as well as all    
through ,london2 and the lesser workers 
gave men new patterns in beds and chairs
 for repose1 and in tables for          
comforting viands1 for games1 or for the
 gossip which was a deep game of the    
day4     ,,chapter ,,iv  ,,carolean     
,,styles ,,or ,,the ,,restoration       
,,charles ,,ii1 #affj ,,to #afhe   ,if  
it was to the ,queen of ,charles ,,ii   
that the ,carolean period of furniture  

owed its ,portuguese strain and the     
evidence of strange things from the     
,east1 it was from a woman of quite     
another sort that the predominating     
influence came4 ,french styles were the 
vogue at court1 not because the ,queen1 
poor dull woman1 wished it1 but because 
,louise de ,querouailles was the strong 
influence1 and with her advent came     
follies and fashions enough to please   
the light side of one of the lightest of
 monarchs4 ,france1 in the person of    
,louis ,,xiv1 felt that ,england would  
bear watching while a ,stuart strutted  
and flirted1 oppressed and vacillated4  
,and the ,french ways of those days     
being directed by such craft as that of 
the astute ,cardinal ,mazarin1 a woman  
was sent from ,france to charm the ,king
 and stay closer beside the throne than 
any man could bide4  ,charles created   
the light and lovely ,louise the        
,duchess of ,portsmouth and the mother  
of the little ,duke of ,richmond2 and1  
that so much of extravagant beauty might

 be royally housed1 he spent much time  
and more money in fitting her apartments
 at ,whitehall4 ,three times were they  
demolished at her whim1 the extravagant 
fittings failing to suit her insatiable 
caprice4  ,such procedure was hotly     
stimulating to artists and artisans4 ,in
 the first attempt they sought to       
produce their best1 but seeing it       
displease1 they were lashed on to more  
and yet more subtle effort until at last
 the pretty lady of too much power had  
forced the production of elegant new    
styles which smacked of her native      
,france4 ,thus went by the board the    
efforts of ,english styles to remain    
,english1 and thus began that long habit
 of keeping an eye on ,french designs4  
,we think of ,charles ,,ii as a         
figure-head of romance1 because the rosy
 mist of poetic fancy clings to the     
members of the ,stuart family from ,mary
 of ,scots down to--but not             
including--that ,duke of ,york who      
minced about the throne of ,charles ,,ii

 with his soul concentrated on securing 
from his brother his own personal       
advancement4  ,the horrors of ,charles' 
reign1 the ,bloody ,assizes1 the        
,monmouth incident1 his neglect to      
recognise the seriousness of his        
responsibilities1 all these things are  
lost in the elegant frivolity of the    
life led at his court4 ,cares1 ennuis1  
tragedies1 were flicked aside by white  
hands thrust from brocades and lace1 and
 a merry measure was the antidote for   
soul-sickness4  ,those who made music or
 danced to it1 those who rhymed 7the    
naughtier the better7 and sang their    
verses1 those who led at toasts and     
feasting1 those who wore the richest    
dress1 were the persons of importance   
under the patronage of ,charles ,,ii1 in
 the time of the ,restoration4  ,nell   
,gwynn1 she of the quick smile and quick
 tear1 and vulnerable heart1 was of the 
,king's favour to the extent of         
honouring him with the little ,duke of  
,st4 ,albans2 and on her ,charles       

lavished accessories of elegant living  
similar to those he bestowed on ,louise 
de ,querouailles4 ,the bewitching       
actress lived her quickly changing moods
 among the furniture that now graces our
 modern rooms here on this side of the  
water4  ,we were not importing many of  
those elegances in #affd4 ,that was the 
date when ,charles' brother ,james1     
,duke of ,york1 left the luxurious court
 at ,london and came to give royal      
dignity to the little ,american town of 
,new ,amsterdam on the day when its     
,dutch dominion ended and the city was  
re-christened ,new ,york4  ,while       
considering the fascinating women of the
 court1 ,hortensia ,mancini1 for whom   
beautiful furnishings were made1 must   
stand as the most alluring of them all  
because she ever eludes the critic or   
dissector4 ,somewhat of her uncle       
,cardinal ,mazarin was in her astute    
secretiveness1 but a baffling quality   
all her own made her proof against      
surrendering her soul to any man's      

probing or to any man's charm4 ,so rich 
she was that money could not tempt2 so  
clever1 with ,italian wit added to      
,italian culture1 that none could       
surpass her in repartee or discourse2 so
 full of mystery was her dark and       
piquant beauty that all might envy      
her--yet so passionately unhappy1 that  
none would wish to exchange with her4   
,add to the list of women ,barbara      
,palmer1 ,duchess of ,cleveland1 who    
represented a heavy voluptuousness and a
 prolific motherhood for the ,king1 and 
we see the women favoured by the ,king's
 artisans1 and for whom the beautiful   
furnishings of the time were produced4  
,though ,charles ,,ii had no royal      
factories such as ,louis ,,xiv was      
conducting in ,france1 plenty of rich   
objects of art were yielded by the      
workers4 ,that astonishing aberration of
 taste1 silver furniture1 had a vogue at
 this time1 the ,king considering his   
favourite worthy of such extravagance4  
,it must have been ugly by its          

inappropriateness1 however pretty was   
the woman it served4  ,louise de        
,querouailles had hers set in a room    
lined all with mirror glass1 which at   
that time was an expensive novelty4 ,but
 it pleased the ,king to wander into the
 apartment of his favourite satellite   
and see the lovely image of the ,duchess
 of ,portsmouth sitting among her silver
 movables1 reflected so many times in   
the walls that the world seemed peopled 
only with adorable women4 ,nell ,gwynn  
also had her mirror room4  ,it was the  
,duke of ,buckingham who made the       
mirror-lined room possible by           
establishing a factory for mirrors4     
,previous to this time they were        
exceeding rare in ,england4 ,now a leaf 
was taken from ,italy's books and       
mirrors were made at home1 with bevelled
 edges1 and also with bright blue glass 
framing1 inside the wooden frame4       
,grinling ,gibbons was at work on his   
carvings and inventions1 and we have    
record of him as a decorator in a letter

 in which he tells his lady client3 ,i  
holp all things will please you4 ,it was
 the year after the ,great ,fire1 #affg1
 that ,gibbons began to make a feature  
of the garlands and swags of flowers and
 fruit1 carved with excessive           
exuberance1 that are associated with his
 name and that of ,queen ,anne in       
decoration4 ,to gain his effects he used
 the fine soft limewood as yielding to  
his tool almost like a plastic stuff4   
,in social ,england ,bath played an     
important part1 and thither went for new
 scenes the merry gossiping crowd for   
their routs and aristocratic carousing4 
,this was the time of the sedan-chair1  
of the dropped note1 the flirted        
handkerchief1 the raised eyebrow and the
 quick eye-flash1 all full of poignant  
meanings of their own4 ,life was a      
pretty game1 insistently a pretty one1  
and following the mode1 its accessories 
were pretty4 ,at ,bath the same elegant 
crowd played as in ,london1 transferred 
by shockingly primitive coaches over    

outrageously rutted roads4 ,the wonder  
is they ever cared to undertake such    
hardships as those imposed on travellers
 in ,england in the seventeenth century4
 ,but at ,bath we see them1 at the      
famous spas1 with ,nell ,gwynn1 way-ward
 and ardent1 charming the men1 slighted 
by the women4  ,to be specific about the
 furniture styles of the times is       
satisfactory to the student1 to the     
desired end that old pieces may be known
 from imitation1 and that good          
adaptations may be distinguished from   
bad4 ,in general it may be said that    
lightness continued to be the ideal in  
construction1 particularly in chairs and
 tables1 and that carvings grew ever    
finer in workmanship4 ,chair backs also 
grew narrower and higher4 ,caning was   
retained1 but seats were covered with a 
squab cushion1 or upholstered4 ,a minute
 examination of the chairs on ,plate #ba
 leads to the detection of certain      
characteristics4 ,this ,plate shows a   
particularly good example of the chairs 

as they depart from the fashion which   
prevailed immediately before the ,fire1 
and as they merged into the style of    
,william and ,mary4  ,these chairs have 
details in common with chairs that      
preceded them1 but as a whole1 they are 
entirely different4 ,they do not tell   
the same story1 convey the same message1
 as the chairs of ,charles ,i1 for      
example4 ,and that shows the subtle     
power of furniture to express the spirit
 of the times in which it was made4     
,feeling is a word for the serious      
collector4 ,ability to read feeling     
amounts almost to a talent1 and is      
certainly an instinct4 ,those who       
possess it know without recourse to     
detail where to place a piece of        
furniture never encountered before1 and 
this even though it be one of those     
erratic pieces that appear in all       
periods4 ,the feeling1 then1 of these   
chairs is ,french1 but a transplanted   
,french1 growing under alien influence4 
,illustration3 ,plate ,,xx--,,stuart    

,,settee ,,with ,,carving4 ,,second     
,,half                ,,of ,,xvii       
,,century  ,illustration3 ,plate        
,,xxi--,,charles ,,ii ,,chairs ,,of     
,,varying ,,styles ,,in                 
,,carving  ,descending upon details1 the
 shape of the legs is so much at        
variance with those of the preceding    
fashion that they seem to alter the     
scheme of construction4 ,by means of the
 change from a straight line to a curve 
the chair loses in honesty and in       
balance while growing in elegance4      
,another point to notice is the change  
in the arrangement of stretchers1 also  
the lifting from the floor of the       
elaborate front stretcher which is made 
to match the ornamental top of the chair
 back4 ,the seat-frame retains the      
incising of the former fashion1 and the 
square blocks at points of intersection 
carry the familiar carved rosette4 ,the 
backs have strong points of interest4   
,the radical change is in the uprights1 
which1 instead of being wide1 flat      

carvings of leafage1 are gracefully     
designed posts4 ,a long step in the way 
of beauty was made when this style of   
back was adopted1 a treatment which     
developed later in the century into the 
exquisite carved backs1 which even      
exceeded the ,french in graceful        
invention4 ,an examination of the chairs
 of #afhe will show the perfection of   
the style which was begun by ,charles   
,,ii1 adopted by ,james ,,ii and further
 developed under ,william and ,mary4    
,to continue the lesson of the chairs1  
it was here that the old flat ,s curve  
began to alter into the richer1 more    
robust ,c curve4 ,the leg of chairs     
carved in ,c scrolls follows the shape  
of the curves1 and furniture of this    
pattern has exceeding charm1 especially 
when the front stretcher has been       
treated by an inspired hand4 ,much      
sought are the chairs and sofas of this 
period1 and when covered with           
needle-point are keenly valued for use  
in the superb living-room which in      

modern homes often takes place of the   
drawing-room4  ,happy indeed is the     
collector who can find such an old      
,english sofa as that in the            
,metropolitan ,museum on ,plate #bb4 ,it
 is entirely characteristic1 and shows  
not only the interesting fashion in     
carving1 but the large advance in       
upholstering4 ,such comfortable work was
 unknown before the reign of ,charles   
,,ii4 ,if we have curiosity as to the   
appearance of the gentlefolk who used   
such furniture1 the embroidered cover of
 this piece shows lovely woman in her   
hours of ease1 and mankind hovering near
 with a wish to please4 ,but this very  
embroidery shows how difficult a matter 
it was for the ,english to draw with    
true hand and free1 a purely decorative 
motive2 for outside the figures of the  
medallions1 the whole thing is          
meaningless and without consistency4    
,illustration3 ,plate ,,xxii--,,walnut  
,,sofa    ,carved in ,c curves1 time of 
,james ,,ii covered with petit point    

embroidery  ,illustration3 ,plate       
,,xxiii--,,gilt ,,mirror4 ,,time ,,of   
,,charles ,,ii    ,when mirrors were    
freely made in ,england  ,for a clue to 
the inspiration of ,english work in the 
last quarter of the century1 which      
embraces that of ,charles' reign1 that  
of ,james ,,ii and of ,william and      
,mary1 it is advisable to turn a keen   
eye on the artistic and political       
actions of ,france4 ,the ,great ,louis  
was on the throne1 and the great ,le    
,brun was the leader in the decorative  
art of the day4  ,one of the political  
mistakes of ,louis ,,xiv was the        
,revocation of the ,edict of ,nantes1   
that edict which had protected from     
persecution so large a number of        
,protestant workers in the liberal arts4
 ,among these people were tapestry      
weavers1 silk weavers1 glass workers1   
wood carvers1 members of all the crafts 
that contribute to the beauty of the    
home4 ,eventually they came to ,england 
for safe haven4  ,it is impossible to   

over-estimate the benefit to ,england in
 an sthetic way of the advent of all    
these skilled workers1 men whose equal  
were to be found in no other country4   
,louis ,,xiv had made a royal hobby of  
exquisite furnishings4 ,he had placed   
their manufacture among the royal       
pleasures and also among the state      
duties4 ,he had glorified the art of    
furnishing as it had never before been  
done1 by the magnificent institution of 
the ,gobelins factory4 ,here men learned
 their craft--an infinite variety of    
crafts--and achieved perfection4 ,all at
 once many of these workers were forced 
to flee or meet death under the new     
dictum of the ,king4 ,and thus ,england 
received the outcasts to her own        
enrichment4  ,one of the industries in  
which ,england was behind the ,continent
 was the manufacture of silk4 ,the      
,french refugees were soon established  
in ,london at ,spitalfields1 reproducing
 the magic weaves they had formerly made
 for the imperious pleasure of the royal

 favourites in ,france4 ,satins1        
brocades1 taffetas of wondrous dye and  
lustre1 flowed from the looms of the    
able weavers who thus drowned their     
nostalgia in excess of a loved and      
familiar occupation4  ,one result of    
this mass of beautiful material being   
thrown to a delighted public1 was the   
change made in the fashion of interior  
wall-treatment4 ,the beautiful oak      
panelling of other days oppressed with  
its seriousness the light mood of       
,charles ,,ii and his light companions4 
,the gay sheen of silk was more         
sympathetic and enlivening4 ,on the     
walls1 then1 went the silk4 ,in ,anne's 
time the panels grew larger1 then became
 a wainscot and sank to the height of a 
man's bewigged and capricious head2 then
 lowered to a chair's height for the    
,georgian era4 ,and above flowed the    
gracious lines of silken fabrics        
concealing all the walls1 made in       
,spitalfields by the ,french refugees   
and their followers4  ,the pretty       

,duchess of ,portsmouth had her rooms   
hung with silk and with wondrous        
tapestries from ,france1 though ,england
 made both silks and tapestries4 ,beds  
of the day retained the high posts and  
tester or canopy1 heavily draped1 and   
the bed was similarly covered4 ,the bed 
was carved1 even to the tester1 in      
,french inspiration1 and was elegant    
indeed4 ,in such a bed came the ,king at
 last to lie in mortal illness in the   
palace at ,whitehall1 where the lovely  
,louise had first place by the royal    
invalid1 while the ,queen was treated as
 a negligible quantity4 ,the ,duchess of
 ,cleveland1 that other favourite1 was  
not far in the background1 and the ,king
 in his last hours remembered still     
another when he implored3 ,don't let    
poor ,nell starve4     ,,chapter ,v     
,,the ,,end ,,of ,,the ,,seventeenth    
,,century  ,,william ,,and ,,mary4      
#afhi-agjb   ,,the style named for      
,william and ,mary embraces all the     
changes that occurred from late         

,carolean days until the time of ,anne1 
and even includes some of the models and
 details that are given the name of that
 queen4 ,dutch influence comes largely  
into both1 but was stronger in the style
 known as ,queen ,anne's4 ,mixed up with
 other influences were those not only of
 ,holland but of the countries with     
which her political life was concerned4 
,spain contributed certain details1 and 
as for the ,dutch connections with the  
,near and the ,far ,east1 they supplied 
an infinity of inspiration4  ,nothing   
more piquant to the decorative spirit   
could be imagined than the fantastic    
motifs of ,indian and ,chinese          
importation4 ,to us1 surfeited as we are
 from babyhood with ,chinese toys and   
,indian stuffs1 it is hard to look upon 
these things as startling novelties4    
,but in those days of less travel they  
were delicious exotics4 ,among persons  
of fashion1 there was a rage for the    
living evidences of the strange ,east1  
and more than popular as pets in the    

drawing-room became the exotic monkey   
and the vivid parrot4 ,if these         
creatures1 leashed to a standard1 could 
be tended by a tiny black human1 then   
fashion was pleased to an infantine     
joyousness4  ,illustration3 ,plate      
,,xxiv--,,interesting ,,chair           
,,transitional ,,between                
,,stuart ,,styles ,,and ,,william ,,and 
,,mary  ,illustration3 ,,chairs ,,in    
,,variants ,,of ,,william ,,and ,,mary  
,covered with petit point of the time   
,illustration3 ,,william ,,and ,,mary   
,,caned ,,chairs1 ,,one ,,with ,,fluted 
,,spanish                ,,foot         
,plate ,,xxv  ,every ship that came in  
from far ,eastern countries brought wise
 parrots and tiny frisking monkeys1 and 
these were valued by decorative artists 
for models1 as well as by my lady to    
pique gay conversation in her           
drawing-room4  ,william and ,mary       
styles1 like all of the seventeenth     
century1 are at present in high vogue in
 ,america1 and for this reason it       

interests us to study them4 ,they come  
in after the use of oak has passed its  
vogue1 and when walnut prevails1        
although woods of lighter colour1 such  
as pearwood and sycamore1 are employed4 
,in chairs and sofas1 carving prevails  
as decoration2 but in cabinets and      
tables1 the preference is for veneer and
 for inlay4  ,at this time occurs a     
change in the style of cabinets4        
,hitherto they had been closed          
cupboards2 now1 because of the fashion  
for collecting ,delft china from        
,holland1 a need came for cabinets that 
would display the collector's treasure4 
,as furniture makers ever express the   
whims and needs of the day1 so they at  
once invented the cabinet with shelf-top
 protected by glass4 ,a feature of the  
design is the hooded top1 so            
characteristic of ,william and ,mary4   
,two types of carving prevailed in      
chairs in the last twenty years of the  
seventeenth century1 that of the broken 
,c curve1 originating under ,charles    

,,ii1 and that of great elaboration     
which in some respects caught its       
details from the ,french4 ,a study of   
the plates will show that the post-like 
upright which flanks the back is        
retained in both cases4 ,examples of    
fine carving under ,william and ,mary   
show the free fancy of the designer and 
the skill of the worker who was possibly
 the designer as well4 ,but the original
 chairs must be seen to gain any idea of
 the beauty of colour and finish4 ,the  
whole bears the look of bronze that has 
been polished with caressing hands for  
centuries4  ,the shape of the leg in    
these finely carved chairs is to be     
noticed1 as it is fathered by the       
chair-leg in vogue under ,louis ,,xiv in
 ,france1 and in slight variations it   
prevails all through the ,william and   
,mary period4 ,it is noticeable by a    
pear-shaped enlargement near the top4   
,the ,spanish foot is often seen on this
 style4  ,petit point1 gros point1 or   
mere cross-stitch embroidery you may    

call it1 was a fashionable occupation   
for dame and damsel4 ,in ,charles ,,ii's
 time the stuffed high-relief stump work
 pleased the court4 ,sorry stuff it     
looks now1 much like the court ladies of
 that time1 in that its colour and gilt 
are gone and its false art is pitifully 
exposed4 ,but the good honest embroidery
 in wool and silk still stands1 and is  
again tremendously in vogue4            
,illustration3 ,plate ,,xxvi--,,chest   
,,of ,,drawers ,,in ,,burr ,,walnut     
,,veneer    ,mounted on legs1 used in   
the last quarter of the ,,xvii century  
,illustration3 ,plate ,,xxvii--,,small  
,,walnut ,,table    ,with spiral legs   
and inlay4 ,here is seen the beginning  
of the flat   serpentine stretcher  ,it 
was ,madame de ,maintenon who gave such 
inspiration to the work in ,france that 
,england copied4 ,her school at ,st4    
,cyr1 which she conducted solely for the
 purpose of giving happiness and        
education to penniless daughters of     
fallen aristocrats1 at that school the  

young girls executed work that ranks    
with objects of art4 ,a well-known      
,american collector has a large sofa    
executed thus under the hand of ,madame 
de ,maintenon which represents scenes   
from a play of ,molire's1 the piece     
having also been given by these same    
young girls1 then the cartoons drawn by 
an artist of high talent4  ,so petit    
point was almost a high art in ,france  
in the time of ,william and ,mary1 and  
,england did her best to follow the fine
 pattern set her4 ,if1 in judging       
whether this work be ,french or         
,english1 the mind hesitates1 it is well
 to take the eye from the medallions and
 study how the designer filled the big  
field outside4 ,in ,french drawing the  
whole is a harmonious composition2 in   
the ,english1 the hand is crude and     
uncertain1 and the motifs meaningless1  
though bold1 without coherence or       
co-ordination4 ,nowadays the lady who   
wishes to embroider a chair gets from   
,paris a medallion already complete and 

fills in the surrounding territory at   
her pleasure4 ,it would seem that the   
ladies in ,england did the same in the  
seventeenth century1 but with less      
taste4  ,among minor points of interest1
 those little points used by the amateur
 in identifying1 is the marked change in
 the stretcher4 ,away back in the       
beginning of the century1 as seen on    
chairs and tables1 it was heavy1 made of
 square three-or four-inch oak1 and     
placed almost on the ground4 ,the first 
change was in using thinner wood2 the   
next was in giving the stretcher a look 
of ornamental lightness by turning4     
,when this happened the front stretcher 
of chairs was lifted from the ground to 
spare it the heavy wear apparent in     
older pieces4 ,when carving attacked the
 stretcher1 then it was placed well out 
of the way of harm1 and it took on the  
ornamental effect of the chair's back4  
,the ,portuguese style of stretcher     
copied closely the carving on the top of
 the back in graceful curves4  ,it was  

when the larger pieces of furniture took
 on a certain lightness of effect that a
 change in their stretchers occurred1   
and this was in the period of ,william  
and ,mary4 ,the stretcher became wide1  
flat and serpentine4 ,in chairs it      
wandered diagonally from the legs1      
meeting in the centre4 ,in tables its   
shape was regulated by the size of the  
table top4 ,in chests of drawers it     
wavered from leg to leg of the six which
 like short posts supported the weight4 
,if the piece of furniture was inlaid   
these flat stretchers offered fine      
opportunity for continuing the work4    
,strangely enough the stretcher1 in     
chairs at least1 disappeared at just the
 time it was most needed4 ,that was at  
the introduction of the curved or       
cabriole leg1 in the early days of      
,queen ,anne4 ,those who know by        
experience how frail the curve makes    
this sort of construction1 sigh with    
regret that the fine old ,queen ,anne   
pieces of their collection cannot be    

consistently stayed according to the    
older method4  ,illustration3 ,plate    
,,xxviii--,,carved ,,chairs4 ,,period   
,,of ,,william ,,and ,,mary    ,with all
 the fine characteristics of the carved 
designs of the time  ,illustration3     
,plate ,,xxix--,,walnut ,,chairs1       
,,william ,,and ,,mary    ,with the     
exquisitely carved backs1 stretchers and
 legs characteristic   of the time  ,it 
was in the interesting time of ,william 
and ,mary that the kneehole desk made   
its appearance4 ,a certain enchanting   
clumsiness marks these desks from later 
products on the same line1 and a decided
 flavour of ,chinese construction4 ,such
 a desk was recently rooted out of the  
dark in an obscure ,connecticut town1 it
 having been brought over in the early  
days1 and1 not being mahogany1 has lain 
despised by local dealers until one more
 knowledgeable than his fellows         
discovered that it was ,elizabethan6  ,a
 contribution made by ,china was the art
 of lacquering4 ,although it was not in 

the fulness of its vogue until the      
century had turned the corner in ,queen 
,anne's reign1 it had its beginnings in 
the earlier importations of lacquer and 
the desire of the cabinet-makers to     
imitate the imported art4  ,varnish as  
we know it had never been in use1 else  
had we missed the wonderful hand polish 
on old oak and walnut that cannot be    
imitated4 ,and when it appeared it was  
only to use it in the ,chinese manner1  
as a thick lacquer over painted or      
relief ornament4 ,as the art of         
lacquering grew1 cabinets of great      
elaboration became fashionable1 and     
these were in many cases imported from  
,china as the cunning handicraft of the 
,chinese exceeded that of the ,english  
in making tiny drawers and tea-box      
effects4 ,then these pieces were sent to
 ,england where they were painted and   
lacquered by ladies as a fashionable    
pastime1 and were set on elaborate      
carved stands of gilt in a style        
savouring more of ,grinling ,gibbons    

than of ,china1--which is the true      
accounting of the puzzling combination  
of lacquer and gold carving4  ,the metal
 mounts or hardware of furniture        
throughout the seventeenth century was  
simple beyond necessity1 yet this       
simplicity has its charm4 ,in earliest  
days1 iron locks and hinges of a ,gothic
 prudence as to size and                
invulnerability1 ushered in the century1
 but it was still the time of           
,shakespeare1 and that time threw a     
glance back to the ,gothic just left    
behind4  ,knobs were needed as drawers  
appeared1 and these were conveniently   
and logically made of wood1 and were cut
 in facets like a diamond4 ,but the     
prevailing metal mount for the rest of  
the century was the little drop handle  
that resembles nothing so much as a     
lady's long earring4 ,it is found on old
 ,jacobean cabinets1 side-tables1 and   
all pieces having drawers and cupboards4
 ,its origin is old ,spanish1 and that  
smacks always of ,moorish4 ,with unusual

 fidelity this little drop handle clung 
until under ,queen ,anne 7#agjc7 the    
fashion changed to the wide ornamental  
plate with looplike handle1 and that in 
turn served1 with but slight variations1
 throughout the century4  ,illustration3
 ,,queen ,,anne ,,single ,,chair        
,made of walnut with carved motives     
gilded4   ,this type of chair shows the 
strong effect of ,chinese motifs1       
especially on the legs4  ,illustration3 
,,queen ,,anne ,,arm ,,chair            
,upholstered in gros point with splat   
black and ,dutch shell on   curved legs4
     ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art1 ,new
 ,york  ,illustration3 ,,walnut ,,queen 
,,anne ,,chairs    ,with cabriole leg   
and claw and ball foot adapted from     
,chinese ,spanish   leather set on with 
innumerable nails elegantly covers the  
taller4   ,these chairs foreshadow the  
,georgian styles4    ,plate ,,xxx       
,illustration3 ,plate ,,xxxi--,,queen   
,,anne ,,chair    ,with marquetry back  
and carved cabriole leg with hoof and   

serpentine   stretcher ,courtesy of ,p4 
,w4 ,french  ,in summing up the         
seventeenth century as a whole1 it seems
 to show a ,british and insular attempt 
to form its own styles1 to dress its    
homes and palaces in a ,british way1    
regardless of what the world else-where 
was doing4 ,bits of outside product came
 drifting across the ,channel1 but these
 were not treated with too great        
seriousness4 ,they were never adopted   
intact with all the feeling of foreign  
thought shining from their elegant      
surfaces1 but rather were cut apart and 
certain bits were used to tack onto the 
more ,british work4 ,and it is just here
 that is found the secret of the charm  
which lies in old ,english furniture4   
,it is the endeavour of ,england to tell
 her own story1 and her story is        
necessarily different from that of      
,france1 ,portugal1 ,spain1 ,holland1   
the ,east4 ,so1 although she borrows    
motifs from foreign lands1 it is only to
 indicate her historical connection with

 them and not to make a witless copy of 
their wares4  ,this holds true even at  
the time when two great artists         
dominated the decorative arts in        
,europe1 ,rubens and ,le ,brun1 and that
 decorative monarch1 ,louis ,,xiv1 ruled
 art as well as politics4 ,yet the      
insularity of ,england kept her1        
happily1 from realising the fine        
flowering of ,french art to imitate it1 
and1 instead1 she expressed her own     
sturdy characteristic development4  ,and
 so we love the evidences of sincerity  
and the pursuit of beauty that our      
,english ancestors made for us1 and in  
our homes of ease1 with these things    
about us1 we like to dream of the men   
and women who created and used these    
dignified time-kissed old pieces4 ,and  
in dreaming we forget the frailty and   
cruelty of courts and rulers and think  
on the nobility and courage of the      
lesser yet greater folk who laid the    
foundation of our country4  ,,the ,,end 
,,table ,,of ,,interesting ,,dates      

,james ,i4 #afjc to #afbe               
,shakespeare died #afaf     ,first      
,american ,colonies1 ,yorktown1 #afjg   
,first ,american ,colonies1 ,plymouth1  
#afbj   ,charles ,i4 #afbe to #afdi     
,inigo ,jones1 ,architect1 died #afea   
,van ,dyck1 court painter     ,sir      
,francis ,crane   ,commonwealth ,under  
,cromwell1 #afdi to #affj  ,charles     
,,ii4 #affj to #afhe       ,the         
,restoration ,queen ,catherine of       
,braganza1 #affj     ,bombay ,influence 
and ,east ,india ,company1 #affj        
,great ,fire of ,london1 #afff     ,sir 
,christopher ,wren1 #afcb-agbc     ,st4 
,paul's commenced1 #afge     ,grinling  
,gibbons1 #afdh-agbf     ,mirror        
,factory1 #afgc     ,chatsworth ,built1 
#afgj   ,james ,,ii4 #afhe to #afhh     
,revocation of ,edict of ,nantes1 #afhe 
,spitalfields ,silk ,factories1 #afhe   
,william and ,mary4 #afhi to #agjb      
,daniel ,morot     ,hampton ,court1     
principal parts built   ,queen ,anne4   
#agjb to #agad