Antique William IV Flamed Hardwood Metamorphic Library Steps, 1830

This large and collectable lightly restored William IV circa 1830 Flamed Mahogany, metamorphic armchair which converts into Library steps attributed to Gillows of Lancaster and London. This is a wonderful piece of English history, I have never seen another with such elegant turned front legs, usually they are plainer and straight timber. The seat pad has been upholstered with a grey linen, the steps and raw flamed mahogany and look amazing. This chair is an important and extremely expensive looking thing that commands attention in any setting. You can see the same model made by Gillows currently viewed in the Victorian & Albert Museum, below is an extra from their listing. The period 1800-1825 was a great one for ‘patent’ or ‘metamorphic’ furniture This chair, which transforms into a short set of steps for use with bookshelves, is close to a design for a ‘Library Chair’ published in Rudolph Ackermann’s Repository of the Arts in July 1811, which was made by the London firm of Morgan and Saunders, of Catherine Street, Strand. They were well known for their ingenious furniture, including reading chairs with writing surfaces attached and a great variety of travelling beds that could pack down into boxes. This chair, however must date from at least twenty years after the design was first published. The form of the chair, which revives a design of the early 18th century, is based on a design for an armchair created by the firm of Gillows of Lancaster in 1827. It is stamped by its maker ‘H. Howse’ and ‘H.H.’ but that maker has not yet been identified. Condition wise we have cleaned waxed and polished the piece from top to bottom, it will have age and use related patina marks here and there as you would expect based on a 190+ year old piece Armchair dimensions: height:- 92cm width:- 54.5cm depth:- 60cm seat height:- 47.5cm Steps dimensions: height:- 75cm width:- 54.5cm depth:- 97cm