Georgian side table - George I mahogany card table - George III mahogany gate-leg table

A George I mahogany card table, showing the candle stands and cups for counters similar to the walnut tables of an earlier period. The bold cabriole legs end in ball and claw feet and the shaped frieze has an echo of the shell motif about it. Tables of this kind in mahogany continued to be made into the second quarter of the 18th century.
George I period mahogany drop-leaf gate-leg dining table. The scrolled cabriole legs show the hoof foot with which the cabriole leg was originally associated, being derived from an animal form. Tables of this type, with less refined form of leg, leading to the square ‘Chippendale’ type as with chair development, continued to be made well on towards the end of the 18th century.
George I period table in oak, the tapering legs ending in pad feet.
A side table which could be put to use for cards or other occasional use. The space behind the frieze is used for storage.
George I period dressing table in fruitwood. The arched shaping of the frieze is similar to that of earlier periods, with the projecting lip moulding or cock bead around it. The heavy thumb-nail top edge moulding of the earlier period is now more refined. The tapering legs ending in pad feet are simpler than the cabriole but retain an elegance and proportion of design in a particularly English leg form.
George III period square drop-flap mahogany gate-leg table with scrolled cabriole legs ending in ball and claw feet. The moulded edge of the table top is unusual and is similar to that found on some Victorian tables, with the exception that this is bolder but still detracts from the appearance.
Value points: Quality of legs  Seating capacity 4.
A George II mahogany side table elaborately carved on the frieze with a lion mask and acanthus leaves. The cabriole legs have lion masks carved on the knees with ribboned flower heads and terminate in paw and ball
feet. The top is a marble slab.
Oak dressing table of c. 1740. The square section cabriole legs are still of slender shape but not the most desirable form, particularly if heavy. The shaping of the frieze has become much more sophisticated. Note the top edge moulding.
George III period oak gate-leg table with tapering legs ending in pad feet. A type of table made for a considerable period throughout the mid and late 18th century. This example is exceptional in size and therefore the centre section is particularly wide.
Later Georgian c. 1770 side table similar to the previous example, with elm top and fruitwood legs. Note there is no lock rail under the top. The square Chippendale style legs are chamfered at the back and the front
corners have the scratch moulding down the edge to lighten them. The drawer front is elm.
A later Georgian country dressing table in oak. The frieze is shaped, but the slightly tapered legs hint at Hepplewhite influence. The drawers are cock-beaded and the top edge has a rather refined moulding. Tapering legs tend to be a later feature.
Later Georgian side table of c. 1760. The ‘Chippendale’ straight chamfered leg has replaced the earlier pad feet. The top edge still shows a variant of the thumb-nail moulding but is heavier. As well as being chamfered on the inside the legs show a ’scratch’ moulding down the front corner, as seen on chairs, to give a further lightness to the effect. By now the lock rail is evident under the top and the
drawer thus comes below this. Country versions might still omit the lock rail however and have pegged tenon joints.
Later Georgian - c. 1770 - country dressing table in walnut and fruitwood. The three drawers in the frieze are cross banded in fruitwood like the top, which is veneered in plain straight grained walnut. The legs are elm.
Mid-Georgian drop-leaf table in mahogany of gate-leg type. The solid mahogany tapering legs end in pad feet. The main frame was often made from pine or else from oak and the centre flap secured to it by screws let in at an angle from underneath. A particular weakness with these tables is at the ends of the rule joints between flaps and centre, where part of the joint tends to split off. They make useful dining tables for the small modern home, since they can be folded awaybut their one defect is that of all gate-leg tables; there tend to be too many legs under the table when in use.
A George III country solid walnut side table on tapering legs ending in pad feet. The flap is supported when open by a gate leg. The top and flap are made of several planks.
A very fine quality Chippendale card table c. 1770. The edge of the frieze is gadrooned and this effect is followed down the corner edges of the legs. The edge of the top is also carved. The wood is mahogany.
A fine Adam circular table possibly for a centre or library use. The rosewood top has a wide satinwood cross banding inlaid with flower heads and cables. A large circular medallion in the centre is similarly inlaid. The
four round tapering fluted legs support the table, which has a frieze finely inlaid with satinwood urns, oval medallions and swags.
Value points: Quality of decoration

TABLES  occasional, centre
A walnut centre table inlaid with a marquetry panel and with ormolu mounts. Very similar to the writing table 582 and, again, made in a French Louis XVth style of perennial popularity. Not as high quality as 582 but
nevertheless still a well-made and very decorative piece. 1860-1890
A centre table of Reformed Gothic character from Blackmoor House, c.1872 (see British Furniture, 1880-1915 by Pauline Agius, pl. 74). Possibly designed by the Manchester architect, Alfred Waterhouse, a friend of Norman Shaw. Waterhouse designed for Blackmoor, starting in 1869 and imitated Shaw’s ‘Old English’ style as used at Leyswood, which still had Gothic features such as the gate tower. The table is interesting in its construction of Reformed Gothic style and structure but incorporating half-and full suns of Japanese character and the spindled gallery. The move from Gothic to Anglo-Japanese can be perceived.
An interesting ebonised centre table with a turned spindled gallery connecting the end supports which are pierced and carved with stylised flowers and leaves. Of Reformed Gothic character but with later developments in the carving.
A mahogany centre table of rather Continental design on spun brass cup feet of a type associated with W.A.S. Benson, a designer for Morris & Co. who specialised in metalwork. The same feet are used on furniture
attributed to the firm of J.S. Henry (see British Furniture, 1880-1915, by Pauline Agius, p.94, pl. 112).
An occasional centre table of octagonal shape, in rosewood, with eight turned legs and a centre column joined by stretchers radiating from the centre. An arcaded apron also joins the legs. Possibly by Collinson & Lock. c. 1880
Another spider-like centre table with a moulded top edge, by Morris & Co. Made in mahogany. The firm produced several similar designs, available in mahogany or fumed oak. C. 1900
A six-legged mahogany centre table by a commercial firm of general furnishers. Clearly the type was popular up to 1914. Also available with only four legs.
A ‘Chippendale’ version of the octagonal mahogany centre table on eight legs. This time the radiating stretchers are pierced and fretted with scrolled work. The top edge is gadrooned. 1910-1920
An oval ‘Sheraton’ style centre table on four tapering square section legs ending in castors and connected by curved stretchers emanating from a central finial. The top is inlaid and crossbanded; there is satinwood
banding and boxwood stringing around all the normally approved edges.
Two small occasional tables of the type ideal for coffee or tea drinking in the sitting room. On the left, a scalloped top with dished edge and chinoiserie decoration, mounted on carved cabriole legs ending in hoof feet.
On the right, a segmented feather-veneered mahogany top with cross-banding, mounted on cabriole legs ending in hoof feet, with a lion mask carved at the top and a frieze also carved in bas-relief with scrolls and
shells. Nothing, of course, like these two tables was made in the periods from whose styles they have borrowed. The 20th century had advanced both comfort and practicality in arriving at the dimensions, then it has imposed the most marketable styles associated with high quality on to the design. 1920-1940
TABLES  occasional, tripod
The tripod table is an 18th century invention, probably developed from candle stands. It is still one of the most popular occasional tables and has been much reproduced.
A Victorian version of the tripod table, in walnut, with a scalloped edge in emulation of the 18th century ‘pie crust’ edge. The shaping of the column is unmistakably mid-19th century and the use of the finial below the
column is also characteristic of mid- to late Victorian furniture. The shaping of the legs is also not that associated with Georgian tripods. c.1870
A mahogany tripod table with a brass gallery rail around the circular top and decorative scrolled supports in addition to the centre column.  1900-1920
Mahogany tripod tables with moulded rims, fluted columns, reeded vases  spiral to the left, straight to the right  and elegant legs carved with acanthus leaf decoration. Essentially straight reproductions of 18th century tripod tables but looking shorter in proportion and the tops of a greater diameter than the period originals would probably have had. Good quality pieces, though. 1900-1920
TABLES  Sutherland
A walnut drop-leaf gateleg table of a type known in the trade as a Sutherland table (for some obscure reason). Made in mahogany or walnut (i.e. veneered in figured or burr walnut), these tables can be supported on a single turned column at each end, as shown above, or on a double column with spiral or other turning. There is an extra, thin, turned leg on a gate at each side which swings out to support the flap when open. They can be seen clearly above. The Victorians do not seem to have minded this rather unhappy lack of cohesion in leg design; the gatelegs often look like a pair of poles or walking sticks that someone has leant in random fashion against the frame under the flaps. The merit of the design is, of course, that the table, when folded, is very slim in end elevation and the whole is mounted on castors so that it can be tucked away neatly. The spiral grooving turned into the legs of the above example is often found on these tables.
An ebonised Sutherland table which shows very clearly how undesirable ebonised furniture looks when dusty and in poor condition. c. 1890
A similar design of Sutherland table in mahogany, with the same form of end columns and mounted on white castors. 1860-1890
A rectangular Sutherland table with spirally-turned double end supports on a simple arched foot design. The thumb-nail top edge moulding appears on almost all the tables at the time.

TABLES  Sutherland
The Sutherland table is a 19th Century English Victorian form of gateleg table with a particularly narrow centre section. It has the virtue that when the flaps are down the piece fits into a very small space. It is thus a useful occasional table. The earliest designs are by W. Smee & Son, from 1850 with the typical twin column ending. The single stem is first shown in 1864 and an example is illustrated left.
The heavy rounded bun turned in the end column and the markedly carved feet pronounce a relatively early date. A good solid piece and not, by Victorian standards, very fussy. Booth shows a less solid but similar
example in 1864. c. 1865
Nowadays this would be a veneer merchant’s waiting room table, but to the Victorians the use of segments of exotic stained woods was just another way of making impressive furniture.    The fluting, thin line
decoration and beading suggest the date.
Square flaps are less common and the design books show several for the 1880s. This design of foot appears at that time. Spirals are shown for the late 1870s. Those here are well turned and the general quality of the
piece is high. But why make a different turning for the gates Economy c. 1880
Another late example. Black and lots of turning for the sake of it without any idea of creating an overall design. Black is so unpopular that the best thing to do is to pop it in the stripper caustic tank.

TABLES  writing and library
A round or multi-sided library table, with a number of drawers, supported on a central base, normally a pillar, is referred to in the antique trade as a ‘rent’ or `drum top’ table. By tradition they were used to keep account of rents paid and due, for some tables have initials on the drawer fronts. In some cases false drawers alternate with genuine ones, while others have false books or spaces for real books. They first appear at the end of the eighteenth century and command high prices.
An extremely fine rent table with a central well shown open. A plain cannon turning and three well-shaped legs with decorative carving down the centre. The feet have a turned over scroll effect. c. 1790
A superb example almost identical with one illustrated by Sheraton. Extremely elegant on four ormolu paws. The applied moulding to the doors is typically neoclassical.
By comparison with the previous example, not so successful for it is let down by the ‘unrelieved square plinth. It has, however, inlaid initials on each drawer. It is veneered in good quality mahogany on a square stand with door. The only additional decorative treatment is a white stringing line.
c. 1800
A typical late Georgian round library table with blank spaces instead of false drawers. The four reeded legs show a well-balanced curve.
A slightly later example, though the similarities with the previous example are strong. The same flat moulding and tooled leather top. The higher knee provides the clue to the date. c. 1790
Another bad attack of Regency knee with the applied turned pieces on either side. The legs are no longer reeded and the general effect lacks elegance. However, the piece is in rosewood which does help the price though the cracks across the top, if indeed that is what they are, would depress it. c. 1825
Almost an occasional table because it is small but the drawers suggest it should go into this section. The price is less because of its size but this is no reflection on its excellent quality. c. 1790

TABLES - occasional gateleg - Willian and Mary fruitwood small side tables - oak occasional table - French country rococo table - Regency carved wood - jacobian gate leg - walnut baroque gateleg table with drawers

First an example of a fruitwood  gateleg table. It has a main turned support at each end, showing baluster and bobbin forms, joined usually by a wide stretcher, which in this case is divided into two square sections for lightness of appearance. There is a wide sledge-shaped foot at each end for stability. The gates which open to support the flaps are flat with a fretted lower stretcher. Late 17th century Willian and Mary period.
Novelty gatelegs might be a better title for these small side tables which sometimes have slightly unusual methods of supporting the flaps, shaping of the legs, or are just good quality. Quite apart from being attractive, these little tables are very useful as they can be folded and put away when not in use. For this reason they command a good price, especially when that glorious white or black colour, which age and polishing (i.e. patination) can confer, is present.
In this oak jacobian occasional table the main columns are flat and fretted. There is a wider foot than in the previous example and again, two flatter stretchers. The flat carved wood gates with drawers are shaped to
echo the end supports.
A charming oak single flap clawfoot table, almost only a stand, in which the same constructional system is used but all uprights are turned with baluster forms. Third quarter 17th century Regency period
A really rare and charming ash ‘coaching’ antique wooden table in which the gates are on a pivot so that the whole top can be folded vertically. It was probably taken in a coach for use on picnic stops. End of 17th
century( c. 1680)
A conventional but charming walnut baroque occasional gateleg table with carefully graded bobbin turning and a small thick rectangular top. c. 1660
Small English Victorian mahogany occasional gateleg with the typical lion foot. The long square sections to the legs height. The small turned stretcher iand a claw feet are exellent in quality.

An antique British little bobbin turned fruitwood example with the additionally attractive feature of bobbin stretchers as well. The drawer with lock is a long one and is supported underneath by a central stretcher which runs the length of  the carcase. Made in Britain in the XVII century.

A simple version of an French country walnut gateleg table in ebony colour and white marble top with claw foot,  though the six claw legs are not as  good. The base is a single piece and it is generally more wormy but it makes an interesting comparison. Made in France in the 18th century and is a good example of antique Louis XVI style that you can easily identify.

TABLES  dining, mahogany gateleg, shaped foot, 1735-1760
Just as the stretchers disappeared from chairs in the early part of the eighteenth century, so mahogany dining tables rid themselves of stretchers at much the same time. Perhaps it was the strength of mahogany or simply the desire to refine. Whatever the reason, some superb tables emerged. Good quality examples are perhaps current738 (opposite page, top left) Elegant use of the pied-debiche foot from which the cabriole originated, decorated with the ram’s head. The cabriole is beautifully executed. The top pieces, each
of one plank, are without warp or twist. The rule joints are in immaculate condition. Heavy Cuban mahogany at its best.
Another example with pied-de-biche foot and the little projection behind it, but with a simple decoration on the knee and a small scroll either side. The top has the same thumb-nail mould but each flap is made up of two planks. All features which, together with smaller size, reduce the price. c. 1740
Conventional cabrioles with ball-and-claw again. Well executed but looking almost clumsy against 738. In fact by itself an elegant table. A walnut style carried on into mahogany. 1730-1740
Without the panache of 738, but undeniably elegant in dark, almost figureless Cuban or Spanish mahogany. These pieces are enduringly made and, when this book was first written in 1978, were undervalued, but the price has since doubled. Shown both closed and open to make the point that such a table fulfils the dual purpose of elegant side table and comfortable dining table for four to six people. Appears to have glorious patination.
With gently curved cabrioles, which like the previous example have a simple C scroll at the top, this table could be walnut period but is in fact mahogany. The moulding is slightly unusual with only a very shallow depression and a very wide flat curve almost like a Victorian slope. Rectangular flaps are not as popular as oval. c. 1750
The more simple pad foot version on a straight leg of tapering circular section which, in comparison with 741, gives the unfortunate impression that the weight of the flap is proving exhausting. Nevertheless, very English in concept and clearly related to its country cousin in oak.
Quite literally the oak version of 743. Interesting to see the heavy structure beneath as though the maker would have preferred the old oak method. c. 1760

Library table

In its most general meaning, a library table is simply a table used for writing or reading in the library of a grand house. The term covers a wide variety of tables, from the slender eighteenth century writing table derived from the French bureau plat, to the solid drum-shaped tables which were smaller versions of the rent tables used in the offices of large estates. All were leather-topped, all had drawers in the frieze to hold writing materials and were 2 ft 6 in to 2 ft 8 in high.
For immediate identification only the derivations of the French bureau plat will be considered in detail: a writing table with a leather-covered surface and three drawers in the frieze. French bureaux plats are similar to the English lowboy, having two deeper drawers on either side of a shallower drawer, but the `kneehole’ is less pronounced and they are much longer. English library tables have a straight frieze, are free-standing
and have drawers on both sides, often three to one side and two to the other. Often there is a pull-out writing slide which can be lifted to make an easel over the centre drawer. Sometimes the whole central leather-covered panel lifts to rest on easel struts as a bookrest or `architect’s table’. Regency libraries were equipped with library tables and, from that period onwards, designs of all sorts were made. The Regency archetype is the design described below.
Signs of authenticity
1. Solid, close-grained dense woods with good figuring.
2. Tops of legs continue to form end pieces of drawer frieze, set proud, rounded or square.
3. Minimal lip above frieze, usually less than 1 in.
4. Legs terminating in simple peg foot below a turned collar.
5. Drawers lined with oak.
6. Underside well patinated where knees have rubbed.
7. Underside of drawers enclosed with pine or mahogany with strengtheners and corner pieces.
8. Good patination on inside front of drawer and drawer sides where they have been handled.
9. Lock escutcheons set centrally above handles on single-handled drawers.
10. Lock and lock rail.
11. Drawers are usually same width.
Likely restoration and repair
12. New leather inset panel.
13. New top with panel planed out of damaged solid surface and inset leather panel added. Grain will continue through in one direction.
14. Legs broken at frieze level: break in grain on point of join, often concealed by ring turning.
15. Top section of small pedestal desk mounted on legs. Grain of
all legs will stop short at frieze level, underside of drawers with new wood, or patched and stained where tops of pedestal were originally.
16. Library table tops reset on cheval supports – could have been altered during Victorian period, but more likely to be a recent event.
17. Cut down from more massive Victorian piece: drawers of equal width where centre drawer has been reduced. Tell-tale crack on underside of small overhang beneath veneered top edging where width and length have been reduced.
Construction and materials
Library tables were made in solid mahogany, or mahogany veneer on a mahogany carcase, and in rosewood or Brazil wood (closely resembling mahogany but of a redder, more chestnut colour). Library tables are distinctive and differ from all other tables. The legs were set out from the frieze, giving unusual lobed corners. The same is true of the French bureau plat where the legs are usually squared and set slightly proud of the frieze. The English favoured a smoother line, with rounded corners, undecorated except for a thin line of double stringing, framing and emphasizing the curve.
Detail
Drawers were oak lined, outlined in double stringing, often with squared handles on cast brass bolt heads with rosettes, octagonal or circular small backplates on either side of the handle. Legs were always elegantly turned and reeded or fluted, terminating in plain peg feet. The table edges were never carved or decorated, and there is almost no lip or overhang above the frieze drawers. Usually the edge of the table was decorated with two single thick reeds, continuing round the lobed corners. The drawers were usually edged with thin cockbeading or half-round beading, and the leather writing surface is inset and edged with cross-cut veneer.
Variations
Most common are circular rent tables used in the offices of large estates, with small drawers in the circumference of the frieze. Plain oak or oak-and-elm tables of solid construction often had drawers set in the ends as opposed to along the length and square chamfered legs. Country versions should be wider than a side table and may have plain square stretchers for extra stability.
Below: a late Regency design, probably provincial.
Above: drum or rent table.
Reproductions
Victorian
Variations are legion: octagonal leather-topped tables set on pedestals with drawers; drum tables set on central pedestals with bow-fronted drawers set fairly far apart (usually four on a small drum table, and not tapering in shape towards the centre); leather-topped tables on almost Davenport-type pedestals with two flaps, one on either side. Also popular were ,architect’s tables’ with tops lifting on easel supports. Victorian versions of the bureau plat had ornate, over-curvaceous serpentine lines, often with mass-produced mock-ormolu embellishments. ‘Gothic’ Victorian library tables with pillared legs on square plinth feet had carved edges to tops and applied or shallow machine-cut decoration on side friezes.
Twentieth century
Edwardian library tables were well-made and often quite well-proportioned but of mahogany veneer which was darker than earlier veneer. They often have a bigger overhang and lip moulding, and the grain of the veneer running vertical and not horizontal on frieze and drawer fronts, which can cause wrinkling, chipping or splitting.
From the turn of the century, there was a plethora of mass-produced reading/writing tables for public libraries, hotel
reading rooms and public institutions. Many library tables have been made up’ from other pieces of furniture, so it is particularly important to
examine similar-shaped pieces and styles with great care, and to scrutinize materials, detail and construction of the piece under consideration.
Price bands
Fine quality, c.1790, £3,000-4,000.
Later versions with less detail, £1,500-2,000.
Drum or rent table, c.1790, £900-1,200.

Queen Anne drop-leaf table

Although popularly known as `Queen Anne’, the drop-leaf table did not really come into widespread use until mahogany
Signs of authenticity
1. Heavy weight of mahogany –San Domingo or Cuban.
2. Grain of flaps and central fixed top all running parallel to joins.
3. Each piece of table top cut from a single piece of timber.
4. Underframe of thick solid timbers of oak or close-grained red pine.
5. Scrape marks on under
surface where gate has been opened and closed.
6. No screw holes or bore holes of any description on any part of undersurface.
7. Patination under flaps and on sides of gates where they have been constantly handled.
8. Thickness of timber would be a minimum of 1 in.
9. Flaps correctly proportioned to legs when not raised.
10. Wooden hinges with three `knuckles’.
11. Rule joints and hinges with thumb-moulding continuing round full circumference of top.
12. Circular tables seating four until c.1740, then squared table tops as well as circular.
13. Correct height – 2 ft 4 in for dining tables.
Likely restoration and repair
14. Legs broken and replaced, particularly on gates. Grain either running right across from underframe or breaking on a line with bottom of underframe where replacement has been pegged in.
15. Gates broken on hinges and repaired with white pine,
stained.
16. Flaps split, cracked from weight of wood on hinge.
Repaired but weakened. A break in grain, thick streak of fake patination will indicate plugged crack.
17. Replaced flaps with slight difference in thickness, duller patina and signs of old screw holes on undersurface, or new hinges with machine-turned screws.
became available, after the end of Queen Anne’s reign. The earliest drop-leaf tables were also made of Virginia walnut from c.1720 onwards, when supplies of good French walnut ceased. The curving cabriolelike leg, terminating in pad feet or a more elaborate ball-andclaw foot, is distinctive of the period generally known as Queen Anne, but the style continued well into the reign of George i. Not until then were dining habits adapted to the Continental style, with all the diners seated round a large table, with matching chairs, dinner service and glasses. Until then the English custom of serving food from a long buffet-style table was prevalent and smaller dining tables were mainly in use in the morning room and parlour for occasional
meals such as breakfast when small numbers of the household sat down at different times. The drop-leaf table was a more sophisticated version of the gate-leg table, with four legs only, two of which hinged out to support the flaps on either side. Drop-leaf tables were circular at first, but from c.1740 square flaps became more popular, because they could accommodate more people in comfort.
Tables for eating off were made in solid wood and were not veneered because of the damage that might be caused by spillages or hot dishes. The advantage of mahogany was that it was immensely dense and strong, did not warp or bend and, unlike walnut, was impervious to worm.
Construction and materials
The technique of making chests and chests of drawers with a carcase of different woods spread to table making, and the drop leaf table is among the earliest to have an underframe of oak or close-grained red pine, with the main parts of solid mahogany or Virginia walnut. A few very fine tables were also made in English walnut, but they are rare to find. As with the gate-leg table, the legs continue up in one piece to the underside of the top, whether on the hinged or fixed leg. The gates of drop-leaf tables formed part of the underframe construction and had wooden or brass hinges with three ‘knuckles’.
Most drop-leaf tables were never very large, and at most seat six on later, square shapes, and four on circular tables of the earlier period. There are conflicting dates for the first general use of mahogany, but as a rough guide it can be said that except for isolated and exceptional
Variations
Period country versions were made in oak, or elm, or oak and elm with stretchered frame and gates, as simplified drop leaf tables. The balance of a genuine four-legged drop-leaf table is hard to achieve, and some drop-leaf country versions are found with half-legs folding against each other when the flaps are down, opening to a six-legged table when raised, but few of these have survived.
Simple column turning persisted in oak on legs of Georgian drop-leaf tables, plain chamfered legs being the later period alternative. Good country versions follow the rules of mahogany drop-leaf tables: the grain runs parallel to joins which cases, it was not used for furniture before 1730-35. From that date until the 1750s, when duties and taxes were lifted, mahogany was imported in ballast, and its quality varies considerably, although most furniture-makers preferred to use the best, fine-grained, dense San Domingo or Cuban timber.
Detail
Brass rule hinges set close to the edge of the table, secured with round-ended hand-turned screws, were countersunk into the underside of the fixed top and flap, which had a rule join, with the moulding continuing round the full circumference of the table. Legs were high-curving, virtually cabriole, with plain pad feet or hoofed feet are thumb-moulded, hinges set well in, approximately over legs when flap is down, but the grain of underframe is vertical for strength; dowelling persisted long after it was replaced with screws in mahogany versions. Traditional methods of construction were used for country pieces long after they had been superseded by improved techniques.
Below left: George II provincial drop leaf in oak, with pad feet, it has slightly wider fixed table top than mahogany versions.
Below right: late seventeenth-, early eighteenth-century country version.
Reproductions
Nineteenth century
Plain rectangular square-legged drop-leaf small dining tables were manufactured from c.1840 onwards in light-weight African mahogany, cheap Honduras mahogany or baywood. They usually have deeper flaps, falling quite close to the floor. The construction of early drop leafs is difficult to reproduce and has a limited market in commercial terms.
Later versions of simplified gate-legged tables have been made continuously through to this century, as general purpose tables for domestic households, hotels and public buildings, and as dining tables for the average home. Poor-quality materials, machine-cut timbers, coarse-grained pine underframes and lack of craftsmanship in detail and proportion indicate mass-manufacture.
Price bands
Fine quality mahogany, $1,500-1,800.
Country version in oak, £800-1,200.
Gate-leg version in oak, £750-1,000.
Fruitwood (flaps in two pieces), £1,000-1,250.
c.1800, reeded leg, £650-1,800. Early nineteenth-century plain mahogany, 1300-500.
Below: late eighteenth-century drop leaf, c.1800.

Late XVIII Century Tables

18th Century tables, although not described as such in Chippendale’s Director, were a new type of table. During the first half of the 18th century, people tended to sit at small tables to eat, arranged in groups in a dedicated eating room.
Around the 1750s, people began to eat at longer tables. Quite often, these consisted of a central, rectangular gateleg table to which two D-ends were joined to make one long piece. When not assembled as such, the D-ends might be used as pier tables.
For the most part, these dining tables were plain, with either square or tapering legs. This began to change from around 1780, when tables were often supported by pedestals.
Early examples of dining tables, such as those supplied by Chippendale in 1770, had half-round ends and deep, rectangular drop leaves. These were supported, when raised, on gate legs and secured using stirrup clips.
Table legs were influenced by Neoclassical style and became more slender and tapering in shape as the century progressed.
As the passion for games and gambling now pervaded every level of society, large numbers of games tables
were made, particularly in England and the American colonies, and these gained popularity in Europe towards the end of the century.
Many games tables had a top that folded back to reveal a baize-lined surface or an inlaid games board, and one or two legs that swung back to support the open top. When not in use, the table would usually be stored
against the wall, so the side facing the wall was generally left undecorated.
Pembroke tables were multi-purpose, and could be used for dining, games, or as worktables, depending on the occasion. Being small and on casters, they could be moved around a room as required.
Like other occasional tables, Pembroke tables were usually highly decorative. Those made of satinwood or mahogany were often inlaid with Neoclassical designs, although painted decoration was also popular.
Marquetry remained fashionable throughout the period.
Dressing tables were often designed like deep tables with drawers. These usually featured ingenious mechanical fittings such as dressing mirrors that rose and fell in slots.
The escutcheons and handles are made of brass.
Carved acanthus adorns the knees of the table.
ENGLISH GAMES TABLE
Made from mahogany, this games table has a rectangular top that folds back to reveal a baize-lined playing surface. The concave corners hold counters.
c.1760.
The protruding, square corners are also functional, as their concave insides hold counters.
Metal hinges hold the two top sections together.
The rear legs do not have claw-and-ball feet. as the table was not designed to be seen from all sides.
ENGLISH CARD TABLE
This mahogany, D-shaped card table has a fold-over top and baize-lined interior. It is veneered with satinwood banding, with ebony and boxwood string inlay. c.1785.
ENGLISH PEMBROKE TABLE
This small mahogany table is intricately inlaid with various woods, including harewood, a veneer from the sycamore tree that is stained to produce a brown-green colour similar to khaki. c.1780.
SCANDINAVIAN TABLES
ade of satin birchwood, each table has a demi-lune top placed at an angle on a frae above three square-section, tapered legs. The D-shape or demi lunge is often associated with card tables that were designed to be placed
against a wall when not in use. However, these tables are more likely to have been used as side tables because they are too tall to sit at. c.1790. W87cm(34%in). L&T 3
SWEDISH PIER TABLE
This table is made of painted and gilded softwood, with a faux-marble top and plinth. Gilt balls top each turned, tapered leg, below which are carved and gilded acanthus leaves and gilt supports.
FRENCH TABLE
Made of mahogany, this rectangular table has a single frieze drawer. The square, tapering legs have brass terminals and casters, which allowed the occasional table to be moved easily. c.1785.
ENGLISH FOLD-OVER TEA TABLE
This mahogany tea table is made in the French Hepplewhite style. The serpentine top has a moulded edge and rests on a serpentine frieze, which is raised on cabriole legs. The legs are carved at the top of the knees
with stylized anthemia. c.1770.
ITALIAN PIER TABLE
This imposing table has a rectangular faux-marble top. The frame is painted and decorated with applied gilt scrolls and rosettes. The circular, tapered legs are also painted. Gilding is applied to the concave sections of
the stop-fluted legs. c. 1780.
ENGLISH DRUM TABLE
This table has an inset-leather surface, four frieze drawers, one of which is fitted with an adjustable writing slope, and four dummy drawers. The table revolves on a turned central column, which is set above four inlaid sabre legs with brass lion’s paw casters. c.1800.
DUTCH OCCASIONAL TABLE
The top of this demilune-shaped piece is decorated with an inlaid urn surrounded by crossbanding. Tambour doors slide sideways to open. It stands on three square-section, tapering legs decorated with boxwood and ebony stringing. c.1790.
FRENCH DROP-LEAF DINING TABLE
This Cuban mahogany table has a rounded, rectangular top with two D-shaped leaves. It has a plain frieze and six squared, tapered legs with brass caps and casters. The legs move out to support the open leaves and
additional leaves. Signed Jean-Antoine Brunel. c.1795.
SWEDISH CARD TABLE
This demi-lune-shaped table has a frieze and squared legs. It is very similar to an English card table, apart from the two legs, which are awkwardly bunched together. One of them swings back to support the top when opened. c.1780.
ENGLISH OVAL TABLE
This is one of a pair of French-style tables decorated with marquetry and parquetry. The oval top has a central panel with an inlaid spray of flowers and ribbons and the frieze has a floral inlay. The table has capriole legs. c.1785.
ENGLISH PIER TABLE
The top of this demi-line table is inlaid with satinwood, rosewood, ebony, and boxwood. The marquetry features a fan, echoing the shape of the table. Inlaid paterae are inserted at the tops of the square, tapering legs, which terminate in spade feet. c.1790.
SWISS GAMES TABLE
This walnut and cherrywood table has a heavy, hinged, fold-over top, with rounded corners and a brown, gilt-leather inner surface. The shaped table skirt is carved and the capriole legs are carved at the knees and
tips. The rear leg swings back to support the open top. c.1780.

Occasional Tables

In the 18th century occasional tables became more varied in style. They were small and light, and so could be moved into reception rooms as required. Many of these tables were highly
decorative, but gradually they became more utilitarian and were often designed for specific purposes.
A passion for games and gambling resulted in a proliferation of card tables. By the end of the century, French card tables were fitted for every sort of game: roulette, chess, backgammon, and jeu de l`oie.
A wide variety of writing tables was developed. The larger, portable tables made for writing were called tables d ecrirc. Some were fitted with candle slides that pulled out from the sides.
The newly fashionable custom of gathering to drink tea and coffee required two or even three tables: one table with a gallery around the edge, on which to place the china; a round table at which people sat and
conversed; and a kettle stand. In the grandest homes, the kettle stand had a silver salver shaped to fit the top, with a silver coffee- or tea-pot on top of it.
Worktables first appeared in the second half of the 18th century. Those made for sewing often had tops that lifted up to reveal small drawers for holding reels of thread and other sewing accessories. Some sewing tables had fabric bags hanging beneath them, in which the needlework was kept. These were made from wooden frames covered with fabric that slid into runners in the base of the frames. French sewing tables, tables en chiffoniere, did not usually have these. Some English worktables were also fitted with a leather surface for writing.
The French table de salon, meaning sitting room table”, served many purposes. It had an ormolu gallery around the top, with three drawers and a shelf below The intricate decoration meant it was elegant enough for formal reception rooms.
Many portable tables contained a fire screen, often made of the finest textiles or displaying needlework
displaying skills. The screen protected the face and legs of anyone sitting in front of a fire, and was particularly important for ladies who wished to protect their
wax-based cosmetics from melting.
The cabriole legs are gently curved.
The legs terminate in foliate ormolu sabots.
The tambour front slides back to reveal six small, ring-handled drawers.
The top is inlaid with flowers and has protruding; rounded corners.
The frieze is inlaid to simulate fluting. It has a single front drawer.
The sides are inlaid with crossbanded borders wit, geometric banding and Neoclassical decoration
ENGLISH WORKTABLE
This transitional-style worktable has an inlaid top above a single drawer. The table has a tambour front and an incurved shelf, and terminates in cabriole legs. c.1770.
FRENCH TABLE DE SALON
This satinwood and holly table has a pierced ormolu gallery. The case, three drawers, and shelf are ornately inlaid. The tapering legs end in ormolu sabots. c.1780.
ITALIAN FIRE SCREEN TABLE
The entire surface of this olivewood table is veneered. It has a serpentine skirt and slender cabriole legs. The silk-lined fire screen moves up and down at the back of the table. c.1780.
ENGLISH WRITING TABLE
This one-drawer, mahogany table has a leather-inset top. A silk-upholstered, adjustable face screen is fitted at the back. It has square, tapering legs with brass casters. c.1790.
FRENCH WORKTABLE
This diagonally veneered, single-drawer table has a cambered top and cabriole legs. It has a drawer in the mid-shelf, and a fire screen at the back. c.1760.
ENGLISH KETTLE STAND
This small mahogany stand has a circular top with a brass-lined spindle gallery. The fluted column has a leaf-carved baluster knob above a tripod base, with claw-and-ball feet. c.1760
FRENCH SEWING TABLE
This table has a marble top surrounded by a pierced three-quarter gallery. The parquetry-veneered case contains two drawers. It has a shaped frame, lower shelf, cabriole legs, and ormolu feet. c.1765.
BONHEURS-DU-JOUR
A SMALL, FEMININE WRITING TABLE FOR LADIES, THE BONHEUR-DU-JOUR WAS FIRST MADE IN FRANCE IN THE 1760s. ITS NAME REFERS TO THE FACT THAT SUCH PIECES SOON BECAME EXTREMELY POPULAR.
The bonheur-du-jour (”pleasure of the day ) is a small, light, elegant desk or dressing table. It is different from other writing tables in that it has a raised back, like a miniature cabinet, made up of shelves, drawers, or pigeonholes designed to hold papers, writing accessories, and sometimes toiletries. Occasionally,
a mirror was also included. The top of the table is usually surrounded by a brass or gilded gallery which often served for displaying small ornaments. Beneath it are drawers, or a small cupboard. These sometimes have tambour doors that slide into the case – another example of the technical skill of the cabinetmaker. The table invariably has long, graceful, slender legs, occasionally with a shelf attached to them about halfway down.
The bon lieu r-du jour was made by many of the famous French cabinet-makers, such as Martin Carlin, who designed 11 of them. The most exquisite examples, such as Carlin, were mounted with plaques of Sevres
porcelain and painted with delicate floral patterns, or richly decorated with fine marquetry, Oriental lacquer panels, and ormolu
jour were valued both for their delicate beauty and for the skill and ingenuity with which hidden drawers and compartments were concealed within such a small space. Originating in France, their popularity soon spread,
partly due to the increased importance of women in society at this time. They appeared in grand British houses from about 1770 onwards.
Louis XVI mahogany bonheur-du-jour This desk has a marble top and a brass three-quarter gallery, with a glazed upper section and a roll-top desk element.
Louis XV cherrywood honheur-du-jour The
upper section has two doors, and the lower section holds a long, single drawer. The case is set on cabriole legs.
GERMAN DRESSING TABLE
This solid cherry table from southern Germany has a wide, overhanging top above two small drawers. It stands on tall, tapering legs. Late 18th century.
FRENCH WRITING TABLE
The table top has a gilt-bronze-edged frieze and is inlaid with flower-heads and a ribbon border. The drawer is fitted with a sliding writing surface, inkwell, pounce-pot, and pen tray. c.1780.
FRENCH WRITING TABLE
The top is inlaid with lozenges and a central floral cartouche. The frieze has a geometric inlay and a drawer. Each side has a pull-out writing slide. c.1780.
GERMAN GAMES TABLE
This provincial walnut, cherry, and native fruitwood table top is supported on tapered legs. The surface is inlaid with a chess board; the interior is fitted for back-gammon. c.1780.
ENGLISH WORKTABLE
This satinwood table has contrasting ebony stringing, an inset leather top, and two candle slides. The case has a fitted drawer over a wool box and is supported on square, tapered legs. c.1785.
FRENCH OCCASIONAL TABLE
This sycamore, kingwood, and floral marquetry table has a Sevres-style plaque in the top. It has a pierced brass gallery and mounts, three drawers, and a lower shelf. c. 1780.