Makers, Periods & Styles Library

Was produced by F. & R. Pratt & Co. Ltd who were based at the Fenton Potteries in the Staffordshire Potteries area in England. The company was formed by the two Pratt brothers, Felix and Richard in the early 19th Century. They became well known for their multi-coloured transfer printed engravings used to decorate...

The President’s Desk also known as the Resolute Desk is a large partners desk made from the timbers of HMS Resolute. The HMS Resolute had been abandoned when it was trapped in ice during an expedition to discover the Northwest Passage. The ship was discovered by an American whaler and was returned to Queen...

The blossoms of the peach tree were and are highly prized in Chinese culture and were used extensively as a decorative motif on their porcelain. In ancient China it was believed that because the blossom appeared before the leaves, peach trees possessed more vitality than other trees. Peach wood was also highly...

Purdonium is a type of coal-scuttle or coal-box that has a removable metal lining. This meant that the dirty and noisy business of refilling it could be removed from the firesides of the 19th century middle classes and that the elegant outer casings of the scuttles and boxes could be kept in prime condition First...

A Refectory table – is a very long oblong table which was originally used for dining in Medieval monasteries. In the Later Middle Ages it evolved into a banqueting and feasting table used in castles and manor houses. They were handmade, usually in oak or walnut based on a trestle style with stretchers supporting...

Regency Furniture – Prince George became Prince Regent from 1811 to 1820 due to his father’s, (George III) incapacity. During this period furniture and the decorative arts followed the earlier neoclassical Georgian style which had taken its inspiration from the ancients, but during the Regency it became the...

Also known as pendulum clocks, were first conceived of in the 17th century, but these early pieces had escapements that made them inaccurate time keepers. Pendulum clock timekeeping improved with the invention of the anchor escapement in the early 18th century. However, with the quest for even better timekeeping,...

Restauration Period denotes the period from 1815 and the fall of Napoleon I to 1830. Also known as the ‘Bourbon Restoration’ the brothers of beheaded Louis XVI were returned to the French throne and ruled as Louis XVIII and Charles X. The furniture of the period still had many features of the Empire period, but...

Reuge Music’ is a Swiss company renowned for making musical boxes and other ‘mechanical music’ items such as musical pocket watches and singing birds. The company was founded by Charles Reuge in 1865 in Sainte-Croix in Switzerland to make musical pocket-watches featuring the ‘Reuge musical movement’ which...

Reynolds & Sons ( c.1809 – 1885) Joseph Reynolds had designed and manufactured playing cards using traditional woodblock and colouring with brush and stencil methods from around 1809. With the advent of new letterpress printing, Reynolds took the opportunity to redesign and modernise the traditional court cards...