Antique George IV Loo Breakfast Dining Table Gillows Circa 1820 19th C

Gillow & Co. 
was originally founded in Lancaster in 1730. Gillow’s of Lancaster was a household name in Victorian Britain, and the firm exported furniture throughout the Empire. Key to the company’s success was the dynamic father and son team at its core.

The London branch was opened in 1775. Among Gillow’s most successful pieces during this period were those made in the Neoclassical style from original drawings by Robert Adam. In the period 1813-1820 the Gillow family gradually withdrew from personal involvement with the business.

In 1897 Gillow & Co. merged with a Liverpool firm and they henceforth traded as Waring & Gillow.
 

A Loo table
was a table adapted for a circle of persons playing the popular Victorian card game Loo.   However, it is extremely versatile and can be placed in a dining room, bedroom, living room, office or reception.
 

Regency Furniture
During the Regency period it was fashionable to copy the classical furniture of the Roman and Greek times. Furniture had stopped evolving in design and had moved back to classical forms. The pioneer designers who represented this period were:

Thomas Hope (1770-1831),  George Smith (1804-28), Henry Holland (1745 - 1806)

George IV had a major influence over the furniture makers of the time.

This period saw the introduction of brass to wood from the previous marquetry that had been originally used. The sofa table was also introduced.

The main features of the Regency period furniture were their simplicity, with straight, unbroken surfaces and lines.