Series editors' preface - Wood Tools

Figure 1.10 High-backed cane chair, English,
c.1680–1700. Usually executed in walnut, or painted or
stained beech
introduced around 1690. Daybeds or couches,
with six legs, had cane and carved or turned
wood decoration to match the chairs. Setteebacks
were divided to resemble chairs joined
together, and in dining chairs drop-in seats and
the stuff-over method were both used.
Tudor storage forms continued with some
modification until the Restoration when the
court cupboard was abandoned in favour of
the cabinet-on-stand, with either a twist-turned
or scroll-legged base. Chests became the dominant
furniture item in many rooms but
dressers, cupboards, china cabinets, writing
desks and bureaux, and bookcases were all
made to meet the particular requirements of
the time. Bookcases, some with hooded pediments
and most with nailed shelf-bearers,
Furniture history 15
Figure 1.11 Leg shape comparison: (a) double scroll
leg, c.1675; (b) S-scroll or ‘bandy’ leg, c.1690; (c) cup
and trumpet leg, c. 1690; (d) cabriole leg, early
eighteenth century
became popular: the first one recorded was
made for Samuel Pepys. By 1670, small handmade
brass screws, which were tapered and
slotted, had begun to be used for hinge fixing
in place of nails. In America one particular
form of storage developed which clearly shows
the influence of a European homeland. The
‘kas’ was based on original models from the
Low Countries, particularly Holland, where a
painted finish tradition was also borrowed.
With the increase in business, letter writing
and the spread of literature, the need for specialist
furniture again became evident. Bureaux
were first made in two halves and later the
sides were of one piece. They are distinguished
by the panelled doors which were
sometimes fitted with mirrors. Writing tables
were often designed with recesses for knees
and were usually made with cabriole legs and
apron pieces. The secretaire is made so that the
whole of the front drops down to form a writing
top, with the interior invariably fitted out
with various pigeonholes and cupboards. The
decoration was often in the form of marquetry
but in some of the bigger items the veneers
were not large enough to cover in one piece,
so the quartering technique was devised which
turned a necessity into a decorative practice.