KIRKHAMFurniture-Making1982.pdf

ABSTRACT
This thesis is a study of furniture-making in London in the
years between about 1700 and 1870. The aims of the thesis are outlined
in the introduction, which also explains why the years 1700-1870 were
chosen. The special character of furniture-making in London, particularly
its geographical location and the division between the and
'dishonourable' sectors of the trade, is discussed in the introduction.
In Section A, the first two chapters cover the various crafts involved in
furniture-making, the demarcations between them and the division of labour
within them while Chapter 3 examines the craft training and the decline of
the apprenticeship system. Section 0 deals with business organisation.
Chapter 4 considers the ways in which the various crafts were brought
together in firms and Chapter 5 examines the numbers employed and stock
held therein. Section C analyses the split between craft, design and
management. Chapter 6 concentrates on the entrepreneur furniture-maker
and the development of his managerial role while Chapter 7 discusses the
emergence of the professional designer. The involvement of furniture-
makers in developments associated with the 'industrial revolution' is
discussed in Section D. Chapters 8 and 9 consider the effect of new
materials and techniques, including machinery, on furniture-making while
Chapter 10 considers the involvement o? furniture-makers in patents relating
to furniture-making. The final section, E, examines the ways in which the
London companies, in particular the Joiners' and the Upho1des Companies,
and the journeymen's trade societies attempted to protect both the
furniture-making trade and those who worked in it.
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