ARTS AND CRAFTS MAHOGANY SIDEBOARD SHAPLAND & PETTER Start Price USD 15,000.00 Current Price USD 15,000.00 Time Left 6 days 9 hours 35 minutes Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Wednesday, September 17, 2008 End Time Thursday, January 15, 2009 Location Capital Federal, Buenos Aires See more about 'ARTS AND CRAFTS MAHOGANY SIDEBOARD SHAPLAND & PETTER' Description ARTS AND CRAFTS MAHOGANY SIDEBOARD SHAPLAND & PETTER Shapland & Petter of Barnstaple created pieces that typified the more medieval aesthetic that often surfaced in the English Arts & Crafts style.  This is a wonderful example of his work, in beautiful original finish and condition. This it is extremely rare and large Shapland & Petter Mahogany sideboard. The Sideboard with stylised floral design inlaid in various woods and stylised copper hinges & handles. It also has a great central beveled mirror. The lower section with 3 drawers and 3 cupboard with lock. On the central cupboard it has an open area. In the superior part it has a shelf to all their width in the part of up, another two shelves a little in the sides but under the half and a other shelf under the central mirror. The RC&S locks stamped 'S&P,B' (Shapland & Petter of Barnstaple). Height 245 cm (96.5"), Length 200 cm (78.7"), Depth 60 cm (23.6"). Circa 1900. This cupboard was acquired 35 years ago by my family.   The History of Shapland and Petter. The Museum of North Devon in Barnstaple have an archive of Shapland and Petter which includes some company records and a small display of furniture and related items. The following text gives history of the company and is reproduced from the display boards in the museum with kind permission of North Devon Museums. For over 100 years the Shapland and Petter factory has stood at the end of Barnstaple Long Bridge. Manufacturers of doors, door sets, and custom wood interiors, NT Shapland and Petter Ltd are still one of the towns largest employers. The company was established by Henry Shapland (b. 1823), a cabinet maker by trade. He embarked on a voyage to America in 1848, where he was inspired by an invention for a wave-moulding machine. He was only allowed to see it if he left the country immediately. Returning home with only rough notes, he reproduced the machine and in 1854 began a cabinet making business in one room at the Raleigh woolen mill in Pilton. Later the firm moved to Bear Street in Barnstaple. Henry Petter was an accountant who entered into partnership with Mr Shapland. The business progressed and in 1864 they bought the Raleigh Factory where Shapland first began his work. Success was rapid, but in 1888 the building burnt down. Immediately work began on a bigger and better factory - their present site by the Long Bridge - which included many modern inventions. The Shapland and Petter Cabinet Works in Barnstaple. The two Henrys died within two years of each other - Petter in 1907 and Shapland in 1909. In 1924 Shapland and Petter merged with the Barnstaple Cabinet Company, producing North Devon's biggest industry. During the First World War Shapland's skilled craftsmen turned their hands to wooden propellers for the aircraft of the Royal Flying Corps. After the war, public tastes changed, and hand carved furniture was too expensive for many. Shapland's output now included elegant veneered pieces with smooth Art Deco lines. The company fitted out Pullman carriages and ocean liners and made hand-carved church furniture. The famous England Rugby Captain W. W. Wakefield was appointed Company Director in 1927. Throughout the depression of the late 1920's and early 1930's the company still managed to produce high quality work. Furniture manufacturing continued until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Many workers left to fight, while the factory worked on Air Ministry contracts for ammunition boxes. After the war came radio cabinets and laboratory and contract furniture, until eventually large quantities of doors were being produced for hospitals, hotels, schools, offices and other buildings. Examples of Shapland and Petter's work can be seen all over North Devon. In Barnstaple, the shop front at no.109 High Street is a good example, and the interior of the old Lloyd's Bank, now Chamber's Brasserie, was also Shapland's work. Examples of carving by Shapland's men can be seen in two chairs and a reading desk in Barnstaple Parish Church. As cabinet makers, Shapland and Petter employed up to 350 people at a time. There were designers, carvers, cabinet makers, machinists, polishers, and labourers. The company was one of the first to install American labour-saving devices and was keen to adopt the most up-to-date machinery. The fire of 1888 at the Raleigh Cabinet Works was a huge loss for the company. But it resulted in a new factory which was altogether more modern and better equipped. The new building by the river was arranged into blocks. The production line began with the saw mills and ended with the finishing rooms. There was modern machinery in every department - one of their saws was the first of its kind in Britain. Water sprinklers and electric lights were a necessity - this factory would not burn down. As well as the furniture production, Shapland and Petter imported timber by sea and rail. The new factory 's facilities were exceptional. Shapland and Petter were renowned for excellent design and workmanship. The carvers were highly skilled, serving seven year apprenticeships and attending classes at the Barnstaple School of Art. Ornately carved furniture required up to a hundred tools. The factory produced made to order woodwork for banks, hotels, and shops; mantelpieces, paneling and staircases. They fitted out Pullman railway carriages, the London Guildhall, and Edgar Wallace 's dining room as well as houses like Tapeley Park in North Devon. Much of the work involved intricate leaded glass panels, or inlaid fruitwood designs, like the white bedroom suite shown in the exhibition here. This type of work is typical of Art Nouveau 1895 to 1910, inspired by the fluid shapes of plants and flowers. Many pieces were made from standard designs. There were hundreds to choose from, and a selection could be seen in local and London showrooms and in catalogues. Although mass-produced, this furniture was well-made by skilled technicians and modern machinery. Arts and Crafts designs of Shapland and Petter The development of the Arts and Crafts Movement in the South West of England has not been written up in any detail though we do know of the Art Potters of Barnstaple from the excellent book of this name by Audrey Edgeler. Less is known of the Barnstaple Guild of Metal Workers. We know of the Bath Cabinet Makers and the Newlyn School of Industrial Art in Cornwall but very little has been written about the furniture makers of Barnstaple in Devon. The establishment of a large cabinet making firm in Barnstaple is not remarkable in itself; there were several cabinet makers in the area. What is interesting is that this particular Barnstaple firm should become a leading maker of Arts and Crafts furniture, copying the styles of the leading Architect designers and creating their own unique style. Critics may point out that as their work was commercially driven and reliant upon machines it therefore does not really qualify as Arts and Crafts. Whilst the company was highly innovative in machine technology, they also employed many craftsmen who worked with their hands in woodcarving, marquetry work, design and application of decorative copperwork and other artistic embellishment in the true Arts and Crafts tradition. Anyone who has experience of Shapland and Petter workmanship knows the level of craftsmanship invested in each piece. Sources of Inspiration There appears to be no evidence to link any known architect, artist or designer to the Shapland and Petter company. Their designs appear to have been created solely by their own internal design staff none of whom appear to have published or registered their work in any other context. C. R. Ashbee who established the Guild of Handicrafts visited Barnstaple in 1893 and provided a twelve week course on the design and decoration of furniture. It is presumed that this visit was hosted by Shapland and Petter, and that their own staff and those from other local furniture makers attended the course. Ashbee appears to have been unimpressed by the commercial attitudes he encountered and apparently disappointed at the lack of interest in his (high minded) lectures. What is interesting however is the similarity between some of his designs and those used by Shapland and Petter, particularly in respect to inlaid floral design. Perhaps he left a lasting influence which has not yet been verified. There has been some speculation on the influence of Scottish designers, particularly because of the use of Glasgow rose designs which are typical of the Glasgow School, and particularly of Talwin Morris. There are also several designs which use similar motifs to those used by Baillie Scott, the use of two doves in flight for example. More research is needed to trace possible links here. One thing that is clear is that there was a great deal of copying and selling designs in the furniture industry at the time and a nineteenth century survey on the furniture trade recorded that '' Barnstaple pays the best prices for designs ..'' . Collaboration with other companies. There is evidence that Shapland and Petter organised a wide network of companies to retail their products and hence many pieces have the labels of retail furnishers added. Little is known of their marketing in Europe and America but it may be that many Arts and Crafts pieces were sold abroad. Shapland and Petter had excellent access to rail and shipping lines for importing timber and presumably for exporting their finished products. The extent of their collaboration with other companies is yet to be ascertained but there is evidence that their suppliers included the Della Robbia Pottery, Pilkingtons Tile Company, Loache and Clarke Art Metal Work manufacturers and the Brannam Pottery. It is clear that Shapland and Petter produced for many retailers across the country including Morris and Co, Wylie and Lochhead, Maples, Waring and Gillows, Pratts of Bradford as well as many other smaller retailers who put on their own labels. Liberty and Co.?? One popular theory is that Shapland and Petter worked to supply Liberty and Co in London. It has been supposed that Liberty provided their designs to Shapland and Petter to make up. However no evidence has yet come to light in the company records of either company to suggest they ever did business with each other, nor are there any designs in any of the Catalogues or Handbooks which Liberty produced which illustrate items that we know were produced by Shapland and Petter. Many Shapland and Petter pieces have been wrongly attributed to Liberty in books and Auction catalogues. Some dealers have cited the L and C stamp on metalwork as evidence that the piece was made or sold by Liberty's . Evidence provided by the Public Record Office at Kew in London proves beyond doubt that L and C is the registered mark for Loache and Clarke, a Birmingham Art Metalwork manufacturer, and not Liberty and Co. A more plausible theory on the relationship between Liberty and Co and Shapland and Petter is that they were in fierce competition, there is evidence of several designs which appear to have been copied but with distinct differences to prevent litigation for piracy. Shapland and Petter did have an office in London in 1901 in Berner Street, 5 minutes walk from Liberty's and would no doubt had plenty of opportunity to take notice of the latest designs on sale at Liberty's and vice versa. Only I accept the payment through paypal or bank transfer. We reserve the right to relist the item if the payment is not received within 14 days of the end of the auction. I don't accept new users without feedback . Please to contact me before offering. Buyer pays all shipping costs. Shipping costs consult by mail. Insurance is available for all shippings (by Fedex). If buyer decides not to contract an insurance, he asumes all shipping risks. All items are sold "AS IS". All sales final. 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