18th Century Furniture Makers - The Big Three

In the 18th century, the ‘big three’ designer furniture makers were Thomas Chippendale, Thomas Sheraton and George Hepplewhite.

Thomas Chippendale is probably the most famous of all. He was a cabinet maker and furniture designer based in London. Styles ranged from English with deep carving, elaborate anglicised rococo, Chinese style with latticework and lacquer, and Gothic with quatrefoils, pointed arches and fret-worked legs. In later years he adopted the Neoclassical style. His father was a joiner and probably the person that gave Thomas his initial training.

He was the first cabinet-maker to publish a book of his designs. It was was called The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director, and it was released in 1754. This influenced many other cabinet makers and illustrated almost every type of mid-18th century domestic furniture.

Chippendale was an interior designer as well as a cabinet maker. He advised on soft furnishings and the overall image that a room should have. His work was desired by the rich and famous and he frequently took commissions from the aristocracy.

He died of TB in 1779 but has been honoured with a full size statue on the Victoria and Albert Museum and a memorial plaque has been erected in Otley, Yorkshire (his probable birthplace) outside of the old Prince Henry’s Grammar School. His son (also Thomas Chippendale) went carried on the family business.

Thomas Sheraton also worked in London from 1790 as an architecture and design teacher and a professional consultant.

His designs were based on classical architecture and are known as as Neoclassical. They were often made from inlaid satinwood. Whilst he was a designer, there is no evidence that he actually created the pieces himself. Only one piece can actually be attributed to him - a glass fronted bookcase which bears the stamp T.S inside one drawer.

Sheraton also published an influential work - “The Cabinet Maker’s and Upholsterer’s Drawing Book” which was available to the public in 1791 - it greatly influenced English and American design. He also published “The Cabinet Dictionary” in 1803, explaining the techniques of furniture making and upholstery. His last book was volume 1 of “Cabinet Maker, Upholsterer and General Artist’s Encyclopaedia” in 1805. His death was announced in 1806.

George Hepplewhite is the last of the ‘big three’. He also worked in London but as a man, little is actually known about him.

His name is known for a slender, elegant furniture style and particularly for a large shield shape on chair backs. It is though that no pieces made by him or his firm exist now.

In 1788, two years after his death, his widow Alice published “The Cabinet Maker and Upholsterers Guide”, featuring about 300 of his designs. Some believe that George Hepplewhite is really Alice because it is so hard to find evidence of the man.

Hepplewhite’s designs only really found fame after he died.

Chippendale and his contemporaries were brilliant furniture designers and their influence can be seen in the cabinet makers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Their designs and publications are so important that they will continue to influence people as furniture design evolves throughout the ages.