Mrs Hutton Rawlinson's 'Very Elegant Mahogany Bookcase' Purchased from Gillows of Lancaster on the 18th July 1772 for the sum of £21 - Apter-Fredericks Antique Furniture, Memorable Pieces Dealer

"…the additional delicate tracery is most unusual and like so many features on this magnificent bookcase makes it one of the finest pieces attributed to the Gillow firm." Mrs Susan Stuart

The bookcase, which has an upper and a lower section, has carved detailing to the cornice and a frieze inlaid with palm branches above two doors with floral inlay to each corner and gothic glazing bars. The glazing bars are adorned with additional delicate tracery work which shows evidence of having been originally gilded.

The lower section is of rectangular form with canted corners. The table top has highly figured book-matched veneers and a carved edge above a frieze drawer with similarly matched veneers and two finely-chased silvered handles. The drawer opens to reveal a baize lined slide with lidded compartments and partitions below, and from each side of the drawer, a small pen slide.

The cupboard doors below have the most superb figured panels, framed by moulded beading, with carved ornaments to each corner. Flanking the frieze drawer and the cupboard doors are inlaid canted corners headed by an oval patarae with a ribbon tied floral festoon below.

The bookcase has an egg and dart carved moulding to the lower edge and is supported on very unusual ogee bracket feet with a deeply gadrooned upper section contrasting with the plainer concave shaped lower section.

Of the most outstanding quality, this bookcase is finished to the very highest specification. The materials used, including silvered handles, escutcheons and hinges, and the highly figured mahogany panels, are seen only on the most important furniture of the Eighteenth century. Furthermore, the quality of the workmanship is entirely the equal of the materials used and, so rare for English furniture, Thomas & John Dowbiggin - the artisans responsible - are named by Gillow in their records.

This is the most significant piece of Gillows furniture to have come on the market in many years and, as an antique, it benefits hugely from the fact that it has changed colour and is now the most highly prized warm golden colour.

Gillows furniture of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries is notable for a multitude of reasons; its excellence of design, quality of materials used and influence over the furniture being produced in the colonies to name just three. However, the word that most readily springs to mind when considering Gillows furniture is quality. The attention to detail and skill of the craftsmen is by far the most striking feature of Gillows furniture.

When considering the form of this bookcase, we were immediately struck by two features: its most unusual inclusion of both carving and inlay to such successful ends, and the quality of materials and craftsmanship. Interestingly, it was these same qualities that would enable us to confirm its attribution, but before discussing the process of attribution two points need to be stressed.

Whilst Gillows furniture of the Nineteenth century is commonly found and its attribution easily confirmed, it is far rarer to find furniture of the Eighteenth century whose attribution can be confirmed. Indeed, this is one of the earliest known examples proven to be by Gillows.

Dateable pieces of furniture allow historians to build up a far clearer and more precise history of changes in the design and construction of the furniture. As mentioned in a previous paragraph, this bookcase includes some particularly unusual features that make its significance all the more fascinating and important.

Initially we were alerted to the possibility that this piece might be by Gillows because of the similarity between the feet on the bookcase and the feet on a drawing illustrated in plate 138 of Lindsay Boynton's book on Gillows. (1)

Further research identified a bookcase with identical feet. This bookcase was signed in pencil 'Taylor'. Taylor was identified as William Taylor who entered into partnership with Thomas Gillow. Comparisons between William Taylor's signature, which appears in the Gillow Petty Ledger, and the signature found on the bookcase confirmed that they were by the same hand. (2)

Confirmation that the bookcase might prove to be by Gillow was provided by the discovery of a commode with a Gillows label. This commode had identical handles and inlay on the canted corners that, whilst not exactly the same, was undoubtedly by the same hand. (3)

Examination of the Gillows archive revealed an estimate for a bookcase that fitted the description down to the number of bolts used! Although no drawing had survived for this piece, the estimate was so detailed, and so many of the features of the bookcase so unique, that it was possible to confirm that they were one and the same piece. (4)

The following is a summation of the significant items listed in the estimate that help identify the bookcase.

1. Tho Dowbiggin Carving & inlaying 30 days……… £4..0..0
John Dowbiggin 11 days……… £1..7..7
The combination of carving and inlay. A most unusual feature; one that is never usually seen on Eighteenth century English furniture, and even amongst the Gillow archive one sees this on very few pieces.

2. 16 leaves of gold. …………………………………. £0..1..6
Traces of gilding were discovered on the tracery attached to the glazing bars.

3. Extra charge for extraordinary veneers. ………………. £1..1..0
The veneers used on the drawer front and cupboard doors certainly match this description.

4. Veneers within the bottom part. ……………………. £0..4..0
The sides in the top of the bookcase are solid mahogany. In the bottom, the insides are veneered.

5. Top & bottom, back & mahogany shelves in bookcase
48 yds of mahogany. ……………………………… £1..8..0
The upper case is constructed from solid mahogany.

6. Deal back and top and bottom in bottom part. ….. £0..4..0
The bottom of the bookcase is constructed from deal as per the estimate.

7. 5 Pairs of hinges, 5 escutcheons, 5 rings and 4 bolts.
These figures correspond to the numbers used in this bookcase. In addition, a further item is the cloth to the edges with gilt leather that corresponds to the leather dust breaks found on the edges of the shelves.

When we acquired the bookcase, the provenance was given as by descent to the Gurney family.
One of the most extraordinary aspects to this piece is the fact that we have been able to trace its entire history. From 1772 when it was made, right the way down through the family. (5)
Mrs Hutton Rawlinson's daughter married Isaac Ford of Manchester. One of their descendents married a Barclay, and one of their descendents married a Gurney. Interestingly, the Hutton Rawlinsons and the Gurneys were both Quakers,

The Gillows Estimate book specifically states that the bookcase was for Mrs Hutton Rawlinson or her daughter. Thus it may be that the bookcase was made for the daughter rather than the mother and, although it is by no means unusual for it not to be listed, this may explain why it is not mentioned in Mrs Hutton Rawlinson's will.

THE HUTTON-RAWLINSONS' WILLS
The Quaker, Thomas Hutton Rawlinson 1712-69, (named after his grandmother Dorothy Hutton) was the youngest of four surviving sons of Abraham Rawlinson, an ironmaster of Rusland in Cumbria who built a forge at Caton near Lancaster in 1727. By 1769 Thomas had amassed a fortune as a West Indies merchant amounting to almost £49,000. Looking back over his life he acknowledged that from '..small beginnings.. kind providence' had blessed him with '..what may be sufficient fortunes..' for all his children providing they were prudent. He set about distributing and investing his money and other assets at home and abroad for the benefit of his wife and children and he also left legacies to the Quaker Monthly Meeting in Lancaster for the school master's salary and to purchase school books for poor Quaker children.

Mary Hutton Rawlinson his widow received the handsome sum of £5,000 per annum providing she did not remarry, as well as a life interest in their house on Nib Hill, near the Castle in Lancaster, and his merchant sons Abraham and John were given his warehouses on Castle Hill, and on St. Georges Quay, Lancaster, in addition to other legacies. Mary Hutton Rawlinson was therefore well able to purchase the elegant bookcase made by Gillows in 1772. Like her husband when she made her will in 1783 (proved in 1786), she concentrated on legacies, and some small gifts or keep sakes for her relatives to remember her by, but Mary did not mention her bookcase or any piece of furniture.

However, she did leave her goods and chattels to be equally divided between her two unmarried daughters Lydia and Mary. Lydia died aged 52 years in 1798 without leaving a will, so Mary Rawlinson (1737-1808) probably inherited the bookcase with her mother's other possessions. Mary lived at Ellel Hall near Lancaster with her brother Abraham Rawlinson, a West Indies merchant who was in partnership with John Rawlinson his younger brother until 1780 when he, Abraham Rawlinson, was elected as MP. for Lancaster, a position he held for ten years. John Rawlinson died apparently childless, in 1799, and Abraham a widower also left no issue, so when the ex-MP made his will in 1800 he left handsome legacies to his nephews and nieces the sons and daughters of his married sisters Sarah Chorley (b.1735-dead by 1793) late wife of John Chorley merchant of Liverpool; and to Elizabeth Ford (1736-63) the late wife of Isaac Ford a Manchester merchant who settled in Lancaster after their marriage. Abraham also left a legacy to Mary Hutton Rawlinson, the daughter of his youngest brother Thomas Hutton Rawlinson (2) of Liverpool who had died in 1777 one month before his daughter Mary was born. Mary resigned from the Quaker meeting in August 1799, and about this period she married Sir Vyell Vyvyan of Trelowarren, Cornwall, and thus became Lady Vyvyan. Her resignation from the Quaker movement may have been connected with her marriage, or intended marriage, because if she was married by a priest she would have been automatically expelled from the Quaker movement.

By the early 19th century the combined fortunes of the Rawlinson aunts and uncles were lavished on their nephews and nieces members of the Ford, Walker and Barclay families who like the Rawlinson's were Quakers. Some time after Abraham Rawlinson's death Ellel Hall was sold and Mary Rawlinson purchased a house in Great Queen Street, Lancaster, with a coach house, stables and other amenities from William Housman Esq. Mary's will made in 1806 and proved in 1808, mentions wardrobes, desks, drawers, trunks boxes and cupboards, bequeathed to her 'beloved niece, Sarah Walker' the wife of John Walker, but no bookcase was mentioned. However, the remains of Mary's money, securities, funds in Britain and America, and her goods, chattels and effects were to be divided into four equal parts and either invested on behalf of, or divided amongst, her Ford, Walker and Barclay nephews and nieces or their children. Thus the splendid bookcase made by Richard and Robert Gillow of Lancaster in July 1772 for the widow of a wealthy West Indies merchant, has been passed down from generation to generation for over two hundred and fifty years.

DOCUMENTS
The Journal, page 407
The Waste Book, page 286
The Estimate Book, page 215
The Hutton Rawlinson Wills by Susan Stuart
The Family Tree.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Robert Gillow (1704-1772) was born in Singleton, Lancashire and started
the Lancaster-based firm of Gillows that made high status furniture from the West Indies mahogany imported through that port. He was succeeded in the business by his sons Richard and Robert.

Interestingly, his father was allegedly imprisoned in Lancaster Castle for his part in the Jacobite rebellion, and Robert Gillow may have remained in Lancaster in order to be close to him during his detention.

Robert Gillow's education in carpentry began during his time as a ship's carpenter. He is also credited with having travelled to the West Indies and brought back one of the first recorded shipments of mahogany into England.

Supplies of mahogany (supplemented with substantial amounts of rum) soon began to flow between Gillow and his West Indian suppliers. In return, Gillow exported some of the finest furniture ever crafted both to the Caribbean islands and America.

He was later joined by his three sons and the business expanded rapidly, including the establishment of a branch in Oxford Street, London. They are credited with the invention of the billiards table and were patentees (about 1800) of the telescopic dining table. For a Captain Davenport they made, if they did not invent, the first writing table of that name.

The Gillows were praised in opera and fiction; their fame is indicated by references to them in the works of Jane Austen, Thackeray and the first Lord Lytton, and not least in one of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operas.

They produced a substantial amount of furniture for museums, presidents and luxury ocean liners. Queen Victoria also commissioned a number of pieces from the company. During the First World War, they fashioned Navy munitions boxes from teak and DH9 aeroplane wings and propellers. Mosquito wooden aeroplanes followed in the Second World War. Unfortunately the firm was taken over and closed down in 1961, although Gillows lives on today as part of Maples Stores plc.

CONCLUDING COMMENT

From a historical perspective, as discussed earlier, one would have to describe this bookcase as important, and from an aesthetic point of view it must certainly merit the most glowing recommendation. Indeed, the word 'glowing' itself is probably the most accurate description of the wood and the truest testament to the development of the piece's patination over the two hundred and thirty years since it was made.