The Archive
A fine Globe Wernicke stacking bookcase in English oak, Circa 1890-1900, comprising three glazed sections beneath a moulded cap top, on a plinth base. Known variously as a barrister’s bookcase, lawyers bookcase or sectional bookcase, it was a landmark in office and library furniture. Each section stands alone or stacks with others, secured by iron clips, so the bookcase can grow with a collection and be taken apart for moving.
The oak is wonderfully figured, with strongly flecked quartersawn grain to the top and sides in a rich golden tone. Each of the three sections retains its makers label.
In excellent restored condition, with a clean, lustrous finish, this stacking bookcase is ready for the library, study or home office.
A handsome mid 19th century low back Windsor armchair, made in the traditional English manner from elm and ash. The elm saddle seat is beautifully figured, with a rich, warm colour and lovely tight grain pattern. The hooped back is fitted with a pierced vase-shaped splat flanked by turned spindles, while shaped arms terminate in turned, swept supports. The turned legs are joined by an H stretcher.
Circa 1850, this chair displays good colour throughout and remains in sturdy, useable condition with tight joints — a comfortable and versatile piece equally at home as a occasional armchair, fireside chair, or a striking addition to a country kitchen or hallway setting.
Height: 910mm
Seat Height: 440mm
Width: 480mm
A generously proportioned oak revolving bookcase, Circa 1890, of the type so prized in the late Victorian library. Three tiers of open shelves, each divided into four bays, are enclosed by slender slatted sides and set beneath a finely moulded top. The oak is beautifully figured, with the silvery flash of quarter-sawn grain showing across the top and shelves, and it carries a warm, honeyed colour with a lovely natural patina. The whole piece revolves, putting every shelf within easy reach from a single spot, which makes it as practical today for books, albums and magazines as it was originally. Standing at a commanding scale, it is a real presence in a study, office or living room. It is in great condition, solid and sound throughout.
Lovely quality 18th Century country Oak Georgian low boy or side table with a single drawer. The top and drawer front with Mahogany cross banding and inlaid with bog Oak and Holly. Shaped apron and cabriole legs. Nice colour and in good period Oak condition.
Height: 710mm
Width: 850mm
Depth: 550mm
A well-patinated English oak gateleg table, dating to circa 1700 and retaining a good, honest colour and surface. The generous oval top drops on each side via a gateleg action, with the swing legs supporting the leaves on turned baluster columns matched to the fixed corner legs. The base is united by a box stretcher arrangement of further turned and shaped members, terminating in block feet.
The top is formed of quarter-sawn oak boards, showing attractive figure and the expected surface marks, scuffs and old repairs consistent with genuine age Closed, the table reduces to a compact rectangular side table; open, it seats four to six comfortably, making this a versatile and practical form for a dining room, kitchen, or hallway.
Height: 770mm
Width: 1520mm (open)
Width: 610mm (closed)
Depth: 1200mm
A handsome early 19th-century English ladder back armchair, likely made in Lancashire or Yorkshire, where this distinctive wavy-slat form was a hallmark of country chair-making traditions. The tall back is fitted with six graduated, gently scalloped ladder splats, rising to turned nipple finials, and constructed from a mix of ash, elm and oak — typical of the vernacular approach to chair-making in this region, where timber was chosen for strength and availability rather than uniformity.
The shaped elm arms have been worn smooth with age and use, terminating over turned front supports, while the front legs are joined by a bold double baluster stretcher. The generous seat has been re-rushed and is in good condition, with an even, well-woven pattern. The chair retains an excellent rich, dark patina overall, with honest wear, scuffing and minor surface marks consistent with age and genuine use — nothing structural, and entirely in keeping with a piece of this age and character.
This kind of wavy ladder back armchair — sometimes called a Lancashire or Yorkshire ladder back chair, or a country ladder back armchair — was a staple of the English farmhouse and cottage, valued as much today for its sculptural silhouette as its comfort. A lovely armchair for a kitchen, study or reading corner, equally at home in a period interior or as a characterful statement piece in a more contemporary setting.
Height: 1160mm
Seat height: 430mm
Width: 570mm
Depth: 520mm
A country house antique Pine console or server table with a plank top, three drawers with turned knobs and raised on turned legs. Nice versatile size, it could be used as a console, servery, hall table, sideboard or sofa table. In very good, solid condition with a couple of old repairs, lovely colour and plenty of character.
Height: 765mm
Depth: 510mm
Width: 1565mm
A handsome late Victorian Windsor armchair, made in England circa 1880 from a combination of oak and elm with a generously proportioned elm saddle seat, prized by Windsor chairmakers for its resistance to splitting.
The high hoop back frames a pierced, fretwork-carved splat flanked by turned spindles, while the shaped arms rest on elegantly turned baluster supports. The legs are joined by an ‘H’ stretcher, adding strength to the base. Throughout, the timber has developed a rich, golden oak colour with attractive figuring in the seat.
This broad arm Windsor presents in good, solid condition, with honest age and patina consistent with over a century of use, and is fully sound for everyday seating.
A versatile piece, equally at home as a statement armchair at the head of a dining table, a reading chair, or a striking accent piece in a hallway or study. Would also suit anyone building a collection of antique Windsor or country chairs.
Height: 1140mm
Seat Height: 440mm
Seat Width: 520mm
A fine English George III mahogany chest on chest, or tallboy, dating to circa 1780. Constructed in two sections from high-grade timber, the upper chest features a deep dentil-molded cornice over two short and three long graduated drawers, flanked by elegant reeded, canted corners. The lower base section houses three additional full-width drawers, with the entire piece standing on bracket feet.
The drawer fronts exhibit rich, nicely figured mahogany developing a deep, glowing patina from over two centuries of care. The piece retains its original brass swan-neck handles, backplates, and escutcheons, as well as working locks with two keys. In very good antique condition with smooth-running drawers and superb colour throughout.
Height: 1920mm
Width: 1065mm
Depth: 575mm
A delightful Georgian Oak fall front bureau C.1730. Raised on bracket feet with an arrangement of two short over two full length drawers, the interior has pigeon holes and drawers with a sliding well. A lovely early bureau of smaller proportions with good patination and colour.
Height: 980mm
Width: 840mm
Depth: 490mm
Late 19th Century 'penny' style beech and elm country Windsor chair with a nicely shaped top rail, spindle back and scrolling arms supported by turned spindles. It stands on turned legs joined by an "H" stretcher and features a generous, round elm seat with excellent figuring. In very good condition, with nice colour and a warm wax finish.
Height: 1000mm (seat height 475mm)
Width: 610mm
Depth: 500mm
A substantial and handsome chest of drawers in Huon pine, made in Australia during the Colonial period, circa 1860–1880. The piece is distinguished by full-height barley-twist corner columns flanking a shaped serpentine front with a conforming moulded top. The case stands on four turned bun feet.
An Arrangement of four short over three long graduated drawers, all with original turned Huon pine knobs. Providing a large amount of storage, the piece presents in excellent condition throughout, with a wonderful colour and glow. All six drawers run well on and the polished surfaces are in fine order with the patina and minor marks consistent with honest age and use.
Height: 1260mm
Width: 1200mm
Depth: 560mm
A fine and well proportioned English Windsor armchair C.1840. The chair features a nicely figured saddled elm seat, paired with a pierced yew-wood splat, hoop back and arm rail. The back is constructed with turned yew-wood spindles - a sign of quality - and stands on turned legs united by a crinoline stretcher.
A lovely quality, honest Windsor with all the hallmarks of higher-quality provincial English chair making.
A handsome 19th century English elm smoker's bow chair, the form more familiarly known as a captain's chair or pub chair, and much sought after for its low, sociable stance and generous horseshoe arm rail. The shaped saddle seat is worked in solid elm, its figure and colour deepened by a wonderful old patina built up over more than a century of use. A gallery of turned spindles rises to the sweeping arm rail, itself terminating in rounded knuckle ends, while the sturdy turned legs are united by a double stretcher for extra rigidity — a hallmark of the best examples of the type.
Originally designed for pubs, clubs and smoking rooms, where its wide seat and enclosing arms made it the most comfortable chair in the room, this example remains in fine, solid condition and is genuinely comfortable to sit in today. It would suit equally well as a desk or occasional armchair, or simply as a well-loved reading chair.
Dating from around 1920–1930, this English oak barrister's bookcase follows the classic Globe Wernicke sectional stacking format — also called a lawyer's or stacking bookcase, built in three separate tiers that lift apart cleanly for easier moving or rearranging. Each tier has its own glass front door on a lift-and-slide mechanism, so books come out without swinging a door open, and the original brass pulls are still fitted throughout.
The oak is quarter-sawn with strong ray fleck figuring running across the top, sides and door frames, finished to a warm, glowing patina. It sits on a moulded plinth base with shaped, tapered feet.
We've re-polished and wax finished this one in our own workshop, and it presents in very nice condition — all three doors slide smoothly, and the sections join tightly and squarely when stacked. A genuinely useful piece for a study, library, living room, hallway or home office; equally at home holding books or as a display case for a small collection behind glass.
Height: 1175mm
Width: 870mm
Depth: 320mm
A well-proportioned George II oak lowboy, English, circa 1730–1750. The solid oak three-plank top sits above a case fitted with one long drawer over two short, each retaining their original brass bat's-wing handles and escutcheons. The shaped and scalloped apron below lends the piece a lively silhouette, carried through into the four cabriole legs terminating in pad feet — a form characteristic of the mid-Georgian period in English provincial cabinetmaking.
The oak throughout has developed a rich, warm patina consistent with its age, and the piece retains good honest surface. The cabriole legs are well-cut with a clean knee, and the overall scale is practical for contemporary use as a side table, lamp table, or hall piece.
Offered in lovely period oak condition.
A handsome Georgian oak tilt-top lamp table, Circa 1800-1820, standing on a turned baluster column with ring-turned detailing above a swept tripod base. The rounded rectangular two-plank top tilts to vertical for storage against a wall, a practical feature typical of the period.
The oak has developed a lovely rich patina and colour with age, the grain well figured across both boards. Condition is sound and stable, commensurate with age, with minor surface marking consistent with two centuries of honest use. A versatile size, equally suited as a lamp table, wine table, or occasional side table.
This 19th Century elm smokers bow chair has wonderful colour and a rich, glowing patina. The deeply dished, shaped saddle seat is cut from a single board of beautifully figured elm. The seat has softened and burnished over generations of use, and the grain is lovely.
The sweeping bow arm and shaped top rail are carried on a row of turned spindles, with scrolled arm terminals that fall naturally to the hand. Sturdy turned legs ring-turned to the feet complete the chair.
Extremely comfortable, this is a chair you can sit in all day. It works equally well as a captain’s chair, a desk or office chair, or a characterful armchair for a study, kitchen or reading corner. Very good condition, with a lovely warm colour and a surface that only comes with age.
A handsome piece of period oak furniture, this English side table dates to the early 18th century. The rectangular top displays pleasing colour and patina above a single frieze drawer carved in a continuous guilloche and rosette design flanking a pair of brass drop handles, apparently original to the piece. The table stands on four baluster turned legs united by a box stretcher, terminating in bun feet. Honest wear and age-appropriate colour throughout, with minor splits to the top boards consistent with a piece of this age and construction. A versatile size well suited as a hall, lamp, or occasional table.
A Georgian English oak chest of drawers, Circa 1760-1790, of classic four drawer form and lovely proportions. The cleanly moulded overhanging top sits above four graduated long drawers, all raised on bracket feet with a shaped apron.
The original brass batwing handles, backplates and escutcheons are all retained, with a soft, honest colour to the brass that matches the age of the piece. The oak is in great condition, with a warm golden colour and a lovely patina, and the figured grain and silvery medullary ray flecking show nicely across the drawer fronts.
A useful and versatile antique oak chest of drawers, equally at home in a bedroom, hallway or living space.