Introduction 

 

Furniture is composed of movable or stationary objects used to decorate and furnish living spaces. Furniture is usually a backdrop to action in novels but can be used to interpret the subtle meaning of how people lived within their spaces to further understand how literature is related to reality. Furniture is typically referred to in terms of "pieces" and can include such objects as chairs, tables, bookcases, beds, grandfather clocks, chests, stools, drawers, cabinets, benches, etc.

 

During the 17th and 18th centuries, furniture was mostly made of wood with fabric attached for chairs and couches. Sometimes furniture pieces included veneer inlays such as mother of pearl. According to Percy Macquoid of A History of English Furniture, these centuries were the last times when furniture was made solely by hand (Macquoid 92). By tracking the movements of furniture periods during this time, one can attain a better understanding of how the British conceived of their living spaces.

 

Introduction    1.  Classified Advertisements  2.  The Queen Anne Period and Foreign appearance  3.  Democartizing/Standardizing of Furniture  4. Furniture in Literature

1. Classified Advertisements

 

During the 18th century, it was very common for advertisments in newspapers to describe the furniture to be included in houses when they went up for sale. The classified ads of the late 18th century are interesting because they reveal a lot about what types of furniture people owned.  One newspaper, the Morning Post and Daily Advertiser features the following,  placed by Mr. Quibb on Monday, October 9th, 1780:
 

On Wednesday the 18th, by the order of the Trustees the elegant household furniture...the property of a lady of fashion, gone abroad, brought from her house in Portman square... . The furniture consists of blue and other damask, cabriole chairs, sophas and window curtians, exceeding fine own beds, an extensive variety of beautiful inlaid mahogany furniture, a pair of consuls in sechaliola, of exquisite workmanship. (19)

 

This advertisement makes it clear that Oriental styles of furniture were quite popular at the time, and that mahogany was a popular wood out of which to have furniture made. The mention of chairs with "cabriole legs" is important because at this time, this style of leg, one that bowed out then curved under and was adorned usually with a type of carved claw was quite popular (Macquoid-Age of Mahagony 10-50). 

 

Another type of interesting advertisement from the 18th century that features descriptions and lists of common furniture types is the sales auction ad. These sales auctions probably occurred as a result divorce, bankruptcy, death, or other unfortunate circumstances. The following ad exemplifies such estate sales. In the classified ads of the London Gazetteer and Daily Advertiser on October 9th, 1780, it appears that a Mr. Skinner is auctioning out the furniture of his house, and possibly the contents of it as well. Mr. Skinner placed an ad for the auction of his "elegant houshold furniture, beautiful oriental paintings, jappaned cabinets and screens, a musical chime clock, a superb side-board of plate" and many other items including his wardrobe, liquor, and fine paintings. It is clear that the tastes for Oriental furniture still exist and are highly valued at this time. Later in the ads, a Mr. Thomas Griffith placed an ad on behalf of the deceased Mr. William Sweetingham places his valuables including furniture up for auction. The ad states: "This day the 9th instant, at eleven o'clock, all neat and genuine furniture, plate, linen, china [will be auctioned] at his dwelling-house." The items included "checked furnitures...counterpanes and good mahogany carved chairs, dining card, and tea-tables, walnut double chest of drawers, desks and bookcases, an eight day clock, a table clock, pier and dressing glasses, steal stove grates and furniture....and a variety of useful kitchen furniture." From this ad, it is evident that furniture was not only considered a valuable commodity worth boasting about in an auction, but that linens, china, and liquor were valued at a similar level.

 

 

Image from Catalogue of All Genuine Rich Household Furniture, Plate, Linen, and Other Valuable Effects depicting the conditions of furniture for sale.

 

 

2.  The Queen Anne Period and Foreign appearance

 

InThe History of English Furniture, Macquoid argues that during the Queen Anne period, there was a strong emphasis on giving furniture an oriental, foreign appearance. Lacquered furniture became popular during this time, with much emphasis on Chinese influence in particular. Red lacquering became the style, as Robert Dossie writes in his Handmaid to the Arts (1764):

 

“By Jappaning is to be here understood the Art of covering bodies by grounds of opake colours in varnish, which may be either afterward decorated by paintings or gilding or left in a plain stat. this is not at present practiced so frequently on chairs, tables and other furniture of houses, except tea-waiters, as formerly, but the introduction of it for ornamenting coaches, snuff-boxes, and screens in which there is a rivalship betwixt ourselves and the French, renders the cultivation and propagation of this Art of great importance to commerce" (Macquoid 157).

 

The influence of the East on English furniture during this time is especially intriguing. The addition of varnish on wood added to its smoothness and quality that can be still witnessed today in some furniture design. According to Robert Dossie, tables were the most likely items than chairs to have the veneer and varnish of the Oriental styles of the time. It appears from this quote that England and France were competing in a kind of furniture arms race, and each were trying to incorporate the Eastern styles into their furniture designs more quickly, effectively, and more aesthetically pleasingly than the other. It is interesting how Dossie refers to furniture as "Art" because today it is normally considered as craft.

 

3.  Democartizing/Standardizing of Furniture

 

lso, John Trusler writes in his Luxury No Political Evil that "Ornaments that decorate the house, the clothes, or the furniture, of the rich, are perhaps less superfluities to them, than the money would be with which they purchase them, if they had no other use to convert it to" showing that the owning of a physical piece of furniture demonstrates their wealth and status more than simply having money, making furniture a symbol of the particular owner's taste as well. During the Georgian Period, furniture guides began to be published and the two most popular ones were created by George Hepplewhite and Thomas Chippendale.  George Hepplewhite, a furniture designer and maker of the 18th century, discussed in the Preface to "The Cabinet Maker's and Upholsterer's Guide" the reason for making a guide for furniture. He states:

 

"To Residents in London, though our drawings are all new, yet, as we designedly followed the latest or most prevailing fashion only, purposefully omitting such articles, whose recommendation was mere novelty, and perhaps a violation of all established rule, the production of whim at the instance of caprice, whose appetite must ever suffer disappointment if any familiar thing had been previously thought of; we say, having regularly avoided those fancies, and steadily adhered to such articles only as are of general use and service, one principal hope for favour and encouragement will be, in having combined near three hundred different patterns for furniture in so small a space, and so small a price. In this instance we hope for reward; and though we lay no claim to extraordinary merit in our designs, we flatter ourselves that they will be found serviceable to young workmen in general, and occasionally to more experienced ones" (Hepplewhite 3).

 

Hepplewhite emphasizes that guides were created for the average craftsman, not typically for especially master furniture craftsmen. Providing the public with a step by step guide how to produce his own designs, Hepplewhite democratized furniture making and made it more readily accessible to the public of all classes. The book contains images of all types of furniture drawings that would be commonly placed in any house. Hepplewhite emphasizes that the furniture styles he included in the book reflect the most popular and simultaneously the most useful furniture items for daily and practical use by everyday people. This democratizing of furniture designs is an interesting advancement from 18th century furniture making and its importance cannot be overlooked.

 

Not only did Hepplewhite write a guide to creating serviceable furniture, but Thomas Chippendale, another important furniture designer and craftsman published his own entitled The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director. Chippendale, in his own guide for furniture making, details many of the proportional rules needed to make sturdy, stable, long lasting, and practical furniture. The following quote is from his "Rules to Draw Chairs in Perspective." He states, "The difference in Profile B, one foot nine inches and a half, set of from E to bb, determines where the top of the back foot falls; the same method is taken for the bottom of the back foot" (Chippendale 5). One can see how complicated the designs for merely drawing furniture can be from that quote. It is pointless to include more of it because the complexity of Chippendale's directions for drawing such a chair in linear perspective. During the late 18th century, designers such as Chippendale and others took a great interest in making their design tricks and secrets public in print so all aspiring furniture designers, craftsmen, and enthusiasts alike could benefit from their success and knowledge.

Thomas Chippendale's idea of how to draw a chair in linear perspective before designing it in wood. The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director. (5).

 

 

4. Furniture and the Novel

 

In identifying how furniture 

 

 

Haywood perpetually alludes to furniture where passionate embraces occur, especially couches. The following are all the passages where any furniture reference was made. Each quote is preceded by a contextual reference to each mention of objects of furniture and followed by a few sentences of explanation and possible interpretation. Furniture during the time Love In Excess was published falls near the Georgian era (see Furniture History above). Although Haywood's Love In Excess takes place in France and Italy, the descriptions of furniture are relevant because she is an English writer writing for an English audience, which means that the references to decor would be understood by her readers. 

 

When D'elmont decides to enter Melliora's room when Alovysa is out for a walk he encounters the following:

"When he found her lying on a couch in a most charming dissabillee; she had but newly come from bathing, and her hair unbraided, hung down upon her shoulders with a  negligence more beautiful than all the aids of art could form in the most exact decorum of dress, part of it fell upon her neck and breast, and with it's lovely shadyness, being of a delicate dark brown, set off to vast advantage, the matchless white of her skin. ... A book lay open by her on which she had reclined her head, as if been tired with reading; she blushed at sight of the Count, and rose from off the couch with a confusion which gave new lustre to her charms, but he not permitting her to stir form the place she was in, sat down by her... ." (Haywood 107-8). This quote describes a couch that allowed at least two people to sit comfortably and provided a convenient place for reading where one could recline and relax when finished. Haywood indirectly hints that couches were common pieces of furniture in bedrooms and served purposes such as leisurely reading, lounging, having intimate conversations, and passionate embraces. All these functions seem to still hold true today.

 

A few pages later D' elmont observes Melliora sleeping in her bed: "He beheld lovely Melliora in her bed, and fast asleep; her head was reclined on one of her arms, a pillow softer and whiter far than that it leaned on; the other was stretched out, and with it's extention had thrust down the bed-cloths so far, that all the beauties of her neck and breast appeared to view" (Haywood 116). Here, the bed is the main element of furniture mentioned. People, at least women, during this time slept with pillows. The bed appears to be vehicle for passionate embraces as well for Melliora and D'elmont kiss but do not consummate their desires.

 

When Alovysa discovers that D'elmont is in love with another woman she reacts by "throwing her self down into an elbow chair that stood there, and gave loose to the tempest of her soul. Sometimes she curst, and vowed the bitterest revenge. Sometimes she wept, and at others, was resolved to fly to death, the only remedy for neglected love." (Haywood 132) A new furniture item is introduced in this passage, the elbow chair, which according to the editor's footnotes is a "A chair with arms to support the elbows" (Johnson). Instead of throwing herself onto a couch or a bed, Alovysa flies into a chair, one with constraints that she can dramatically rest her arms on in order to possibly sigh with rage, fury, and other strong emotions. Chairs must have been common items of furniture in elite French homes, if Alovysa could find it as her station of refuge. 

 

Instead of falling into a chair by her own will, she is forced down by D'elmont and held there in this passage: "She flew to the bed, and began to tear the cloaths in so violent a manner that the Count found the only way to tame her, was to meet force with force; so jumping out, he seized on her, and throwing her into a chair, and holding her down in it" (Haywood 142). The items of furniture are depicted as both places of anger and restraint. The bed connotes an unfulfilled sexual desire that Alovysa can only destroy because she can no longer receive love in it. The chair is used as a restraint by D'elmont to calm her down and not destroy her entire room. Without the furniture, Alovysa would not have been able to express her rage, nor would D'elmont been able to pacify her.

 

In Part III, D'elmont visits Ciamara's apartments and witness the splendor of the decor in the following lines: "I never saw any thing more magnificent than her apartments; the vast quantity of plate, the richness of the furniture, and the number of servants attending on her, might have made her be taken rather for a princess, than a private woman" (Haywood 189). Here, furniture distinctions between social class is apparent. Royal families were associated with having finer, richer, more lavish furniture than "private" families, those without titles. The furniture impressed D'elmont and seems to be parallel with Ciamara's beauty. Since she is so beautiful and "extereamly handsome" (Haywood 190) it is natural that her surrounding, including her furniture, would be just as beautiful.

 

Touring the Cittolini's home, D'elmont notes that it was all "richly furnished and adorned" (Haywood 205) and "At the upper end of this magnificent chamber, there was a canopy of crimson velvet, richly embossed, and trimmed with silver, and the corners of which were supported by two golden Cupids, with stretched out wings, as if prepared to fly; two of their hands grasped the extremity of the valen, and the others, those nearest to each other, joyned to hold a wreath of flowers, over a couch, which stood under thecanopy" (Haywood 206). The lavishness of the decor that surrounds the couch points the the Cittolini's wealth and status as a private family of power. Even though the furniture here is not English, the description still conveys a sense of lavishness that wealthy English readers, and all readers in general, could relate to.

 

When D'elmont visits Ciamara knowing that it is actually her not Camilla or anyone else disguised, he finds her "lying on the couchwhen he entered" (Haywood 223). After an emotionally dramatic dialogue between the two where Ciamara reveals her intense desire to have D'elmont for herself, the two then proceed to embrace, which is most probably takes place on the couch, which is described in the following passage. "She...lying on his breast, beheld, without concern, her robes fly open, and all the beauties of her own exposed, and naked to his view. Mad at his insensibility, at last she grew more bold, she kissed his eyes,-- his lips, a thousand times, then pressed him in her arms with strenuous embraces, --and snatching his hand and putting it to her heart, which fiercely bounded at his touch, bid him to be witness of his mighty influence there" (Haywood 223). In this passage, the couch provides the spot for the passionate embraces to occur and seemingly without the couch, they possibly would not have happened, or at least not as comfortably, or conveniently for Ciamara. Ciamara takes advantage of the usefulness of the furniture, going beyond its aesthetics to use it for it basic function.

 

The following pictures are from the Dictionary of English Furniture (Ed. Ralph Edwards) and represent possible couches where the intimate moments between D'elmont and the main female characters took place. They showcase a wide variety of types of couches, but since Haywood does not go into specific detail about the nature of the couches, it is possible that one of the styles below was similar to the one that D'elmont caught Melliora lounging on.

 

 

 

A Dictionary of English Furniture (Edwards 92-93). Mahagony Sofas (various). c. 1740-55.

A Dictionary of English Furniture (Edwards 90-91). Mahogany Setees (various) c. 1740-50.

 

 

The Female Quixote (1752)

See Furniture in the Female Quixote

 

Bibliography

 

Secondary Sources

• Macquoid, Percy. A History of English Furniture. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1905.       
• We used the following volumes of this source: The Age of Oak, The Age of Walnut, The Age of Mahogany, and The Age of Satinwood. This source provided us with a detailed description of English furniture history for both the 17th and 18th centuries according to wood type and style according to British rule. There were really great color images of furniture pieces that we used on this page.
• Toone, Perry. "A History of English Period Furniture." Helium.com. http://www.helium.com/items/611254-history-of-english-period-furniture?page=2
•  This source was used for facts on the period history of English style furniture in the 17th and 18th century. It provided succinct facts about major occurences in each period with an emphasis on popular items and styles, important designers, and major technical advancements. This source is useful for a general overview of English Furniture History, but it is not nearly as comprehensive as Macquoid's books.
• Volume III: NAI-ZUC. The Dictionary of English Furniture: From the Middle Ages to the late Georgian Period. Eds. Ralph Edwards and Percy Macquoid. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1924-7. 
•  This source was used to find pertinent images of pieces of 17th and 18th century furniture. Since the other two volumes are not available at the University of Michigan               Library, this source is not as effective for gaining a firm grasp of the history of furniture as it is for actually seeing high-quality images of typical furniture pieces.
• Blackburn, Graham. Fine Wood Working. "A Short History of Furniture Periods." Web.
•   This source provided a broad range of basic knowledge on 17th- and 18th-century furniture. It was extremely useful to understand the scope of furniture history before researching the details, so this source was quite helpful. It featured brief descriptions of many common stylistic and design themes within several furniture periods. 

• Your Antique Furniture Guide. “Furniture Timeline: A Complete Summary of Antique Furniture History.” 2008. Web.

•  This source laid out the fundamentals for us as far as where and how the furniture periods lined up with history. This source offered a chart with which to use to identify British monarchs and dates for each furniture period as well as each new Age. The chart was thorough and simple to read, which made delving into the subject immediately much easier to immediately comprehend.

 

Primary Sources (17th and 18th Century Sources)

1. Christie & Ansell. The Catalogue for all elegant and rich household furniture. London, 1781.

•      We used this source because it gave us a great glimpse of what was in each room, and what each room was typically like for a majority of people.  

2. Hepplewhite, A. The Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer's Guide. London: A. Hepplewhite and Co., 1794. 

• This source was useful in showing how furniture was updated, and how new details and pieces came into fashion. We also gained an idea of the furniture that goes to different class systems. 

3. Webster & Willoughby. The Catalogue of all genuine rich household furniture. Oxford, 1768.

•      Interestingly this source gave us insight into how furniture was sold because is shows us the rules. Also, it gives details for how pieces were auctioned off. Lastly, we get a small glimpse of the rich being able to buy pieces in auction because they go to the highest bidder.  

4. Morning Post and Daily Advertiser. London, England. Monday, October 9, 1780; Issue 2482.

•  This source provided classified ads for the sale of furniture. It was useful because it revealed the types of popular furniture of the 18th century in concrete terms because it listed the furniture that was actually being sold that day in an auction of some kind. Other editions of this same newspaper would be useful for researching other popular furniture pieces during the 17th and 18th centuries. Even though only two ads from 1780 were used, there are countless more that could be utilized for more research.

5. A. M. Reflections on the American contest: in which the consequence of a forced submission, and the means of a lasting reconciliation are pointed out, communicated      by letter to a Member of Parliament, Some Time Since, and now Addressed to Edmund Burke, Esq. By A.M. London, MDCCLXXVI. [1776]. Eighteenth Century Collections      Online. Gale. University of Michigan. 11 Mar. 2010                          <http://find.galegroup.com/ecco/infomark.on

 

6.Trusler, John. Luxury no political evil: but demonstratively proved to be necessary to the preservation and prosperity of states. Addressed to the British senate. London: sold by R. Baldwin, [1781?]

7. Chippendale, Thomas. The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director. London, 1754.

•  This guide to drawing and producing furniture was used to show how such guides were published and printed for the first time by designers like Chippendale. The book contains rules for drawing furniture before creating it and emphasizes the reasons why such a designer would produce a guide book in the Preface. This book would be helpful for an analysis of the construction of furniture or how the printing of guides influenced the subsequent knowledge about and production of furniture.

8. Gazetteer and New Daily Advertiser. London, England. Monday, October 9, 1780; Issue 16 130.

•  This source provided a classified ad for a sales auction that exemplified Oriental and other lavish types of furniture. Like theMorning Post and Advertiser it provided a  concrete view of the wide range of furniture of the 1780s and also revealed what other types of goods and valuables were equated and related to furniture at the time. Learning about furniture from the 18th century perspective provides a contrast to a secondary source describing furniture. Both are useful, but it is interesting to read about how furniture is described in the eyes of people who lived to witness its creation and existence in terms that are both different and similar to ours today.

9. Speeches and Passages of This Great and Happy Parliament. London, England. Tuesday, November 3, 1640.

•      This source offered concrete, primary evidence of furniture displayed for preparation of a wealthy man. This source, along with others (including, especially, he texts from literature, such as Pepys' Diary) makes it clear that furniture, like fashion, for example, determined class. This was a direct news source from the mid-17th century.

10. Weekly Account. London, England. Wednesday, June 4, 1645.

•   This source offered a friendly letter posted in its newsbook between a man and a woman who referred to each other as "lovely." Because of this, not only was this an interesting and significant source with its mention of furniture, but it also tied in to love and relationships in the 17th and 18th centuries in England. This source was especially useful to depict how furniture of the time related to peoples' (and lovers') personal lives.

 

• Haywood, Eliza. Love in Excess. Ed. David Oakleaf. Peterborough: Broadview, 2000.