Chippendale

Excerpts from "The Gentleman and Cabinetmaker Director" with
a Chippendale style desk found at Evanstonia Antiques

As promised on our last post, today’s post is about Chippendale style furniture! First question that might come to mind is Why do I say Chippendale “style?” Well, when I say style I mean that the item is created in the style of Chippendale or that it’s a replica of the cabinetmaker who first invented the design. We have many different items that are “styles” for example; Louis IX style, Baker style, Hepplewhite style, and the list can go on! But let’s get back to our main topic…let me introduce to you Mr. Thomas Chippendale and his Chippendale furniture!

Thomas Chippendale was born in the 1700's and was the son of a carpenter. He worked diligently in his workshop and showroom for many years but the pinnacle of his career was when he published a book that contained his whole collection of fashionable English furniture design. His book was called Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, and was a compilation of all of his designs adapting existing design styles to the fashion of the 18^th century.

Various Chippendale Chair designs found at our store

 There were so many carpenters and cabinetmakers that used his designs from the book that sometimes the Chippendale name was given to all furniture built in the 18^th century. But this is we’re we get back to my initial question…Why do you call it “style?” Because of Chippendale’s amazing publication it is very hard to distinguish what was built in Chippendale’s workshop and what was actually built by Chippendale himself. Unless we know 100% that something is actually built by Mr. Chippendale himself or in his workshop we add “style” to signify that it is an adaptation or a copy of his work. 

Excerpts from the book with similar chair designs found at our store

Thomas Chippendale's famous book is filled with design ideas and measurements for craftsmen to duplicate his beautiful designs.

Close ups of the amazing detail that Chippendale was famous for

Excerpts from "The Gentleman and Cabinetmaker Directer"
show the instructions to make a chest of drawers similar to the
ones that you can find at Evanstonia Antiques

Thanks for reading!! 

 To show our appreciation we would like to offer our loyal customers 15% off on any Chippendale item in the store and showroom.  Visit our site at http://www.evanstoniaantiques.com/ , email (Evanstonia@sbcglobal.net), or stop by our showroom (4555 N. Ravenswood Chicago IL) any time this week with our special code GENTLEMAN! Hurry offer last until our next blog post!