Images(7)

Library Bookcase

Datec. 1762

Attributed to Thomas Chippendale

OriginEngland, London

MediumMahogany, oak, deal, and brass

DimensionsOH: 109 1/2;" OW: 131 1/2"; OD: 22 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1964-9

DescriptionAppearance: Library bookcase in three parts: central section with broken pediment over cornice; two flanking wings with cornices only. Each section is divisible at midpoint (between bookcase and cupboard). Bookshelves of upper section with slotted, adjustable shelves enclosed by four doors with brass trelliswork (in place of glass) framed by a double row of gothic arcading: upper row with large double arch flanked by two smaller arches supported by pilasters (or muntins). Central double arch with waterfall carving at juncture of lower scrolls; upper scrolls terminate in spire with foliate clasp joined to center of top rail. Lower row of arches and pilasters as above, but lacking spires; carved pendants replace waterfall carving. Arcading with trellis backed with pleated silk panels hung between rods attached to top and base rails of door. Moulding in front base of bookshelves conceals division of halves; 5 1/2" shelf in front. Lower section with broad cupboards with adjustable shelves enclosed by fielded panel doors. Moulding above stepped plinth base.

Construction:
Central section, bookcase:
Oak top and bottom boards are dovetailed to the oak sides which have about 5" of mahogany butt-joined to the front; central, vertical, oak faced with mahogany interior divider tenoned through the top and bottom boards; oak bottom board has about 1 1/2" mahogany board butt-joined to front edge with slight rabbet along the top to catch bookcase doors when closed; oak top front rail attached to the case sides with unknown joint (rail almost entirely covered by cornice molding) acts as a stop for the doors; miter joined composite cornice molding consists of three elements each with a triangular oak base and mahogany molded face all attached to the top front rail and tops of sides for about 4" with a mitered rear edge; oak broken pitch pediment is screwed to top of bookcase and faced with possibly solid mahogany composite molding along the front of the angled sections and inside the broken section at the top, all topped with a thin c.4" wide mahogany board.

Bookcase doors hinged to case sides with three brass hinges each; doors have mortise and tenoned rails and stiles with an integral interior molding with a rabbeted rear face; construction joints of the gothic carved muntins to the rails and stiles are unknown; brass rods are captured between the integral molding of the rails and stiles and a molding applied to the rabbet on the reverse of the same; front face of applied molding grooved for vertical brass rods; rear faces of gothic muntins have grooves for thicker horizontal brass rods, and mahogany moldings screwed and nailed in place; evidence of both curtain rods and nailed on curtains on rear of bookcase doors; proper right door has brass thumb bolts mortised into the edge of the interior stile at the top and bottom; proper left door has a surface mounted lock.

Interior of bookcase divided into two sections by oak faced with c.2" mahogany vertical divider; oak ledger strips with mahogany at the front with a quarter round terminus are nailed to the interior of the case sides and to the sides of the vertical divider creating 21 slots for adjustable shelves; 8 oak shelves with rounded mahogany front edges.

Oak back assembly composed of top, bottom, and middle rails tenoned through the stiles and two pairs of vertical medial stiles tenoned through the top and bottom rails and tenoned and double-pegged to the middle rail; six two-board flat panels, rabbeted on all edges on the inner face to be flush with interior of rails and stiles, sit in dados in the edges of the rails and stiles; back assembly nailed and screwed to the rear of the case top, bottom, and sides.

Central lower case:
Oak sides with c.4" mahogany at front dovetailed to the oak top and bottom; mahogany board joined to the front and possibly top of the bottom board has a small rabbet along the front to stop the doors when closed; two vertical oak dividers with c.1.5" mahogany at the front tenoned through the case top and bottom; top rail possibly tenoned into the case sides is rabbeted along the front to receive the doors when closed; top molding comprised of a triangular oak block with a molded mahogany face attached to top rail and first c.4" of sides, miter joined at front corners and mitered at rear of edges sides; molding and front c.5" of top covered with a thin mahogany board behind which a mahogany molding to capture the upper case along the front and sides is nailed from the rear to the case top; additional boards with the grain running side to side are glued under the case bottom along the sides and under the vertical dividers.

Base molding composed of a triangular oak block faced with mahogany molding is attached around the front and first c.4" of the sides; base board of oak with stepped mahogany face below base molding on front and first c.4" of sides; an additional roughly cut oak board is attached to the sides behind the mahogany base board; vertical blocks glued inside each corner; deal rear base board (replaced?) screwed at ends to vertical blocks; base frame appears to be attached to case with giant chamfered deal glue blocks.

Oak back assembly comprised of top and bottom rails tenoned through the stiles; 2 medial stiles tenoned through the top and bottom rails; 2-3 board fielded panels with chamfers on outer faces rest in dadoes in the interior edges of the rails and stiles; back assembly is nailed to the rear edges of the top, bottom and sides.

Interior divided into three sections by the two vertical dividers; sets of three thin vertical oak boards are nailed to the interior of the sides and to the sides of the vertical dividers creating three narrow slots for thin shelves in each section; 6 extant shelves are oak faced with mahogany with a rounded edge; thin mahogany lath is nailed to the top of the bottom board along the sides and dividers to support the bottom shelf; oak boards are nailed along the tops of the interior sides and vertical dividers; thin vertical oak stop blocks are glued at the rear to the interior of the sides and vertical dividers between the shelf slots; later addition shelf slots (oak board with a groove down the middle) are screwed with old screws to the proper right and central sections above the middle shelf (central section shelf slots removed but ghost remains).

Mahogany doors have rails tenoned into the stiles each with an integral mitered molding around their interior edges; horizontally oriented fielded panels with chamfering on the outer face of the panel sit in dados in the interior edges of the rails and stiles; proper right door has top and bottom brass thumb bolts mortised into the edge of the central stile.

Side bookcases (2 bookcases with mirror image construction):
Oak top and bottom boards dovetailed to sides; outer side is all mahogany; inner side oak with c.1" block of mahogany at front edge; oak sides have thin vertical oak boards glued and nailed to the exterior at the top and bottom (integral with dovetails) and spaced in the center of the sides; the thickness of the oak side plus additional boards is equal to the c.1" mahogany block; mahogany block notched at center to receive door lock when door closed; oak top front rail attached to the front of the sides and top with chamfered deal glue blocks; a thin lath is nailed to the rear of the top rail and extends 1/4" below rail to serve as a stop for the door; bottom board faced with c.2" mahogany with a shallow rabbet c.1" from front edge to stop door when closed; thin oak boards with side to side grain glued to underside of bottom boards at ends and are integral with dovetails with case sides.

Three part composite mitered cornice molding composed of two triangular oak blocks with molded mahogany facings attached to the face of the top rail and tops of mahogany side, and a mahogany molding attached to the top of the other moldings with rectangular and chamfered glue blocks; all moldings cut at a miter on interior side of bookcase to fit with central bookcase section.

Mahogany door same construction as center section.

Backboard assembly composed of top, bottom, and middle rails tenoned through the stiles; two three-board panels rabbeted on edges of inside face to be flush with rails and stiles in dadoes in rails and stiles; backboard assembly nailed to rear edges of top, oak sides to thickness with applied boards, bottom and in a rabbet in the mahogany sides.

Interior has oak ledger strips with quarter round mahogany front ends nailed to interior of sides forming 19 shelf slots; oak shelves with mahogany rounded front edges

Side Lower cases (2 with mirror image construction):
Oak top and bottom dovetailed to sides; outer side is all mahogany; inner side is oak with a mahogany block at the front; mahogany lock cut with notch to receive door lock when closed; vertical oak boards are glued to the outside of the oak side at the top and bottom (integral with the dovetails) bringing the thickness of the side plus board equal to the mahogany block; oak front top rail attached to front of sides; attached to front rail are composite oak and mahogany mitered moldings that match the center section and extend around the mahogany side; the thin top mahogany board attached to the front of the top and top of the moldings also continues around the top at the mahogany side with the associated molding for containing the bookcase; the moldings on the inner side are cut at a miter to allow the case to fit with the central section; oak bottom board extends c.1" past front edge of sides and has thin additional oak boards glued at each end (integral with dovetails).

Mahogany door of same construction as center lower case.

Interior has oak ledger strips with quarter round front ends nailed to interior of sides; one deal shelf (replaced), one oak shelf with rounded mahogany front edge; and one half-depth deal shelf with rounded mahogany front edge are extant between the two side lower cases; thin oak interior bottom board nailed to bottom and abuts side of ledger strip.

Mitered base molding of triangular oak block and mahogany molding attached to front of bottom board and mahogany side with base board of oak faced with stepped mahogany board below; molding and base board on interior (oak side) end mitered to fit against central lower case; rear deal angled foot bracket screwed to underside of bottom and outer side base molding; vertical and 1 horizontal glue block at outer rear corner; oak side support board located c.3" in from oak side is supported by vertical glue blocks at the front and 1 rear corner and by two giant chamfered glue blocks nailed to either side and to the bottom board; additional glue blocks reinforce the base molding to the bottom board.

Oak backboard assembly of through tenoned rail and stile construction with one fielded panel set in a dado in the interior edges of the rails and stiles; back assembly nailed to rear edges of top, bottom, oak side (extending to cover edges of applied oak boards) and to a rabbet in the mahogany side.

Exterior sides of central bookcase and lower case section have mortises for locks from side bookcases and lower cases.

All components have large screw holes with angled edges for countersinking the screws that join all parts together.
Label TextThis monumental bookcase is from a set of five likely produced by cabinetmaker and designer Thomas Chippendale for Sir Rowland Winn’s London townhouse. While documentation for their production has not been found, records confirm that Chippendale supplied much of the furniture for Winn’s Yorkshire country house, Nostell Priory.

This bookcase is an amalgamation of two designs in Chippendale’s influential 1754 pattern book, THE GENTLEMAN AND CABINETMAKER'S DIRECTOR. One illustrates the pitch pediment and the break-front form, while the other shows the Gothic bookcase doors. The latter are here fitted with gilt brass wire grills instead of the more usual glass. Upholsterer Robert Barker Jr. cautioned Winn that even if backed by curtains, the brass wire doors were “more liable to let in Dust than other Glass or Pannells."

MarkingsRoman numerals are chiseled to the underside of the top front rail of the bookcase sections. Proper right bookcase section marked "XV" and smaller "IIII"; central section marked "XI" and smaller "V" on proper right and smaller "x" "+" and smaller "I" on proper left; and proper left bookcase marked "+++" and smaller "III". Each of the two markings on individual sections appears to be of a different date or system as the numerals are different sizes.
ProvenanceOriginally owned by Sir Rowland Winn of Nostell Priory (near Wakefield, Yorkshire, England) and St. James's Square, London. Much of the finest furniture at Nostell was supplied by Thomas Chippendale who was employed by Robert Adam to complete the house. The original accounts for much of this furniture are still extant. This bookcase is one a pair; its mate is still at Nostell. Two or three other examples of this form with Winn family armorial escutcheons are extant as well.
Ex. colls Sir Berkely (later Lord) Moynihan; Dr Carlton Oldfield, of Harewood; Graham Watson, Esq.

Exhibition(s)