EARLY 19TH CENTURY, THE DESIGN BY GILLOWS

Gillows patented their Imperial dining-table in 1804 in which a variable number of loose leaves were fitted between fixed end leaves and initially with as many as ten or twelve legs to support the central leaves. Within a few years the design largely superseded most earlier ones and it remained popular such that another drawing of an improved version of the table by Ferguson & Co, successor to the Gillow family business, is dated as late as 1849 (see Susan E. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London 1730-1840, Woodbridge, 2008, vol.I, pp. 243-246).

The pattern was widely adopted by other manufacturers including Thomas Butler, cabinet-maker of Catherine Street, London. In the early 19th century he became known for manufacturing a variety of patent furniture including dining-tables with detachable legs 'particularly adapted and for travelling and exportation'. Related tables, some bearing Butler's engraved brass plaque, are illustrated in C.Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, Leeds, 1996, pp. 128 - 130, pl. 173 - 178).