Thomas Chippendale

Baptised June 5 1718, died November 1779. One of the leading cabinetmakers of the 18th century in England.

Early Life

Thomas Chipendale was the son of a carpenter. He was born in Otley, West Yorkshire. There is no information about his early life until his marriage to Catherine Redshaw in London in 1748. In 1753 he moved to 60, 61, 62 St Martin's Lane, where he had workshops and a timber yard. In due course the Chippendales had nine children.

Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director

Thomas Chippendale first became famous when he published a book under the title Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director (1754). It was illustrated with examples of work that he had produced for his clients and was enthusiastically received. Furniture based on Chippendale’s designs was crafted in Britain, on the European continent, and in the American Colonies. Three editions were published, the first in 1754, followed by a reprint in 1755, and finally an enlarged edition in 1762.

Chippendale designs fall into three main styles: Gothic, Rococo (called modern in the pattern book), and Chinese. Chippendale blended these disparate stylistic elements into harmonious and unified designs. The term Chippendale specifically refers to English furniture of the 1750s and ’60s made in a modified Rococo style.

References

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/113138/Thomas-Chippendale

http://www.thomaschippendalefurniture.com/Home_Page.htm

Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director (1754)

http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/DLDecArts/DLDecArts-idx?id=DLDecArts.ChippGentCab