Description

A Regency mahogany side or writing table by Holland & Son, a single draw with original wooden knobs.

Size; 56 cm D x 91 W x 74 H.

Price, £ 3,500

The firm of Holland & Sons (1803–1942) became from 1843 one of the largest and most successful cabinet makers, and a rival to Gillows of Lancaster and London.

Established in 1803 by Stephen Taprell and William Holland, a relation of the architect Henry Holland. Always on the leading edge of fashion, Holland & Sons employed some of England’s foremost designers and participated in all of the International Exhibitions of 1851, 1855, 1862, 1867, 1872 and 1878. Holland and Sons also participated in many of the leading international exhibitions including London in 1862, Vienna in 1873 and Paris in 1867 and 1872.

After a brief period in which the company was known as Taprell, Holland & Son c.1835-43, William Holland gained sole command after the senior partner Taprell’s retirement. From 1843 onwards they were known as Holland and Sons. The relationship between builder and cabinet maker is similar to another leading Victorian firm, Trollope and Sons.

Their earliest known commission was to furnish the Athenaeum club in London, 1824- 1838. They also worked alongside the prestigious firm of Thomas Dowbiggin at Osborne house, and eventually took over their premises and business at 23 Mount Street London in 1851 and 1853 respectively. In 1851, when the company was based in Mount Street and employed 351 people, they won a prize at the Great Exhibition for a bookcase.