ORIGINAL ANTIQUE ROBERT DAWS ROSEWOOD BROWN LEATHER RECLINING LIBRARY ARMCHAIR

Description

 

Royal House Antiques

Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this absolutely stunning 100% period correct, fully stamped Robert Daws, William IV circa 1830 Rosewood reclining library reading armchair with built in footrest and super rare reading slope

Please note the delivery fee listed is just a guide, it covers within the M25 only for the UK and local Europe only for international, if you would like an accurate quote, please send me your postcode and I’ll provide you with the exact price.

This chair is a wonder to behold, the reclining action is operated by two buttons one under each arm, you simply squeeze the arms and then slide back to one of the many different position settings, its all very well made. The inside back left leg is stamped as you can see R Daws under the Crown with GR either side which means they were given their Royal Warrant under the Throne of King George III

The frame is all hand carved from solid English Mahogany, the front legs have been faux painted in Rosewood which was super fashionable in the day, it showed you were ahead of all the current trends, The oversized brass castors are period and original to the chair as is the brass articulated mahogany reading slope, these are almost always broken and lost through time so to find a complete, functioning original is simply amazing

As you can see the foot rest sits perfectly inside the frame, it slides out easily and has a height adjustment so you can have it flat or rested on the seat

The chair has been fully restored to include being hand dyed this lovely deep cigar brown colour, the hide has natural imperfections and marks from honest use and fair ware, the frame has been lightly French polished being sure to keep all the original patina 

Dimensions

Height:- 101.5cm

Width:- 67.5cm

Depth:- 89cm reclined depth with footstool 139.5cm

Seat height:- 43.5cm

In 1827, Robert Daws was one of the first to patent a reclining mechanism for a chair. Three years before his competitor George Minter, his application was approved for, “Certain Improvements on Chairs or Machines Calculated to Encrease Ease and Comfort” (Patent Office 1827). 

The picture above shows the mechanism that was included within the patent for an ingenious spring loaded, ratchet system operated from underneath the armrest. This system appears on this piece and is in superb working order. Daw’s chair were numerous in decorative design but are of the quality to have featured in Christopher Gilbert’s renowned publication, “The Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840”. J.C Loudon, the famous domestic style commentator and designer also gave mention of the chair within his hugely popular, “Encyclopaedia of Cottage, Farm and Villa Architecture & Furniture” of 1833 which saw numerous reprints throughout the following decades. 

Loudon writes, “Figure 1913 is a view of Dawe’s reclining chair for an invalid the position of the back of this chair can be varied at pleasure, and the projecting part in front can be elongated, or adjusted to any slope. When it is not wanted to be used as a reclining chair, the back can be fixed upright and the front projection slid in, so as to produce the appearance of a common easy chair.” (1833, Loudon) It must be remembered that the term invalid was also regularly equated with sufferers of gout during this period. 

This example remains in the same working order as it would have been when it appeared in Loudon’s publication. The chair, although manufactured in the 1830’s, bears the patent stamps to the back legs for 1827 

The original instructions for using this chair are as follows

“Manner of using R. Daws’s Patent Recumbent Easy Chair. A person while sitting in the chair may fix the back to any inclination by raising the spring beneath that part of the arm where the hand rests, and while holding up both springs, press or draw the arms backward or forward to the desired situation and having loose the spring both at the same time, the back of the chair will be found perfectly safe to recline against. The back may also be raised from behind without touching the springs, or by a person at each side, the dress having been first removed out of the way of the motion of the elbows.” 

Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point, if you would like any additional or specific measurements please ask.

Any questions please feel free to ask before you bid.    

 

ABOUT US

Royal House Antiques is a privately owned family ran business founded in Wimbledon SW19 and now based in Pulborough RH20. We specialise in finding, restoring very fine luxury antique leather seating, along with every single other type of antique ranging from the 16th century to the 20th century. We also stock a number of designer brands such as Fritz Hansen, Ralph Lauren, Cavalli, Charles & Ray Eames, Vitra, David Linley, Rolex, Tiffany, Jager Le Coulter and so on     

 

PAYMENTS

We accept payment via Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash, Ethereum, Bacs, Chaps, PayPal or Card, we would kindly ask that all items are paid for within 48 hours and collected within 7 working days, we can hold all paid items for 14 days free of charge, there after a £20 a week storage fee will apply. We have long term storage which is very economically priced, we are happy to hold stock for as long as needed providing it is arranged prior to the purchase 

If sold items aren’t collected within three months and no arrangements have been made for long term storage you will forfeit the item and payment

 

CONDITION

Please view the very detailed pictures as they form part of the description pertaining to the condition. Please also ask any questions before you bid and not after, all of our items are sold as seen and as listed

Royal House Antiques cannot be held liable for any independent assumptions made regarding the items we sell, if you are unsure on any point, please feel free to ask for clarity  

Please note vintage period and original items such as leather seating will always have natural patina in the form of creasing and wear, we recommend annual waxing to ensure no moisture is lost, also hand dyed leather is not recommended to sit in direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time as it will dry out and fade   

 

DELIVERY OR COLLECTION

This item is available for collection from our Pulborough warehouses RH20-1DF by appointment only, alternatively we can have it delivered nationwide to include Scotland, Wales and Ireland for a fee

Please contact me via email, alternatively my contact information is under the business seller section of the listing, with your postcode for a delivery quotation, as mentioned above the fee listed covers with the M25 for the UK, for international deliveries the amount listed covers local Europe only so parts of Belgium and France

Please be sure to include which item you would like to buy as the price is determined on size and distance, if you would like more than one piece of furniture the courier offers a substantial discount on the second and third item, for international shipping please view the below information   

  

COURIER, LARGE ITEMS ONLY THAT CAN’T BE POSTED

We can arrange delivery nationwide, mostly with our nominated couriers, for Europe we use one reasonably priced professional company that we trust, for the rest of the world we use international shippers that can send any size item crated via air freight within 7-14 days after crating or soft packed and container shipped via sea freight within 30-60 days. The time frames outlined are guides only, non-domestic shipping is almost entirely governed by the airlines, sea freight loading times and custom clearances

Whomever delivers will always require help on the larger items to unload, the price you will be quoted will always be based on this assumption, if this is not possible, please let us know as it will affect the price to send a two-person team

Delivery is to the ground floor only, again if you need help upstairs or in flats etc that’s absolutely not a problem, the couriers charge £10-£20 per flight per man per item, if you have a working elevator then naturally there’s no additional fee

All courier fees are paid by yourself directly to the courier company, the contract for delivery is between yourselves the client and whichever courier you chose from those available I’m happy to accommodate your own courier after a cleared payment has been received, they need to book in a collection time with at least 24 hours notice, all collections must be made within 14 working days of the close of the sale unless agreed by prior arrangement  

 

IMPORT DUTY

Most countries charge some kind of import duty however almost all of our items won’t incur any charges as the items are exempt from tax due to the age and materials used

For European deliveries the price you will be quoted will include all clearance documentation and any customs charges so there won’t be any additional fees

For international deliveries such as the United States there can be some import duty to pay and or a clearance fee, I would estimate that 99% of all deliveries clear customs without being stopped for either

All duties are the responsibility of the purchaser who is the importer, they can’t be covered by the seller or shipping agent or factored in with additional retrospective discounts

 

RETURNS

Royal House Antiques offers a no quibble return policy if the item is not as described, if there are any issues with the piece you will be refunded in full once the item has been returned and inspected within 14 days, alternatively if there is a small issue, we can discuss finding a mutual resolution that makes all parties happy

We don’t offer a sale on approval service which means you can purchase the item, have it delivered and if you simply don’t like it, return it, this comes under change of mind or doesn’t fit. There is a lot of time, money and work involved in transporting goods around the world, the costs incurred can be vast so my advice would be if you are unsure on a piece please ask as many questions as you like to make sure you understand everything before you buy, if you are still unsure then please either arrange a viewing in person or if that’s not possible then don’t buy from an online retailer, perhaps look for a local gallery instead