Description
Royal House Antiques
Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this important Museum quality William Birch made and stamped, retailed through Hampton & Son’s, designed by Adolf Loos Knieschwimmer lounge armchair
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
Where to begin, this is one of the most important (and comfortable) armchairs I have ever had the pleasure of owning.
I will include a brief history of the chair below, what I know of the piece is the inside back left leg is stamped WB for William Birch, he was the original designer in the Victorian era, the chair also has the serial or order number just below the WB stamp, the chairs in England were retailed through Hampton & Son’s, the design was later slightly adapted by world famous architect Adolf Loos and named the Knieschwimmer lounge armchair
Comfort wise, for me this is an absolute 10, nothing seats like this, your entire back is totally supported and cradled, you have the perfect position for reading or watching tv and with the slightest relaxation of your head and you can nod off
Condition wise, the fabric looks to be original velour, the chair itself dates to the 1880’s and it comes with three spare buttons sewn into the hessian base, the frame has all the original patination and the castors look to be all original, this is a perfect, unmarked and unrestored example hence it is Museum quality
Dimensions
Height:- 89cm
Width:- 77cm
Depth:- 111.5cm
Seat height:- 37cm
Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point, if you would like any additional or specific measurements please ask
WILLIAM BIRCH
High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire & London; chair maker, cabinet maker and upholsterer (fl.c.1840-1954)
The firm was established in 1840 as chair makers and by 1875 employed more than 50 workers. Later in the century they pioneered the use of machinery and developed cabinet making as an accompaniment to chairs. By 1881 their products were reflecting current trends; the Cabinet Maker, June 1881, featured some of their Anglo-Japanese rush seat furniture (illus. Agius (1978), p. 82). The Cabinet Maker, June 1886, reported that the firm had one of the smartest, largest and best managed factories in the town and produced work of the highest class and with inlay. The Furniture Gazette Directory (1877 & 1886) listed the firm in High Wycombe as chair & couch manufacturer and The Furniture Gazette (1 February 1889) described the firm as chair manufacturer & upholsterer, also with an address of Marshall’s Yard, Seaton Street, Hampstead Road, London
William Birch produced furniture for Liberty in London as well as ‘Quaint’ furniture for themselves. The furniture supplied to Liberty’s was presumably commissioned by Leonard Wyburd, as head of the Liberty Furniture Studio, and included the Ethelbert and Athelstan chairs of 1901. The Ethelbert chair, no. 871, was published by Birch in 1901 and cost £2 polished; the same design had been advertised in Liberty’s Yuletide Catalogue of 1899 at £3 7s 6d. From the Liberty archive at Westminster and a collection of notes and sketches by Barbara Morris, several chairs made by William Birch are identifiable. In 1901 William Birch confirmed the role of the designer, E. J. Punnett in this: ‘We made a number of his models in wax finish, natural English Walnut for Liberty’s’. The Punnett designs sold to Liberty date from 1901 to 1904 and included two small tables (illus. Bennett (2012), p. 317). Another Punnett design, an oak armchair, with ebony inlay and rush seat and back was made by Birch in 1901. An example of a Thebes stool made by either William Birch or B. North & Sons is now at V&A
Various chairs, cabinets, a writing table and a whatnot made by Birch are illus. Agius (1978), pp. 124-5
The firm developed a considerable export trade both to Europe and the USA and had a showroom at 370 Euston Road in the early 20th century. In 1954 W. Birch & Co. was acquired by E. Gomme Ltd, another High Wycombe based furniture maker. Albert Barnes (fl. 1907-37) started his working life as a carver and inlayer at W Birch Ltd.
Sources: Aslin, 19th Century English Furniture (1962); Agius, British Furniture 1880-1915 (1978); Edwards, Victorian Furniture. Technology & Design (1993); Worden, ‘Industrial Craft and Tradition: Albert E Barnes and the High Wycombe Furniture Industry’, The Journal of the Decorative Arts Society 1850 to the Present (1993); Bland, Take a Seat. The Story of Parker Knoll 1834-1994 (1995); Bennett, Liberty’s Furniture 1875-1915. The Birth of Modern Interior Design (2012).
ADOLF LOOS
Adolf Loos developed the « Knieschwimmer » lounge chair on the model of an easy chair produced by the London firm Hampton & Sons. This example comes from the house in Prague designed by Loos for Ludimir Kapsa, the joint owner of Kapsa & Müller, for whose partner, Frantisek Müller, Adolf Loos had built the famous Villa Müller in Prague in 1928/30.
As a part of the group of free thinkers in Vienna, Loos was an opposer of the traditional Habsburgs. He designed cafes, building facades, entire public buildings, private homes, furniture and even household utensils. Loos designed pieces of furniture so that they could be placed in the architecture which he designed, fulfilling the ideaof ‘total work of art.’ He shared a similar approach in designing his furniture as he did with his interiors; his exteriors were strikingly simple while his interiors and furniture were designed for comfort and were ‘decorated’. He gave much attention to detail and always chose materials that would provide comfort. He often re-appropriated previous failed designs for his pieces of furniture, which is the case for the Knieschwimmer chair.
Until 25 February 2018, the Barcelona Design Museum (Museu del Disseny) presents an exhibition featuring the complete works of the Viennese architect Adolf Loos to include the Knieschwimmer armchair, considered to be one of the pioneers of the Modern Movement.
A central theme of the show is the aesthetic revolution that Loos (1870-1933) led in Vienna at around the turn of the twentieth century, when he rebelled against Secession to champion economy in architectural construction and design
The exhibition – focusing on the work of Loos as a designer of interiors – features more than 120 items of furniture, all either designed or selected by Loos for his interior spaces between 1899 and 1931. These pieces of furniture are complemented by documentary material, including period photographs, lithographs, drawings, texts and plans of architectural projects, as well as models, both of works that were completed and others that never came to fruition
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
