Mackinnon Fine Furniture - Mirrors

MACKINNON fine furniture

Mirrors

Introduction We are delighted to present this wonderful collection of antique mirrors in our latest publication. In the following pages you will see mirrors that represent a broad range of decorative styles and techniques which epitomize the genre.

An interior is not complete without a mirror, or a looking glass, as they were referred to in the past. A look back at the grand interiors of the eighteenth century almost always reveals a mirror or series of mirrors that complement the interior decoration, reflect the light and enlarge the room, and impress the visitor. When these mirrors were first created, the vast expense of the glass signaled wealth and fashion – and the larger the better.

Our focus is on the development of mirror styles throughout the 18th century in England, starting with an early example of elaborate marquetry and culminating with gilded neoclassicism. As the techniques and methods of creating mirror glass advanced, so did the decorative creativity and style of the frames.

It is the frames that often garner the most attention from a decorative standpoint today: whether carved in wood, decorated with gilding, or japanned, the frames were always intended to enhance and show off the incredibly valuable mirrored surface within.

We hope you will enjoy taking in the incredible carving, japanning, gilding, and other decorative techniques displayed on the mirrors in this catalogue and invite you to come and see these pieces in person at our gallery.

Charlie Mackinnon Director

The History of Looking Glasses Capturing ones reflection dates back to mythology: Narcissus, upon seeing his beautiful reflection in the waters, fell in love with himself and when he realized the love would not be reciprocated, he melted away and turned into a gold and white flower.

Although the earliest mirrors were made with highly polished plates of silver or steel, glass plate has no rival when it comes to its reflective qualities. Creating glass mirror plate was traditionally made through a method of silvering, which involved adhering mercury to a sheet of glass in a complex process. This was first recorded in Venice in 1507 by the brothers Andrea and Domenego dal Gallo. For most of the 16th century, Venice was the primary centre of production for mirror plates and their wares were highly coveted across Europe.

By the early 17th century the Venetian technique was being practiced throughout Europe. In England, Sir Robert Mansell created a monopoly over the production of mirrored glass beginning in 1618. He brought to his workshop ‘many expert strangers from foreign parts beyond the seas to instruct the natives of this Kingdom in the making of looking glass plates.’ Later in the 17th century, the mirrors created by George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham at the Vauxhall Glass Works caught the attention of John Evelyn, who recorded in his diary on 19 September 1676 that he had seen ‘looking-glasses far larger and better than any that come from Venice.’

The earliest mirrors were often diminutive in size and able to fit on a dressing table, but as the ability to create larger plates advanced, so too did the size and scale of mirrors that appeared in noble interiors. In the late 17th century, the Duchess of Portsmouth had a room in her Vauxhall home lined entirely in looking glass. On his visit to this fantastical room, the Moorish Ambassador ‘much wondered at the room of glass where he saw himself in a hundred places.’

Detail of a Queen Anne period gilt gesso sconce. Mackinnon Fine Furniture Archive.

The Frames Given the high cost of production of mirror plates, the desire to show off and emphasise these plates within exquisite and impressive frames became an important business for the best craftsmen. Initially frames in walnut and other timbers were the most popular frames in late 17th century England, which were often moulded in form or elaborately carved. For the very best mirrors, more exotic and expensive materials were also used, including silver, giltwood, lacquer or japanning, needlework, and tortoiseshell.

The designs for mirrors became more varied and more elaborate in the first decades of the 18th century. By this time it became traditional to place a large mirror above a fireplace, known as an overmantel. Pier glasses, vertical panes of glass hung between windows, were highly prized for their decorative qualities and, when accompanied by the suitable placement of candelabra in front of them, for their ability to reflect the light and make the rooms look larger and brighter.

View of the Croome Court Tapestry Room featuring a giltwood pier mirror by Robert Adam. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A William & Mary Marquetry Mirror In the manner of Gerrit Jensen England, circa 1680 An exceptional large scale William and Mary walnut and fruitwood marquetry wall mirror with elaborate shaped cresting in the manner of Gerrit Jensen. The rectangular mirror plate within a cushion-moulded border elaborately inlaid with trailing flowerheads, foliage, and scrolling arabesques, with bone-inlaid floral details.

Provenance With Asprey & Co., London, November 1977 An Important Private Collection, Switzerland Literature Apollo, November 1977 Height: 64½ in (164 cm) Width: 41 in (104 cm)

The mirror can also be displayed without its cresting as shown above.

A related mirror, circa 1675, with similar floral marquetry and of virtually identical dimensions formed part of the collection of the 1st Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale, at Ham House, Surrey. The Ham House mirror has recently been attributed to Gerrit Jensen (d. 1715), who was Dutch by birth but established his workshop in London’s St. Martin’s Lane as a ‘Cabbinet maker and Glasse seller’ for notable patrons. In addition to the mirror at Ham House, Jensen is thought to have supplied several other marquetry pieces with similar floral decoration, including three tables and a cabinet (pictured opposite).

Jensen was one of the principal cabinet makers for the Royal family and supplied a number of pieces for both William and Mary and Queen Anne. The accounts of the Royal Household indicate that his mirrors were the most expensive pieces he supplied, including a set of four mirrors for the ‘Painted Gardain Roome’ at Hampton Court for £320. He supplied a magnificent marquetry mirror of similar form and decoration to the present mirror that remains in the Royal Collection, which may correspond to a record in the accounts for ‘att Windsor Castle Queenes Side/In ye Gallery/For a Table, Stands a glasse Inlayd in wallnuttree the glasse 39 inches £40.’

Jensen’s output reflects the influence of both his Dutch heritage and the French styles of his contemporaries Pierre Golle, a master of marquetry, and Daniel Marot. Gervase Jackson-Stops writes that Jensen’s marquetry work ‘is of such high quality that it deserves, like that of Thomas Chippendale, to stand for the work of a whole generation of English cabinet makers.’

Select Bibliography R. Baarsen, ‘Seventeenth-Century European Cabinet-Making at Ham House,’ in C. Rowell, ed., Ham House: 400 Years of Collecting and Patronage, Yale, 2013, pp. 194-203.

I. C. Goodison, ‘The Furniture of Hampton Court and Other Royal Palaces,’ Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol. 74, No. 3811 (December 4 1925, pp. 50-65.

G. Beard and C. Gilbert, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers: 1660-1840, 1986, pp. 486-7.

R. W Symonds, ‘Gerrit Jensen, Cabinet Maker to the Royal Household,’ Connoisseur, (1935) vol. 95, pp. 272-73.

Marquetry cabinet at Ham House attributed to Gerrit Jensen.

A George I Green Japanned Dressing Mirror England, circa 1720 A very rare George I green japanned dressing mirror of grand proportions. The adjustable arched bevelled mirror plate supported by turned finial mounted pilasters, above a bombĂŠ base section with a fall front opening to reveal a suede writing-surface and a variety of drawers and pigeon-holes, above a curved deep drawer fitted with open compartments. Standing on small stylised cushion feet. Extremely finely decorated throughout with wonderful gilt chinoiseries on a dark green ground.

Provenance Previously with Partridge Fine Arts, New Bond St., London Height: 35 in (89 cm) Width: 19 in (48.5 cm) Depth: 12Âź in (31 cm)

A George I Giltwood Pier Mirror England, circa 1725

An exceptional and particularly rare George I gilt gesso pier mirror of impressive tall proportions. The bevelled mirror plates within a frame crested by a broken swan neck pediment and central cartouche with acanthus decoration above a carved lambrequin, with eagle heads to the sides, the mirror plate immediately framed with a stylised Greek key pattern.

The carving and composition of the decorative detailing of the finest quality.

Height: 76½ in (194 cm) Width: 30Ÿ in (77 cm)

A George II Green Japanned Pier Mirror Attributed to Giles Grendey England, circa 1730 An exceptionally rare large George II green japanned pier mirror attributed to Giles Grendey.

The bevelled mirror plates in two parts surrounded by a magnificently decorated shaped frame profusely decorated throughout with golden chinoiseries on a deep green japanned ground, the top cresting depicting a figural scene with men on horseback.

The chinoiserie decoration of outstanding quality.

Height: 60 in (153 cm) Width: 25 in (64 cm)

In July 1596, Elizabeth I invited the emperor of China to establish trade with England. The establishment of the East India Company a few short years later in 1599 helped to formally open trade routes with the East and introduced the European courts to the wonders of Chinese art and design.

One of the most highly prized exports from the East was lacquerware. In the form of screens, chests, and cabinets, lacquer was coveted for its brilliant lustrous surfaces and exotic decoration.

Lacquer began to appear in the finest English country estates in the early 17th century. In the inventory of Hatfield House in 1611, there is mention of ‘One China table of black gilded and painted’ as well as ‘1 high chaire… the frame guilt China worke.’ By the end of the 17th century, records indicate that a total of approximately 3,500 lacquered pieces per year were brought to England, including cabinets, chairs, mirror frames, tea tables, powder boxes.

The novelty and expense of this type of work sparked a desire to recreate these works in Europe.

Ultimately, the Europeans were searching in vain for the recipe to make lacquer as the specific resin required, sap from Rhus vernicifera, a tree found across China but not in Europe, was not available. Instead, the Europeans developed a technique to layer a series of paints and varnishes onto a surface, which created a similar appearance to lacquer when applied in a certain way.

The English referred to their imitations of Asian lacquer as Japan work. John Stalker and George Parker’s 1688 publication, A Treatise on Japanning and Varnishing, was one of the most influential treatises on japanned furniture and decoration in England.

Early examples of japanned work can be seen at Ham House, with a 1683 inventory recording a pair of ‘black stoles.’ Some of the greatest cabinetmakers of the time were known to deal in japanned furniture. James Moore, royal cabinetmaker to George I, is recorded in 1700-01 as supplying furniture to Anne, Duchess of Buccleuch including ‘a Buro made of Japan & Locks… 2 flowerd Japan Cabinetts & frames with Locks & Hinges.’

The most celebrated cabinetmaker associated with this japanned furniture is Giles Grendey, Grendey’s most famous commission is the celebrated Lazcano Palace suite, consisting of at least seventy seven pieces of scarlet japanned furniture including chairs, bureaus, tables, candle stands, and daybeds. This mirror, with its exceptional surface quality and chinoiserie decoration, bears resemblance to the japanned pieces from Grendey’s workshop.

Romeyn de Hooghe (1682-1733), ‘Lacquerwork in China’ from Les Indes Orientales et Occidentales et autres lieux. Rijksmuseum.

A George II Walnut and Parcel Gilt Pier Mirror England, circa 1735

A magnificent and very rare George II parcel gilt and burr walnut architectural pier mirror.

The rectangular bevelled plate within a moulded burr walnut frame, the inner edge decorated with gilt gesso strap work decoration, the gilded cornice with broken pediment, cartouche, and egg and dart moulding, the sides with gilded highlights. An unusual tall form, with wonderful burr walnut walnut veneers of exceptional colour and detailing, and a lovely moulded shaped lower edge.

Height: 64½ in (164 cm) Width: 28ž in (73 cm) Provenance Mallett & Son (Antiques) Ltd.

The architect James Gibbs (1682-1754) designed a ‘sconce’ pattern in the 1720s that relates closely to the present mirror’s husk-festooned tablet frame with its moulded cornice surmounted by a serpentine and flowered pediment. Gibbs was one of the most influential architects in 18th century Britain who was known for his designs that reflected both the English Baroque style and Palladian taste. Some of his most notable commissions that can be seen today are St Martin-in-the-Fields, the Radcliffe Camera at Oxford University, and Senate House at Cambridge University.

In addition to his architectural achievements, Gibbs published A Book of Architecture, containing designs of buildings and ornaments in 1728, which included 380 designs for buildings and for ornament. According to John Summerson, his designs became ‘probably the most widely-used architecture book of the century, not only throughout Britain, but in the American colonies and the West Indies.’ This mirror reflects the classical architectural principles espoused by Gibbs.

One of Gibbs’ only surviving interior schemes is now installed at the Victoria & Albert Museum. The Drawing Room of No. 11 Henrietta Street was designed by Gibbs and features an overmantel with a broken pediment centred with the arms of the Allen family, who occupied the residence in the second half of the eighteenth century.

The present mirror also relates to a pair of mirrors featuring a similar serpentine apron that display the Orlebar family coat-of-arms on a scrolled cartouche. The Orlebar mirrors were part of the furnishing at Hinwick House, Northamptonshire and later formed part of the collection put together by Percival Griffiths at Sandrigebury, St. Albans.

11 Henrietta Street Drawing Room designed by James Gibbs. Victoria & Albert Museum.

A George II Painted Mirror In the manner of John Vardy England, circa 1750 An outstanding and highly important George II carved and painted mirror in the manner of John Vardy, the architect, and his brother Thomas Vardy, the carver. The exceptional frame flanked by female terms emanating from scrolling palms above fantastical bearded masks, the top surmounted by a wonderful mask surrounded by scrolling foliage and C-scrolls, the base of the frame with a waterfall pouring from a grotto, the whole further carved with flowers and foliage.

Height: 64½ in (164 cm) Width: 39½ in (100 cm)

This rare and fantastical mirror reflects the emergence of the rococo style in England, which developed in the wake of the Palladian revival earlier in the century.

The Palladian movement was characterized by the work of William Kent, a renowned English architect who looked to antiquity for inspiration. The architect and designer John Vardy began working for the Royal Office of Works in 1736 where he served under Kent. Vardy published a book of Kent’s designs in 1744 entitled Some Designs of Mr. Inigo Jones and Mr. William Kent.

This publication included designs that epitomized the Palladian style with architectural renderings and designs for furniture. The satyr mask cresting on this mirror relates closely to a drawing from the publication for a table that Kent designed for Houghton Hall. A 1743 publication by Isaac Ware, another Palladian architect, entitled Designs of Inigo Jones and Others, features a design that is very similar to the female terms that flank either side of the mirror (plate 51, pictured opposite).

Vardy achieved acclaim in his own right as an architect and designer, and one of his most notable projects was Spencer House in St. James’s, London. John, 1st Earl Spencer commissioned Vardy to design the facades for the house as well as the interiors and some of the furniture. The most celebrated room is the Palm Room which serves as the architectural climax to the ground floor suite of rooms. The palm trees reflected the contemporary interest in classical architecture and the connection to nature. The palm motif appears prominently in this mirror with the palm fronds climbing up either side of the frame.

While Vardy’s designs incorporated Palladian principles, he was also innovative in introducing rococo themes into his design. The rococo movement developed in England largely due to the rise of the St Martin’s Lane Academy, which formed in 1735 under the direction of William Hogarth. This circle of artists and designers promoted the rococo for its association with the natural world.

This mirror reflects the burgeoning rococo fashion with the cascading waterfall from a grotto at the base of the mirror along with the dramatic C-scrolls and floral garlands found throughout.

The two magnificent bearded masks on either side of the mirror also reflect rococo designs with their playful expressions and facial hair that morphs into wings.

While the design can be attributed to John Vardy, it is likely that his brother, Thomas Vardy, was responsible for the carving. Thomas Vardy worked alongside his brother John at Spencer House and maintained a workshop on Park Street, Grosvenor Square.

Isaac Ware, Designs of Inigo Jones and Others, plate 51.

A George III Giltwood Girandole Attributed to Thomas Chippendale England, circa 1760 An exceptional George III giltwood girandole attributed to Thomas Chippendale. The cresting with a ho-ho bird featuring outstretched wings standing on a scrolled acanthus support, the asymmetrical frame composed of conjoined C-scrolls, acanthus leaves, flowering branches and a rockwork bottom with flowerheads, the pierced apron composed of conjoined ruffle-carved Cscrolls, the ancient overgrown pilasters, the whole retaining most of the original gilding.

Comparative Literature For related designs see Thomas Chippendale, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director, 1762, 3rd ed., pl. CLXXVIII. Height: 53 in (134.5 cm) Width: 25 in (63.5 cm)

This elaborately carved giltwood girandole relates closely to the designs of Thomas Chippendale and his contemporary Thomas Johnson. Chippendale designed and supplied a pair of girandoles in 1759 to the Earl of Dumfries for the Dining Room of Dumfries House, which were designed to embellish the chimneypiece and flank the overmantel portrait of the 5th Earl of Dumfries by Thomas Hudson. This design is published on plate CLXXVIII of the The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director of 1762 with slight modifications to the cresting. The mirrors incorporate both rococo and chinoiserie themes with the fantastic ho-ho birds on the cresting.

Chippendale supplied a similar pair of girandoles to Woodcote Park, Surrey which feature the asymmetrical silhouette and ho-ho bird perched on the cresting.

Chippendale is known to have supplied a number of girandoles to prominent patrons, including documented examples to Mersham-le-Hatch for Sir Edward Knatchbull, Nostell Priory for Sir Rowland Winn, and Harewood House for Edwin Lascelles.

Selected Bibliography C. Gilbert, ‘Thomas Chippendale at Dumfries House,’ The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 111, No. 800, European Furniture (Nov. 1969), pp. 663-677.

E. J. Hikpiss, ‘The Chippendale Room Completed,’ Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts, Vol. 32, No. 194 (Dec. 1934), pp. 84-90.

Thomas Chippendale, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director, 1762, pl, CLXXVIII.

A George III Chinoiserie Mirror In the manner of Thomas Johnson England, circa 1760 An exceptional George III Chippendale period giltwood mirror of the finest quality in the manner of Thomas Johnson. Carved throughout in outstanding detail with chinoiserie decoration. The cresting with a carved pagoda mounted with bells housing an elaborate fountain, the frame mounted with fantastic intertwined foliate branches further decorated with acanthus leaves, C-scrolls, cabochons and icicles. With a bevelled mirror plate.

Height: 55Âź in (140 cm) Width: 27Âź in (69 cm)

Thomas Johnson (1723-1778) was one of the most skilled carvers and furniture designers in Georgian England. He was a champion of both the rococo movement and chinoiserie taste, and his elaborate designs often wove the two styles together.

Johnson was born in 1723 as one of twelve children to a London builder and developer, Joel Johnson. At 13, he began working as an apprentice to his cousin, Robert Johnson, who was a carver and gilder in Frith Street, Soho. Once he finished his apprenticeship he joined the workshop of the carver and gilder James Whittle, which is where Johnson first met Matthias Lock. Johnson refers to Lock as ‘the famous Matthias Lock, a most excellent Carver, and reputed to be the best Ornament draughts-man in Europe.’

In addition to its relation to Johnson’s designs, this mirror also reflects the influence of Lock.

Lock published many sketches and pattern books, including A New Book of Ornaments for Looking Glasses in 1752, which features a design for a mirror with similarly intertwined branches climbing up each side of the mirror frame and pagoda cresting with hanging bells.

Johnson first produced his designs in 1755 in a publication entitled Twelve Gerandoles. He followed up with a more ambitious set of designs published monthly in 1756 and 1757 entitled A New Book of Ornaments that were fashioned ‘in the Chinese, Gothick, and Rural Taste.’

In addition to his work with Whittle, Johnson also provided a great number of designs to the carver Thomas Vialls of Great Newport Street, who had prestigious patrons including the Earls of Radnor at Longford Castle, William Constable of Burton Constable, and the 3rd Duke of Dorset.

Johnson was widely admired by his contemporaries. In Mortimer’s Universal Director on 1763, Johnson was described as a ‘Carver, Teacher of Drawing and Modelling and Author of a Book of Designs for Chimney-pieces and other ornaments and of several other pieces.’

Selected Bibliography J. Simon, ‘Thomas Johnson’s “The Life of the Author,”’ Furniture History, Vol. 39 (2003), pp. 164.

H. Hayward, ‘Newly-Discovered Designs by Thomas Johnson,’ Furniture History, Vol. 11 (1975), pp. 40-42.

J. Parker, ‘Rococo and Formal Order in English Furniture,’ The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol. 15, No. 5 (Jan. 1957), pp. 129-40.

D. Jacobson, Chinoiserie, London, 1993.

Thomas Johnson, Designs for Mirrors in A New Book of Ornament.

A Pair of Venetian Rococo Mirrors Italy, circa 1770 A very fine pair of 18th century Venetian late rococo carved giltwood mirrors. The frames carved overall with scrolls and military trophies, the aprons with inset glass candlearms.

Height: 54½ in (138 cm) Width: 34 in (86 cm)

A George III Giltwood Mirror Attributed to John Linnell England, circa 1770 A very fine carved giltwood oval mirror attributed to John Linnell. The mirror plate surrounded by profusely carved scrolling acanthus leaves and extended C-scrolls, surmounted by a wonderful carved acanthus leaf cresting.

Provenance Kentshire Galleries, Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair 2004 Height: 51Ÿ in (130 cm) Width: 30ž in (78 cm)

John Linnell’s life as an artist began when his father William Linnell (1703-1763) sent him to study at St Martin’s Lane Academy, which was founded by William Hogarth in 1735. At the academy, Linnell would have been exposed to proponents of the rococo and French styles, which later influenced his designs of interiors and furniture.

Linnell also received practical training, though never a formal apprenticeship, at his father’s furniture workshop, which his father had established in 1730. By 1749, Linnell was helping his father run the family firm. Linnell and his father moved the business to the West End in 1754, which marked a transitional moment for the firm. With the new and larger workshop at 28 Berkeley Square, the duo worked for high profile clients and offered their services as carvers, furniture makers, and upholsterers. Linnell took over the business when his father died in 1763.

The Victoria & Albert Museum hold many of the original drawings produced by Linnell and his draughtsmen for their clients. These drawings, often done in pen and ink and colour wash, represent drawings that Linnell would have shown to his clients as an attractive presentation. Of these drawings, Linnell’s preference for the rococo is apparent, and his use of chinoiserie and Gothic (known at the time as ‘Gothick’) are also visible in his designs. Linnell’s designs reflect his particular affinity for the French taste, notably the French neo-classical taste, especially in some of his later work.

Linnell worked with many influential tastemakers in the eighteenth century, including Nathaniel Curzon at Keddleston, Robert Child at Osterley Park, and the Earl of Northumberland at Syon Park and Alnwick Castle.

Selected Bibliography H. Hayward & P. Kirkham, William and John Linnell, 1980, vol. II. H. Hayward, ‘The Drawings of John Linnell in the Victoria & Albert Museum,’ Furniture History, 1969.

P. Kirkham, ‘The Careers of William and John Linnell,’ Furniture History, Vol. 3 (1967), pp. 2944.

John Linnell, Design for a Sofa & Mirror. Victoria & Albert Museum (E118-1929).

A George III Giltwood Mirror In the manner of Thomas Chippendale England, circa 1840 A superb rococo giltwood oval mirror designed in the manner of Thomas Chippendale. The oval medallion gadrooned frame carved with scrolling acanthus leaves and surmounted by a shell cresting.

Height: 54 in (137 cm) Width: 34Âź in (87 cm)

The nineteenth century saw a revival in interest in the styles of the previous century, particularly in the timeless designs of Thomas Chippendale and his contemporaries.

Chippendale’s Director continued to be a valuable source of inspiration for cabinetmakers. This frame features classic elements of Chippendale’s oeuvre, including the scrolling acanthus leaves and bold shell on the cresting.

This mirror relates to a manuscript design for an oval mirror frame in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Thomas Chippendale Albums. Chippendale supplied a similar pier frame to Edwin Lascelles at Harewood House for one of the ‘lodging rooms.’ Both the Harewood House mirror and the present example feature the gadrooned border around the oval medallion frame and intertwined cresting.

Thomas Chippendale, Design for an Oval Mirror. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A Pair of Queen Anne Style Gilt Gesso Sconces England, modern A pair of large Queen Anne style gilt gesso wall sconces. Each with a shaped bevelled mirror plate and a single elegant brass candle arm, the hand carved and gilded frame full of detailed attention and finished to the highest standard.

Height: 32 in (81 cm) Width: 15 in (38 cm)

Selected Bibliography A. Bowett, Early Georgian Furniture: 1715-1740, Woodbridge, 2009.

C. Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale, 1978, 2 vols.

C. Gilbert, ‘Thomas Chippendale at Dumfries House,’ The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 111, No. 800, European Furniture (Nov. 1969), pp. 663-77.

D. Jacobson, Chinoiserie, London, 1993.

E. J. Hikpiss, ‘The Chippendale Room Completed,’ Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts, Vol. 32, No. 194 (Dec. 1934), pp. 84-90.

F. Lewis Hinckley, Queen Anne and Georgian Looking Glasses, Old English and Early American, 1987.

G. Child, World Mirrors 1650-1900, London, 1990.

G. Wills, English Looking-Glasses, London, 1965.

H. Hayward, Thomas Johnson and the English Rococo, London, 1964.

H. Hayward, ‘Newly-Discovered Designs by Thomas Johnson,’ Furniture History, Vol. 11 (1975), pp. 40-42.

H. Hayward, ‘The Drawings of John Linnell in the Victoria & Albert Museum,’ Furniture History, 1969.

H. Hayward & P. Kirkham, William and John Linnell, 1980, vol. II. J. Simon, ‘Thomas Johnson’s “The Life of the Author,”’ Furniture History, Vol. 39 (2003), pp. 164.

J. Parker, ‘Rococo and Formal Order in English Furniture,’ The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol. 15, No. 5 (Jan. 1957), pp. 129-40.

P. Kirkham, ‘The Careers of William and John Linnell,’ Furniture History, Vol. 3 (1967), pp. 2944.

P. Macquoid & R. Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture, 3 vols., London, 1954.

R. S. Clouston, ‘Eighteenth-Century Mirrors,’ The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 9, No. 37 (April 1906), pp. 39-47.

William Hogarth, Portrait of a Family with a giltwood pier mirror in the background. Yale Center for British Art.

MACKINNON FINE FURNITURE 5 Ryder Street, St James’s London SW1Y 6PY +44 (0)20 7839 5671 charlie@mackinnonfineart.com