​Journal antiques columnist and Brown & Co auctioneer Craig Bewick enjoys a small table created by Collinson and Lock – the shooting star of the late Victorian furniture industry and a firm regarded by many collectors as one of the greatest English furniture makers of all . . .

The occasional table by Collinson and Lock

Curious Facts Department: How many pieces of furniture marked with the name Chippendale have ever been found do you think? The answer is surprising: Not a single one. The same is true of many of the other great names of English furniture making and design, including Sheraton, Hepplewhite and Manwaring.

In the case of the last three, the reason is that although they all published directories of furniture design, there is no evidence that they actually manufactured pieces themselves. The 18th century Sheraton or Hepplewhite furniture that we see in the auction room today was made by other people.

Robert Manwaring is really interesting. His fame rests primarily on the first of his three books, The Cabinet and Chair Makers’ Real Friend and Companion, which was published in 1765. Some of his naturalistic designs were so complex and extraordinary – chair backs in the form of waterfalls or tree branches – that it is doubtful that anyone has ever made them!

Chippendale did have workshops and did actually make things, but he did not mark them.

It does seem strange today, when he is such a famous name, but in the 18th century he was simply regarded as a very fine craftsman. He was by no means the superstar that he has become. His death produced a small obituary in his local paper and that was it. No great interest from the national media.

Frustratingly for modern collectors, very few furniture makers marked their work. Whilst we’ve never analysed the figures, I would reckon that less than 10 per cent of the furniture that goes through the rooms at Brigg is marked; it could even be less than five per cent.

It is therefore a delight to be able to show readers a piece of furniture that is marked and, moreover, marked by one of the very best firms of the late Victorian period – the London makers Collinson and Lock.

The piece is an occasional table dating from around 1880 and it is in the aesthetic style that was then popular.

Looking at the technical detail: The table is made of stained mahogany. It has drop-leaf flaps that are held in position when in use by supports that slide out of the body of the piece.

The single drawer has a brass handle (original) and when we pull the drawer out we find that it is stamped Collinson and Lock London, with the number 6950. The figure is a design number for the piece, rather than an indicator that they sold just under seven thousand of these pieces.

I particularly like the nice fluting to the frieze, which is one of the things that give it that aesthetic style. The legs are turned and cylindrical.

As I mentioned, it was designed as an occasional table, the sort of thing that would be useful in any number of situations. It would look absolutely fine in a reception hall or in a sitting room or in a bedroom. It would even work at the side of a dinner table. Condition is good and original, rather than antique showroom. The table came from a private house in Retford, where it was in daily use. It needs little more than a good clean and polish to look as good as the day it came out of Messrs Collinson and Lock’s workshops.

I should add a word about this shooting star of a company which, as a stand-alone business, operated for just a quarter of a century but which is now generally regarded as one of the most important English furniture makers and the most exceptional maker of the late Victorian period.

The company was started in 1870 by F.G. Collinson and G.J. Lock, who met whilst working for another well-known maker of the time, Jackson and Graham. From the beginning they employed the services of some of the most talented designers of the day to produce exclusive designs for their range. The big names included T.E. Collcutt, E.W. Godwin, H.W. Batley and Stephen Webb.

They made furniture for the Law Courts in London and Collinson and Lock furniture was bought by members of the Royal Family.

In the mid-1880s the firm relocated to Oxford Street and in 1885 it took over Jackson and Graham, the firm where Collinson and Lock had been employed. However, they began to lose their way and in 1897 they were in turn taken over by Gillows.

So the history of the firm was glorious but brief. Their work is today still much admired and is to be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal Collections and many great houses.

The occasional table is hardly the most striking piece ever to leave the Collinson and Lock workshops, but it is very fine, it is named and it will always attract interest. The furniture market being what it is, at the moment the table’s value is in the £100-£150 range, which for something of this quality really is going for a song.

Furniture prices have been on a real roller coaster over the past 20 years. In the late 80s and early 90s things were making breathtaking amounts of money; if we are honest, probably more than they were worth. Ten years later the market had corrected to sensible levels but prices continued to fall.

Today antique furniture is as under-priced as it was over-priced. I suspect that not so far down the line we are going to look back at this period with disbelief. To adapt Mark Twain’s comment about land: Buy fine Georgian and Victorian furniture, they are not making it any more!