60/2005

Furniture

Walnut-veneered writing cabinet bearing the trade label of John Guilbaud, retailed in London, c.1695-1700.

Guilbaud Cabinet

cabinet on chest of drawers

60/2005

John Guilbaud (retailer)

1693-1712 (manufactured)

Covent Garden (retailed)

Stuart (1603-1714)

oak
deal
burr walnut
metal
baize
softwood
paper
ink

veneered
joined
moulded
turned
nailed
glued
screwed
printed

A walnut veneered scriptor or writing cabinet, comprising a fall-front writing desk supported on a chest with four drawers. The upper case has a moulded cornice and pulvinated [cushion] frieze over a fall front, enclosing an arrangement of pigeon holes and drawers about a central cupboard, the lower case with a two-stage waist moulding over two short and two long drawers, on ball feet. There is a significant lateral crack in the fall front.

The writing desk is made from walnut veneers (Juglans spp.), oak (Quercus spp.), and white deal (probably spruce, Picea abies). The upper case has a carcase of through-dovetailed deal boards onto which the walnut veneers are glued. The backboards are of white deal, set vertically and nailed to the bottom board and into the rebates on the sides and top. The cornice and frieze mouldings are of composite construction, with lengths of softwood onto which sections of cross-grain walnut are glued then planed to section. The interior is braced by horizontal rails and divided by vertical dividers, all of softwood. The uppermost rail supporting the frieze drawer is housed in grooves ploughed in the carcase sides. The drawer runs on battens housed in the carcase sides. The three components of the rail and runners create a hollow square which could act as a shallow secret compartment beneath the frieze drawer, accessible only when the drawer is removed. The frieze drawer itself has a deal front, an oak bottom and sides and a walnut back. All the joints are through-dovetailed; the bottom is rebated into all four sides giving a flush bottom.

The rails for the drawers and other fittings below are independent of the main carcase, the rails or dustboards being housed in horizontal battens glued to the carcase sides, and the dividers being housed into the rails or dustboards. All the rails and dividers are faced with half-round walnut mouldings laid in cross-grain sections and mitred at the joints between the horizontals and uprights. The pigeon holes immediately under the frieze are made in three groups of three. Each is of oak, of through-dovetailed construction. Hidden behind each group is a drawer which can be withdrawn by means of a green cloth tag pierced through the drawer front and the ends glued to the inside front of the drawer. This drawer is of oak, of through-dovetailed construction.

All the interior drawers are veneered with walnut. The fronts are of deal, with a slip of oak disguising the upper edge; the drawer sides and backs are of oak, and all are through dovetailed; the drawer bottoms are of oak, rebated into the sides, back and front to make a flush bottom. The central cupboard is veneered on both sides with walnut onto an oak substrate. In the thickness of the door is a slim oak box which can be accessed by withdrawing a beechwood slide in the bottom edge of the door. Inside the cupboard are three small drawers constructed in similar fashion to the others. All the drawer stops are made of pieces of deal glued to the back of the carcase. The bottom right drawer is fitted for writing, with its original oak pounce pot with perforated walnut lid.

The fall appears to be of panelled construction, possibly having two horizontal oak boards in the centre in a wide mitred frame. The inner face of the fall has a hinged book rest lined with modern green baize. This is hinged and can be adjusted for angle by a ratcheted easel-type support. The book rest is of white deal and cleated construction. The additional thickness required to house the bookrest when shut is apparently created by a facing of white deal about 6 mm thick, which is veneered with walnut. However, all visible edges of the fall are oak.

The lower case is made of through-dovetailed white deal boards. The vertically-boarded back is nailed into rebates in the top and sides, and into the full edge of the carcase bottom. The dustboards are housed in grooves ploughed in the carcase sides, and are of uniform thickness from front to back; they stop short of the back of the carcase. The two short drawers are made in the same manner as in the upper case; the two long drawers likewise, except that the bottoms are raised by being set into a deeper rebate. This allows runners to be glued around all four sides, thereby reducing friction when the drawer is used. The surbase and base mouldings are of a similar composite construction to the cornice; the base moulding extends about 20mm below the bottom edge of the carcase.

The feet are of oak, dowelled into blocks glued to the bottom of the carcase, and through into the carcase proper. The tops of the dowels can be seen when the bottom drawer is removed. The feet may be original, and the locks, drawer handles and carrying handles all appear to be original.

Height: 162cm
Width: 110.5cm

storage
living room furniture
office furniture
writing equipment

Label text for 1695 Period Room (Room 2), Geffrye Museum, 2010:

Writing cabinet

Writing cabinets were another new piece of furniture for the parlours of the middling sort. They are found in household inventories from the 1690s. They were used to store documents, contained hidden compartments and could be kept locked. This piece bears the trade label of John Guilbaud, who, the label describes, ‘selleth all manner of Cabbinett
work’ from his premises on Long Acre, London. It is the earliest known piece of English furniture to have a trade label.

Walnut veneer on a softwood carcase, c1695

Purchased with the assistance of The Art Fund and the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Label text for the exhibition After the Fire: London Furniture 1666-1714, Geffrye Museum (13 November 2001–3 March 2002):

Writing cabinet, bearing the label of John Guilbaud, cabinet-maker. Walnut veneers, oak and softwood drawers, softwood carcase, c.1700.
Geffrye Museum

Together with the two-door cabinet, the 'scriptor' or writing cabinet was the most ambitious product of the cabinet-maker's standard repertoire. This example bears the trade label of John Guilbaud, a cabinet-maker known to be working in Long Acre between 1693 and 1712. Scriptors had a dual role. Their practical function was to accommodate all the paperwork generated by business or property ownership, but they were also intended to impress by their size and visual impact. Consequently, the scriptor symbolised education, wealth and social status. The form and construction of most scriptors is remarkably consistent, even to the location of 'secret' drawers, which suggests that they were made to a well-tried design. This is a relatively inexpensive example, with plain walnut veneers rather than marquetry, but it still would have cost between £8 and £10. By comparison, the average skilled journeyman earned about £35-40 per year.
Most of the metalware is original. The bun feet are replacements.

Label text for the exhibition At Home with the World, Geffrye Museum (20 March 2012- 9 September 2012):

Writing cabinet

This writing cabinet bears the label of John Guilbaud, a cabinet maker working in London. Guilbaud was a French Protestant Huguenot, one of many who fled to England to escape religious persecution, bringing their skills with them and contributing to the enrichment of English design.