For a piece of furniture to do well at auction these days, it either needs to be a design classic, have a great provenance, or to meet, par excellence, the desires of the interiors market. However, just occasionally, and very surprisingly, a piece of furniture, fitting into none of these categories, causes a sensation in the saleroom. One such piece, lot 651, in Golding Young Grantham’s sale on the 29th July did just that.
Lot 651 was an early 20thC gentleman’s oak library chair. Whilst it couldn’t be described as the most beautiful of chairs, it nevertheless had something about it, which meant it deserved closer attention. Not least because it wasn’t just an ordinary chair; it was a chair with “all bells and whistles”. For one thing, it was a recliner, perfect for the languid gentleman or lady. However, it was also more than just a chair. The left arm doubled up as a gateleg occasional table, perfect for the placement of light refreshments, whilst the right arm doubled up as a two shelf book case, to which was concealed a pull out copper ashtray, copper ashtray, together with a reading lectern, so you would never need to get print on your hands from newspapers, or ash on the print from cigarettes.
What made the chair even more exciting was that it bore the makers label for Walter Skull of High Wycombe. The Skull family took over an existing furniture making firm in the town in 1872, and through the generations innovative and quality furniture was produced, until the firm had to be sold in 1934 to Furniture Industries Ltd, later better known as Ercol. In addition to good maker’s provenance, it is also understood that these chairs were commissioned for Heals of London.
Little surprise then that interest was considerable, and there were many registered bidders on the day. Quickly hitting a four figure auction figure, the bidding continued to exceed expectation, finally settling at hammer price of £1900.
