1880s Settees

Majestic Italian bench in late 19th century Renaissance style. Made of walnut wood with carved decorations in Renaissance style with grotesque faces. Fa...

19th century Edwardian style mahogany wood framed upholstered settee or sofa. The settee / sofa is in great antique condition. Signed and date...

We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning exceptionally rare and original Howard & Son's circa 1880 two seat sofa with duvet feather padded arms and seat cushions, with Aesthetic movement ebonised frame and Claw & Ball feet in the original Chinese Chinoiserie upholstery. I have a large collection of very fine restored and original unrestored Howard & Son's seating listed under my other items. This is simply put the most comfortable sofa in the world, the arms back and base are all feather and fibre filled, you sink when seated in a similar manner to a very plump feather filled duvet. The upholstery is super rare original Victorian, heavily distressed, its Chinese Chinoiserie and has wonderful colours. The frame is period Victorian, it is the only Aesthetic movement ebonised frame I have seen and one of very few Claw & Ball examples as well. Howard & Sons are simply put are the finest sofa and armchair makers in history, the Queen even had a private collection. This piece is totally original and unrestored, it will only every be original once, as such I have left it as it is for the new owner to decide what to do with it, I can help with full restoration should the new owner wish. To confirm though, as you can see the upholstery is very distressed, the frame is structurally solid and does not require any repairs Dimensions Height:- 74cm Width:- 137cm Depth:- 77cm Seat height:- 44.5cm Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point. A History of Howard and Sons The name of Howard and Sons is probably one of the best known and highly sought-after names in Upholstered furniture. Over the next few paragraphs, I will do my best to give you a brief history of the company. The company was started by John Howard in 1820 trading from 24 Leman St, London as a Cabinet Maker. Over the next 25 years they would make several changes of premises within the Whitechapel area. First to 27 Great Alie St (Now just Alie St) before moving a short distance to 34 Great Alie St. In 1844 the company made its first venture into upholstered furniture by opening a showroom/workshop at 36 Red lion St. This was also to be a big move towards what would be their next and most famous location. In 1848 they moved to a new address much more accustomed with the name; Berners St. London as “Cabinet Maker, Upholsterer and Decorator” under the name John Howard and Sons. The business seemed to boom at this location with workshops opening up at Tottenham St, Charlotte Mews and Fitzroy Sq and an expansion to a second Berners St building in 1853. In 1869 the company consolidated its many workshops into the one building on Cleveland St. By 1872 the company was occupying 25, 26 and 27 Berners St. These adresses would remain unchanged until 1935. During this period they became a limited company in 1899 and won the first of their Royal warrants in 1901. In 1935 the the well-established decorators Lenygon and Morant...

Bruce Talbert attributed. An Aesthetic Movement upholstered love or twin window seat made from stained Beech with turned and rounded finials and tramline details to the back headrest...

This lovely 19th century French Louis XVI style carved fruitwood settee features a floral cartouche at the crest and at the bottom front corners. The back and bottom of the settee ar...

H W Batley attributed. An Anglo-Japanese settee with Japanese fretwork below the backrest and the arms, the arms with pagoda shaped details. Blue velvet uph...

Fabulous French Art Noveau walnut with double caning, front and back, hand carved settee. Sweeping lines with cabriolet legs, all hand carved stained and lacquered. In excellent anti...

Royal House Antiques Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this absolutely stunning George II style late Victorian fully restored hand dyed brown leather high back sof...

Antique French settee or loveseat deconstructed and probably made in the late 1800's. When you take a hard look at the lion paw feet, you'll noti...

In this listing you will find a very rare antique settee designed by Otto Prutscher for Cafe Heinrichshof, and manufactured by Thonet Brothers in 1908. It is done in beech bentwood, ...

Superb and rare Napoleon iiistyle living room in Aubusson tapestry including six armcahairs and a sofa the sofa depicts a picnic scene from this period where the children play and d...

Hand carved inlaid Anglo Indian sofa.

You are viewing a gorgeous hand carved Italian Renaissance oak bench Just look at the details to the carving, I hope the photos go some way in illustrating the quality Characterful c...

19th century satinwood box sofa. On six tapering legs.

Petite French Napoleon III round scroll back sofa, circa 1880s. Turned black legs with original castors. Recently upholstered in Manuel Canovas 'Marius' in Ciel (light blue and white...

Large Carved Salon Settee in Green This is a Large and very comfortable piece, it is upholstered in soft green velvet and has 2 additional Arm cushions, leading down from these the ...

A 19th century solid mahogany settee in the Georgian III style. Has a nice hand-made tapestry seating and the settee itself has nice carvings through out.