Thomas Chippendale (June 5 1718– November 13 1779), born in Otley, West Yorkshire, was a London cabinet-maker and furniture designer in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo and Neoclassical styles. He went to London in 1749 where, in 1754, he became the first cabinet-maker to publish a book of his designs, entitled Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director. Three editions were published, in 1754, 1755 (a virtual reprint) and a revised and enlarged edition, 1762, which already shows some signs of classicism.

Chippendale worked in partnership initially with the upholsterer James Rannie and later with Rannie's assistant Thomas Haig, but artistic control of the luxurious furnishings that came from his premises in St. Martin's Lane was firmly in Chippendale's hands. In 1978 Christopher Gilbert was able to identify from among over sixty known clients twenty-six documented commissions where pieces of surviving furniture by Chippendale could be identified, considerable quantities of it still in the aristocratic houses for which it was made. Chippendale furniture was supplied to Blair Castle, Perthshire, for the Duke of Atholl (1758); Wilton House, for Henry, 10th Earl of Pembroke (c 1759-1773); Nostell Priory, Yorkshire, for Sir Roland Winn, Bt (1766-85); Mersham Le Hatch, Kent, for Sir Edward Knatchbull, Bt (1767-79); furnishings for the royal family and for the actor David Garrick both in town and at his villa at Hampton, Middlesex; Normanton Park, Rutland and other houses for Sir Gilbert Heathcote Bt (1768-78) that included the management of a funeral for Lady Bridget Heathcote, 1772; Harewood House, Yorkshire, for Edwin Lascelles (1767-78); Newby Hall, Yorkshire, for William Weddell (c 1772-76); Temple Newsam, Yorkshire, for Lord Irwin (1774); Paxton House, Berwickshire, Scotland, for Ninian Home (1774-91); Burton Constable, Yorkshire for William Constable (1768-79); Petworth, Sussex and other houses for George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont ((1777-79), to name only the most outstanding commissions.

He collaborated in furnishing interiors designed by Robert Adam and at Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire and Melbourne House, London, for Lord Melbourne, with Sir William Chambers (c. 1772-75).

His workshop was continued by Thomas Chippendale the younger but in an insipid Neoclassicism without the same verve.

Recognizably "Chippendale" furniture was produced in Dublin and Philadelphia, as might be expected, but also in Lisbon, Copenhagen and Hamburg. Catherine the Great and Louis XVI both possessed copies of the Director in its French edition. (Gilbert 1978, xvii). As a folk hero of English craftsmanship, his full-size sculpted figure stands among those adorning the facade of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. His designs became very popular again during the middle to late 19th century and he gave his name to a certain style, so much so that dealers spoke of "Chinese Chippendale", "Gothic Chippendale", and even "Irish Chippendale". Many of these later designs attached to his name bear very little relationship to his original concepts.

There is a statue and memorial plaque to Chippendale outside the old Prince Henry's Grammar School in Manor Square, in Otley, Yorkshire.

External links

• The Chippendale Society
• Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director, first edition, 1754 – online as part of the University of Wisconsin's Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture.
• Ralph Edwards and Margaret Jourdain, 1955. Georgian Cabinet-Makers.
• Christopher Gilbert, 1978. The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale. The standard work.

See also

• List of furniture designers.

British furniture designers | 1718 births | 1779 deaths | Furniture makers

Thomas Chippendale | Thomas Chippendale | توماس چیپندیل | Thomas Chippendale | Thomas Chippendale | Thomas Chippendale