Neander Question for Discussion

[Mike Henderson]

Prior to the late 17th Century, most furniture in Europe was oak and of frame and panel design - built with mortise and tenon joinery. Then, suddenly (about 1689), the William and Mary style burst upon the scene (to be followed around 1702 by the even lighter and more curvilinear Queen Anne style). While William and Mary wasn't a light as later styles, it was no longer frame and panel, new woods began to be used, and it was a significant break from the earlier, heavy, Jacobean style.

So here's my question - "What caused the transition?" Was it the development of better saws that allowed wood to be sawn to size instead or riven and planed? Or was it the development of a wealthy class of merchants who demanded new styles and could pay for it? Or what?

What caused the blossoming of furniture design at that time? The medieval frame and panel had existed for centuries prior to that time but was eclipsed in just a few short years. And once furniture makers made the break, they never looked back but continued to develop and change furniture design, something that continues today.

Mike

[Randal Stevenson]

I know styles change, and even to some degree, recirculate. But one thing that does affect styles, is the lumber supply, or the lack of it.

[Jim Koepke]

It probably wasn't a single factor that caused change to come about.

There may have been improvements in metallurgy to produce better tools and saws.

Though another likely strong influence could have been the increase in global exploration and trade taking place at this time. Not only did this bring in different woods, but different styles of craft made items from around world.

There was also those with wealth wanting something different. A craftsman might get a commission to make something with a special purpose for a customer, then someone else might want something similar. Imitation and innovation can feed on each other.

Like so many things, different materials, influences, methods, tools and techniques probably came together to take the furniture making art in new directions.

jim

[Doug Shepard]

I seem to recall something from a History Channel show that the British Navy may have pretty well locked up availability of oak at some point. I think the period you mentioned would have coincided with their biggest expansion, so there may be something related there.

[Tom Godley]

Interesting -- never thought about it that way.

Crossing the channel -- the end of the 30 years war and the reign of louis 14 can not be underestimated as it pertains to design during this period.

They had the money and they wrote the first book on style.

fascinating subject

[harry strasil]

The Women of the time may have had something to do with the change too, wanting something with more beauty (looks) and design. LOL

And we have to also remember that everytime there is a global or area War, Technology takes a great jump.

At times change takes place rapidly, at other times it takes forever, the first sawmill in England was burnt to the ground by Sawyers who were afraid of lossing their jobs and it was quite a few years before sawmills actually came about in England.

Another instance is Hippocrates and his medicine, after his death, the knowledge he had accumulated died out for several centuries.

And trade with other countries often has a big effect on design, thru the early years the chinese influence via the silk road and the Chinese craftsmanship of those days.

[Robert Rozaieski]

Trade had a lot to do with it. Prior to the 17th century, intercontinental trade was not as wide spread. Early William and Mary and even later styles were very much influenced by the increasingly available imports from the Orient. With the expansion of the trade routes, items could be imported more easily and the wealthy had a large apetite for these exotic imported goods. Local cabinetmakers would have needed to be able to produce what was in style in order to survive. As more and more was imported from China, the influences of the Chinese style became more evidnet. For example, the ball and claw foot, Japanned finishes and heavily carved Roccoco ornamentation. Some have theorized that the ball and claw was originally based on a chinese dragon foot gripping a pearl.

[Jim Crammond]

I think that there is validity in all of the answers given previously. Another factor that I have heard of is the great fire of London that happened during 1666. Almost 80% of London had to be rebuilt, this caused a flood of new materials, workers and ideas into London which helped propel it to a position as a leading center of trade. This also caused a period of affluence that created a large demand for new products and fashions in many areas including furniture.

Up until this time furniture construction was a part of the joiners trade but the new heightened demand gave rise to the cabinetmaker and the use of different construction methods that lent themselves to lighter furniture styles.

Jim Crammond

[Danny Burns]

If you look at clothing, you will see the same pattern of change and growth.

Functionality and practicality, only give way when necessity is no longer needed.

New tools, and methods of work, or also a luxury.

[Larry Williams]

Oh my, there were so many factors.

The Restoration and ending of religious persecution in England, an increase of religious persecution on the Continent, the immigration of the Huguenots from France bringing French veneered furniture designs with them, the emergence of cabinet making as a separate trade from joiners, the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire of 1666, the fact that it had been a generation since the last great plague and fear of living in densely populated places had abated.

The single most important difference between the Jacobean and William and Mary styles is that William and Mary casework was designed to be veneered. There seems to be a growing contemporary idea that cabinet makers of the Wren period (William and Mary) didn't care about the surface quality of their work. Tear out and ragged surfaces were accepted according to those who claim this. They don't seem to realize the whole style revolved around veneered surfaces. I've yet to meet anyone with experience working veneers who isn't very concerned about surface quality--that's what veneers are all about.

[Mark Roderick]

I have no idea as to the answer to your question, but I want to compliment you for asking it and for the possible solutions you put on the table. Very interesting and thoughtful - you're obviously a serious student of woodworking.

[David Keller NC]

Mike - If you want to read an authoritative source on this subject, I highly recommend getting a copy of Charles Hayward's "Englich Period Furniture: An account of the evolution of furniture from 1500 to 1850". This is an incredibly good, and useful, book to anyone interested in the subject. Charles goes into detail about some of the reasons for the evolution of jacobean to william & mary, to chippendale, heppelwhite and sheraton.

His books are long out of print, and some of his woodworking books go for astronomical prices. This title, however, can be had reasonably. Some of the used-book sites to take a look at are www.alibris.com (http://www.alibris.com). www.bookfinder.com (http://www.bookfinder.com), and www.abebooks.com (http://www.abebooks.com). I got my copy for $40, but you may have to be patient and keep checking back - prices for used titles like this vary widely depending on the seller.

[Hank Knight]

I think the changes in furniture design and construction that began in England in the mid to late 17th Century are part of a much broader historical tide that saw England's emergeance from the "Middle Ages" with all of it's heaviness and darkness. When Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Church door in 1546, he started a revolution in religious, cultural and social ideas that continues to this day. It swept out the Middle Ages and ussured in The Reformation followed closely by The Age of Enlightenment and the Age of Reason. During the mid to late 17th Century, England and Western Europe were fascinated with all things new and believed that man's mind could reason the answers to all questions. There was a conscious effort to put away the past and explore new ideas. That curiosity and confidence found, explored and settled the New World and opened Western Culture to influences from all over the world. The explosion of creativity that characterizes the 17th and 18th Centuries can be seen in every aspect of Western Culture and the Arts. The changes in furniture design and construction you asked about are good examples, but it permeated all Western thought of the era.

[Mike Henderson]

Thanks to everyone who posted here. One of the main issues I was asking about is the speed at which the transition seems to have occurred. In reading some of the furniture history books, it appears that the William and Mary furniture style appeared rather quickly - there doesn't seem to be a record of any transition pieces that are between Jacobean and William and Mary.

I agree with Hank that the furniture styles (and a lot of other things) were the result of cultural currents which had been building for a long time. Is that just the nature of things, where these currents build for a long time and then burst out, exhibiting themselves in many ways? And we're just looking at the furniture?

Do we change as a society in revolutionary ways instead of evolutionary ways? Or maybe we have a revolution every now and again, when evolution can't accommodate the changes.

Mike

[Dave Anderson NH]

This is an interesting subject Mike. One other thing that comes into play and that was alluded to in an earlier post is the outside influences on English furniture. Much of the influence did come from the French Huegenots and additional influences came from the Dutch. The Dutch influence was a result of William of Orange and his wife Mary being invited to become king and queen of England. Hence the William and Mary style name. Continental styles at the time were more sophisticated and curvilinear than the English.

Of equal interest are the adaptations made to the English and continental styles in Colonial America. Generally speaking the French and other European furniture was far more ornate, the English slightly more restrained in its embellishments, and the colonial styles comparatively plain. Seldom do you see gilding, marquetry, parquet work, or boule even in high style centers like Philadelphia, Charleston, Boston, or even NYC where a large Huegonot population developed. Even the later Roccoco or Chippendale styles tended to be plainer and less ornamented.

[Wilbur Pan]

Do we change as a society in revolutionary ways instead of evolutionary ways? Or maybe we have a revolution every now and again, when evolution can't accommodate the changes.

I don't have anything useful to add vis-à-vis changes in 17th-18th century European furniture, since I really don't know anything about it. But I do know something about evolution, and I just wanted to point out that "evolution" doesn't really imply progression, an increase in complexity, or a slow change.

Evolution, or more correctly, natural selection can result in a rapid, substantial change in a population in response to a strong selective pressure (think asteroid hitting the Earth). Those new changes in the population are not necessary more complex or advanced than the preceding populations (think the cockroaches that will take over the earth).

So I would say that there may not necessarily be a dichotomy between a "revolutionary" change and an "evolutionary" change, and that it all depends on your point of view. After all, changing the knob and tote of a plane to cherry instead of cocobolo might be looked at as an evolutionary change in response to the difficulties in working and obtaining a reliable supply of cocobolo, but there are many woodworkers that get all hot and bothered about it just the same. ;)

[Adam Cherubini]

Mike,

I think it's a fact that Wm& Mary style pieces are fundamentally different from their predecessors in their use of wide boards, dovetailed together. And unlike styles that came later, Wm & Mary introduced many new structures.

One of the things about Wm & Mary is that the earlier style was physically heavier (generally). Wm & Mary sought to create lighter weight pieces physically and artistically, so we see these pieces lifted off the floor, suspended on tiny thin legs etc, defying gravity. Builders referred to this elevation difference in many different ways, typically on a single piece. Basically, they were using the language of art to shout at us. That's something we see less of in prior styles. I find it fun.

Steel production may have been a contributor. But I don't know of any big changes in steel production through this time. As far as I know, steel in the beginning of the Wm & Mary period was made identically to earlier methods (i.e. blister steel). Sheffield's slitting mills may have played a role, allowing folks to roll out steel sheet metal instead of hammering it flat. Not sure when those slitting mills were making saw plates specifically.

We also do see a rise in the middle class, caused in part by colonization, a stimulation of building trades caused by the fire of London as Dave mentioned etc etc.

I think it's tough to point of a single event for anything like this. What brought about the micro computer? I think the U.S. space program developed the technology, but you need certain societal forces to be at work, like a prosperous US economy, favorable tax structures for new businesses, availability of start-up capital etc etc for the seed of technology to grow into the thriving wilderness it has become. So what is the root cause? Bill Gates? J.F.K.? Engineers at NASA? Or we the consumers who had the vision and imagination to use this new technology? Fun to think about.

Adam

[mike holden]

Adam et al,
I really think the quick change is due to politics, and the quick change is quick ONLY because we are anglo-centric.
Cromwell and his followers deposed James 1, Cromwell can be likened to a "terrorist Shaker" if you will forcing his austere views on all and sundry.
When he finally fell out of favor, William of Orange, a Dutchman, was brought in to be King, bringing Dutch design - William and Mary - with him. The lingering austerity caused it be simplified. The following major style, Queen Ann, which in England was called Georgian, was a simplification and sourced from refugees from the French Revolution.
Of course, all this was aided by the growing world trade and the now ready availability of exotic woods such as mahogany.
My main point though, is that the seeming "quickness" in the change of styles is more a sociological phenomena due to the repression of "luxury" or "modern" things by a despotic government in England. Styles continued to evolve and grow in other parts of the world, so the "quickness" was England catching up.
If you have ever been to Versailles, you will have seen the basic construction of dovetailed casework, cabriole legs, and of course Rococo. Dutch furniture of the period, at least that which I have seen in museums, seems like William and Mary on a Rococo binge! (and painted vibrant colors to boot!)
Mike

[Chris Padilla]

Dowelmax and Domino

New innovations of tools....

[Stephen Shepherd]

I think they ran out of wood. By about 1616 there wasn't any more wildwood in England. They had to start using other stuff like maple, deal and imported exotics like mahogany.

Stephen

[Mike Henderson]

Adam et al,
I really think the quick change is due to politics, and the quick change is quick ONLY because we are anglo-centric.
Cromwell and his followers deposed James 1, Cromwell can be likened to a "terrorist Shaker" if you will forcing his austere views on all and sundry.
When he finally fell out of favor, William of Orange, a Dutchman, was brought in to be King, bringing Dutch design - William and Mary - with him. The lingering austerity caused it be simplified. The following major style, Queen Ann, which in England was called Georgian, was a simplification and sourced from refugees from the French Revolution.
Of course, all this was aided by the growing world trade and the now ready availability of exotic woods such as mahogany.
My main point though, is that the seeming "quickness" in the change of styles is more a sociological phenomena due to the repression of "luxury" or "modern" things by a despotic government in England. Styles continued to evolve and grow in other parts of the world, so the "quickness" was England catching up.
If you have ever been to Versailles, you will have seen the basic construction of dovetailed casework, cabriole legs, and of course Rococo. Dutch furniture of the period, at least that which I have seen in museums, seems like William and Mary on a Rococo binge! (and painted vibrant colors to boot!)
Mike
Your points make a lot of sense, Mike, especially about Cromwell.

Mike

[David Keller NC]

"Your points make a lot of sense, Mike, especially about Cromwell."

Yes, with one exception - Queen Anne style definitely has antecedents in the French royal court's style of the mid 17th century (particularly cabriole legs), but it wasn't promulgated by refugees from the French Revolution. Georgian was already falling out of favor in England by that time (1789 - 1799), to be replaced by neo-classical designs.