Howard & Sons Centre Table

English circa 1880 "Reformed Gothic" solid oak centre table by Howard & Sons having octagonal geometric parquetry top on carved colonette and x-form stretcher base with chamfered curved supports with concealed casters; stamped 'Howard & Sons Berners St.' underneath top. This exact table pictured in on page 143 in 'English Furniture 1800 -1851' however with an inaccurate date of c. 1850; please see below.

Howard & Sons Biography:

Howard & Sons, one of the most famous and fashionable of British furniture makers, was founded in 1820 at 24 Lemon Street, London by John Howard. In 1848 the company moved to 22 Berners Street, expanded in 1853 into 26 Berners Street, and from 1861-89 additional workshops were at Tottenham Street, Charlotte Mews, and Fitzroy Square. The Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1862 saw their first awarded prize for an exhibited suite of library furniture. In 1865 George Howard patented a method for the wood veneering of walls and in 1867 a patent for the improved production of parquet flooring. In 1866 Howard patented the 'Elastic Seat' which reimagined the inside workings of traditional upholstery, cementing the company’s fame for upholstered seat furniture. In 1872 the company expanded further into 25 and 27 Berners Street. The firm exhibited and won medals at the 1878 Paris Exhibition, the 1894 Antwerp Exhibition, the Paris Exhibition of 1900, and were awarded the first of their royal warrants in 1901. In 1935 the company moved to 31 Old Burlington Street where they produced mainly upholstered furniture until finally closing in 1947. Howard & Sons was revived in the latter 20th-century as ‘Howard Chairs Ltd.’ at 30 Lyme Street, London, utilizing the original patented upholstery techniques.

The above history is credited to Paul A. Shutler.