Regency Toilet Cabinet

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If the film 'The Madness of King George' awoke in you a yearning for the fashions and elegance of the time when George III was England's King (1760-1820), or for the latter part of his reign in which his eldest son, later George IV, was Prince Regent, this is a piece to fire the imagination, something of a rarity, and an object to covet and display. It is not unrealistic to imagine that this dressing-table could have been owned by any of the dandies of the period, such as George ('Beau') Brummell who, until his sharp wit led him to indiscretion, was both the friend and confidant of the Prince Regent and the acknowledged arbiter of how an English gentleman should dress. No gentleman's London lodgings would then have been complete without a chest (with a top on which clothes could be pressed by the valet), facilities for washing and for storing personal linen, and a mirror in which to check, for example, the crispness and number of folds in one's cravat. These needs were met by several separate pieces of furniture until a dressing-table was designed which, in the tradition of the compact military chest, combined all those functions and thus took up less space as well as being easy to carry, an important consideration in a crowded city such as London where, in those days, most lodgings were over shops or taverns and therefore two and sometimes more storeys above street level. The famous designer Sheraton produced a rather fragile-looking two-drawer design for this type of furniture, but ours is more substantial and more versatile, being sturdy enough to accompany a man on his travels, in peace or war (and this, of course, was the era of the American War of Independence and the long drawn-out Napoleonic Wars) while allowing him at least some of the comforts of home. The top portion contains an ingenious retractable swivel-mirror (also adjustable for height unlike the commoner fold-flat type), a row of small storage compartments and a recess for the wash-basin; the two lockable flaps served, when opened, as shelves on which could be placed one's studs, stick-pins, fob-watch and other necessaries, as well as washing materials) but can be closed to hide the interior and form a small table top. The four cock-beaded and lockable drawers below (which would have provided storage space for its owner's personal linen and toiletries) are edged with delicate boxwood stringing. The drawer pulls, 4 of the 5 locks, the internal brass fittings and the looking-glass are, in our opinion, original, as is the glass, but the lock on the bottom drawer is a replacement, as are the carrying handles at each side. Because of the silvering process in use in the Regency period imperfections inevitably develop in mirrored glass but in this case they are relatively slight. This old glass is an important feature, which enhances the value of the piece to a collector so, if you decide to put in modern glass, we advise keeping the old in a safe place. All in all, this is a versatile, compact and ingeniously-designed piece of gentlemans furniture, and it has been well cared-for. It is the first of its type that we have seen and, its rarity and its fine color makes it very desirable an English expert, whose opinion we have found reliable, told us that he would expect a price tag of at least £6,000 ($9,400) if this piece were on sale in London. read more

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