The architect G. E. Street designed this bookcase for himself, probably for use in his house in Russell Square, London. It was made by the prominent London firm of cabinet-makers, Holland & Sons. Records in their Day books (in the Archive of Art and Design, Victoria and Albert Museum) show that it cost £59 10s (£59 50p) in 1865. Street may have commissioned Holland & Sons to make his bookcase because of the friendship between his first wife, Mariquita Proctor, and Jessie, daughter of William Holland of the firm.
Designed in the Gothic style, the bookcase is fitted with shelves behind the glass doors and drawers inside the lower section. The mirror-backed shelf on the top was probably used for a display of small sculptures or ceramics.
Place of Origin
London, England (made)
Date
1865 (made)
Artist/maker
Street, George Edmund, born 1824 - died 1881 (designer)
Holland & Sons (maker)
Materials and Techniques
Oak, with incised and inlaid decoration, glass doors, a mirror, and brass mounts
Marks and inscriptions
HOLLAND & SONS
on upper edge of lower right door.
Written in pencil on the top of the lower stage, in the back half that is normally covered by the upper stage, running from front to back, 'Joiners'
Dimensions
Height: 261.6 cm, Depth: 73.7 cm of lower stage, Width: 139 cm
[drawer] Height: 7.5 cm, Width: 63.5 cm, Depth: 64 cm
Object history note
G.E. Street (1824-1881) presumably designed this bookcase for himself since it was acquired from his grandson Philip E.W. Street by Charles and Lavinia Handley-Read. It was made by the prominent firm of Victorian cabinet makers, Holland & Sons and their Day Book (now in the Archive of Art and Design) for 1865, R-Z, p.109 records that it originally cost £59 10s (£59-50p). Street's use of this firm to make his bookcase may have been influenced by the friendship between his first wife, Maraquita Proctor, whom he had married in 1852, and Jessie Holland, daughter of William Holland.
There are drawers inside the lower section of the bookcase which was given to the Museum by Thomas Stainton, brother of Lavinia Handley-Read.
Descriptive line
Bookcase of oak with incised and inlaid decoration, glass doors and brass mounts; designed by G.E. Street and made by Holland & Sons, British 1865.
Exhibition History
Victorian and Edwardian Decorative Art. The Handley-Read Collection (Royal Academy of Arts 01/01/1972-31/12/1972)
Labels and date
BOOKCASE
ENGLISH; about 1865
Oak with incised and inlaid decoration, brass mounts, and, in the top stage, a mirror.
Designed by the architect, G.E. Street, for his own use, and made by Holland & Sons in 1865. This is the only major survival of Street's own furniture.
Given by their family in memory of Charles and Lavinia Handley-Read. [pre October 2000]
Street's employment of the firm of Holland to make various items of furniture for his own use probably results from the friendship between his first wife, Maraquita Proctor, and Jessie, daughter of William Holland of the cabinet making firm. The Holland Day Books in the Archive of Art and Design record the mkaing of this bookcase for £59 10s in 1865. [1993]
Materials
Glass; Brass; Oak; Walnut
Techniques
Joining; Frame construction
Categories
Furniture
Production Type
Limited edition
Collection code
FWK
