 |
| WS 91 Marsh Sleaford |
This chair has been reduced in height by about 25mm in the past but still makes a lovely chair. It was offered for sale at a Lincoln auction and there was no mention in the description that it was clearly signed on the rear of the seat: MARSH SLEAFORD. This relates to James Thompson Marsh who lived and worked all his life in Sleaford. Compare this with No 29: it just reinforces the fact that chair makers had their own distinctive design features and repeated them faithfully, making it much easier to attribute unsigned chairs to their makers. Extra notes on Marsh: in the 1841 census of Sleaford he is noted as living at Reform Place as a chairmaker with his family and a 20 year old assistant called William. In 1851 he is recorded as being at No 65 Jermyn Street with his family and in 1871 his family are at No 40 Jermyn Strret but no record of him. However there is a reference to him in the Sleaford Gazette in 1870 as a well as a note of his workshop being sold in 1865 which appears to be sited on the West end of Boston road, Sleaford on the north-side. Adverts in the Sleaford Gazette in the 1850s tell of his chairs selling for a few shillings. Recently there came to hand a photograph from the Sleaford History Society of a row of cottages that were in Jermyn St. before they were demolished; it seems James Marsh and his family lived in the end one.
© William Sergeant 2019
No comments:
Post a Comment