Object Description
A West Indian satinwood gentleman’s compactum/press attributed to Holland & Sons, of rectangular form with central cupboard doors opening to reveal four slides, flanked on both sides with five banks of drawers, decorated throughout with book matched veneers, orignal turned knob handles. English, circa 1840.
Holland & Sons, originally founded in 1803 by Stephen Taprell and William Holland, a relation of the architect Henry Holland, the firm of Holland & Sons soon became one of the largest and most successful furniture making companies in the 19th Century. The firm worked extensively for the Royal Family, taking a leading part in the decoration and furnishing of Osborne House, Sandringham, Balmoral, Windsor Castle and the apartments of the Prince and Princess of Wales at Marlborough House. Holland and Sons also worked extensively for the British Government, for whom they executed over three hundred separate commissions, including the Palace of Westminster, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the State funeral of the Duke of Wellington.