Howard & Sons Berners street sofa benches with Floral upholstery and feather filled cushions. There are around 50-100 high definition super-sized pictures at the bottom of this page. Please note that of the two benches the one with the white back fabric is the original fully stamped Howard and Son’s, the second bench has been made to match the first original and is not a Howard. The original comes with the inside back leg fully stamped as follows, 1669 3214 Howard & Son’s LTD Berners ST. It is as you can see missing the backing fabric, the floral fabric that is in place is in lovely order, the base is coil sprung and the cushions are feather filled. The chair that has been made to copy the Howard has a serpentine sprung base, the same floral upholstery and feather filled cushions. Both chairs have some scuffs around the edges of the upholstery on the back, the legs on the original have loads of patina marks, we have cleaned waxed and polished the timber, the upholstery has all been professionally cleaned. Howard & Sons are simply put are the finest son and armchair makers in history, the Queen even has a private collection. Height:- 71cm from the floor to the top of the frame, 74cm to the top of the cushion. Height:- 75cm from the floor to the top of the frame, 78cm to the top of the cushion. Width:- 107cm frame only, 111cm including cushion over hang. 70cm with the back to the wall to the front of the frame, 73cm to the front of the cushion. Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point, if you would like any additional or specific measurements please ask. A History of Howard and Sons. The name of Howard and Sons is probably one of the best known and highly sought after names in Upholstered furniture. Over the next few paragraphs I will do my best to give you a brief history of the company. The company was started by John Howard in 1820 trading from 24 Leman St, London as a Cabinet Maker. Over the next 25 years they would make several changes of premises within the Whitechapel area. First to 27 Great Alie St (Now just Alie St) before moving a short distance to 34 Great Alie St. In 1844 the company made its first venture into upholstered furniture by opening a showroom/workshop at 36 Red lion St. This was also to be a big move towards what would be their next and most famous location. In 1848 they moved to a new address much more accustomed with the name; Berners St. London as Cabinet Maker, Upholsterer and Decorator under the name John Howard and Sons. The business seemed to boom at this location with workshops opening up at Tottenham St, Charlotte Mews and Fitzroy Sq and an expansion to a second Berners St building in 1853. In 1869 the company consolidated its many workshops into the one building on Cleveland St. By 1872 the company was occupying 25, 26 and 27 Berners St. These adresses would remain unchanged until 1935. During this period they became a limited company in 1899 and won the first of their Royal warrants in 1901. In 1935 the the well established decorators Lenygon and Morant appear to take over the name with the business address being given as 31 Old Burlington St (Lenygon and Morants premesis since 1909). Lenygon and Morant later moved to South Audley St where from 1954 they advertised as’Makers of Howard Chairs and Sofas’. In 1967 the owners of Lenygon and Morant open Howard Chairs Limited, the company operating from Lyme St continue to make high quality sofas and armchairs. Exhibitions and Important Houses. At the 1862 International Exhibition (The 3rd World Expo) Howard and Sons entered a suite of library furniture for which they won a prize. They also went on to exhibit at the Paris World’s Fair, called an Exposition Universelle twice; once in 1878 and again in 1900. Also at the Exposition Internationale d’Anvers 1894 (International Exposition/World Fair Antwerp). Winning Prizes at them all including 1 silver and 2 golds. They also employed their eclectic styles working for many important clients providing furniture for important houses such as Sudbury Hall in Derbyshire, Elton Hall, Huntingdonshire and Stokesay Court, Shropshire. This item is available for collection from our Wimbledon warehouses SW19-3BE, we can have it delivered nationwide to include Scotland Wales and Ireland. Wimbledon-Furniture is a privately owned family ran business out of Wimbledon SW19, we have four large storage warehouses, if you have any questions my number is under the business sellers information, please feel free to call or text. Please view the very detailed pictures as they form part of the description around condition. Please note vintage period and original items such as leather seating will always have natural patina in the form of cracking creasing and wear, we recommend regular waxing to ensure no moisture is lost, also hand dyed leather is not recommended to sit in direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time as it will dry out and fade. COURIER (LARGE ITEMS ONLY THAT CANT BE POSTED). Whoever delivers will always require help on the larger items to unload, the price you will be quoted will always be based on this assumption, if this is not possible please let us know as it will affect the price to send a two man team. The item “RARE ANTIQUE HOWARD & SONS STAMPED PAIR OF SOFA BENCHES FEATHER FILLED CUSHIONS” is in sale since Thursday, May 2, 2019. This item is in the category “Antiques\Antique Furniture\Sofas/Chaises\20th Century”. The seller is “wimbledon-furniture-01″ and is located in London Wimbledon. This item can be shipped worldwide.