I have the matching armchair listed under my other items with very rare original embroidered upholstery depicting birds and flowers. This and the matching armchair are the first Claw & Ball Howard & Son’s I’ve ever owned, they were custom orders and significantly more expensive than the standard leg options. The sofa as you can see has been professionally stripped and is ready for upholstery, the frame retains all the original features, the horse hair padding, the feather filled cushions, the original coil springs, everything you would hope to find. I can have the sofa upholstered for the trade price in either of the three Howard Ticking fabric colours or the original Howard floral and striped upholstery, I can also have the timber washed back and French polished, for a quote please ask. I can also have the sofa upholstered in premium cattle hide leather and hand dyed a wonderful brown colour, again please ask for a price. This sofa is a must have for any fine English furniture connoisseur, it screams country house style charm and charisma. The sofa seats as pretty much the most comfortable sofa I have ever sat on, the seat platform is exactly as you would hope to find which is to say it sinks a little from well over a century of use, the feathers in the cushions also naturally compress when you sit down, these “imperfections” make the sofa perfect to sit in, I have made the mistake before of restoring the perfect seat and it was totally ruined for me. The inside back left leg is fully stamped with Howard & Son’s Berner street, and then the serial number. Howard & Sons are simply put the finest chair makers in history, the Queen even has a private collection. 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 “VICTORIAN WALNUT CLAW & BALL FRAMED HOWARD & SONS SOFA PROFESSIONAL STRIPPED” is in sale since Wednesday, June 19, 2019. This item is in the category “Antiques\Antique Furniture\Sofas/Chaises\Victorian (1837-1901)”. The seller is “wimbledon-furniture-01″ and is located in London Wimbledon. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Style: Victorian
- Material: Walnut
- Original/Reproduction: Original
