The form of this handsome piece relates to designs for a 'secretary and bookcase' that appear as plates 43 and 44 of the Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer’s Guide by George Hepplewhite (d.1786), published posthumously by his widow Alice in three editions in 1788, 1789 and 1794. It is illustrated in Percy Macquoid's seminal History of English Furniture, described as both a 'a china-cupboard or bookcase' and 'a satin-wood cabinet and escritoire' and 'probably by Hepplewhite'. At the time of publication, the work was with the London dealers Gill & Reigate, founded in 1898 and trading at 85 Oxford Street by 1901 as 'Dealers in Antique & Modern Furniture, Artistic Decorators and Upholsterers', and their clients included King George V. The business later relocated to Arlington House, Arlington Street and closed in 1958.
