A Dutch mahogany, fruitwood and marquetry commode Louis XV, 18th century

stamped EDWARDS & ROBERTS and with the retailer's plaque of EDWARDS & ROBERTS / WARDOUR ST. / 126 PICADILLY / OXFORD ST. / LONDON, marquetry later, restorations

The present commode bears the retailer's stamp and plaque of Edwards & Roberts, the celebrated firm of London marchand-merciers, being both dealers and manufacturers who played such a significant role in the trade of antique furniture in England in the 19th century. Established in 1845, by 1854 they gazetted themselves as 'Edwards and Roberts, 21 Wardour Street, Antique and Modern Cabinet-Makers and Importers of Ancient Furniture' and their business activities can be directly compared with those of Edward Holmes Baldock (d.1845), also based in Wardour Street, who imported and dealt in luxurious French furniture and works of art.