A mahogany and satinwood ladies' writing or work cabinet circa 1780, attributed to Seddon, Sons & Shackleton

the superstructure with turned ebony finials at each corner, above a fall front decorated with a semi-elliptical rosewood band inlaid with boxwood in a dentil pattern, enclosing a series of nine small drawers above a single long drawer, all faced in satinwood and with ivory handles, the sides with a spindle gallery border flanking a quarter-elliptical return, above a single drawer in the frieze with a writing slide fitted with a hidden compartment for quills and ink, the drawer front with a central tablet inlaid with a satinwood lozenge repeated at each side, supported on circular tapering legs joined by a shaped shelf stretcher, the cabinet and stand inlaid throughout with boxwood and ebony  stringing

Christopher Gilbert,  "Seddon, Sons & Shackleton", Journal of Furniture History, 1997, p. 5, figs.29-34.

The present lot belongs to a group of closely related lady's writing desks, six of which are illustrated in Gilbert, op.cit., all in either mahogany or satinwood with a superstructure and key-pattern inlaid fall front.  Together they bear the hall-mark features associated with Seddon & Co's furniture such as lozenge motifs, slender turned legs, spindle galleries and in one instance painted floral decoration.

The firm of Seddon was founded in the mid-18th century by George Seddon (c. 1727-1801) at Aldergate Street in London.  It rapidly grew in size: in 1783 they were employing nearly 'three hundred of the most capital hands' in London.  In 1786 the workshops were visited by Sophie Van La Roche, who recorded in her journal that, 'Some of the department contains nothing but chairs, sofas, stools of every description, some quite simple, others exquisitely carved and made of all varieties of wood ... while others are occupied by writing tables, cupboards, chests of drawers, charmingly fashioned desks, chests both large and small, work- and toilet-tables of all manner of wood and patterns, from the simplest and cheapest to the most elegant and expensive'. During the late 1780s George Seddon's son-in-law, Thomas Shackleton joined the firm and by June 1790 the bill-head was changed to 'Seddon, Sons and Shackleton' to reflect the new partnership. This arrangement was maintained until the retirement of George Seddon I in 1798 after which the business was controlled by his two sons who re-named the company George Seddon & Sons. Thomas Shackleton's departure occurred during the same year when he formed a new partnership with George Oakley called Oakley and Shackleton, who traded from St Paul's Church Yard and Old Bond Street.  George Seddon & Sons continued until 1804 when Thomas Seddon died and George Seddon parted from the business following bankruptcy. This enabled the firm to continue trading as a family concern until the 1860s.  Despite their stature as one of the leading cabinet makers in the latter part of the 18th century, whose clients included the Empress of Russia, the 5th Duke of Bedford, Lord Howard of Audley End and Lord Mansfield of Kenwood House, few pieces survive which can be associated with these commissions.  Two of the largest groups which survive with their original invoices were supplied to D. Tupper of Hauteville House, Guernsey, and R. Clarke of Bridwell House, Dorset, both of which included satinwood seat furniture and tables painted with flowers and peacock feathers.  These distinctive pieces do allow one to recognise a facet of Seddon's house style, which bears some similarity to the offered lot (see Geoffrey Beard and Christopher Gilbert (eds.), The Dictionary of English Furniture-Makers 1660-1840, 1986, pp.793-797.)