An important George III mahogany bureau bookcase in the manner of Gillows circa 1775

the slant front opening to a polished surface and slide beneath an arrangement of small drawers and pigeon holes centered by a niche fitted with a mirror flanked by fretwork walls centering a checkerboard inlaid wood floor above a sliding secret drawer fitted into the steps and flanked by lattice work garden obelisks; the whole secretly released and sliding out to reveal a cupboard door opening to reveal an arrangement of eight small drawers each numbered in ink.

Overall good restored condition; panels to pediment later, keyhole escutcheons and handles associated; the cresting with very minor losses and replacements to the dentil moldings; the inside corners of the pediment with some inpainting; the finial to the vase with an old repaired break; the upper section with small age cracks to mullions of left cupboard door at top; slight separation to the back boards of the upper section; the lower section with small patches to the veneers of the front right and back right and left corners above the plinth; the prospect with very minor chips to the blind fretwork panels and with a replaced mirror glass; old repaired breaks to miniature railings flanking stairs of the prospect; the left loper with an old plugged repaired break; circular hole to back left backboard; some drawer runners replaced; drawer bottoms with later drawer fillets to correct age cracks due to shrinkage; one short drawer with horizontal age crack to bottom left corner; casters replaced; some later glue to corner blocks of plinth and brackets; areas of old worm to the underside of the plinth; overall with old marks, scratches, scuffs and bruises consistent with age and use.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

In four parts, the upper section with dentil-molded broken pediment centered by an urn-form finial surmounted by a writhen-turned finial above a guilloche-carved collar and a stop-fluted body with beaded socle, on a molded plinth, the dentil-molded cornice above a pair of ogee-molded glazed doors opening to adjustable shelves, the lower section with flowerhead- and ribbon-carved molding fitted with a central spring-action candle slide above a banded fall front opening to an interior fitted with a polished banded writing surface and a sliding panel framed by banding and opening to a well, the mirrored prospect with steps opening to a drawer flanked by out-turned railings and applied blind-fret carved engaged obelisk pilasters, the interior with parquetry floor and applied blind-fret molded sides, the whole sliding forth to reveal a mahogany-lined box fitted at the back with a hinged door opening to eight secret drawers with brass ring handles; with valenced pigeonholes and small drawers above long drawers, all above a long drawer,  two short and two long cockbanded graduated drawers, raised on ogee bracket feet on casters.

Derived from Thomas Chippendale's design for 'A Desk & Bookcase', The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, 1762, pl. CVII, the present lot has a similar broken pediment centered by a carved urn finial, a bureau slope and ogee bracket feet.  Although of a common design of the mid to late 18^th century, this exceptional desk and bookcase is almost certainly the work of the Lancaster firm of Gillows.   Richard Gillow wrote to a client in 1765 that 'if any of Chippindale's [sic] designs be more agreeable I have his book and can execute 'em & adapt them for places they are for if you'll be so obliging to point out the number' (see Susan E. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London 1730-1840, Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club, 2008, vol. I, p. 357).  The incredibly rich, figured mahogany, so characteristic of Gillows, is found throughout, a lavish use of such fine timber.  The exterior has faded to a beautiful honey color while the interior is still a deep, reddish color.   Lindsay Boynton, Gillow Furniture Desgins 1760-1800, 1995, p. 30, describes the quality and figure of this type of mahogany as 'fine birching', an 18^th century term used by the firm.  The crisply carved urn, with writhen-turned finial, guilloche collar and fluted body is made of the finest mahogany.  As Stuart, op. cit., p. 358,  notes, in 1766 Richard Gillow advised Sir Fleetwood Hesketh " 'In the opens or aprons of the pediment you may have a Busto, carved shield or your arms carved which [ever] you choose, . . . '; Bustos or classical busts were always procured or made in London, whereas shields or vases were carved in Lancaster".

A bookcase made by Gillows in 1772 for Mrs. Mary Hutton Rawlinson recently acquired by the Lancashire County Museum Service for the Judges' Lodgings Museum, Lancaster, has Gothic-arched glazing bars of similar outline to the doors of the upper section to those of the present desk and bookcase.  The lower section has an extremely fine interior, the prospect conceived as a fruitwood and ebonized wood parquet-floored room with blind-fret-carved sides and mirrored back, a secret drawer formed as steps with out-curved railings and flanked by blind-fret-carved obelisk-shaped pilasters.  The prospect, described by Gillows as a 'sliding prospect', is actually a mahogany-lined box, fitted at the back with a door and two banks of secret drawers, which slides forward when the spring-action catch is released by a finger through a hole in the underside of the top.

The present lot is composed of four separate sections: the crown, bookcase, bureau and base.  The bureau has dovetails that slide into the base and was probably made this way to facilitate transport or because of the weight of the mahogany.   The bracket feet are fitted with casters.