The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book. In Three Parts. By Thomas Sheraton, Cabinet-Maker. London: T. Bensley for J. Mathews et al., 1791-1793, 4to.
FIRST EDITION OF THOMAS SHERATON'S HIGHLY IMPORTANT WORK IN CABINET MAKING.
-------------------
A rare work in commerce, copies have previously sold at Christie's 27th January 2021 lot 175 sold for $5,250 (USD) and another at Sotheby's April 25th 2023 lot 1321 for $2,032 (USD).
"[Sheraton's] reputation exists entirely on the publication of three books of furniture designs, the first of which was The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book, which was published in fortnightly numbers between 1791 and 1793. The list of subscribers included cabinet-makers and upholsterers in London and all over the provinces as well as Scotland: among the most notable subscribers were the cabinet-makers Thomas Seddon and William France, Eckhardt, propriter of the Printed Silk Manufactory in Chelsea, and the draughtsman Peter Nicholson. Parts I and II of the Drawing Book were devoted to extensive dissertations on geometry and perspective..." [Elizabeth White, Pictorial Dictionary of British 18th Century Furniture Design, pp.57]
According to Berlin Kat. 1234, extant copies have slightly varying plate counts.
-------------------
Size: 218 x 266 mm (approx.)
Condition:
[a1-a4, frontis, i-viii, 2ff, i, pp.6-446, i (errata), 4ff (subscriber list), 52 plates]
Bound in full black leather without any gilt or tooled labels affixed thus no external identifying marks aside from a blindstamped name to the front board (W. Douglas), perhaps the 'Douglas' listed in the List of Subscribers as "Douglas, Chair-Maker." Binding rebacked with the earlier spine relaid. Front endpapers replaced with hinge reinforcement. Boards thus securely attached. Rather impressive early ink drawings of chandelier designs to front pastedown with early pencil sketches of furniture designs to the rear pastedown using the classic Hogarth 'S' shape. Final (original) blank creased. Toned throughout the text block with occasional dampstaining, particularly to the plates, else generally fully legible. Some crude crayon markings to a few pages. Bound without the index as often, thus 2 of 3 parts are present but with the main body of the text. Set of plates are all bound consecutively at the rear of the book except for the frontispiece, bound at the verso of b1 (contents). Plate 14 torn losing three quarters of the plate, plate 26 torn losing a quarter, plate 59 torn lacking the bottom section, approx. a quarter. Lacks plate 21, 27, 37, 41, 43, 44, 49, 50, 52, 53, 57 (as often). Plate 28 misbound after plate 29. Two plates are numbered as plate 30 but are different. Plate 48 misbound after 39. Plate 55 coloured in a contemporary hand. Two plates are unnumbered and so could be two of those lacking. Thus a total of 52 plates are present (of 61), some of which are foldouts, plus the frontispiece (53).
