76 
House Garden 
THE STORY OF REGENCY FURNITURE 
Many Pieces of This Pernod Have Interesting and Beautiful 
Designs Which Fit Them for the Modern Home 
A. T. MILNE 
T he finest specimens of Re¬ 
gency are, to all intents and 
purposes, museum pieces; that 
is to say they cannot be “picked 
up”, and when they change 
hands it is at a price. The 
smaller, lighter pieces which 
were made for private houses 
and domestic utility, are neither 
scarce nor dear in England, 
though the prices have advanced 
since the war, and are still ad¬ 
vancing to meet the modern 
revival of interest in the period. 
Chairs are probably the most 
plentiful; the painted and ebon- 
ized dining room chairs, such as 
were illustrated in the last arti¬ 
cle in the September House & 
Garden, can still be found in 
sets of six or a dozen; these, with 
their delicate scrolls and brass 
inlay are typical, and remark¬ 
ably graceful examples of the 
period. Some of Sheraton’s 
“Empire patterns for eating- 
rooms” have become standard¬ 
ized, passing down through vari- 
This elbow chair, painted 
black and gold, is one of 
a set. The oval panel in 
the back has a figure 
painted “ en grisaille" 
This is the second of a series of three articles on the Re¬ 
gency now so popular in England and destined to find 
an eventual vogue here. The first was published in the 
September number. The next, which will appear in a 
forthcoming number, will consider Regency architecture 
and gardening. The reader is also referred to some ex¬ 
amples of Regency balconies on pages 6j-66-6y 
ous minor changes to our own 
time, though all which have the 
wide incurved top splat and the 
outward curving legs are not 
Regency any more than are all 
round-topped tables standing on 
one leg with three carved “ani¬ 
mal” feet. One must be wary. 
The most interesting and the 
safer pieces to collect are those 
which passed out of use and 
fashion. The narrow little shav¬ 
ing-table, of which quantities 
were made for the dressing 
closet of the day; this fits nicely 
into our sophisticated modern 
apartment. The circular mirror, 
wreathed and standing on a 
single foot; the little marble- 
topped pier table for a side¬ 
board; a dumb waiter to help at 
luncheon, and the narrowed 
Regency book-case-secretaire for 
This dressing table, with its 
detachable mirror, is made of 
rosewood, which often re¬ 
placed mahogany. The 
mounts and moldings are of 
brass and the stretchers gilt 
A set of painted and gilt 
chairs is finely carved 
with honeysuckle and 
other ornament. T he 
seats are blue and silver 
The framework of this Re¬ 
gency couch is painted ir, 
imitation of rosewood ana 
outlined with gold. Tin 
sphinx and scroll orna¬ 
ment on the front ii 
painted in tones of gray 
