Huge Restored Antique Victorian Howard & Son's Brown Leather Chesterfield Sofa
Pullborough, United Kingdom
£20,000 per item
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Item details
Height
85.5 cm
Width
196.0 cm
Depth
1008.0 cm
Wear conditions
Good
Wear conditions
Excellent
Shows little to no signs of wear and tear.
Good
May show slight traces of use in keeping with age. Most vintage and antique items fit into this condition.
Average
Likely to show signs of some light scratching and ageing but still remains in a fair condition.
Apparent Wear and Tear
Visible signs of previous use including scratches, chips or stains.
Please refer to condition report, images or make a seller enquiry for additional information.
Description
Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this very fine, fully restored Howard & Son’s Berners Street London, large Baring sofa upholstered with vintage brown leather that has Thomas Chippendale style floating button cushions
Please note the delivery fee listed is just a guide, it covers within the M25 only for the UK and local Europe only for international, if you would like an accurate quote please send me your postcode and I’ll provide you with the exact price
Please note I have another of these which is in the process of being restored as we speak, it will be upholstered with all new leather and it has the duvet arms and back which are feather filled
This is pretty much the finest sofa ever made, Howard & Son’s are known as simply put the makers of the most comfortable sofas in the world. This is a highly collectable baring model, it has an extra deep seat that you can comfortable curl your legs up on and then some. The cushions have oversized floating buttons, they have a fabric stitch pattern to them although they are solid. The inside back left leg is stamped with the serial numbered and the back right leg Howard & Son's LTD Berners street
The sofa has been fully restored to including having the base lightly washed back and traditionally French polished, the leather has been totally washed back, hand dyed six times, antiqued, sealed, waxed down and polished, this is the only sofa in the world with this exact colour finish
Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point, if you would like any additional or specific measurements please ask
A History of Howard and Sons
The name of Howard and Sons is probably one of the best known and highly sought after names in Upholstered furniture. Over the next few paragraphs I will do my best to give you a brief history of the company.
The company was started by John Howard in 1820 trading from 24 Leman St, London as a Cabinet Maker. Over the next 25 years they would make several changes of premises within the Whitechapel area. First to 27 Great Alie St (Now just Alie St) before moving a short distance to 34 Great Alie St.
In 1844 the company made its first venture into upholstered furniture by opening a showroom/workshop at 36 Red lion St. This was also to be a big move towards what would be their next and most famous location. In 1848 they moved to a new address much more accustomed with the name; Berners St. London as “Cabinet Maker, Upholsterer and Decorator” under the name John Howard and Sons.
The business seemed to boom at this location with workshops opening up at Tottenham St, Charlotte Mews and Fitzroy Sq and an expansion to a second Berners St building in 1853. In 1869 the company consolidated its many workshops into the one building on Cleveland St.
By 1872 the company was occupying 25, 26 and 27 Berners St. These adresses would remain unchanged until 1935. During this period they became a limited company in 1899 and won the first of their Royal warrants in 1901. In 1935 the the well established decorators Lenygon and Morant appear to take over the name with the business address being given as 31 Old Burlington St (Lenygon and Morants premesis since 1909). Lenygon and Morant later moved to South Audley St where from 1954 they advertised as 'Makers of Howard Chairs and Sofas'.
In 1967 the owners of Lenygon and Morant open Howard Chairs Limited, the company operating from Lyme St continue to make high quality sofas and armchairs.
Exhibitions and Important Houses:
At the 1862 International Exhibition (The 3rd World Expo) Howard and Sons entered a suite of library furniture for which they won a prize. They also went on to exhibit at the Paris World's Fair, called an Exposition Universelle twice; once in 1878 and again in 1900. Also at the Exposition Internationale d'Anvers 1894 (International Exposition/World Fair Antwerp). Winning Prizes at them all including 1 silver and 2 golds. They also employed their eclectic styles working for many important clients providing furniture for important houses such as Sudbury Hall in Derbyshire, Elton Hall, Huntingdonshire and Stokesay Court, Shropshire.
Any questions please feel free to ask before you bid
Condition report:
Please view the very detailed pictures as they form part of the description pertaining to the condition. Please also ask any questions before you bid and not after, all of our items are sold as seen and as listed
Royal House Antiques cannot be held liable for any independent assumptions made regarding the items we sell, if you are unsure on any point, please feel free to ask for clarity
Please note vintage period and original items such as leather seating will always have natural patina in the form of creasing and wear, we recommend annual waxing to ensure no moisture is lost, also hand dyed leather is not recommended to sit in direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time as it will dry out and fade
Additional dimensions information:
Seat height:- 47cm, seat width:- 156cm, seat depth:- 84.5cm
Cancellations
We offer free cancellations and full refund for orders cancelled before dispatching. View full policy.
Returns
We have a 14-day return guarantee for orders from individual sellers, within the UK and European Union. View full policy.
We can arrange delivery nationwide. Please use the 'Request A Delivery Quote' button to confirm the delivery fee before placing your order.
Whoever delivers will usually require some help on the larger items to unload, if this is not possible please let us know as it will affect the price to send a two man team
Delivery is to the ground floor only, again if you need help upstairs or in flats etc that's absolutely not a problem, the couriers charge £10 per flight per man per item, if you have a working elevator then naturally there’s no additional fee
I’m happy to hold any purchased items for up to 2 weeks. After that, there is a storage fee of £10 a week.
Estimated delivery time
One to two weeks
Free collection available
Yes
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- Selling at Vinterior since 2017
- 840 sales
- Ships from Pullborough, United Kingdom
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Cancellations and Returns
Last updated: 24th March 2025
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