Archie Shine Kimberley Teak Sideboard By Robert Heritage

Archie Shine Kimberley teak sideboard by Robert Heritage

This is one of the hardest to find of all the Archie Shine sideboards as they rarely come up for sale . It was first exhibited in 1963 and probably only made for a year or two . At the time this was probably too minimalist for most buyers which is why the design still looks so fresh and modern over 60 years later . Robert Heritage was Britain’s most successful furniture designer and his Hamilton range for Archie Shine was the first long low sideboard to be made in the UK setting the trend for other makers and designers . It was highly successful for a number of years . Each year makers like Archie Shine would launch new ranges at exhibitions in London and Manchester , and this one was first shown in Manchester in 1963 in a choice of 3 finishes ( crown oak , teak and walnut ) . The main feature is obviously the clever stylish handles which are really radical yet practical .

Archie Shine was the main high end maker of contemporary furniture in the late 1950’s and 1960’s . Along with the smaller less known N Lee and Sons his company made the best quality sideboards which were expensive at the time compared with other makers . Like many makers new designs would be launched to see how both furniture trade and the public reacted . Some of our favourite designs today like this one are rarely seen as the conservative trade buyers thought they weren’t commercial enough . We’ve seen some fantastic pieces whilst going through original trade papers from the 1960’s which never turn up for sale or only do so on rare occasions , whilst other more commercial mainstream models can appear regularly .

We’ve only had 2 of the teak ones prior to this in 20 years of selling and have once seen an oak one which didn’t look as smart . Archie Shine was known in the furniture trade for finding some of the best veneers and timbers . He was a trained cabinet maker himself and was very strict in his quality control so his furniture particularly in the late 1950’s and early 60’s is always really well made .

Condition
Cleaned and oiled and looking great with no obvious marks or scratches . As with all vintage furniture you must expect to see some minor signs of wear if you look very closely .

Notes
Archie Shine sideboards are often longer than most as they were aimed at wealthier buyers with larger houses . This model is 7ft 6″ long whereas most G Plan ones are 7ft long . The standard depth of most British sideboards at the time was 18″ ( 45/46cms ) but this and a very few others is 51cms deep giving an extra couple of inches . When designing the pioneering Hamilton Robert Heritage carefully looked at average dining room sizes of his target customer .