A Rare Gillow & Co. Mahogany Breakfront Library Desk

A Beautiful and Rare Gillow & Co. Mahogany Breakfront Library Desk, Circa 1870

A fine and scarce example of a Gillow & Co. breakfront library desk, crafted in richly figured mahogany and topped with a gilt-tooled green leather writing surface. All nine drawers feature handsome reeded fronts and Aesthetic-Movement Gothic–inspired brass handles.
The central breakfront section, fitted with a single drawer, is supported by fluted and reeded column supports embellished with acanthus-leaf and petal carving. This centre section is flanked by two banks of four graduated drawers, offering generous and well-organised storage.
The end and internal panels are designed in simple fielded form with elegant floral corner details. The whole piece stands on a stepped plinth base set on inset castors for ease of movement.
A rare survivor, this model is believed to originate from designs first produced in the 1850s. Its Gillow & Co. stamp—rather than the earlier straight Gillow mark—indicates a later 19th-century production, circa 1870. Seating area opening measure 61cm high x 52cm wide.

Gillow & Co (Gillows of Lancaster and London)
Founded in Lancaster around 1730 by Robert Gillow, Gillows grew into one of England’s most respected furniture makers, known for exceptional craftsmanship and early, extensive use of mahogany, which Robert imported directly from the West Indies. By the 1740s the firm was exporting finished mahogany pieces overseas, and in 1757 Robert partnered with his son Richard as Robert Gillow & Son.

The Gillow family controlled the firm until 1814, when it was taken over by Redmayne, Whiteside, and Ferguson, who retained the Gillow name. Gillows’ reputation was so strong that other designers commissioned them to build their pieces, and the company was referenced by writers such as Jane Austen, Thackeray, and Lord Lytton, as well as in a Gilbert and Sullivan opera.

In 1903, Gillows merged with Warings of Liverpool to form Waring & Gillow.