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Antique wooden furniture displayed in a showroom

Gillow and the Value of Workshop Records

Makers & DesignersDate Published
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Gillow of Lancaster and London became one of Britain's most important furniture firms, serving generations of clients.

Historical significance

Surviving estimate books, drawings, stamps and numbering make the firm's work unusually researchable.

A collector's lens

Marks help but are not self-sufficient; compare design, timber, construction and records, and watch for altered or copied stamps.

Practical takeaway

Record materials, dimensions, marks, condition, restoration and provenance separately. Compare with securely catalogued examples before strengthening an attribution.

Sources and further study

  • [V&A furniture collection](https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/furniture)
  • [The Met: Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History](https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/)
  • [CINOA Code of Ethics](https://www.cinoa.org/about/code-of-ethics/)

Dates and attributions should be tested against the individual object, documentary evidence and specialist scholarship.

See antiques in the workshop

Explore examinations and conservation-minded restoration on the [Antique Repair Shop YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@AntiqueRepairShop).