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Sales > Sofas > Howard and Sons Sofa
Howard and Sons Sofa
A little background information on Howard sofas and chairs.
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Howard and Sons of Berners Street in London were the foremost upholstery maker of the nineteenth century, regarded in the same way as Gillow were for cabinet furniture. Howard and Sons were such an important company that they collaborated with Gillow on several important projects and may have even manufactured pieces of upholstered furniture for Gillow as well as other important makers such as Maple and Co.
Howard and Sons exhibited at all the large exhibitions of the nineteenth century including the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the subsequent shows at Crystal Palace, as well as exhibitions in America and France. Howard and Sons had the Royal Warrant and supplied several Royal residences with many items of antique furniture, most frequently of course with upholstery.
Although Howard and Sons supplied almost any item for the nineteenth century house and were renowned for their excellent build quality and superb finishing in all areas of chattels and interior decorating, it is their upholstered furniture for which the company is now so famous.
Howard and Sons really lead the way with the design and manufacture of upholstered furniture in the nineteenth century. The upholstered easy armchairs, sofas, wing chairs, library chairs, stools, pouffes, chaise longues and day beds made by Howard and Sons were better than normal pieces of the same period in many ways. Details such as the "siege de duvet" upholstery system for comfort, pocketed cushions, quad lashed springs and so on are all key features that other makers were simply not using, whether through lack of competence or because of cost.
More interesting, perhaps, is that while leading the way as far as innovation and engineering is concerned, Howard and Sons held onto many decidedly traditional upholstering techniques long after other manufacturers had modernised. Some of these methods were decidedly eighteenth century and must have made Howard and Son's upholstery much more expensive than that of other contempory makers.
Features such as tenon jointed frames, a hard stitched front edge (instead of a sprung front) and beautifully smooth and chamfured birchwood frames mean that sofas and chairs made by Howard and Sons are not just comfortable, but also extremely hard wearing.
The comfortable armchairs and sofas made by Howard and Sons in the nineteenth century are now a very good investment for the modern collector. For the 20 years that Hares Antiques has been specialising in armchairs and settees made by Howard and Sons they have become rarer and more sought after, increasing in value every year.
If there are any further details required relating to Howard and Sons furniture, please do not hesitate to contact one of us at hares@hares-antiques.com
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"Grantley"
Restored and Re-Upholstered 19th Century Antique Sofa, by Howard and Son. The "Grantley" Model, re-upholstered into a red and gold damask fabric. This is a medium to large sized, generous and well proportioned sofa with a very elegant upward sweep to the arms. The side and back cushions are attached to the frame and loose cushions to the seat. Arms are finished lower than the back. Turned and square leg versions are available.
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"Leeds"
Restored and Re-Upholstered 19th Century Antique Sofa, by Howard and Son. The "Leeds" Model, re-upholstered into a copy of Howard and Son's original under-ticking. This is a small sized, generous and well proportioned sofa with back cushions attached to the frame and loose cushions to the seat - with low level horsehair arms. Turned and square leg versions are available.
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"Chaplin"
19th Century Antique Sofa, by Howard and Son. The "Chaplin" Model, shown in its original Howard and Son monogrammed underticking prior to restoration. This is a medium sized (similar to the "Baring" - with lower arms/back than the "Grantley"), generous and well proportioned sofa with a very elegant upward sweep to the arms. The side and back cushions are attached to the frame and loose cushions to the seat. Arms are finished lower than the back. Turned and square leg versions are available.
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Photographs of Howard Baring sofas in different fabric. These sofas have sprung horsehair covered with down feather cushions for both the seat arms and back.
This means that they are supremely comfortable to sit formally, lie down, or just lounge around on.
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Howard Ramsden, or Ball and Claw foot model. As these sofas would have been made to order the detail on the legs varies accordingly. Chairs and stools would have been ordered to match. Other variations included cabriole legs (see picture) and Italian and French designs (meaning ebonsed, fluted and gilded).
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Howard Portarlington sofa, one of the most luxurious Howard and Sons sofa ever made, circa 1910.
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Unusual Howard and Sons sofa, circa 1910.
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Attractively small Howard and Sons sofa, circa 1880.
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A rare Howard and Sons sofa with show wood to the arms and legs, circa 1880.
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"Baring"
Restored and Re-Upholstered 19th Century Antique Sofa, by Howard and Son. The "Baring" Model, re-upholstered into a copy of Howard and Son's original under-ticking. This is a medium sized, generous and well proportioned sofa with side and back cushions attached to the frame and loose cushions to the seat. Arms and back a finished to the same height. Turned and square leg versions are available.
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Extremely rare and wonderfully large sofa made by Howard and Sons of London standing on square taper legs, unusually with three legs at the front. Possible a Wimbourne model circa 1900.
Measurements are approximately 6'4" wide at base of frame, 7' wide max, 40" deep max, inside seat 5' wide by 28" deep
SOLD
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"Wimbourne" Model
Wonderfully comfortable huge and rare Howard and Sons sofa. This model is in very short supply, there is usually a queue for them, and is the biggest and the best. This one sold in the summer of 2009, please enquire for details of future stock
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Very rare nineteenth century upholstered sofa made by Howard and Sons of London. Howard sofas are very rare in any case, but this one is especially unusual with the lovely French influence fluting to the leg and carving on the show wood. It is in very good condition structurally with some wear to the fabric, is very comfortable and is stamped with the makers name on the back leg. English circa 1870-1890.
76" long by 30" tall by 30" deep
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Wonderful nineteenth century upholstered daybed chaise longue standing on fine turned legs with the original monogrammed ticking, English circa 1860
29" deep at frame
38" deep overall
64" wide at frame
72" wide overall
27.5" high overall
7.5" tall leg
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Wonderful comfortable Howard Beaumont sofa standing on square taper legs with original casters and soft siege do duvet down feather cushions.
This is slightly smaller than the similar looking Chaplin or the even larger Portarlingon, while retaining the proportions of a proper country house drawing room sofa. Stamped with the makers name, English circa 1900
26" high to arm, 32" high to back
68" wide, 35" deep
20" x 54" inside seat
6" high front leg
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Howard and Sons Portarlington sofa, the best sofa ever made for a proper English drawing room
39" deep
79" wide
28" high to arm
35" high to back
27" x 60" inside seat
8" tall leg
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Howard and Sons small Baring sofa, this is the most comfortable 5' sofa anywhere and definitely the prettiest by far, with very long legs for this sort of sofa. Shown here with the original fabric on the back and sides, this sofa has the original paper label as well as stamps to the casters and inside leg.
60" wide
30" high
31" deep
43" x 21" inside seat
8" leg
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Howard Grantley Sofa
This wonderful Howard sofa is covered in what could well be the original Kelim and dates from around 1860 - 1880.
It sofa is not yet in stock, but will be arriving in the next few weeks. Please email us if you would like to be to be one of the first to see it when it arrives
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