Exhibition | Part of the Furniture: The Library of John Bedford

Posted in exhibitions by Editor on January 11, 2024

Joseph Moxon, Practical Perspective; or Perspective Made Easie (London, 1670)
(University of Leeds)

◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

Now on view at the University of Leeds, with additional information at the Antique Collecting Magazine. Also, see this posting at Antique Dealers Blog by one of the show’s curators, Mark Westgarth.

Part of the Furniture: The Library of John Bedford
Brotherton Gallery, University of Leeds, 9 January — 21 December 2024

Curated by Mark Westgarth, Rachel Eckersley, and Rhiannon Lawrence-Francis

Rare and beautiful books chart the evolution of furniture design over the centuries and the journey from drawing board, to workshop, to home

Selected from the world-leading library of antiques dealer John Bedford (1941–2019), ornate patterns by a renaissance pioneer, designs by Chippendale, Sheraton, Pugin, and Morris, elaborate trade cards, colourful catalogues, drawings, and manuals show how ideas and trends took shape, gained influence, and were eventually revived as fashions came full circle.

Upholsterer and furniture dealer Daniel Thorn might be less of a household name, but his personal sketchbook of designs for drapery, curtains, and furniture is a lively working record of the looks of the late-18th and early-19th centuries. Other highlights include the only complete coloured copy of The Ladies Amusement, an 18th-century book of decorative designs made to cut out and paste. Henry Lawford’s gloriously garish 1855 fold-out sofa catalogue sweeps away clichés of dismal Victoriana in a colour-lithographed riot of puce, lavender, and pea-green.

The exhibition also celebrates Bedford’s life, his vast knowledge, and his generous legacy to the University of Leeds, which enabled the extension and refurbishment of The Brotherton Research Centre and the establishment of The John Bedford Fellowship, in addition to the donation of his dazzling library.

Part of the Furniture: The Library of John Bedford is curated by Mark Westgarth, Associate Professor of Art History and Museum Studies and Director of the Centre for the Study of the Art & Antiques Market; Rachel Eckersley, Rare Book Specialist; and Rhiannon Lawrence-Francis, Special Collections Curator.