Walnut (Juglans)

A tree introduced into England in Tudor times, the wood of which for furniture was little used until after the Restoration, when, to a great extent, it supplanted oak. It remained in vogue until mahogany began to take its place about 1720, but it was still employed occasionally for many years afterwards. At first it was used in the solid, and in the Queen Anne period as a veneer and for the groundwork of marquetry. In this period thin transverse slices of the small boughs and roots of the tree formed a veneer called burr-walnut, or oyster veneer. Walnut was better adapted by its grain for delicate carving than oak, and less so than mahogany. Dark veins are distinctive of Italian walnut.

Walnut Period

Mr. Percy Macquoid originated the idea of dividing the history of English furniture into four periods or ages, and he fixed the "Age of Walnut" from 1660 to 1720. This division has been generally accepted and found most useful, but it must be remembered that walnut was sometimes used before the Restoration, and as late as the Chippendale period.

Wardrobe

The present-day wardrobe can scarcely be said to have existed until the latter part of the eighteenth century. Like the sideboard it was evolved out of several elements, the wardrobe or room with hanging closets in it for clothes, etc., of mediaeval times; the hanging cupboards and closets of the seventeenth century and, towards its end, the chest of drawers and the tall-boy, and the clothes press of the eighteenth century, improved by Chippendale and Hepplewhite, and called a wardrobe. These elements still existed separately, but Sheraton combined into one article the clothes press and hanging cupboards on each side, which as one piece is now known as the wardrobe.

Isaac Ware (Ob. 1766)

An architect contemporary with James Gibbs and William Kent, and, like them, a designer of furniture for the houses he erected.

Warming-Pan

A shallow, circular, lidded box, usually of copper, but sometimes of brass, fixed to a long wooden handle. Hot cinders were put into the receptacle which was then placed in, or moved about, a bed to warm it. The lid was occasionally perforated with a number of small holes, and patterns and inscriptions were incised upon more elaborate examples. The warming-pan was in use as early as the time of Elizabeth, and is still employed, though it has been generally superseded by the hot-water bottle.

Washstand

Examples of washstands or "basin stands" made before the Chippendale period do not exist. Before his time small tables, low-boys, etc., no doubt served to support the basin and conveniences for washing. Chippendale made a special stand for the purpose in many shapes, notably corner ones, sometimes with hinged covers and drawers, but all for basins which in these days would be considered minute. Other makers, like Hepplewhite and Sheraton, spent much ingenuity in developing the washstand, but during the eighteenth century the basin remained very small