William Ince (1737-1804) & John Mayhew (1736-1811) formed an important cabinet-making firm in 1759 and produced beautiful furniture which can now be found in museums and stately homes around the world.
 Top of serpentine commode by Ince & Mayhew in Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY Image in the Public Domain Fletcher Fund, 1959
Their partnership lasted until an agreement in 1799 to end the business. They produced a great deal of furniture in that period, which is of an extremely high quality, sometimes with amazing marquetry and often with a delicate touch. They issued a directory called The Universal System of Household Furniture as a series of issues between 1759 and 1760, and as a single volume in 1762.
Writing in 1904 R S Coulston said of William Ince that ‘his drawing of a Lady’s dressing table is exceedingly dainty in design. It is in pieces of furniture such as this that Ince is at his best; and it is a best which, of its kind, is exceedingly difficult to beat. ...It is impossible to withhold from him both praise and admiration… It is therefore a matter of considerable importance and one reflecting the greatest honour on Ince that, while Chippendale’s new designs were the last of an ephemeral fashion, many of the new ideas in ‘Household Furniture’ were so far ahead of their time that they actually set the fashion for several years.’[1] There is a full description of the firm’s activities in the article in the Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840 by Hugh Roberts and Charles Cator (Beard, G and Gilbert, C eds. 1986 pp. 589-598). An exciting new development is the creation of a database based on the Dictionary. A number of more recent articles about Ince & Mayhew have appeared in the Furniture History Society Journal - see Further Reading. [1] Minor English Furniture Makers of the Eighteenth Century Article III-Ince and Mayhew Author(s): R. S. Clouston Source: The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 6, No. 19 (Oct., 1904), pp. 47-52 Published by: Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/856033 Accessed: 23-01-2019 |
Ince & Mayhew commode in Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, front panel Image in the Public Domain Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964
Check the Blog for more detailed information and recent research, including the apprenticeship of John Ince, father of William Ince, in London, 18th century fire-engines and nine descendants of William Ince visiting Sherborne Castle to view the many items of Ince & Mayhew furniture there, as well as a 1762 edition of the Universal System of Household Furniture.
Book written and illustrated by Ince descendants
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A brief outline of the lives of William Ince and John Mayhew
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An overview of the firm's activities and the long-running law case that followed the ending of their partnership...
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Ince & Mayhew furniture can be seen in many stately homes in England as well as in museums around the world...
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Ince ancestors in Worcestershire and descendants around the world.
Mayhew's grandson, Henry Mayhew author... |
