Three auctions in March in London have Ince & Mayhew furniture for sale.

At Christie’s, London on 9th March there is the sale of items from Linley Hall, Shropshire: Property from The Collection of The Late Sir Jasper & Lady More.  This includes a set of four George III giltwood open armchairs by Ince & Mayhew 1774 – estimate £15,000 to £25,000.  The Lot Notes are interesting, revealing that the chairs are part of a suite of seat-furniture supplied to Sir Thomas Edwardes (d. 1785) for the Drawing Room of his London mansion in Portman Square. The firm was responsible for the refurbishment of the principal rooms. The seat-furniture is recorded in an estimate and invoice dated 22 August 1774. There is also a  George III mahogany serpentine serving-table (1770-1780) estimate £20,00 to £30,000 and a pair of giltwood stools estimate £5000 to £8000 one attributed to Ince & Mayhew 1774, the other 20th century.

Sotheby’s are holding an auction on 8th March called Pelham, The Public and the Private.  It includes a George III satinwood, harewood and tulipwood breakfront bookcase, circa 1780, attributed to Mayhew and Ince, estimate £40,000 to £60,000, and a pair of George III harewood, satinwood and fruitwood floral marquetry inlaid cabinets-on-stands, circa 1790, attributed to Ince & Mayhew, estimate £20,000 to £30,000.  The bookcase was ‘almost certainly made for Henry Temple, 2nd Viscount Palmerston (1739–1802) for Broadlands House, Hampshire’ and is ‘possibly one of the 'Two Comode Bookcases in Satton Wood' listed in the Book Room in the Inventory of furniture and household items at Broadlands, 1786’.

Bonhams have a Britain Defining the Interior auction on 9th March which includes a fine George III sycamore, harewood and tulipwood banded bowfront marquetry dressing commode attributed to Mayhew and Ince, estimate £20,000  to £30,000.

I hope to view some of these items before the auctions, as it is always enjoyable to see furniture made by my ancestor.

Welcome to the Ince & Mayhew website.    My aim is to create a space where you can find anything to do with William Ince and John Mayhew and their furniture. 

I have already found numerous images from the National Trust, other stately homes, museums and auction houses which you can see on the Pinterest Board on the Furniture page.  The Board probably needs sub-dividing already there are so many.

I will also post up information about the lives of both families.  As a descendant of William Ince, through his son Frederick, I obviously have a lot more information about the Inces, but I am happy to include more on the Mayhews as well.  Let me know if you have any verified facts to add.

I have only sketched over the Ince ancestor information on this website.  My book has five chapters on the early period, including 'the redoubtable Maude Ince' as Sir Hugh Roberts describes her in his foreword.  Her Will written in 1602 is a delight.

Please feel free to comment or send me a message through the contact page.