British Campaign Furniture: Elegance Under Canvas, 1740-1914 [Hardcover]

Nicholas A. Brawer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2001

The first-ever book on the suites of travelling furniture used by British soldiers over one-and-a-half centuries. For the travelling British soldier, campaign furniture - chairs, desks, and other items, brought the comfort and civility of home to life under canvas. Made to be carried on the march and assembled on site, campaign furniture reached an aesthetic apex in 18th- and 19th-century England.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"The first axiom for camp is... do not make yourself uncomfortable for want of things to which you are accustomed," advised The Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook in 1890 to high-born Brits living in India, most of which England had by that point colonized through a succession of wars, or military "campaigns," throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. This impeccably curated, insightfully narrated, and richly illustrated volume proves that the homesick subjects of the Raj took such advice deeply to heart. It showcases nearly 200 years of furniture designed expressly to approximate all the refinement of a proper British household inside the canvas tents of ranking officers afar, but also to break down and fold up fast for easy, compact transport (hence campaign furniture's other appellation, "knock-down" furniture). Masterfully put together by independent curator Brawer, previously a researcher in the Indian and Southeast Asian departments of London's venerable Victoria and Albert Museum, this handsome volume succeeds on two levels: it amply highlights the stylistic elegance and technical ingenuity of this kind of furniture--a bureau that becomes a bed when its drawers are removed; a lady's bidet that folds into a leather case; or a dining table seating 20 that fits inside a 10-inch-deep box--while putting it (often quite wryly) in the historical context of an expatriate society that sought to re-create Britain wherever it went and had little or no interest in adapting to or learning about the customs or designs of the people it conquered (and essentially enslaved). Throughout, Brawer includes excerpts from a fascinating array of letters, journals, and other documents of the period, and an excellent pictorial directory of the furniture's craftsmen and manufacturers helps make this impressive tome invaluable for collectors, design historians, Anglophiles, and Merchant-Ivory set designers alike. --Timothy Murphy

About the Author

Nicholas A. Brawer earned his Master's degree in art history from the Courtauld Institute in London. Currently an independent curator, he has held research positions at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the British and Commonwealth Museum in Bristol. He has written on decorative arts and architecture for Antiques magazine. This is his first book. Jerome Phillips is an antique dealer, and an authority on British military furniture. He lives in Oxfordshire.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; First Edition edition (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810957116
• ISBN-13: 978-0810957114
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #418,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #92 in Books > History > Military > Life & Institutions
  • #99 in Books > Arts & Photography > Design & Decorative Arts > Furniture Design

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lavish Coffee Table Book on British Campaign Furniture, April 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: British Campaign Furniture: Elegance Under Canvas, 1740-1914 (Hardcover)

This book is a must have for anyone interested in English antiques, social, military, or naval history. I have never seen another book on this subject and it is filled with very interesting "before" and "after" photographs of dozens and dozens of pieces of campaign furniture "assembled" and "disassembled." I imagine this book has been a great hit in London.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh that all books were as beautiful.........., February 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: British Campaign Furniture: Elegance Under Canvas, 1740-1914 (Hardcover)

This is an excellent review of British Campain Furniture.

Each piece is photographed in colour and/or Black & White, discussed and given brief measurements. The "disembled" photos are of great use to anyone who wishes to reconstruct any of the items from the book, as well as satisfying the just plain curious. Some of the gadgets are fantastic.

Unfortunately, like most books of this type, the author is limited by the pieces that he can access within a year or two. I know there were 'Campaign' folding rocking chairs, and I an certain that there are other examples of furniture, with other systems of assembly ( Louis Vouton made a folding-bed-in-a-trunk for the Brazza Expedition in Africa in the late 1800's which survives - there is a single picture in 'Treasure Chests').

I can only hope that the author will be encouraged to keep looking & photographing, and that we may see a second volume in years to come.

Sorry Amazon, you just don't have enough stars........

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great picture book, September 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: British Campaign Furniture: Elegance Under Canvas, 1740-1914 (Hardcover)

I just had to have this book. The subject matter was unusual and touched on the social aspects of camp life in the British Army.
The pictures are fabulous.