It is necessary to know this much of Chippendale and his environment that we may be able to understand his work. He excelled in the quality of discrimination and the ability to adapt successfully the styles of other makers, thereby displaying a broad constructive originality, as already noted. These styles he shaped to his own tastes and inclinations, improved upon them structurally and often bettered them artistically.

Moreover, he possessed the tradesman's shrewd instincts, - knew how to cater to his numerous and wealthy patrons, and prospered exceedingly. It was doubtless the commercialisation of his craft and the fantastic whims of some of his wealthy customers that either encouraged or permitted him to make some of his over-elaborated and less satisfactory pieces, while the necessity to court, as well, the patronage of a less affluent clientele imposed a restraint to fanciful extravagance which resulted in much of his best and most artistic work.

With his many-sided tastes and the search for wide variety in the fields in which he browsed for inspiration, Chippendale seems at times to have entertained a vigorous determination to get as far away as possible from the English furniture styles of all preceding epochs; and he certainly succeeded in so doing. Notwithstanding this revolutionary attitude, which, for a Briton, showed decided originality in the mere fact of breaking from the sacred bonds of established precedent, he retained and constantly made use of certain features employed by his predecessors.

One of these was the cabriole, or bandy leg (Key VI, 1, 2 and 9 and VII, 5 and 6), the introduction of which some have mistakenly ascribed to Chippendale, while others have altogether ignored his frequent use of it, - for his more expensive chairs he used it almost altogether, as the drawings in his book of published designs will prove, - choosing to consider only his straight-legged chairs and tables; though how they could close their eyes to the innumerable cabriole representatives is a mystery.

Another feature that he retained and elaborated was the general outline of the splat in chair-backs. This splat, or panel, that had commonly been solid in the chairs of the Queen Anne period, showing piercings or perforations as the Early Georgian epoch advanced, he cut into interlacing or fretted patterns (Key VI, 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8). In this work, too, he retained and elaborated the C and S scrolls (Plate XIV, p. 148) that the Queen Anne chairmakers had employed so extensively. His method of adapting and introducing these scrolls showed both originality and ingenuity. So constantly and persistently did he use these that Isaac Ware, a King's Surveyor and an ardent disciple of the Inigo Jones school, wrote: "It is our misfortune to see, at this time, an unmeaning scrawl of C's, inverted and looped together, taking the place of Greek and Roman Elegance, even in our most inexpensive decorations. It is called the French, and let them have the praise of it; the Gothic Shafts, and Chinese, are not beyond it, nor below it, in poorness of imagination."

CHIPPENDALE HOOP-BACKED CHAIR IN MAKER'S EARLY MANNER.

(Uprights with stepped curve above seat; shaped and carved seat-rail; carved cresting of cabriole extending to top of seat-rail; dolphin feet)

CHIPPENDALE CHEST OF DRAWERS WITH DECORATIVE BRASS MOUNTS.

CHIPPENDALE GILT MIRROR FRAME.

CHIPPENDALE TRIPOD BASON STAND.

(All are authentic Chippendale pieces) By Courtesy of Richard A. Canfield, Esq., New York City.

PLATE XIV.

Fig. 1. Carved and Gilt Chippendale Mirror. By Courtesy of Augustus Van Cortlandt, Jr., Sharon, Conn.

There can be little doubt that Chippendale, with his inspiration professedly drawn from French, Gothic, and Chinese sources, was the person aimed at in this bit of invective. Ware should not have "blamed" him, however, for the C and S scrolls, for these he had simply retained as part of his cabinet-making heritage, and been guilty of nothing worse than elaboration - and beautiful elaboration at that. Still another feature that he had kept from the work of his English predecessors was his attachment to staunch, straightforward "carcase" work. No matter how much, at times, he might overlay it with florid and occasionally gingerbread ornamentation, he kept his "carcases" for the most part true to English precedent, and indulged only moderately in the vagaries and tricks of joinery that his French models, for whom he professed such admiration, were wont to affect.

It is necessary to glance for a moment at the sources from which Chippendale avowedly drew his types. At an early age he seems to have become enamoured of the "Louis Quatorze" and "Louis Quinze" and to have mastered thoroughly all their intricacies of Rococo detail and ornamentation.

Another source to which Chippendale turned for basic inspiration on which to frame his own ideas was the work of the old Gothic builders. His Chinese efforts were frankly the outcome of an effort to adapt the ideas of Sir William Chambers so that they might be susceptible of employment for English uses. Chinese fancy pleased Chippendale, and he forthwith set about adapting it according to his own notions. Nearly all his work, outside of that developed from distinctly English traditions, falls naturally into a classification under these three headings: Gothic, Chinese and French.

One discerning writer has somewhat facetiously suggested a fifth classification as "Inexpensive," and included under this heading all the sound, sensible pieces of his work divested of all the excess of florid carved ornamentation that Chippendale occasionally indulged in for the delectation of a few of his wealthy customers who, apparently, had more money than good taste. It must be conceded, even by those who cherish little admiration for Chippendale's style, that one of the prime characteristics of his work is strength and solidity, without heaviness.

Although Chippendale turned his hand both in design and execution to every ordinary article of furniture except sideboards - he did make "sideboard tables," but these will be discussed later - he was unquestionably at his best in the treatment of chairs.