A Fine Mahogany Late 19th Century Envelope Card Table by Antoine Lampre, Paris

A fine quality late 19th Century / early 20th Century envelope card table with ormolu mounts by Lampre of Paris French Paris Circa 1900. Of envelope form this card table is twisted for the table to be opened, allowing each leaf to rest on the baized under section. Tables of this form were first introduced in France in the Louis XVI period and this piece, with its exceptionally fine gilt bronze mounts, is very much in the late 18th Century taste. Veneered throughout in finely figured and plum pudding mottled mahogany, this piece has real presence and epitomises understated luxury. The overhanging square top has fine ormolu edging and there are mounts to the edges of the drawer in the frieze and finely cast ormolu rosettes to each corner block. The piece retains its original drawer handle which is also finely cast and there are fillet-type mounts inlaid in to the fluting at the top of each leg. The piece is inscribed with the name of its maker Lampre of Paris. Based on the Rue St. Honore, the firm was named after its founder Antoine Lampre who exhibited furniture at the Universelle Expositions in both 1878 and 1889, winning bronze medals on both occasions. The firm is discussed in D. Ledoux-Lebard, Le mobilier francais du XIXe siecle, Paris 1998 p. 401