Fine George I Burr Walnut Bureau Bookcase

A wonderful quality early 18th Century Bureau Bookcase of beautiful light faded colour, made in a leading London workshop of the period using the finest cuts of Burr Walnut veneer. The piece is very well drawn with clean elegant lines and fitted with a very fine lip moulding and feather banding throughout. The mirrored doors with inverted corners, the interior fitted with three Oak shelves with cross grain Walnut mouldings to the front edge. The interior of the fall front featuring classical architectural elements, having finely fluted and reeded flat pilasters flanking the central door. These are locked into place using an extremely slim sliding dovetail which is actually fitted into the drawer divisions. The exceptionally clean drawer linings all made using seasoned Oak have not suffered from the usual shrinkage. The piece is fitted with working keys for the bookcase, fall and interior door. The handles and feet are period replacements. Provenance: Remarkably this piece bears the label of Benjamin Branfill, Esq. Hacton Hill, Upminster, Essex to the underneath of one of the book shelves and also on the underneath of the base. William Braund a Portugal Merchant and a director of the East India Company was a bachelor and after he died in March 1774 under the terms of his will Hactons the grand 18th Century house passed to his nephew and protégé Benjamin Branfill. The Branfill family were landowners and owned Upminster Hall and the surrounding estate for 200 years. Much has been written about this prominent family by local historians, amazingly this process began in 1881 by Wilson who worked with members of the Branfill family to document the history.