A George III ormolu mounted and parcel gilt rosewood writing table by John McLean & Son.
Note: The writing table has survived in remarkable original condition. Only part of the blue leather insert is of later date.
This table was purchased by George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey, for his London house in Berkeley Square. The Earl had married Lady Sarah Fane, daughter of the Earl of Westmorland and eldest grandchild and heiress to Robert Child of the banking firm Child & Co., only two years previously. Lady Sarah’s inheritance made her one of the richest heiresses in the country. Osterley Park, Middlesex, was part of her dowry, but the young couple preferred to live at Middleton Park, Oxfordshire, and at 38 Berkeley Square in London. Both properties were extensively furnished by the McLean firm between 1806 and 1807, at a total cost of £4,793 11s for Middleton Park and £151 3s for the London house. The McLean accounts in the possession of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London have the following entry:
The Right Honble Earl of Jersey, London 30 April 1807
Bought of John Mclean & Son
Work Done at Berkeley Square
A Rosewood round Library writing table elegantly mounted with ormolu moulding, lined with leather, cedar Drawers and varnished, £26. 10s
This was a considerable sum at the time, and the table was probably one of the most expensive versions of a Carlton House writing table that McLean could offer.
Only one other example, made for Brympton d’Evercy in Somerset, has come to light. A Carlton House writing table applied with ormolu and of slightly plainer design was supplied to the Lascelles family for either Harewood House in London or Harewood House in Yorkshire.