Relevant categories: Dining Tables,Dining Chairs,Seating and Chairs
(Above photo - Robert Thompson - Mouseman - signature no oak table )
We are lucky enough to have some Mouseman carvings in our local village church, St Margarets in Ridge, Hertfordshire. It's only a 5 minute drive from the Canonbury Antiques Hertfordshire showroom so well worth a visit if you have the time (and assuming it's open). There are reputedly meant to be 7 Mouseman signatures in the church but I could only find three.
(Above photo - Take a pew - Robert Thompson signature on oak seat )
Mouseman furniture was created by Robert Thompson, an English carpenter who lived between May 7, 1876, and December 8, 1955. He was born to a carpenter/stonemason father in Kilburn, North Yorkshire, England. Later on, he took over the family business and created a distinct furniture style.
Thompson lived at a time when the industrial revolution had just taken root. At that time, it was not easy to make furniture without using modern tools. Thompson chose a more traditional approach with his furniture pieces being defined by the Mortise and Tenon joint. He would instead use the adze to shape and smooth surfaces than rely on modern equipment. As a result, his (Mouseman) furniture features a unique ripples appearance.
In 1919, Thompson was carving a cornice together with another carver. At that time, his friend remarked on being “as poor as a church mouse.” So, he decided to carve a mouse, which came out so well that he made it his trademark. That was the beginning of a style that is now called Mouseman furniture.
(Above photo - Another mouse found in the village church of St Margarets) Soon, furniture with a mouse carved on them became famous throughout England. In 1930, Thomas registered the mouse as his trademark. The business started by his father maintains its operations in Kilburn, Yorkshire. Its name is telling Robert Thompson’s Craftsmen Limited. Even today, it makes furniture using the same traditional skills and techniques of its founders.
How to Identify Genuine Mouseman Furniture
(Above photo - Signature carved mouse for Mouseman furniture ) When buying Mouseman furniture, it is good to check if it is vintage or not. That’s because you are likely to come across pieces of furniture that had been made in later decades. Here are a few tips to help you make the right choice.
• Check the Signature: In the early days, the mice on the furniture had front paws that could break when mishandled. So, any furniture with mice with paws is likely to have been made in the 1920s and 1930s. Later on, the mice didn’t have paws.
• Construction Details: Some of the earliest pieces of furniture didn’t have mice at all. So, it helps to look at other details. For example, the tabletops, which were dowelled and not tongued. Also, you should look under a chair for a “rush tail.” That was changed later in the 1950s.
• Solid Backed Chairs: Early Mouseman chairs had backs made from solid panels and octagonal legs. The joint linking legs to a lathe had a “prop” mark. Later towards the end of the 1930s, the company started making chairs with lattice backs.
• Upholstery: In the 1920s and 1930s, Thompson made furniture with interwoven leather upholstery. Later, the upholstery morphed into solid leather until the 1950s. With time, the upholstery became cowhide and cotton web frames. Incidentally, modern Mouseman chairs still feature that kind of upholstery.
Given that Thompson had several people working for him, there arose several imitations of Mouseman furniture. Instead of the mouse, some created motifs of beavers, rabbits, and so on. You could as well buy an imitation and pay half the price.
Please read more in this Antiques Trade Gazette guide to Mouseman furniture
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