A magnificent New South Wales native walnut (endiandra globosa) library bookcase c1880.In crisp Neo Classical revival mode. Mint condition. – original bevelled plate glass doors, shelves, shelf brackets, key & polish. Labelled by the maker James Lawson & Sons, Sydney (active 1855 -1898). Probably designed by his son William who did the furniture designs for the company. James (1836-1926) was a Scottish trained cabinet maker who arrived in Sydney in 1855. He exhibited NSW walnut furniture at the Sydney Intercolonial Exhibition in 1870. At the Sydney International Exhibtion in 1879 he won prizes for furniture in NSW mahogany, rewarewa wood, NSW beech & NSW ash. His eldest son James Robert founded later the auctioneering firm that survives to this day. It could be argued this is the finest surviving late 19th century Australian library bookcase. The maker’s use of native timber, largely now unknown offers exciting prospects for collectors of Australian native timber cabinet making. 258cm H x 1900 x 510mm D. $6,500.
Ref’s Fahy & Simpson: Australian Furniture Pictorial History & Dictionary 1788 -1938 p80