Furniture on the Move
Campaign furniture that can be folded up and packed for travel has been used by armies on the move since Roman times. This furniture reached its peak during the 1700’s and 1800's when the British Gentry, who were naturally used to a plush lifestyle, went out on campaigns to India, Africa and thereabouts to expand the British Empire. Hurrah!
This furniture was made by the finest furniture makers of 1800’s, including Sheraton and Hepplewhite, was made of the best materials like mahogany, and was engineered to include clever ways to knock down, fold up, or disassemble for travel by steam ship, camel, wagon or elephant. When camp was set up, the Brit pitched an enormous and elaborate tent (I’ll give you a moment to picture this), often beautiful Persian rugs were rolled out to cover the ground, and the campaign furniture was assembled to provide the comfort of a four poster bed, end tables, a desk, and of course a bar. Cheers!
For the Compass Rose Story, this furniture will be used to travel in style and comfort into the darkest jungles of South America in search of botanical specimens to draw, photograph, and collect for our greenhouse at home. These specimens will be studied for scientific interest and for possible medicinal or industrial use. It may sound like a lot of adventure and fun, but I assure you, it is :). There’s just something about getting lost in the bush that gets your heart pumping and makes you feel more alive!
A-n-y-w-a-y, I’ve pulled some Campaign Furniture from my archives to share. Hope you enjoy!
Shine On! Braxton
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| I think Yancey shared this - here's a bigger picture. Luxury in the field. |
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| Scissor leg support, brass corners and protection for the case. This, I believe is a modern adaptation since handles and knobs are not recessed and would likely get knocked off in travel. |
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| Folding up conserves space for storage and transport |
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| Airflow through seating was important for hot climates |
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| Stunning case, likely a desk. Clever. Note protective brass edges and corners and recessed handles for carrying. |
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| Stacking chest. Note handles on each unit. |
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| Cloth seating like Director's Chair |
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| Campaign style desk in room setting |
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| Love how this box opens up and the writing surface, I suspect, pulls out |
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| Our British Gentry friend in the field - both military and business gents traveled with campaign furniture |
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| This likely a travel piece not a true campaign piece, but I wanted to capture the functionality. |
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| Campaign style, worth capturing as a muse for later... |
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| Beautiful campaign style piece |
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| Another campaign style piece. I believe Restoration Hardware may be selling these. Fun |
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| Dig the action on this bed! |
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| Sweet. Assuming mattress roll would go on top. |
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| Campaign style with bold mod color |
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| Very military looking. Like the tight leather straps :) |
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| Again, I believe shared by Yancey earlier, but picture really captures the whole luxury in the field story. |
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| Another very military looking piece |
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| Stunning. Top three drawers would span the two pedestals and each unit would have handles for carrying. |
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| Beautiful piece. Brass banding recessed smooth. |
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| Romance shot - living the good life in the bush... Left click to ZOOM this shot - plush. |
3 comments:
All these pieces are incredible. I love anything that suggests an Out of Africa feel!
I agree. The look is great, and as an inventor, I am going to school on the innovation here. Perhaps a design muse for this next generation of on the move! Brax
Hello! I stumbled in here via Pinterest. Forgive me if this is described elsewhere, but are all these pieces antiques or are there some modern reproductions in here? I'm particularly interested in the collapsible canvas chair with the leather strapping around the legs. Thank you!
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