Printer T. Sorrell (British); Publisher Committee of Chair-Manufacturers (British)
England, 1807–08
Museum-Quality Digital Canvas Print
Issued at the turn of the nineteenth century, London Chair-Makers’ and Carvers’ Book of Prices, for Workmanship is more than a trade guide—it is a window into the intricate relationship between labor, craft, and commerce in Georgian London. Printed by T. Sorrell and published by the Committee of Chair-Manufacturers, the volume codifies wages and standards, transforming the negotiations of artisans into a material artifact of collective voice.
Its pages resonate with clarity and order: tables of prices delineate the value of labor, while accompanying engravings capture the elegance of form—chairs rendered not only as objects of use but as emblems of dignity in wood. What might once have been a pragmatic manual for journeymen and masters alike now carries the patina of history, a document of both regulation and beauty.
Presented as a museum-quality digital canvas print, the work transcends its mercantile purpose to become a meditation on design, labor, and legacy. It stands as testimony to a moment when craft was codified, defended, and celebrated—perfect for the collector who seeks objects that bear the imprint of both hands and history.
Gatekeepers.la: Because beauty belongs to those who read design in the language of labor.
