Library steps
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1740
Materials
Carved oak, mounted with brass, covered with chamois
Measurements
211 x 100 x 132 cm
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Ham House, Surrey
NT 1139981
Summary
Library steps in oak with brass handles, iron hinges and brass and leather castors. The reading desk at the top is supported on four serpentine legs of octagonal section. There is a flap seat on the front and book rest on the back. Five steps lead up to the platform. Lionel Tollemache, 4th Earl of Dysart (1708 - 1770), acquired this wheeled set of library steps for the Library, of which the 1670s fittings and furniture had been preserved .
Provenance
Acquired in 1948 by HM Government when Sir Lyonel, 4th Bt (1854 – 1952) and Sir Cecil Tollemache, 5th Bt (1886 – 1969) presented Ham House to the National Trust, and entrusted to the care of the Victoria & Albert Museum, until 1990, when returned to the care of the National Trust, and to which ownership was transferred in 2002.
References
Rowell 2013: Christopher Rowell (ed.), Ham House, 400 Years of Collecting and Patronage, Yale University Press, New Haven & London 2013