A Victorian mahogany writing table, with rounded rectangular...

Hammer

£70

A Victorian mahogany writing table,
with rounded rectangular top, once fitted with an inkwell, on turned tapered legs,
W.114cm, D.69cm H.76cm
The Royal College of Surgeons of England Library

The Royal College of Surgeons of England is in the process of a major building redevelopment due to be completed in 2021. As part of the project the Grade II* listed Library is being historically restored and refurnished.

The Library has always been the beating heart and enquiring mind of the College and during the redevelopment project the Grade II* listed Library is being refurbished and restored to its full glory.
The Library was designed by Sir Charles Barry in 1837 and has been used for this purpose ever since. In 1850, Charles Dickens described how passers-by glancing up at the windows of the College could see surgeons sitting at tables studying in the Library.

As RCS England moves from its older premises into its new purpose-refurbished home, there is a
selection of charming and well-loved furniture which, sadly, we cannot take with us. This includes wooden tables, chairs, display cases and bookcases and a wooden book trolley. Some of the Library furniture
included in the sale has been in use in the Library from the late 19th century until now but, regrettably, not all of the furniture will be appropriate for the new Lumley Library, Research Room, or Members Library when we occupy our new building in summer 2021.

The proceeds from the auction will go towards the refurbishment of the Library and the Research Room in the College building in Lincoln Inn’s Fields. Specifically, the proceeds will be used for the rebuilding and replacing the unique, site-specific bookcases which are a defining feature of the Library suite and characteristic of the fine balance between heritage and modernity which will be a feature of the whole building.


By the middle of the 19th century, the Library was described as follows in Charles Dickens’ magazine, Household Words:

‘The library is a noble, large room, of excellent proportions, occupying the whole length in front, having tall plate-glass embayed windows, each with its table and chair; and, in each of which, the passers-by in Lincoln’s Inn Fields may generally see a live surgeon framed and glazed, busily occupied with his books, or still more busily helping to keep up the tide of gossip for which the place is celebrated. For some twenty feet from the floor on all sides the walls are lined with books. Above this, and just under the handsomely panelled roof, hang portraits of old surgeons, each famous in his time.’

[Charles Dickens (1850) Household Words (1), p.464]

More Information

Overall of a reddish mahogany tone with wear through the varnish to one side of the top and numerous dents scuffs and scratches throughout, lacking the original inkwell fittings