A new service for dating English furniture. (Design Notes).

Account books for English furniture makers and their patrons survive, but primarily only for the grandest and most prolific makers who were commissioned to supply affluent owners with furniture for their palatial houses in London and the country These documents are replete with information, often very detailed, enumerating materials used and their cost, delivery fees, and important dates in the commission's progress. Consequently they are perfect for dating the piece of furniture in question.

Another way to date furniture, little known to all but a few furniture historians and dealers, is by researching the locks that were supplied to cabinetmakers. The Chubb Lock Company established in Wolverhampton in 1818, has been a leader in this field from its foundation. Until the mid-1930s every lock the company made bore a serial number that in most cases can be assigned a specific date. Chubb's records, which are largely complete, also contain information about the lock, the locksmith's name, and sometimes other details.

The company was founded by the brothers Charles and Jeremiah Chubb and received a royal license from George IV. Among its other notable clients were the Bank of England and Arthur Wellesley the duke of Wellington, who ordered four locks and a new key for Apsley House in London.

In 1984 the Chubb Company was purchased by Racal Electronics, which, in turn, was bought by Williams Holdings in 1997. At that time the offices in which Chubb's documents were stored were closed. The records were then donated to the Business Archive Council, a nonprofit organization devoted to the preservation of records of commercial concerns. Two years later they were turned over to the manuscripts section of the Guildhall Library in London. Unfortunately these papers, many of which are in a most fragile state, have not been catalogued or conserved, and it will be some time before they will be available to the public.

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