Baskerville, John (1706–75)
Baskerville, John
22 Moor St, Easy Hill, Birmingham; japanner and papier mâché; manufacturer (fl.1706–75)
Earliest recorded manufacturer of papier mâché. In 1742 he took out a patent (no. 582) proposing to use japanned metal as veneer on case furniture. By 1767 he was listed in a Birmingham Directory as a ‘japanned of Tea Tables… Waiters, Trays &c’. A later commentator wrote that he supplied ‘a selection of useful articles such as tea boards elegantly designed and finished’.
Source: DEFM; Jones, ‘George Brookshaw – Japanner! Further Light on Japanned Metal and Papier Maché Furniture c. 1740-c.1820’, FHS Newlsetter (February 2009).
The original entry from Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, 1660-1840 can be found at British History Online.