Litchfield, Samuel, Frederick & Thomas (1876-1911)
Litchfield, Samuel, Frederick & Thomas
Hanway Street, Bruton Street & Green Street, Leicester Square, London; artistic furniture makers,, upholsterers, decorators and furniture dealers (fl.c.1876-1911)
Samuel Litchfield (1818-94) was recorded as a curiosity dealer at 17 Hanway Street (1839); 52a Mortimer Street (1841); 22 Hanway Street (from c.1857); and at 30 Hanway Street and 19 Green Street, Leicester Square (c.1860-1882). He was in partnership with Leopold Ratcliffe as Litchfield & Ratcliffe from 1857-70.
Frederick (one of his sons) joined the business in 1866 and was later joined by his brother Thomas.
Samuel opened a branch which focussed on ‘Upholstery and Decoration’ at 19 Green Street, Leicester Square (c.1876) under the management of Thomas, who had ‘completed a long engagement with Messrs Gillow, of Oxford Street’. He was listed as an artistic furniture maker, ancient & antique furniture dealer, curiosity dealer & interior decorator at 28-30 Hanway Street & 3 Bruton Street in the London Post Office Directory, 1882. Samuel retired In 1885 and the partnership of Samuel, Frederick and Thomas, ‘china and antique furniture dealers, importers of works of art, and upholsterers and decorators’ was dissolved, the business was transferred to Samuel’s sons and his extensive collection of works of decorative art sold [The Furniture Gazette, 1 July 1885].
The Hanway Street business was continued by Frederick Litchfield until 1891. He later moved to the Sinclair Galleries in Shaftesbury Avenue, whilst Thomas continued to trade as Litchfield & Co., ‘antique furniture dealers’, at 3 Bruton Street as recorded in the 1911 directories.
Clients included the Dowager Duchess of Northumberland and Charles Winn of Nostell Priory.
Source: Westgarth, A Biographical Dictionary of Nineteenth Century Antique and Curiosity Dealers (2009).