A MID-VICTORIAN BIRD'S-EYE-MAPLE AND ROSEWOOD WELLINGTON

W. Priest is well known as an auctioneer, appraiser and retailer (active 1837-1840) whose trade label appears on furniture dating from the late 18th Century through the mid-Victorian era. Labels with the Tudor Street address describe his business as a 'Furniture Warehouse', suggesting that Priest sold furniture secondhand. It has been suggested that he is likely to have specialized in office and library furniture (C. Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture: 1700-1840, Leeds, 1996, pp. 45-46).