THE DESIGN ATTRIBUTED TO RICHARD NORMAN SHAW (1831-1912) OR SEYMOUR EATON (1859-1915), CIRCA 1902

This design has been associated to both English Richard Norman Shaw (1831-1912) and American Seymour Eaton (1859-1915). The Tabard Inn in Bedford Park, London was envisaged as a part of a garden suburb conceived in 1875 by Jonathan Carr with E.W. Godwin as architect. However, Richard Norman Shaw became the key coordinator in 1877 and he may have designed the bookcase to furnish the inn. For another example attributed to Shaw, see Christie's, London, 23 March 2006, lot 99. Alternatively, the design has been understood as a part of The Tabard Inn Library founded in America by Seymour Eaton in 1902. Eaton named the library after the Southwark Inn in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales and he envisioned thousands of these bookcases placed in stores and various commercial establishments throughout the country, but his plans were cut short when he was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1905. The year before, Eaton had sold the concept to the British bookseller W.H. Smith and many examples were also made in England around this time. For another American example, see Christie's, London, 18 May 2010, lot 272. The present lot lacks the inscriptions seen on other survivals and probably originally had applied plaques on the cornice and lettering on the lower sides, now removed and replaced with inset oak panels. Such a campaign of restoration suggests that the bookcase was intentionally converted for private use.
For further reading, see John Andrews, 'The Revolving Bookcase Mystery, Part 2: 26 Years On - An American Dimension', Antique Collecting, May 2006, pp. 48-49.