Royal House Antiques
Royal
House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this lovely very rare solid
Mahogany with brass trim Army & Navy C.S.L stamped officers Campaign chest
of drawers with drop front Birds Eye Maple desk.
These
are exceptionally rare, fully stamped to the left drawer "Army & Navy
C.S.L Makers" the secrataire desk lock is stamped "Hobbs & Co
London" with the serial number 328.
I bought these along with
another rare campaign chest (which is listed under my other items) the other is
a five tier with six drawers, they came from the same family whose current
owner had decided to move them on, they had been in their family since new and
based on the age are in impeccable condition throughout.
The handles are fully
recessed these would have spent most of their lives inside transport trunks
hence the wonderful condition and not having the side mounts. The drop front
desk is exquisite, Birds Eye Maple lined with a leather writing surface, this
is a true original officers chest and the finest money could buy at the time.
Both sets are genuine and
very well used campaign pieces, these unlike most of the fake reproduction
pieces around today are as authentic as they come, they have loads of patina
marks from years of transport and god knows what else.
Dimensions
Height:- 90.5cm
Width:- 99cm
Depth:- 45.5cm
Please note all
measurements are taken at the widest point, if you would like any additional or
specific measurements please ask.
Army & Navy CSL
The Army & Navy Store
Co-Operative Society Limited, to give their full title, was set by in 1871 by a
group of army and naval officers who had decided they were paying too much for
their wine. If they clubbed together to buy wholesale, they could greatly
reduce the price. If this could be done for wine, it could be done for most
other things and indeed the A&N CSL went on to sell just about everything
imaginable from food and drink to clothing, furniture, sporting goods, luggage
and toys.
Membership was restricted
to officers, non-commissioned officers and their families. Friends could join
by introduction and officials from the civil service and clubs etc. could also
join.
Premises were opened at 105
Victoria Street and the Society quickly grew to be a very large concern with
depots at important army bases and ports. With a large demand from members in
India, a store was opened in Bombay in 1891, followed by Karachi in 1892 and
Calcutta in 1901.
The Society also
manufactured or commissioned a number of the items they sold. This is
particularly true of the items we are interested in, travel furniture and
luggage etc. We also have a theory that the A&N CSL workshops may have
supplied other retailers such as Harrods. Although many of the London campaign
furniture makers were producing similar items of furniture, a number of pieces
sold by Harrods bear a striking similarity to those marked A&N CSL.
However, the Army & Navy Store tended to label their items whereas this was
less of a concern for Harrods.
Four digit reference
numbers are often to be found stamped on pieces sold by both companies. The
A&N CSL used a variety of different labels and stamps throughout their history
but more often than not the wording 'Army & Navy C.S.L. Makers' was used.
Some labels also show addresses. Brass and ivorine labels are known as well as
applied leather labels on luggage and both impressed and ink stamps.
The speed and size of the
Society's growth was remarkable but still they managed to keep an eye on
quality and customer service. Their name changed in 1934 from the Army &
Navy Co-Operative Society Ltd to The Army & Navy Stores Ltd. They were eventually
taken over by The House of Frazer in 1981.
Any questions please feel
free to ask before you bid.
ABOUT US
Royal House Antiques is a privately owned family
ran business founded in Wimbledon SW19 and now based in Pulborough RH20. We
specialise in finding, restoring very fine luxury antique leather seating,
along with every single other type of antique ranging from the 16th
century to the 20th century. We also stock a number of designer
brands such as Fritz Hansen, Ralph Lauren, Cavalli, Charles & Ray Eames,
Vitra, David Linley, Rolex, Tiffany, Jager Le Coulter and so on
PAYMENTS
We accept payment via Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash,
Ethereum, Bacs, Chaps, PayPal or Card, we would kindly ask that all items are
paid for within 48 hours and collected within 7 working days, we can hold all
paid items for 14 days free of charge, there after a £20 a week storage fee
will apply. We have long term storage which is very economically priced, we are
happy to hold stock for as long as needed providing it is arranged prior to the
purchase
If sold items aren’t collected within three months
and no arrangements have been made for long term storage you will forfeit the
item and payment
CONDITION
Please view the very detailed pictures as
they form part of the description pertaining to the condition. Please also ask any questions before you bid
and not after, all of our items are sold as seen and as listed
Royal House Antiques cannot be held liable for any
independent assumptions made regarding the items we sell, if you are unsure on
any point, please feel free to ask for clarity
Please note vintage period and original items such
as leather seating will always have natural patina in the form of creasing and
wear, we recommend annual waxing to ensure no moisture is lost, also hand dyed
leather is not recommended to sit in direct sunlight for prolonged periods of
time as it will dry out and fade
DELIVERY OR COLLECTION
This item is available for collection from our Pulborough
warehouses RH20-1DF by appointment only, alternatively we can have it delivered
nationwide to include Scotland, Wales and Ireland for a fee
Please contact me via email, alternatively my
contact information is under the business seller section of the listing, with
your postcode for a delivery quotation, as mentioned above the fee listed
covers with the M25 for the UK, for international deliveries the amount listed
covers local Europe only so parts of Belgium and France
Please be sure to include which item you would like
to buy as the price is determined on size and distance, if you would like more
than one piece of furniture the courier offers a substantial discount on the
second and third item, for international shipping please view the below
information
COURIER, LARGE ITEMS ONLY THAT CAN’T BE POSTED
We can arrange delivery nationwide, mostly with our
nominated couriers, for Europe we use one reasonably priced professional company
that we trust, for the rest of the world we use international shippers that can
send any size item crated via air freight within 7-14 days after crating or
soft packed and container shipped via sea freight within 30-60 days. The time
frames outlined are guides only, non-domestic shipping is almost entirely
governed by the airlines, sea freight loading times and custom clearances
Whomever delivers will always require help on the
larger items to unload, the price you will be quoted will always be based on
this assumption, if this is not possible, please let us know as it will affect
the price to send a two-person team
Delivery is to the ground floor only, again if you
need help upstairs or in flats etc that's absolutely not a problem, the
couriers charge £10-£20 per flight per man per item, if you have a working
elevator then naturally there’s no additional fee
All courier fees are paid by yourself directly to
the courier company, the contract for delivery is between yourselves the client
and whichever courier you chose from those available I’m happy to accommodate
your own courier after a cleared payment has been received, they need to book
in a collection time with at least 24 hours notice, all collections must be
made within 14 working days of the close of the sale unless agreed by prior
arrangement
IMPORT DUTY
Most countries charge some kind of import duty
however almost all of our items won’t incur any charges as the items are exempt
from tax due to the age and materials used
For European deliveries the price you will be
quoted will include all clearance documentation and any customs charges so
there won’t be any additional fees
For international deliveries such as the United
States there can be some import duty to pay and or a clearance fee, I would
estimate that 99% of all deliveries clear customs without being stopped for
either
All duties are the responsibility of the purchaser
who is the importer, they can’t be covered by the seller or shipping agent or
factored in with additional retrospective discounts
RETURNS
Royal House Antiques offers a no quibble return
policy if the item is not as described, if there are any issues with the piece
you will be refunded in full once the item has been returned and inspected
within 14 days, alternatively if there is a small issue, we can discuss finding
a mutual resolution that makes all parties happy
We don’t offer a sale on approval service which
means you can purchase the item, have it delivered and if you simply don’t like
it, return it, this comes under change of mind or doesn’t fit. There is a lot
of time, money and work involved in transporting goods around the world, the
costs incurred can be vast so my advice would be if you are unsure on a piece
please ask as many questions as you like to make sure you understand everything
before you buy, if you are still unsure then please either arrange a viewing in
person or if that’s not possible then don’t buy from an online retailer,
perhaps look for a local gallery instead