An antique box I recently purchased from the UK came accompanied by a fascinating article about the history of the writing slope. I wanted to share an excerpt from that article with my followers, though regrettably, I do not know the source. If anyone can help me identify it, please let me know in the comments!
THE WRITING SLOPE: a brief history
The earliest slopes were not made by “box makers” but by cabinet makers from offcuts of larger furniture. They first developed on a fairly large scale in the reign of George III, around 1780. These early Georgian slopes were more functional than decorative, they were made usually of solid mahogany with side handles and the writing surface was a green baize. They were waxed as French Polish did not come into commercial use until the Victorian era.
Many Georgian and Victorian slopes were made as “Campaign Slopes”. They would form part of the campaign furniture taken by officers on Military campaigns during the time of the British Empire. The writing slopes was an essential item enabling writing home and the storage of documents. These were generally large slopes veneered in walnut or rosewood, well supported and decorated with brass to help cope with the long sea journeys.
Around 1811 – 1820 slopes began to take on a much more decorative appearance. They had become an item of furniture as well as well as a working tool. Although George IV was only Prince Regent for the second decade of the c 19th. the term “Regency” typifies the period between the rigid neo classicism of the Georgian period and the decorative style of the Victorians, the rather plain turned to elegant. The Victorians liked to show off their wealth and an attractive writing slope in the parlour would impress guests. The solid mahogany had been replaced by exotic veneers from around the empire, Rosewood, walnut, coromandel, flame mahogany etc. Machine cutting had now made this much easier and many multiwood designs were seen. In addition skivers were used to cover the writing surface, tooled in gold.
The Regency writing slopes did not have a plain mahogany top, they would have cartouches of complex brass shapes, the side handles would now be recessed. Complex brass embellishments would be seen around the edges. Little tricks like hidden drawers would begin to appear.
In the English Spa towns such as Bath, Harrogate and Tunbridge Wells grew a legion of specialist craftsmen who developed parquetry and true Tunbridgeware to add to the beauty and variety of these boxes.
If you found that article as interesting as I did, you might want to do a little more reading on the history of writing boxes. Here are two great posts I discovered from fellow bloggers: