Description
A beautiful Ercol solid English elm dining set that’s been painted, in places, by a previous owner, in Farrow and Ball’s French Gray. Comes with 6 standard Goldsmith chairs and 2 carver style Goldsmith armchairs. In addition, there are 2 three legged extension tables (these are sometimes used as little laptop desks or dressing tables). A truly stunning, 11 piece, set of Ercol dining furniture.
In 1889, Italian-born Lucian Ercolani (1888-1976) immigrated with his parents to England, settling in East London. His father—who constructed picture frames for the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and took up work as a carpenter for the Salvation Army in London—urged Ercolani to follow in his footsteps. Ercolani studied drawing and design at the Shoreditch Technical Institute, before sitting the City & Guild exams in the theory and construction of furniture. In 1907, he made his first piece of furniture, a musical cabinet. At school he met Ted Gomme, the man who would later co-found G-Plan, and with whom he developed a lifelong friendship which outlived their working relationship, which lasted until 1920.
In 1910, Ercolani was hired by the influential Harry Parker in High Wycombe from Frederick Parker furniture—which later became known as Parker-Knoll . Ten years later with the investment of local businessmen, Ercolani founded Furniture Industries in High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, the company that became Ercol. His aim was to sell well-designed furniture, made by highly-skilled craftsmen who took pride in their work. This worked well for Ercol, and the company expanded in 1932, when Ercolani bought over Walter Skulls Ltd., a struggling but well-respected chair manufacturer.
The 11 pieces are structurally sound and in nice, ready to use condition, with some paint chips and splashes. Please contact us if you’d like any further detail re condition.
Table Dimensions : Width 183 x Depth 80 x Height 72cm (Extends to Widths of 230 and 278cm)
