Mallett Antiques

Mallett is furniture and works of art agent and dealer based in London and New York. For most of the second half of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century, it occupied a position at the forefront of the English furniture trade, profiting from the growth in interest in the style of British and European 18th and 19th century furniture and works of art.

Founded in 1865, Mallett & Son Antiques was one of England's oldest dealers of fine furniture and works of art. They specialized in English and Continental furniture and decor. In 2017 Mallett was officially wound up by its last owner, Stanley Gibbons Ltd. It was purchased in 2018 by Gurr Johns, the international art advisory, brokerage and appraisals company with offices in London and New York. In 2023, Mallett was relaunched as part of the Gurr Johns Group, led by Rufus Bird, former Surveyor of the Queen's Works of Art and Christie's furniture specialist.

History

The company was founded in 1865[1] by John Mallett (a jeweller and silversmith) at 36 Milsom Street, Bath, Somerset, England. His son, Walter Ellis Mallett, who had joined his father's business in 1874, quickly assumed complete control, and today he is acknowledged by Mallett as the real founder of the firm. It was he who expanded the stock to include old silver and furniture and who arranged for the purchase of the lease of the Octagon Chapel. This building had originally, in 1767, been designed as a church by the architect Thomas Lightholder,[2] whose brief was to produce a structure which would be warm, comfortable and well lit. The Octagon fulfilled all of these requirements, and it became the most fashionable church in Bath.[3] Eminent and distinguished visitors made a point of engaging a pew for as long as they stayed in the city, hiring it at the same time as they hired their lodgings. The most expensive of these were like small rooms, each with its own fireplace and easy chairs. Between service and sermon, an interval was allowed during which footmen poked the fires and saw that their master and mistress were comfortable. The vaults of this building were let out to a wine merchant, which gave rise to the verses by Christopher Anstey:

Since the building was leasehold, it was never consecrated, so when it fell into disuse in the 1890s Mallett's took it over.

Mallett at Bourdon House, 1962–2007

Mallett's second business was established in 1962 at Bourdon House, in Mayfair, until 1953 the London house of the 2nd Duke of Westminster. Built for William Burdon Esq in the years 1723–25, during the reign of George I, the house stood amidst fields and market gardens between the then emerging Berkeley and Hanover Squares. Mallett sold Bourdon House in 2007.

Mallett Inc, New York

In 2003, Mallett opened a New York Gallery at 929 Madison Avenue[6] and East 74th Street.[7] Mallett completely renovated the New York Brownstone building and offered stock sent over from the London showrooms.

Expansion since 2006

Since 2006, Mallett expanded further and established three new and distinct companies, James Harvey British Art, Meta and Hatfields Restoration.

Further reading

• Lanto Synge, Great English Furniture, 1991 ISBN 0-7126-4737-6
• Lanton Synge, Mallett Millennium, 1999

External links

• The death of Mallet, Chappell & McCullar, 12 October 2017