Toronto - Victorian furniture of the 19th Century can broadly be divided into furniture of the first half of the century, and furniture of the latter half.

There were several distinct styles in the early part of the 19th Century (up until about 1870): Classical (the dominant style), Gothic, Elizabethan and Rococo revival.

All of these styles tend to revive the past. While the styles of the great 18th Century also looked to the past, they were distinctive in their own right. The Victorian styles add very little of their own creation, being basically a conglomeration of many different styles from the past.

As the century progressed, the search of the past and the revivals ofthe past seemed to grow more and more frantic and, at the same time, more meaningless.

Furniture styles of the later part of the 19th Century include a version of Louis XVI, Renaissance and Jacobean; Near Eastern, and a new classical revival.

Classical Furniture:
From 1810 to 1840 England produced a classical revival style of furniture, and North America followed a little later (1820 to 1860). By 1860 the leading cabinetmakers had turned from classical to Rococo. In fact, the trend was evident as early as 1835 in the products of the top cabinetmakers. But the real interest in this over-developed style was in the mass production of this furniture created by the Industrial Revolution of the 19thCentury.

Gothic Furniture:
At the same time that the classical style was being over-elaborated, the Gothic style was coming in, not to replace the classical style, but to run alongside it. This style was nothing new as Chippendale had considered this style important, and used this style often in a number of his chairs.

Elizabethan Furniture:
Elizabethan furniture represented still another reversion to the past. In fact, the entire Victorian period was an attempt, as far as furniture was concerned, to recapture the past. The Gothic and Elizabethan styles parallel in time the classic style. All three were styles of the first half of the Victorian era.

I have written many articles on Victorian furniture, but I think it is important to reiterate some of the main features and styles that flowed throughout this period, since they were often tremendously diverse in nature.