HOWARD SOFA & ARMCHAIR RESTORATION

A Howard & Sons Ramsden armchair and matching sofa frames having been restored and prior to reupholstering.

Howard & Sons designed the Ramsden armchair with exquisite carved show wood for Sir John Ramsden, Circa 1910 it stood apart from most of their collection being the most expensive model they made.

The Ramsden sofa was the most valuable piece of upholstered furniture obtainable from Howard & Sons, Berners street showrooms in London, it was never to be found in a Howard lining fabric as it was unsuitable for a loose cover, therefore the example as seen here was upholstered in a fabric very similar to that which was found covering it.

A Howard Ramsden sofa with the superbly carved front side and back rails and ball and claw legs, covered in Veere Grenney fabric and a soft pink velvet.

This Howard Bridgewater chair which entered the workshop had been 'restored' by a very substandard upholsterer who had driven 4" nails into the tenon joints and split them apart as well as straining the chair upholstery so tight that the level of discomfort was shockingly bad. Such examples of poor workmanship, very sadly, are not uncommon.

A customer who purchased the Howard 'Ivor' armchair on the left was in need of a matching chair to create a pair, this is fully achievable by using the 'Middleton Bray bespoke service' which can offer to make exact replicas of Howard originals, and but for the stamped castors and Howard name stamp on the leg the difference between the chairs is indistinguishable.