Lyon & Turnbull sold Part II of the historic collection of furniture from the world famous Liberty & Co Tudor Shop off Regent Street on June 15th. Part I was sold on March 9th 2011 for over £64,000. The collection of furniture was designed for the shop when it opened in 1924. The furniture in the sales was designed for the display of Liberty & Co fabrics and luxury goods.

Part II of the collection, which included furniture designed by Sir Robert Lorimer, was included in Lyon & Turnbull's inaugural sale of Scottish Design on June 15th.

John Mackie, Head of Decorative Arts, said “We were delighted to be selling selected items from the famous London store; many people will be familiar with the beautiful oak tables, where fabric was measured and cut, as well as the numerous smaller tables displaying the stores exquisite silk scarves and art objects. The sale offered a unique chance to purchase a piece of retailing history”.

Note: Liberty & Co was opened on Regent Street in 1875 by Sir Arthur Lasenby Liberty, where he sold ornaments, fabrics and miscellaneous art objects from the Far East alongside pieces comissioned from British designers. The magnificent Tudor building was built so that trading could continue while renovations were being completed on the original building and in 1924 this incredible icon was constructed from the timbers of two ships: HMS Impregnable and HMS Hindustan. The frontage on Great Marlborough Street is the same length as the Hindustan.

Liberty & Co first catered for an eclectic mixture of popular styles, but then went on to develop a fundamentally different style closely linked to the Aesthetic Movement of the 1890s, Art Nouveau. The company became synonymous with this new style. The company's selection of printed and dyed fabrics, particularly silks and satins, was noted for its range of subtle and artistic colours.
 
© 2011 Lyon Turnbull