Charles Bevan was an influential British furniture designer during the late 19th century, primarily active in the 1860s and 1870s. He was associated with the Aesthetic Movement and the Gothic Revival style, his work was undeniably influenced by John Pollard Seddon.
In August 1865, The Building News published ‘Bevan’s New Registered Reclining Chair’. The following month, Seddon publicly accused Bevan of plagiarism, claiming in a letter to the publication that the reclining design in question had originally been conceived by Richard Holmes and that a similar chair had been patented by Seddon himself (V&A, D.1628-1896), with the chair being produced by his brother’s firm J. Seddon & Co. at 50 South Molton Street.
Bevan however had already carved out his own professional path. He had established himself at 66 Margaret Street, the London showrooms of Marsh & Jones of Leeds. At this time, Marsh & Jones were the exclusive manufacturers of Bevan’s ‘Registered’ reclining chair, as confirmed by an advertisement in The Building News of August 1865.
The controversy reflects the complexities of the 19th-century design world, where the lines between influence, originality, and intellectual property were often hotly contested, particularly among prominent designers.
