The firm of Jackson & Graham, established in 1836, they were one of the leading cabinetmakers and decorators of the mid-19th century, exhibiting widely, showing at Paris in 1855, London again in 1862, and Paris in 1867 and 1878, and Vienna in 1873.
Their clients included Queen Victoria, Napoleon III, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, the Grand Khedive at Cairo, and the Royal Palace in Siam, and would have appealed to Victorian industrialists and merchants to furnish their homes.
Constructed from an array of exotic hardwoods chosen for their contrasting colours and grains, and banded with ebonised moulding, it relies on decorative motifs consistent with the designs of Owen Jones, whose The Grammar of Ornament was a seminal manual for the applied and decorative arts from its publication in 1856.
Jackson & Graham were unique in that they employed a resident design staff, and hired well-known designers for their more important pieces, including Bruce Talbert and Christopher Dresser. Jones worked closely with the firm, influencing their work with innovative designs, even planning their premises on Oxford Street in London.
He contributed designs for ranges of carpets, wallpapers, textiles and other furnishings, and it is essentially his influence that defines the Jackson and Graham look. Jackson and Graham eventually succumbed to a weak financial outlook and ceased trading in 1885, absorbed by their competitor Collinson & Lock.