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Description: Possibly by Thomas Chippendale or John Cobb The concave-moulded cornice below a pierced scrolled broken pediment and above a plain frieze and a pair of gothic-glazed doors, each enclosing five adjustable shelves flanked on each side by a conforming door enclosing five shelves, above a pair of double-panelled doors each enclosing two adjustable shelves, flanked on each side by three drawers, on a plinth base, with S-pattern keyholes, the cornice cut by 5 in. to accomodate room cornice 118 in. (299.5 cm.) high; 1211/4 in. (308 cm.) wide; 231/2 in. (59.5 cm.) deep NOTES The bookcase's flowered and antique-fluted pediment derives from Robert and James Adam's Works in Architecture, 1778 (vol. II, no. IV, pl. VIII), while its pointed-arch glazing pattern was also introduced at this period and later popularised by Messrs A. Hepplewhite & Co.'s The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide, 1788, pl. 45. It is fitted with S-pattern locks, such as were manufactured by the firm of Edward Gascoigne. The S-pattern keyhole features alomst exclusively on furniture by Thomas Chippendale (d. 1779) or John Cobb, such as the pair of bookcases supplied by Chippendale to Sir Penistone Lamb for the Library at Brocket Hall in 1772-1775 (C. Gilbert, The Live and Work of Thomas Chippendale, London, 1978, vol. II, figs. 77, 80 and 267). They also appear on a drum table almost certainly supplied by Chippendale for Brocket Hall and sold anonymously, in these Rooms, 9 July 1998, lot 80. A commode attributed to John Cobb, and sold anonymously, Christie's New York, 19 April 2001, lot 148, had S-pattern locks, which included a serpentine-headed key. S-pattern locks also feature on lot 117 in this sale.