Furniture History Society

The Furniture History Society (FHS) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom[1] and is the largest member's organisation worldwide dedicated to the history, appreciation and scholarly research of furniture.

Furniture History Society
Dame Fiona Woolf in conversation with Sir Nicholas Goodison at FHS 50th Anniversary at Mansion House, June 2014.
Formation1964
HeadquartersVictoria & Albert Museum, London, England
LeaderSir Nicholas Goodison (president)
Christopher Rowell (Chairman)
Dr Megan Wheeler (Acting Secretary)
Websitewww.furniturehistorysociety.org

Background

The Furniture History Society was founded in 1964[2] and is based in London at the Victoria & Albert Museum. It is an international body, recognising that neither British nor foreign furniture should be considered in isolation. Since 1965, the society's annual journal ″Furniture History" publishes recent findings on British and continental European, Asian and American furniture.[3] It also issues a quarterly newsletter.[4]

In September 2016, the Furniture History Society started a collaboration with the University of London's Institute of Historical Research (IHR) to produce a freely accessible online resource, the "British and Irish Furniture Makers Online" (BIFMO). The initial phase of this database went online at the end of September 2017 and is going to be further developed and expanded in the future.[5][6]

The society also arranges visits to private and public furniture collections around the world and organizes international scientific symposia concerning antique furniture.[7] It gives grants to individuals requiring assistance for research and study.[8]

The Furniture History Society is governed by a council, elected by its members, which is supported by specialist officers. The council is headed by a president, who is currently Sir Nicholas Goodison, former chairman of the London Stock Exchange and expert on Matthew Bolton. Its chairman is Christopher Rowell, the British National Trust’s Curator of Furniture.[9] Former chairmen include Sir Francis Watson, Director of the Wallace Collection and Surveyor of the Queen's Works of Art, Peter Thornton, Keeper of Furniture at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Simon Swynfen Jervis, former director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, and the art historian Christopher Gallard Gilbert.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Registration at the Charity Commission UK". www.apps.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  2. Editorial of The Burlington Magazine: "Furniture history: the digital future", July 2017, No. 1372 – Vol 159
  3. "Journals". Furniture History Society. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  4. "Newsletters". Furniture History Society. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  5. Christopher Rowell: "How a digital dictionary will advance furniture history", Apollo Magazine, 20. December 2017
  6. Editorial of The Burlington Magazine: "Furniture history: the digital future", July 2017, No. 1372 – Vol 159
  7. "Events". Furniture History Society. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  8. "Grants". Furniture History Society. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  9. "About Us". Furniture History Society. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  10. Obituary of Christopher Gilbert in The Times, dated 20. October 1998
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