Gothic Architecture and Sexuality in the Circle of Horace Walpole. By Matthew M Reeve. 262 mm. Pp xix + 260, 140 figs. Penn State University Press, Pennsylvania, 2021. isbn 9780271085883. US$74.95 (hbk).

Abstract

the ‘falling table’ which was, in effect, hinged to the wall with a single folding leg to support the top when open. In some examples these tables are attached to a wall-mounted rail so that they could be moved to left or right and, when folded up, could serve as a window shutter. The wide variety of woods used in vernacular furniture was often given some visual unity by means of paint. This was a widespread practice with regional joiners, but in Ireland it became insistent as a direct consequence of the suppression of Catholicism. This compelled priests to become itinerant. Their ministry resulted in services known as ‘the stations’ taking place in a village dwelling selected for the purpose. In advance of such a visitation the chosen house was tidied and cleaned, while the furniture was given a coat of gloss paint. Over time this could result in as many as two dozen layers of paint, which inevitably submerged such details as mouldings and carved decoration. Subsequently, furniture dealers and ‘even some museums’ stripped these accretions, an almost archaeological exercise that owed little to the sociological importance of this tradition – one that is fully acknowledged in this publication. One of the underlying problems that many rural dwellings were subject to was rising damp through earth, clay or stone floors. This encouraged furniture makers to construct their work so that the components in contact with the floor could be easily replaced when they rotted. One photograph shows a replaced sledge-foot dovetailed into a dresser base. Wedged stool or chair legs could also be easily substituted. In this respect, where the leg emerged through the seat, it was important that the wedge be inserted on the opposing axis to the grain in the wood of the seat as this limited the possibility of the latter splitting. In the concluding pages we are shown a wide variety of plenishings such as noggins and piggins and other coopered work. Of the various types of treen wrought in the solid, the mether is perhaps the most typically Celtic. In the regular use of the Irish language the glossary is helpful. Above all it is the drawings and photographs of structural details that are invaluable, as is their interpretation. As a furniture maker herself, Dr Kinmonth has the ability to ‘read’ such details and understand their significance. It is in this that she offers layers of understanding not always evident in books on furniture.