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Stately And Storied: Spencer's Noble Furnishings
Photos provided by Spencer family
The George II Bureau Cabinet, a replica of one crafted in 1740, is part of the Althorp Living History collection.
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Published: September 3, 2008
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Before Princess Diana's death in 1997, few Americans had ever heard of Althorp, her family's 500-year-old ancestral home in Northamptonshire, England.
Young Diana Spencer didn't grow up there; her father inherited the estate from his father when she was a teenager attending boarding schools. But she visited often, and it would become her resting place, drawing thousands each year to gaze at her grave site.
After they pay homage to the princess, visitors often take a stroll through Althorp's public rooms. They see sweeping staircases and towering sculpted ceilings, walls of paintings by masters such as Rubens and exquisitely crafted furnishings hundreds of years old.
"Like many great country houses, it has benefited from the discriminating and varied collecting of generations of occupants," writes Earl Charles Spencer, 44-year-old baby brother to Princess Diana and Althorp's owner and chief resident.
On Monday, Bay area history buffs are invited to experience the home when the ninth Earl Spencer comes to Livingston Furniture in Tampa to tout Althorp Living History. The collection of furniture and accessories by Theodore Alexander, a company that designs and manufactures fine furniture, includes precise replicas of Althorp pieces and others "inspired by" the estate and its inhabitants.
"I threw open the doors to Theodore Alexander and gave them free reign to the pieces collected by 19 generations of my family," Spencer said when he oversaw the collection's U.S. debut in 2004. "It was up to the experts to work out what would suit the 21st century lifestyle."
Livingston's has been selling the collection for about a year and a half. It sells well, says owner Dick Greenfield, despite the dismal economy.
"There's really nothing else like this for people looking for traditional furniture," he says. "Most furniture stores are contemporary-heavy. You have the fascination with royalty, as well as the desire for a particular style."
Greenfield's favorite pieces tend to be those with hidden drawers, secret buttons and clever engineering.
"This is really cool," he says, pointing to a round table of solid mahogany with burl and rosewood accents.
He pulls the top so its pie-wedge slices separate, revealing folded rectangles of mahogany tucked below. These he gently unfolds and, voila!, the table has grown from 621/2 inches to 78 inches.
The mechanism is based on a design patented by London upholsterer Robert Jupe in 1835.
"His tables even then were very expensive," Greenfield says.
When an 8-foot-tall George II mahogany bureau cabinet arrived, Greenfield and his staff spent quite a bit of time with it. The accompanying paperwork said it had 100 drawers, so they started counting.
"We got to 98, and we couldn't find the last two," he says. They looked and looked, and finally gave up, figuring the cabinet had about 100 drawers.
Days later, they were back at it. This time, they found the two secret drawers.
"You'd never guess they were there," Greenfield says.
The furniture, which includes upholstered pieces, is handcrafted in Vietnam. No composites are used, and even the hardware is manufactured the old-fashioned way in a foundry owned by Theodore Alexander. Proceeds from sales help finance Althorp's maintenance.
"The house has looked after its contents for generations," Spencer writes, "it seems only fair that they should pay their way."
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Earl Charles Spencer tells stories about some of the pieces in the Althorp Living History collection. He'll sign purchases; many less expensive pieces will be available, starting at $119 for a picture frame. Customers who have already purchased a piece from the collection can bring it to be signed.
WHEN: Noon to 2 p.m. Monday
WHERE: Livingston Furniture, 4013 S. West Shore Blvd., Tampa. Attendants will be on hand to direct people to additional parking.
HOW MUCH: Free
Reach Penny Carnathan at (813) 259-7612 or pcarnathan@tampatrib.com.
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