About the Book
A detailed family history of William Ince and the life of John Mayhew, partners in the important 18th century cabinet making firm Ince & Mayhew. Their antique furniture is on display in a number of museums and stately homes around the world. The postscript describes the intriguing adventures of William's son in 1830s Virginia. 'A fascinating and painstakingly researched study' Sir Hugh Roberts. 'An absolutely fascinating book providing the reader with a real sense of how life was lived during that great period of English furniture making.' Lennox Cato, Antiques Roadshow Furniture Specialist
The story covers:
rural Worcestershire in Tudor times
court cases in the Star Chamber of James 1 of England
plague and Civil War in a Worcestershire village
ancient deeds and indentures
emigration to London
Ince & Mayhew: the lives of William Ince and John Mayhew and their exquisite work
the lives of the Ince women across the generations
The detailed history of the firm Ince & Mayhew starts with their furniture directory The Universal System of Household Furniture and goes through to the winding up of the long-running Chancery case that ended their partnership. The lives of both William Ince and John Mayhew convey the riches that could be enjoyed by the combination of talent and entrepreneurship, but also the hardship that had to be endured in the conditions of their time.
A brief look at their descendants touches on diverse topics, including:
the ending of slavery in Jamaica
the proposed Pyramid Cemetery for London
two renowned American actors
the artist Joseph Murray Ince
the journalist and social researcher Henry Mayhew
The second editon is about twice the size of the original with a greater emphasis on celebrating the work of William Ince. It also includes new information on his father and sisters in Worcestershire, his wife's family in London and the intriguing adventures of William's son Frederick in America linked to the struggles of his long-suffering wife Martha de Bar in England, taken from Frederick's papers written between 1824 and 1836.
There is a chapter on John Mayhew and his family, including new research on John's baptism and his siblings, and information about his children and grandchildren. There is also information on some of William's more notable descendants, including the colourful actress Annette Ince, who played Juliet to John Wilkes Booth's Romeo and the artists Joseph Murray Ince, Charles Percy Ince and Charlotte Grace Cowell.
The book has over a hundred illustrations with drawings and water-colours, as well as photographs, maps and diagrams, more than half in colour.
This book is a must for anyone wanting to know more about the life of one of the most important cabinet makers in England in the 18th century whose name has every right to be as celebrated as that of Chippendale.
About the Author :
As the great great great great grand-daughter of William Ince I have taken an interest in his work for many years and was captivated by the first piece of furniture I saw at Clandon Park. As a keen family historian I wanted to discover more about his background which involved many visits to the National Archives in Kew, London as I sought to unravel the seemingly innumerable court cases that the Ince family was involved in. Further travel to Worcestershire and to some of the stately homes with Ince & Mayhew furniture have enriched my understanding, along with reading articles and auction descriptions. I have twice been awarded a prize from the Josephine Birchenough Memorial Awards by the North West Kent Family History Society for my writing. See www.incemayhew.net for details. I studied art at the Byam Shaw and St Martins, but have been drawing almost compulsively, since before I could walk. I have exhibited with the Royal Academy and regularly at the Mall and Westminster Galleries with, among others, the Royal Society of British Artists, the Royal Society of Miniature Painters Sculptors and Printmakers, and the Society of Women Artists of which I was a member for many years. I am also the great great great great grand-daughter of William Ince. See www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/derrymountford for further information. I am the great great great great grand-daughter of William Ince, and when we recently had a family meeting near Burghley House, Stamford, it was fascinating to see how many of us round the table had inherited some creative genes. Well done Sarah, to have researched the family so thoroughly, and to reach publication. I have painted all my life, mostly flowers and animals and more especially horses and dogs. I paint to enjoy, not to challenge, there are too many challengers around - not restful, not pictures to live with. I paint pictures with a breath of fresh air, and if a likeness can be achieved at the same time, that is a joy. I have exhibited at the Mall Galleries, the Medici Galleries, and the Guggleton Gallery Stalbridge, and many others. Contact me through my website, www. jenniferevansart.co.uk.
Review :
In this fascinating and painstakingly researched study of the Ince family, Sarah Ingle, herself of this family, vividly brings to life a quintessential English story, with roots stretching far back into rural Worcestershire in the sixteenth century. In this early period, the redoubtable Maude Ince stands out, and over succeeding generations, the fabric of English life unfolds in this splendid account, embracing as varied a crop of individuals as could well be imagined, including wheelwrights, glovers, weavers, glass grinders and cabinet-makers. Not the least of these was William Ince, partner of John Mayhew in one of the most important and influential cabinet-making concerns of the eighteenth century.
William Ince's own family and their descendants tell a rich and varied story, reflecting some of the extraordinary changes brought about in England by the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century and the rise of the British Empire in the 19th century, and in this delightfully illustrated book is to be found a unique and invaluable record of a family with connections that eventually stretched as far afield as America, South Africa and India.
Sir Hugh Roberts
Surveyor Emeritus of The Queen's Works of Art
As a passionate admirer of the design and construction of furniture of the 18th century, it was a great privilege to be asked to review the second edition of this absolutely fascinating book.
Ince and Mayhew does not roll off the tongue to the average person in the street as Chippendale does, but William Ince was every much as great a cabinet maker and designer as Thomas Chippendale. The quality and design of his work is superb and the firm was patronised by just as many society people as Chippendale was. They even openly followed Chippendale by publishing their own catalogue called The Universal System of Household Furniture.
Mayhew was the businessman and Ince was the creative partner and his use of fine inlays and incredible detail were second to none. This sets the firm above many who followed them as they were leaders in this field. Unfortunately, many items from the workshop were never signed, but the fine detailing in their furniture will back the name up.
This book provides the reader with a real sense of how life was lived during that great period of English furniture making, when so many of the great cabinet makers of the day worked almost alongside each other around Golden Square.
Sarah has put an enormous amount of effort into researching pieces made by the firm and who they were made for, as well as her family history and that of John Mayhew. Like her predecessor, she seems to have inherited his humble and fair-minded characteristic, as she has presented both sides of their story in a fair and equal way.
You will now need to read on to find out the full history!
Lennox Cato Furniture Specialist Antiques Roadshow
