especially, with its coarse grain did not lend itself to the
process. The stands for lacquer cabinets vary in style, but were often
gilded in late Louis XIV and Louis XV style. The difference between true
lacquer and its imitations is hard to explain. The true was made by
repeated coats of a special varnish, each rubbed down and allowed to
become hard before the next was put on. This gave a hard, cool, smooth
surface with no stickiness. Modern work, done with paint and French
varnish, has not this delightful feeling, but is nearly always clammy to
the touch, and the colors are hurt by the process of polishing.
Chippendale did not use much lacquer, but in the "Director" he often
says such and such designs would be suitable for it.

Much of the furniture that Chippendale made was heavy, but the best of
it had much beauty. His delicate fretwork tea-tables are a delight, with
their fretwork cupboards and carving. He seemed to combine many sides in
his artistic temperament, a fact that many people lay to his power of
assimilating the work of others. He did not make sideboards in our sense
of the word. His were large side-tables, sometimes with a drawer for
silver and sometimes not. Pier-tables were very much like them in shape,
but smaller, and were often gilded to match the mirrors which were
placed above them.

The larger pieces of Chippendale furniture have the same characteristic
of perfect workmanship and detail which the chairs possess.
Dining-tables were made in sections consisting of two semi-circular ends
and two center pieces with flaps which could all be joined together and
make a very large table. The beds he made had four posts and cornice
tops elaborately carved and often gilded, with a strong Louis XV
feeling. The curtains hung from the inside of the cornice. He also made
many other styles of beds, such as canopy beds, tent beds, flat tester
beds, Chinese beds, Gothic beds: there was almost nothing he did not
make for the house from wall brackets to the largest wardrobes.

To many people used to the simple Chippendale furniture which is
commonly seen, the idea of rich and beautiful carving and gilding comes
as a surprise, and even in the "Director" there are no plates which show
his most beautiful work. His elaborate furniture was naturally chiefly
order work, and so was not pictured, and much of it that is left is
still in the possession of the descendants of the original owners. The
small number of authen