The Quarterly Fine Sale at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood in Exeter always has practical and decorative pieces ranging usually from the 16th century to the present day.

Amongst these offerings, is one range of Victorian furniture is called Campaign Furniture.

This very recognisable furniture type developed hand-in-glove with the relentless expansion of empire during the 19th century, and was designed specifically to cater to the needs of transient officers and administrators, whose careers could take them to far flung outposts of the Crown, where the basic requirements of the day to day living to which the individuals were used, mightn’t be so readily available.

Perhaps the Campaign item most commonly appearing at auction is the Campaign chest of drawers. It was a basic necessity to keep one’s apparel in presentable order, both in travel and when in camp, and to do this a chest of drawers was a fundamental need.

It became obvious very quickly that full sized chests of drawers were too large and cumbersome to transport easily, and so the traditional pattern of chest was made so that it could be separated in two.

Usually there is a brass handle at each end for carrying, and the brass drawer handles were made to recess into their backplates to ease packing the chests and to prevent the handles from being easily broken off. The feet were often made to screw into the lower section, and the upper section was sometimes fitted with a secretaire drawer, -another real necessity for the travelling officer whilst abroad. Each section would then be fitted into its own packing case, which not only protected the fine chests within, but in itself was turned into another cupboard, once the chests within were extracted and constructed.

An excellent example of this type of Campaign chest was offered at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood on 13th October 2022, complete with its original packing cases, which is something of a rarity.

The exterior was painted with the name of Major Beale of the Norfolk Regiment, who research showed served primarily in India and South Africa, illustrating clearly the real need for such furniture. The hammer price of the chest was £2,600, and for interested parties, there are two more Campaign chests in the Winter Sale at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood on 18th January 2023.

T: 01392 413100 W: www.bhandl.co.uk E: enquiries@bhandl.co.uk