Invitation card

This decorative invitation was drawn by Thomas Chippendale and engraved by Matthias Darly. The two men had a close working relationship at one time, briefly sharing an address at Northumberland Court, where Chippendale lived between summer 1752 and December 1753. Darly also engraved 98 out of 147 signed plates in the 1754 edition of The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director. Northumberland Court is given as Darly's (and probably Chippendale's) address at the bottom of the card, which suggest the invitation dates from 1752/3. If so, this is the earliest known design by Thomas Chippendale, and demonstrates his early mastery of the style with which his name has become associated. Where he learned to draw, and from whom, remains one of the most important unanswered questions in Chippendale's biography. Caesar Crouch, who was hosting this gathering of friends, had premises at the Black Swan, on the south side of St Paul's Churchyard. He was a member of the Joiner's Company, although his actual trade is unknown. He was probably a personal friend of Chippendale; he subscribed to the 1754 Director, and in 1755, when Chippendale's premises were partly consumed by fire, Crouch was one of those who took donations to help pay for the loss of journeymen's tools. By the time Chippendale came to produce new designs for the Director's third edition, Darly was heavily engaged with engraving the plates for Ince and Mayhews's rival publication, The Universal System of Household Furniture (1759-62). This probably explains Darly's relatively minor contribution of new plates for the 1762 Director, and Chippendale instead had to use several alternative engravers. As well as engraving other people's drawings, Darly was himself a prolific designer, producing several books of furniture and other designs from 1751 onwards. In the early 1760s he was also ran or had a share in a wallpaper manufactory in Ryder's Yard, off Fleet Street, presumably as a designer rather than paper-maker.

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