FDA-A.2245:1-2020
Parts
Object number
FDA-A.2245:1-2020
Object type
Identification
Title
Joel Library Table
Title Type
assigned by cataloguer
Description
Art Deco oak library table, rectangular top, inset with faux red leather writing surface, on fluted trestle supports and plinth base; with a wood and glazed plaque to the underside with maker's details
Comments
This is one of a pair of tables. Betty Joel (1896-1985), born Mary Stewart Lockhart in Hong Kong in 1896, was a 1920's Art and Crafts furniture maker who founded by the Betty Joel company. Joel inherited the ethos of the English Arts and Crafts Movement, but added the manufacturing standards and techniques from boatbuilding. By 1937, she was the most revered name in bespoke furniture and interior design in England, with a showroom at 25 Knightsbridge.
She married a naval officer named David Joel in 1918 and moved to England where they established their first home on Hayling Island and owning no furniture, they set about making their own. Friends admired what they had created and gave them commissions, thereafter they started the ‘Token' business (the name being a corruption of teak and oak) that was to become such a trendsetter. Their designs enjoyed huge popularity and in 1929, the factory moved to bigger premises at Portsmouth. Many of England's social and corporate elite commissioned Betty Joel to design interiors and furniture for their homes and offices. Their innovative designs attracted clients such as the Queen Mother, Sir Winston Churchill, Lady Edwina Mountbatten and Gertrude Stein. Betty wanted their designs to be practical yet beautiful, made from timbers such as teak and Queensland silky oak, and executed by superbly skilled craftsmen. Not only did she and David design and produce their furniture but Betty also marketed it. The factory on the Kingston by-pass became a desirable one-stop destination because it also housed a gift shop where fabrics and all manner of interior design artefacts could be purchased. Furniture by Betty Joel is held in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Ref: W.22:1 to 5-1984; W.13:1 to 4-1993).
She married a naval officer named David Joel in 1918 and moved to England where they established their first home on Hayling Island and owning no furniture, they set about making their own. Friends admired what they had created and gave them commissions, thereafter they started the ‘Token' business (the name being a corruption of teak and oak) that was to become such a trendsetter. Their designs enjoyed huge popularity and in 1929, the factory moved to bigger premises at Portsmouth. Many of England's social and corporate elite commissioned Betty Joel to design interiors and furniture for their homes and offices. Their innovative designs attracted clients such as the Queen Mother, Sir Winston Churchill, Lady Edwina Mountbatten and Gertrude Stein. Betty wanted their designs to be practical yet beautiful, made from timbers such as teak and Queensland silky oak, and executed by superbly skilled craftsmen. Not only did she and David design and produce their furniture but Betty also marketed it. The factory on the Kingston by-pass became a desirable one-stop destination because it also housed a gift shop where fabrics and all manner of interior design artefacts could be purchased. Furniture by Betty Joel is held in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Ref: W.22:1 to 5-1984; W.13:1 to 4-1993).
Description
Dimensions
height (actual size): 760mm
width (actual size): 2140mm
depth (actual size): 920mm
width (actual size): 2140mm
depth (actual size): 920mm
Inscription
Wooden plaque beneath the top, with glass panel and printed paper label inscribed in black ink: '"Token" Hand Made Furniture / Designed by: Betty Joel / Made by: C. Kempe, at Token Works, Falmouth. / Jan 4th 1935'
Material
oak
vinyl
vinyl
Physical description
Oak library table; with a rectangular top with a reeded border, inset with a faux red leather writing surface, on fluted trestle supports and rectangular base
Production
Person
Organisation
Token Works (Maker)
Date
1935
