Dumfries House. A Chippendale Commission

With an introduction by Andrew McLean.

Christie's. London. Thursday 12 July and Friday 13 July 2007. 2 volumes. Paperback. 368 and 346 pages. 634 lots illustrated in colour, often from multiple viewpoints, plus photographs of the objects in situ in the rooms of Dumfries House. English. 300 x 230mm. 4.5kg. . Very good; slight wear to wrappers, small crease to lower edge and crease to spine of Vol. I, slight crease to fore-edge of Vol. II.

The scarce auction catalogue for the sale that never happened. Dumfries House in Scotland was due to be sold and its contents auctioned in 2007, but the whole was "Saved for the Nation" after the intervention of the Prince of Wales at the last-minute. The house was built by Robert and John Adam in the 1750s and contains one of the most important collections of 18th-century furniture in-situ, including many pieces by the great Edinburgh furniture-makers of the day, Francis Brodie, Alexander Peter, and a celebrated amount of original Chippendale furniture created specifically for its Dumfries House setting. The catalogue includes a history of the house and is extensively researched and illustrated.