Sheraton, Thomas

Sheraton, Thomas, 1751–1806, English designer of furniture and author. He may have been apprenticed to a cabinetmaker, and as an earnest Baptist he wrote religious books and preached. Records show that he was in London from c.1790 and supplemented the meager earnings from his books by giving drawing lessons. Although he may have supervised the making of some furniture, his designs became influential through his manuals, especially the Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing-Book (1791–94). Sheraton's style is marked by a graceful delicacy and simplicity, emphasis on straight, vertical lines, and a preference for inlay decoration, reeded legs, and classical motifs. He is also the author of The Cabinet Dictionary (1803).

Bibliography

See R. Fastnedge, Sheraton Furniture (1962).

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Sheraton, Thomas

(born 1751, Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, Eng.—died Oct. 22, 1806, London) British cabinetmaker. A leading exponent of Neoclassicism, he gave his name to a style of furniture characterized by a firm, feminine refinement of late Georgian and became probably the most powerful source of inspiration behind the furniture of the late 18th century. His four-part Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterers' Drawing Book (1791) greatly influenced British and U.S. design. At his best, Sheraton had a natural approach to contemporary design: he used wood for its own sake, rather than covering it with such disguises as gilt or modulating it excessively with ormolu mounts.