"Elephant" Armchair
Designer Christopher Dresser British, Scottish
possibly made by William Booty British
for Art Furnishers’ Alliance British
The present ebonized mahogany chair, sometime called “Elephant Chair,” is believed to have been designed by Christopher Dresser and made by the workshop of William Booty for retail by the short-lived Art Furnishers’ Alliance (1880–1883). It was part of a group of three chairs thought to have been supplied originally to Hiram Abiff Owston (1830–1905), a solicitor based in Leicester, for his residence Bushloe House. The latter had employed both Dresser and the architect Robert J. Goodacre to enlarge his house and update its interiors.
