Matthias Lock Ornaments"; "A New Book of Ornaments" (1768); "A New Book of Pier Frames, Ovals, Girandoles, Tables, etc". (1769); and "A New Book of Foliage" (1769). Matthias Lock Matthias Lock was an English 18th century furniture designer and cabinet-maker. The dates of his birth and death are unknown; but he was a disciple of Thomas Chippendale, and subsequently of the Adams, and was possibly in partnership with Henry Copeland. During the greater part of his life he belonged to that flamboyant school which derived its inspiration from Louis XV models; but when he fell under the influence of Robert Adam he
Swietenia mahagoni said to have been interested in samples of mahogany brought by Sir Walter Raleigh on his return from Trinidad in 1595. Mahogany was little used in English furniture making until the 18th century, as domestic oak and walnut were the predominant woods used. The first use of "S. mahagoni" in the United Kingdom for cabinet work was in 1724. Mahogany became the essential material that led to the golden age of British furniture-making in the 18th century, which Percy Macquoid, a connoisseur of English furniture, calls the "Age of Mahogany". Furniture makers have used the wood more or less continuously