Commode painted oak, walnut or fruitwoods, with carved decoration, typical of French provincial furniture. In the English-speaking world, "commode" passed into cabinet-makers' parlance in London by the mid-eighteenth century to describe chests of drawers with gracefully curved fronts, and sometimes with shaped sides as well, perceived as being in the "French" taste. Thomas Chippendale employed the term "French Commode Tables" to describe designs in "The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Director" (1753), and Ince and Mayhew illustrated a "Commode Chest of drawers", plate xliii, in their "Universal System of Household Furniture", 1759–62. John Gloag notes that "Commode" expanded to describe any piece of
Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide also available, for about one thousand times the price of the new book. The complete text with the plates is available for download in various formats from or . Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide is a famous antiquarian book, reference book, and non-fiction work. Many cabinetmakers and furniture designers still use it as a ready reference for making period furniture or designs inspired by the late 18th century era. Historians of domestic life or the History of Technology use it for establishing context for their research. Finally, collectors are willing to pay a good sum for