Thomas Chippendale Thomas Chippendale Thomas Chippendale (1718 – 1779) was born in Otley in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England in June 1718. He became a cabinet-maker in London, designing furniture in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. In 1754 he published a book of his designs, titled "The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director", upon which success he became renowned. The designs are regarded as reflecting the current British fashion for furniture of that period and are today reproduced globally. He was buried 16 November 1779, according to the records of St Martin-in-the-Fields, in the cemetery since built upon by the
European hand fans in the 18th century century. During this time the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers tried to grow the English fan trade, but their success was small in comparison to the French industry. There were two main types of fans seen in Europe during the 18th century: the rigid (or fixed) fan and the folding fan. As its name implies, the rigid fan is stiff. Possible fan shapes are a leaf, a rectangle, or an oval. The fan is attached to a base where it is held. The folding fan was the most popular in Europe during the 18th century, a time known as the