Robert Blake (active 1826–39) was the first of the Blake family of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

cabinetmaker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (solid ...

s. Blake is particularly known for his marquetry and for the

ormolu Ormolu (; ) is the gilding technique of applying finely ground, high-carat gold– mercury amalgam to an object of bronze, and objects finished in this way. The mercury is driven off in a kiln, leaving behind a gold coating. The French refer to ...

-mounted commodes in tortoiseshell and ebony that he made in 1708–09, after a pair that

André-Charles Boulle André-Charles Boulle (11 November 164229 February 1732), ''le joailler du meuble'' (the "furniture jeweller"), became the most famous French Cabinet making, cabinetmaker and the preeminent artist in the field of marquetry, also known as "inlay". ...

made for

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

's Chamber at the Grand Trianon, on display in the New York

Frick Collection The Frick Collection (colloquially known as the Frick) is an art museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was established in 1935 to preserve the collection of the industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The collection (museum) ...

. A pair of Blake commodes, completing the two in the Frick Collection, was sold at

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

on October 15, 2015, for $658,000. Pieces in public collections include a piano in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

in New York, a writing desk in

Goodwood House Goodwood House is a country house and estate covering in Westhampnett, Chichester, West Sussex, England and is the seat of the Duke of Richmond. The house was built in about 1600 and is a Grade I listed building. Description The house and it ...

, a circular table in

Alnwick Castle Alnwick Castle () is a castle and country house in Alnwick in the English county of Northumberland. It is the seat of the Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland, 12th Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman Conquest and renovated an ...

, and an octagonal table in the Leeds City Art Gallery at Temple Newsam House. His works often imitated the important pieces of 18th-century French furniture that francophile collectors, including the Prince of Wales (later

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

), William Beckford, Francis Seymour-Conway, 3rd Marquess of Hertford and George Watson-Taylor collected at the beginning of the 19th century. Blake often worked for

Edward Holmes Baldock Edward Holmes Baldock (1812 – 15 August 1875) was a British Conservative Party politician. He was the son of Edward Holmes Baldock (dealer) (1777–1845), the prominent London dealer in French 18th-century furniture and reproductions. He w ...

, who was a dealer in china, glass and, later, furniture to the Royal Family. He is also known to have been associated with the well-known

Old Bond Street Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...

dealer John Webb. Relatively little is known of the family. They are listed at 8 Stephen Street, off

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tu ...

, between 1826 and 1881. Robert Blake is listed in ''Robson's 1823 Commercial Directory'' as a "buhl cutter", at 8 Stephen Street, Tottenham Court Road, and subsequently in the ''1826 Post Office Directory'' as a "cabinet inlayer and buhl manufacturer". Robert Blake had four sons, George, Charles, James and Henry, who continued the firm of Robert Blake & Co. In 1840, it took the name of R. Blake & Sons and, in 1841, Blake; Geo & Brothers; and later George Blake & Co., cabinetmaker of 130 Mount Street, London, and also still in Stephen Street in 1844; George Blake in 1846-50 at 53 Mount Street; and in 1851 to around 1853 George Blake at 53 Mortimer Street. The premises on Stephen Street remained in use by various family members, listed as "Blake, J. & H", and by 1853 "Blake, Chas. & H.", until 1880.

References

{{reflist British cabinetmakers