The Arts & Crafts pioneer who fought against 'the tyranny of the machine'
02 September 2020 More than 30 pieces made at the Lake District workshop of Stanley Webb Davies (1894-1978) come for auction next week
An oak hanging corner cupboard with clock dated 1934, designed by Stanley Webb Davies and made by craftsman Bob Willett, estimate £1500-2000 at Sworders.
Sworders’ September 8 sale of Arts & Crafts & Art Deco includes an unprecedented number of pieces by Stanley Webb Davies (1894-1978).
More than 30 pieces by the Windermere craftsman come under the hammer – from table lamps and tea trays to bedroom furniture. All are available to bid for via thesaleroom.com.
Trained in the Cotswolds but choosing to work in the Lake District, Webb Davies’ handmade pieces in indigenous timbers were a direct backlash against the mechanisation and automation of the 19th and 20th century.
When contributing to the debate on British industry in the 1940s he wrote to the Guardian newspaper describing “probably the chief evil of our present industrial age – the tyranny of the machine”. It was, he felt, “more important that industry should turn out excellent men and women than a flood of cheap and useful goods.”
Sworders’ specialist John Black believes the sale represents the largest number of works by Webb Davies offered at a single auction. Most were made in the 1930s and together they represent an important commission from a single patron.
“Stanley Webb Davies pieces are pretty rare to the market,” said Black. “He was resolute in never producing exactly the same design twice so each is unique. Most pieces are signed and dated with the names of the workshop craftsman who made the piece.”
Estimates will range from £100-150 for small furnishings to £4000-6000 for an oak sideboard dated 1933. Pictured here are a selection.
An oak sideboard dated 1933, designed by Stanley Webb Davies and made by craftsmen Bob Willett and Ernest John Oldcorn, estimate £4000-6000 at Sworders. Pictured below is a detail of the signature.
An oak and ebony tray dated 1935, designed by Stanley Webb Davies and made by craftsman Herbert Marshall, estimate £200-300 at Sworders.
A pair of oak three-light table lamps by Stanley Webb Davies with original tasselled parchment shades, estimate £600-800 at Sworders.
A walnut and upholstered stool dated 1934, designed by Stanley Webb Davies, estimate £300-500 at Sworders.