Campaign furniture

Campaign Furniture is a type of furniture made for travel. Historically, much of it was made for military campaigns.

What is Campaign Furniture?
Any furniture specifically made to breakdown or fold for ease of travel can be described as campaign furniture. It was designed to be packed up and carried on the march. It has been used by traveling armies since at least the time of Julius Caesar but it is commonly associated with British Army Officers, many of whom had purchased their commissions. With the rise and expansion of the British Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries the demand by the military, administrators and colonists increased. British officers of high social position in the Georgian and Victorian periods (1714–1901) often carried high quality portable furniture.

The most common item of campaign furniture is the chest of drawers, often referred to as a military chest or campaign chest. A standard campaign chest will be made of either mahogany or teak and break down into two sections with removable legs. The brass corners and strap work offer some protection and typify the distinctive 'campaign look'.

Some items of campaign furniture are instantly recognisable as made to dismantle or fold. Brass caps to the tops of legs, hinges in unusual places, protruding bolts or X-frame legs all give clues to the functionality of the piece. However, some makers of campaign furniture were careful to ensure that their work was up to date and fashionable, thus making it more commercial. In such cases, as much of it looked like domestic furniture, it is harder to see how it dismantles. Ross and Co. of Dublin were innovators of campaign furniture design and much of their work is obviously Victorian in period. It only becomes apparent that their balloon back chairs dismantle when they are turned upside down and two locking bolts can be seen.



Variety of Items Produced
One of the most famous pieces of campaign furniture was the Wellington Chest, named for the 1st Duke of Wellington. However, as an old copy of The Army & Navy Society's catalogue will show there was a large variety of items, from portable beds to collapsible candlesticks (also known as Brighton Buns), that were available to ease life for the soldier or traveller by the end of the 19th century.

There seemed no limit to the number of items an officer would take with him if he could afford to and how well your tent was kitted out was perhaps an indication of your social standing. William Howard Russell of The Times noted on the 2nd of February 1858 in his diary 'Sire Colin Campbell's baggage &c. extended for eighteen miles, when he came down from Lucknow.'

The numerous items specifically made for travel include a variety of types of bed from four poster or tent beds to chairs that would extend for sleeping; large dining tables, dining chairs, easy chairs, sofas and couches, chests of drawers, book cabinets, washstands, wardrobes, shelves, desks, mirrors, lanterns and candlesticks, canteens of silver, cooking equipment, toiletry equipment and thunderboxes were all made to be portable.

By the mid-19th century the demand for campaign furniture encouraged many makers to be inventive in their design thus creating many unusual and interesting pieces that offer a surprise in the ease in which they dismantle or the compactness of their storage. Tables were cleverly hinged to fold down into a box the size of a briefcase, chess board boxes would contain tripod legs and a telescopic column to convert into a table; chairs that would breakdown to a minimal size and could also be altered to become a sedan were all designed. The need to quickly be able to pack a piece of furniture to make it portable with minimal use of bolts etc. became the mother of invention.

Who Made Campaign Furniture?
The Army & Navy Society's followed on from a strong British tradition of innovative and practical design in portable furniture that had its roots in the 18th century and grew as the British Empire expanded. Much of the early portable furniture would have been bespoke made to order. It would not have been uncommon for a soldier to ask his local cabinet maker to take a domestic design and adapt it for travel. As demand grew, a number of well known designers, including Chippendale, Sheraton and Gillows, considered portable furniture and the end of the 18th century saw the rise of specialist makers with the names of Thomas Butler and Morgan & Sanders perhaps being the most recognized. The number of such specialists increased in the 19th century and this was fuelled not only by military needs but also the increase of people moving to the colonies. The Victorians and Edwardian were particularly concerned with improving design to its utmost practicality and the patents relating to furniture greatly increased in the second half of the 19th century. Aside from cabinet makers, it was a natural addition for a number of companies such as J.W. Allen, Day & Son, John Pound and Hill & Millard , who all started out as luggage makers, to expand their trunk making businesses and develop a strong line in demountable furniture. By the mid-19th century it was possible to buy a complete Barrack Room Outfit from several London firms. More often than not this would consist of a Douro Chair with packing case that would convert to a table, a washstand that would pack down into a hip bath, a camp bed and a chest of drawers with packing cases that would form a wardrobe.

The Demise of Campaign Furniture
The beginning of the 20th century saw changes in the way war was conducted. The British had been taught a lesson by the Boers in South Africa who could move quickly and they discovered that their mobile units were not quite as mobile as they had thought. In 1903, the Secretary of State for War, H. O. Arnold-Forster said that "The British Army is a social institution prepared for every emergency except that of war." The new century also saw developments in transport and the rise of the motor car meant that travel was quicker making it less of a necessity to equip yourself for a long journey. There was a decrease in the demand for campaign furniture.

Portable furniture was still used for sporting events and shooting parties but it was less acceptable as an officer to have a large baggage train. Appreciation of the furniture for its practicality in domestic life had grown as the 19th century marched on. Although it still had a market it wasn't as strong as it had once. Many of the independent makers of campaign furniture started to disappear in the early 1900s, superseded by the one stop shops such as The Army & Navy Society's and Harrods.

Campaign Furniture's Legacy
With Campaign Furniture by its nature needing to be both sturdy and efficient in its breakdown, it gave rise to good design that was often ahead of it time. A number of chairs that we today consider to be design icons of the 20th century were actually inspired by campaign furniture from the end of the 19th century. The Roorkhee chair was designed by British Army Engineers stationed at the town of the same name in India. It became instantly popular for its simple but practical construction. Kaare Klint recognised its qualities and he made a version of the Roorkhee called the Safari Chair in 1933. The Paragon Chair folds down to a very compact size once the canvas seat is removed and the Harrods catalogue of 1895 described it as 'the most Portable Chair in the Market'. It is thought that this chair was first designed in the 1870s but it has been re-designed since under different names. Italian officers used a version in Ethiopia in the 1930s which was known as the Tripoli chair. In 1940, Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy, Juan Kurchan and Antonia Bonet designed the well known Butterfly chair, made of dismantling metal sections and clearly inspired by the Paragon. Knoll International made a version called the Hardoy and today the Conran Shop sell a version called the Bush chair.

Campaign furniture is evocative of luxurious travel and a time gone by. There is more likely to be an owner's or makers name on a piece of portable furniture than a domestic version and it is easier to put it into a social context. The appeal of its nature has been picked up on and modern furniture made in a campaign style is produced by a number of makers today. Often, the consideration of portability has not been a factor with the overriding concern being to achieve the look by adding brass corners and strap work. Another group of manufactures have produced direct copies of period campaign furniture seeing that there is still a call for it today be it for safaris or the high class camper.

Good design will always be popular and this, along with many of the original reasons for the popularity of campaign furniture hold true today. It is practical, often versatile and naturally, very easy to move about.