BRUCE J. TALBERT (1838-1881) (ATTRIBUTED DESIGNER) FOR GILLOW & CO. CABINET, CIRCA 1870 walnut, ebonised wood, thuya wood and painted panels, with gilded embellishments and brass fittings, stamped to top drawer GILLOW & CO/ 664A (191cm wide, 171cm high, 46cm deep) Footnote: Note: Bruce Talbert originally trained as a carver before working as an architectural draughtsman in Glasgow. He subsequently became a prolific commercial designer of furniture, metalwork, stained glass, wallpapers, textiles and carpets and produced several influential publications including 'Gothic Forms applied to Furniture Metalwork' and 'Decoration for Domestic Purposes' which had a big impact on the way in which the revived Gothic style was used in domestic design. Talbert designed several pieces for Gillow & Co, drawing on widely divergent sources such as Gothic architecture and Japanese art. His is work for the firm was displayed at numerous international exhibitions, including the International Exhibition of 1873. Talbert worked in association with several other principal furniture makers of the period, including Holland & Sons, Marsh Jones & Cribb, Lamb of Manchester and the Coalbrookdale Company and established professional links with other key designers such as Richard Norman Shaw and George Edmund Street.