Althorp debuts royally at Bograd's
By Joan Gunin -- Furniture Today, June 20, 2005
Riverdale, N.J. — Charles, 9th Earl Spencer, lent a courtly yet contemporary touch to the U.S. retail debut of his licensed furniture collection, Althorp Living History, at Bograd's Fine Furniture here last week.
The collection of 350 reproductions, made by Theodore Alexander and Sherrill, was culled from 10,000 furnishings items at the ancestral home of Charles and his sister Diana, the late Princess of Wales.
Bograd's was selected for the North American debut due to the longstanding relationship between Theodore Alexander CEO Paul Maitland-Smith and Joe Bograd, president of the single-store retailer 30 miles northwest of New York City.
Joe's son and the store's vice president, Mark Bograd, said he viewed the high-end line as "a collection with a lot of traction. There are enough different pieces in this collection for it to take on a new direction (in the future)."
In addition to Bograd's, the Althorp collection is rolling out to 18 stores in the United States and Canada over nine days, including ABC Carpet & Home in New York and Marshall Field's in Chicago, both with visits by the Earl.
Charles said Maitland-Smith approached him about three years ago with a plan to create "an ambitious exclusive collection."
"This collection celebrates the furniture," said Charles, who represents the 19th generation of Spencers to have inhabited Althorp as far back as 1508.
Theodore Alexander manufactured the mostly mahogany hardwood pieces at its Vietnam facilities, and Sherrill produced the complementary upholstery, including a red leather sofa newly rendered in a chenille cover.
The formal case pieces have been scaled down and adapted to U.S. tastes, Charles said, noting, "Most are too large for modern use, but some would go over well in places like Texas."
The bulk of the collection is representative of the 17th and 18th centuries, with some 19th-century items. Many of the classic designs are adorned with ornamental trims, friezes and carvings. "There is nothing very modern here," Charles said. "Many of these pieces were designed for or by my family."
Althorp itself boasts "90 to 100 rooms, depending on whether you count the passageways," Charles said. Profits from the collection will help replace exterior tiles at Althorp, a red brick Tudor home, he said.
Bograd's displayed the collection on the first floor of a two-story, 1881 Victorian house adjacent to its store. "It's nice to see it in a different setting, like the rooms of a house," Charles said of the presentation. "It doesn't look too grand or too stuffy."
The retailer's Althorp offering is limited to living room, dining room, upholstery, occasional tables and smaller pieces. "We know what space we have here, and although the collection includes a four-poster bed, bedroom settings take up an enormous amount of space," Mark Bograd said.
To create the collection, Anthony Cox, group vice president/creative director for Theodore Alexander, and Maitland-Smith spent a week at the estate — "like kids in a candy store," Cox said — photographing and cataloging the furnishings.
The first 50 pieces produced for the line were scrapped because "we needed to get the right feel," Cox said. "We have the ability to make 600 pieces in six months, but for this collection, we made 350 pieces in 18 months (in order) to get it right."
Such details as watermarks were reproduced with great care, Charles said, pointing to stains atop a carved oak blanket chest that once belonged to the family of George Washington. "In the early 17th century, when Washington's family fell on hard times, the Spencers took them in," Charles said.
The reproduction carries a letter from a priest inside the lid. Charles said he uses the original chest, circa 1650, to store his cricket equipment.
Consumers who buy any Althorp piece receive a hardcover book showcasing Althorp and its furnishings, with a 6,500-word essay written by Charles. In addition, a hardcover product portfolio may be purchased for $30.
