John Evan Bedford Library of Furniture History

Private library of archive and print material relating to all aspects of furniture history and design belonging to the antique dealer John (Victor) Bedford. The archival collection includes trade cards, billheads, accounts, advertisements, posters, inventories, trade catalogues, estate papers and files of reference material (cuttings from trade and auction catalogues etc) relating to furniture design, production, ownership and sale in the UK and abroad. A particular strength is furniture making in Birmingham (UK).

The print collection comprises over 3000 items, many of them extremely rare and in some cases unique. They cover all aspects of the home, from interiors and furnishings, lighting and metalwork, drapery and upholstery to architectural and garden design. The collection also contains trade directories, pattern books, designs for ornament, inventories of country houses and auction catalogues. Also includes: 1) papers relating to the administration of the collection, including purchases 2) index cards and indexing/cataloguing notes relating to the organisation of the collection 3) personal papers of John Bedford, relating to him and his family 4) the archives of furniture historians Pauline Agius and Edward T. Joy.

Please see the Special Collections website for the full catalogue of this collection https://explore.library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore/663651

The John Evan Bedford Library of Furniture History was created by antique dealer, John (Victor) Bedford over a period of 45 years. It was named in memory of his father, Dr D. Evan Bedford, CBE, MA, FRCP, who developed his own library of cardiology, gifted to the Royal College of Physicians in 1971.

Items in this collection are stored off site at Western Campus and must be ordered online. This collection is subject to various access conditions. Please see individual catalogue descriptions for further details on access.

Some parts of this collection are in copyright. Photocopies or digital images of the material in copyright can be supplied for private study purposes only. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain the copyright holder's permission for reproduction of copyright material for purposes other than research or private study. Guidance is available on tracing copyright status and ownership.

In the main, the arrangement of the collection represents the order that creator John Bedford established. Where it does not, notes will be added to archival history/system of arrangement to reflect this.