ARTHUR W. SIMPSON (1857-1922), KENDAL ARTS & CRAFTS MAHOGANY WRITING DESK, CIRCA 1900 the dentil cornice above panelled fall with carved foliate rosettes opening to reveal an interior with leather skiver and sliding shelves and flanked by a panelled door, the base with kneehole and bank of four graduated drawers, the whole fitted with characteristic bronze fittings and raised on square canted legs, bears maker's label to the rear ARTHUR W. SIMPSON/ THE HANDICRAFTS/ KENDAL (121cm wide, 123cm high, 53cm deep) Footnote: Note: Arthur William Simpson was born in Kendal, Cumbria 1857 and was apprenticed to Gillows of Lancaster in 1875 and worked at a number of workshops until setting up his own in Kendal in 1885, known as the Handicrafts. He was a follower of John Ruskin and in 1889 one piece was accepted by the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. It was there that he would have met the architect Charles Voysey who became a great influence on his work; his designs became more architectural and simpler with less carving. By 1912, Simpson was exhibiting alongside Voysey and Walton in the Ideal Home Exhibition at Olympia. His entire stand was sold to one client. He was commissioned to carve panels for Blackwell House, designed by Baillie Scott for Sir Edward Holt and such was his skill he was entrusted by Voysey to make a number of furniture commissions.