Loving Lebus

As residents move into brand new flats in Tottenham Hale, a new book takes a close look at a furniture manufacturer once based in the area.

Loving Lebus: Looking into Lebus Furniture by Paul Collier, is part two in the story of the Lebus manufacturer which dominated the UK furniture trade in the 20th Century, becoming the ‘largest furniture factory in the world.’

The author lives on Ferry Lane Estate occupying part of the former site of the Lebus factory in Tottenham Hale. Paul said: “When Lebus named one of its dining-room suites after a Scottish town in 1937, no one could have imagined that years later, where the main production plant for Lebus Furniture once stood, that people would live in homes on a street sharing the name Armadale.

“I am proud to say I am one of those residents living in Armadale Close, on what was once the site of the Lebus veneer workshop.”

The path for Lebus was not always smooth, with two world wars causing furniture production to cease completely at the factory.

Such was the impact of war on design decisions, type of products, raw materials, methods of manufacture and target market, that there are distinct manufacturing periods – each with its own chief designer.

Lebus made high-end furniture with traditional methods for the wealthiest households during the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts period leading up to the advent of the First World War in 1914. It produced an extensive range of furniture for commercial offices which has since been overlooked.

It produced affordable furniture for the many during the ‘Modern Classical’ or Art Deco era between the two world wars (1919–1939), introducing the industry to mechanised manufacture on flow production conveyors. The move to mid-century modernity after the Second World War was the third manufacturing period.

1966 onwards may be considered a fourth period when the business was forced to reinvent itself as ‘Europa’ furniture to stay viable.

One factor that remained stable throughout was the Lebus business model built around a simple concept − a travelling sales force armed with regularly updated catalogues of current Lebus furniture ranges. Sales representatives would continuously travel around their designated area encouraging individual furniture shops and outlets to buy, stock, and retail Lebus-made furniture on a wholesale basis.

Identifying the furniture however, is not made easy because much of it, at least until the 1950s, was marked not by Lebus but by the retailer.

David Dewing, president of the Regional Furniture Society, said: “The story of Lebus Furniture is a key to the history of British furniture manufacture in the 20th Century, a history which is not yet fully researched, analysed and understood.

“From its beginnings in the Edwardian period as a maker of quality reproduction furniture, through its rapid growth in the interwar period as volume producer of middle quality domestic and office furniture, to its efforts in the 50s and 60s to appeal to a younger market with more affordable ranges, Lebus was in many ways a litmus paper for the wider industry.”

Paul’s first book Harris Lebus: A Romance with the Furniture Trade − the complete history behind Lebus Furniture, was met with much acclaim. It is hoped that Loving Lebus will now do the same.

Karl Walker, managing director of Lebus Upholstery, said: “We are extremely proud to sponsor this book, which looks into Lebus furniture of the past – both cabinet and upholstery. Whilst cabinet making ceased in 1970, Lebus Upholstery has continuously provided the nation with sofas and armchairs. Today we are one of the ‘largest furniture manufacturers of UK produced upholstery.’

“We are grateful to Paul for his labour of love bringing the story of our past to a new audience of today.”

Loving Lebus: Looking into Lebus Furniture is available to pre-order from Libri Publishing and all good book stores. ISBN 978-1-911451-09-9

For more information, head to the Harris Lebus Book Facebook group: Lebus Furniture