Reh Kennedy
Vintage 1980s British Dressers
Brass
20th Century English Victorian Bookcases
Hardwood
20th Century British Campaign Center Tables
Brass
20th Century English Country Bookcases
Hardwood, Glass
20th Century English Campaign Dining Room Tables
Brass
20th Century English Country End Tables
Hardwood
20th Century English Campaign Secretaires
Brass
Late 20th Century British Napoleon III Nesting Tables and Stacking Tables
Brass
Vintage 1960s English Campaign Night Stands
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Center Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Console Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Desks
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Desks
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Desks and Writing Tables
Leather, Hardwood
20th Century English Campaign Secretaires
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Desks
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Desks
Brass
Early 20th Century English Campaign Sideboards
Brass
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Antique Late 19th Century English Late Victorian Bookcases
Oak
Late 20th Century British Trunks and Luggage
Leather
Antique 1890s Chinese Cabinets
Elm
20th Century American American Classical Bookcases
Hardwood
20th Century English Campaign Night Stands
Leather, Hardwood
Antique 1870s British Bookcases
Oak
Late 20th Century American Hollywood Regency Night Stands
Brass, Metal
Mid-20th Century American Campaign Night Stands
Wood
20th Century British Night Stands
Hardwood
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dressers
Mahogany
Antique Early 1900s French Louis XVI Bookcases
Brass
Mid-20th Century British Bookcases
Wood
Antique 19th Century English Victorian Bookcases
Oak
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Wood
20th Century British Country Sofas
Fabric
Antique Mid-19th Century Victorian Industrial and Work Tables
Fabric, Oak
Recent Sales
20th Century British Campaign Wall Mirrors
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Leather, Mahogany
20th Century Desks and Writing Tables
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary British High Victorian Coffee and Cocktail...
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Hardwood
20th Century English Campaign Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Bookcases
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Bookcases
Hardwood
20th Century English Campaign Desks
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Bookcases
Mahogany
20th Century English Campaign Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Hardwood
20th Century English Campaign Bookcases
Glass, Hardwood
20th Century English Campaign Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Mahogany
20th Century English Campaign Bookcases
Glass, Hardwood
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Vintage 1960s English Campaign Vanities
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Console Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Desks
Brass
20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Desks
Leather, Hardwood
20th Century English Regency Bookcases
Mahogany
20th Century English Campaign Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Reh Kennedy For Sale on 1stDibs
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A Close Look at campaign Furniture
Sometimes called “knock-down” furniture, campaign furniture was designed to be folded, collapsed, taken apart and packed flat to load onto a ship or a camel’s back. Although mobile furniture for military campaigns dates back to the Romans, the British Army in its global conquests in the 18th and 19th centuries defined the style with sturdy and elegant pieces. Even in a tent thousands of miles from London, a four-poster bed, dining table and seating could simulate the comforts of home.
Antique and vintage campaign-style furniture was also initially designed as propaganda. The mahogany and teak structures were part of a purposeful demonstration of power in these campaigns, with the colonizing military officers imposing their culture and view of what they considered “civilized” on a given land and its peoples. Designers and manufacturers including Thomas Butler, Ross & Co. of Dublin, and Morgan & Sanders contributed to the rapid production of this furniture as the British Empire expanded through Africa, Asia and Australia.
Campaign furniture was utilitarian as well as refined, fitted with recessed brass handles and brass angles on stackable chests and other case pieces to protect vulnerable corners. The Wellington chest was one of the most famous pieces to come out of this style, named for the Duke of Wellington, who slept in his campaign bed long after his battles were over.
The flexibility of campaign-style furniture would influence 20th-century Scandinavian modernists such as Kaare Klint, Mogens Koch and Arne Norell. For his 1930s Safari chair, Klint drew on the simple Roorkhee chair, named for a town in northern India. The lightweight and adaptable campaign-style seat was created in the late 19th century and had no fixed joinery. The Roorkhee’s influence can also be seen in the Wassily chair, a pared-down work of tubular metal and durable canvas conceived by legendary Bauhaus instructor Marcel Breuer.
Now, 21st-century designers like Jomo Tariku and Dokter and Misses are creating pieces that recognize the contributions of African artisans to campaign furniture in order to reframe this style without overlooking its difficult past.
Find a collection of authentic antique and vintage campaign bedroom furniture, chairs, decorative objects and other pieces on 1stDibs.