An Arts & Crafts Yorkshire School English Oak Dresser by Derek 'Lizardman' Slater c. 1970. A very nicely proportioned dresser in the classic Yorkshire School style and a perfect size and style to add practical storage and a touch of beauty to any home. Featuring:

• Solid English Oak.

• 2 drawers (made with single plank fronts solid drawer carcasses joined with hand-cut lap and through dovetails) each with a hand carved handle.

• 2 cupboard doors with single plank fielded panels surrounded by rails and stiles joined by through tenons secured with hand made pegs each enclosing a single fixed shelf and with hand carved handle in one of the stiles.

• Panelled on the ends with single plank fielded panels surrounded by rails and stiles joined by through tenons secured with hand made pegs.

• Subtly adzed on the top (the subtle surface rippling synonymous with Yorkshire School furniture).

• Shaped Octagonal feet.

• Top section with 3 fixed shelves.

Approximate dimensions are:

• Overall Height 175mm ( 6 3/4 inches).

• Base Height 870mm (2 feet 10 1/4 inches).

• Top Height 870mm (2 feet 10 1/4 inches).

• Overall Width 930mm (3 feet and 1/2 of an inch).

• Overall Depth 435mm (1 foot 5 inches).

• Lower Dresser Shelf Height 300mm ( 11 3/4 inches).

• Upper 2 Dresser Shelf Heights 250mm ( 9 3/4 inches).

c. 1970.

Derek Lizardman Slater's carved fish motif (Used exclusively on his early items).

Very Good clean condition with snugly closing doors, smoothly sliding drawers, tight joints, and excellent rich colour and grain. A few light marks on the top. If you wish to have further specific photographs or talk to us for a more detailed condition report then please do not hesitate to contact us.

A former apprentice from Acorn Industries (Alan 'Acornman' Grainger) know for his quality work in oak in the Yorkshire School style and trademark carved Lizard. He worked with with ex-Mouseman apprentice Martin Dutton under the trade name 'Woodcarvers of Crayke'.

The most British of woods, that can produce really special results. English oak has been used for hundreds of years to construct everything from sea-going vessels to fine furniture. Although oak grows widely across Europe and North America, craftsmen continue to cherish English oak which grows more slowly than its foreign counterparts giving it strength, durability. Quarter sawn boards are very straight grained and have distinctive growth rings and medullary rays that give a very beautiful effect as well as being renowned for their superior stability and strength.

The Yorkshire School of the Arts & Crafts movement started with Robert 'Mouseman' Thompson's  transformation from jobbing carpenter to master craftsmen. By the mid-1920s he had adopted his trademark mouse (now world renowned as a symbol of quality furniture) and had his own workshop busily employing several men. As the workshop grew and over the years many of the craftsmen have taken their skills and branched out and adopted a trademark of their own, a fox, a lizard, a fish, a rabbit to name but a few, and whilst some have closely stuck to the Mouseman designs others have taken the style and adapted it. Other craftsmen, unconnected to the Mouseman workshop, have also chosen the classic Yorkshire Oak style as their own. Typical Yorkshire school items are in English Oak, with traditional pegged joints and adzed surfaces.