Thomas Sheraton: a 1920s silent ‘biopic’

In 2017 a set of film canisters were rediscovered in the V&A stores, which turned out to contain 1920s silent ‘biopics’ of the furniture designers Thomas Chippendale and Thomas Sheraton. Both films are imaginative re-enactments of scenes from their lives. They were probably made for the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1925.
The Sheraton film portrays Sheraton’s difficult and impoverished life, based on an eye-witness account by Adam Black, an aspiring publisher who met him briefly in 1804. The film concludes with a lengthy scene at an auction at Christie’s, London (which may or may not be genuine), showing ‘Sheraton’ furniture selling for enormous sums, long after his death.
The films were transferred to the British Film Institute and are shown courtesy of the BFI National Archive.
Read more on our blog: www.vam.ac.uk/blog/museum-lif...

[@david11978]

Superb. The quiet acting style, makes this film look so realistic. Great restoration.

[@Cat-Man-Doo]

Ugh. Needs music. Or at least muzaq.