| Abstract | Robert Thompson was born in 1876 in Kilburn where he set up an oak furniture business. It is claimed that the mouse motif came about accidentally in 1919 following a conversation about 'being as poor as a church mouse', which took place between Thompson and one of his colleagues during the carving of a cornice for a screen. This chance remark led to him carving a mouse and this remained part of his work from this point onwards. He was part of the 1920s revival of craftsmanship, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement led by William Morris, John Ruskin and Thomas Carlyle. More specific to furniture making in this genre and era, includes Stanley Webb Davies of Windermere. He died in 1955. |