This 'Old English Bagatelle' table is early Victorian, c1840-1850. Old English bagatelle was very popular in Victorian times in the home and the full size version of the game has been played for centuries in British pubs in certain parts of England. Bagatelle is considered a fore runner of Bar Billiards. The top of this example folds shut while not in use for ease of storage and when open offers a full size playing surface. The table is finely constructed in mahogany with particularly nice figuring on the table top and sides. It is a William Smee and Sons design, illustrated on page 536 of the Antiques Collectors Club Pictorial Dictionary of British 19th Century Furniture Design, the illustration is dated 1850. William Smee and Sons, were a London based furniture retailer and wholesaler with a reputation for furniture of good quality. They were prominent for their catalogues 'Designs for Furniture' published during the mid 19th Century. The Victorian and Albert museum has a large collection of pen drawings of c1850 from the firm's records.Price£1500