Oak desk

Betty Joel was born Mary Stewart Lockhart in Hong Kong in 1896. In 1918 she married Lieutenant David Joel, and the couple moved to England where they set up a furniture-making business. The venture began with Betty designing pieces for her own house. This led to commissions for friends and setting up a small factory at Hayling Island, with a rented showroom on Sloane Street, London. Initially much of the furniture was made in teak or oak. This was known as ‘Token’ furniture, and the factory at Hayling Island was given the same name. Such was the popularity of Joel’s designs that by 1929 the factory moved to bigger premises at Portsmouth, while she (with her husband) bought a large terraced h

Desk · London · 1929. Queensland silky oak, drawers with Monel Metal (mainly copper and nickel alloy) handles. By Joel, Betty. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.