Ambrose Heal

Ambrose Heal (3 September 1872 – 15 November 1959) was an English furniture designer and businessman in the first half of the 20th century. He served as the chairman of Heal's (then called Heal & Son) from 1913 to 1953.

Early life Heal was born on 3 September 1872 in Crouch End, London, the eldest son of Ambrose Heal and Emily Maria Stephenson. His great-grandfather, John Harris Heal, founded the Heal's furniture manufacturing and retail business. He attended Marlborough College before serving a two-year apprenticeship to cabinetmakers James Plucknett in Warwick. This was followed by six months working for Graham and Biddle, furnishers, of London's Oxford Street.

Career In 1893 he joined Heal & Son, working in the bedding factory, but in the mid-1890s he began designing simple, sturdy furniture, often in plain oak (in contrast to Heals' standard "Queen Anne" and "Old English" styles). Although initially not popular with sales staff – who called them "prison furniture" – his designs appeared at exhibitions of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, and soon became so successful that prejudices were overcome. Heal was also a member of the Art Workers Guild. He continued to exhibit special pieces at Arts and Crafts exhibitions for more than thirty years, but his most significant contribution was to make simpler, well-designed, well-made furniture available to a broader middle-class public.

Fellow designer Gordon Russell said of Heal's legacy,

He was perhaps the only man in the retail trade of that time who had any real interest in and knowledge of design and, like most pioneers, he was sniped at from all quarters. By many craftsman he was distrusted because he was in charge of an efficient business. By most businessman he was regarded as a long hair chap with odd notions.... Today, when it has become possible to get well designed furniture in many shops, it is difficult to realise what a revolution Heal pioneered. Apart from work interests, he collected London historical ephemera, mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries, including records of tradesmen, goldsmiths, calligraphers, signboards and furniture makers. His collection of trade-cards is preserved at the British Museum. He was the author of five books: London Tradesmen's Cards of the XVIII Century (1925), The English Writing Masters and their Copy Books (1931), The London Goldsmiths (1935), Signboards of Old London Shops (1947), The London Furniture Makers (1953). In addition The Records of the Heal Family was printed for private circulation. He contributed articles on a variety of topics in connection with his historical research to publications such as The Connoisseur and Country Life.

Legacy Heal died on 15 November 1959 in Beaconsfield. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography article by Alan Crawford describes this as "very wide of the mark" and accounts of his life and work as prone to hagiography, "but it showed what a powerful image he had created for his shop, and thus for himself".