The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston claims that Peddle chairs are “Tasmania’s best known antique”, so that probably justifies a book about them. And who better to compile it than Denis Lake, a Launceston furniture restorer, who can combine research with his detailed practical knowledge of furniture making. George Peddle (1855–1933), a Windsor chair maker originally from High Wycombe, 50 km west of London, arrived in Hobart in 1884, where he established a workshop at Austin’s Ferry before moving his operations to Launceston in 1888, then to Nabowla 35 km to the north-east in 1894. George’s brother-in-law Harry Hearn (1856–1932) joined him at Nabowla in 1895.