1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Lock, Matthias

LOCK, MATTHIAS, English 18th-century furniture designer and cabinet-maker. The dates of his birth and death are unknown; but he was a disciple of Chippendale, and subsequently of the Adams, and was possibly in partnership with Henry Copeland (q.v.). During the greater part of his life he belonged to that flamboyant school which derived its inspiration from Louis XV. models; but when he fell under the influence of Robert Adam he absorbed his manner so completely that it is often difficult to distinguish between them, just as it is sometimes easy to confound Lock’s work with the weaker efforts of Chippendale. Thus from being extravagantly rococo he progressed to a simple ordered classicism. His published designs are not equal to his original drawings, many of which are preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, while the pieces themselves are often bolder and more solid than is suggested by the author’s representations of them. He was a clever craftsman and holds a distinct place among the minor furniture designers of the second half of the 18th century.

Among his works, some of which were issued in conjunction with Copeland, are: A New Drawing Book of Ornaments (n. d.); A New Book of Ornaments (1768); A New Book of Pier Frames, Ovals, Girandoles, Tables, &c. (1769); and A New Book of Foliage (1769).