Antique Victorian Metamorphic Extending Jupe Dining Table 19th Century

In 1835 Robert Jupe was granted British Patent No. 6788 for an expanding table. The original Jupe expanding table includes a table top that is divided into a number of sections. Each section is connected to an underlying frame structure, such that when the table top is rotated, the sections move radially outward, increasing the effective size of the table top. Once the table top has been rotated to move the table top sections outward, leaves are inserted between the sections, so as to fill in the spaces created by the outward movement of the sections. Because the table top sections diverge and move radially outward from a central point, the Jupe table top retains its shape in its expanded configuration.

The Jupe table has now become one of the most valuable and sought after antiques. Original Jupe tables in good condition may sell for up to $350,000 at the time of writing. However, despite its popularity, the Jupe table has been very difficult to mass produce, because its workings are both extremely complex and entirely handcrafted.

For example, the frame structure that supports the table top sections in the Jupe table is comprised of many individual beam structures that are secured together to form the frame. Each of those beams must be individually made and assembled to exacting tolerances in order to ensure that the table top sections will move freely and mate in the center of the table top to form a substantially contiguous table surface in both the contracted and expanded configurations. The manufacture of such a structure is time-consuming and is not conducive to rapid production.

Other aspects of the Jupe table design also make the design difficult to implement. For example, in at least some of the existing examples of functioning Jupe tables, the pivot for the table top is a threaded rod that runs the entire length of the table pedestal. That is an extremely difficult and time-consuming configuration to replicate.