Transcriber's Note: Italic text is
denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal signs=.
THE OLD FURNITURE BOOK
[Illustration: HALL IN KING HOOPER HOUSE. _Danvers Mass._]
THE
OLD FURNITURE BOOK
WITH A SKETCH OF
PAST DAYS AND WAYS
BY
N. HUDSON MOORE
AUTHOR OF
"THE OLD CHINA BOOK"
_With one hundred and twelve illustrations_
_Second Edition_
[Illustration]
NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
Copyright, 1903,
BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
_All Rights Reserved_
_Published in October, 1903_
"TO A LADY
WHO SHALL BE NAMED LATER."
ILLUSTRATIONS
Frontispiece--Hall in "King Hooper" House, Danvers, Mass.
CHAPTER I
FIGURE
1. Old Oak Bedstead
2. Olive-Wood Chest
3. Old Oak Chest
4. Chest with One Drawer
5. Oak Chest on Frame (English)
6. Spanish Leather Chair
7. Turned Chair with Leather Cover
8. English Chair (1680) Italian Chair (Same Period)
9. Cane Chair, Flemish Style
10. Turned and Carved Arm-Chair
CHAPTER II
11. Dutch Furniture, called "Queen Anne"
12. Carved Kas
13. Marquetry Chairs
14. Screen, Cradle, and Church Stool
15. Ebony Cabinet
16. Bed Chair
17. Marquetry Desk
CHAPTER III
18. Kitchen, Wayside Inn, Sudbury, Mass.
19. Chippendale Chairs
20. Chippendale Chair
21. Carved Cedar Table
22. Chippendale Chairs
23. Chippendale Candle, Tea and Music Stands
24. Chippendale Card-Table
25. Chippendale Marble-Topped Table
26. Chippendale Chair-Backs and Mirror-Frame
CHAPTER IV
27. Room in Whipple House, Ipswich, Mass.
28. Chippendale, Sheraton, and Hepplewhite Chairs
29. Adam Chairs
30. Hepplewhite Chairs
31. Hepplewhite Card-Table
32. Hepplewhite Settees
33. Sheraton Chairs
34. Sheraton Desk
35. Sideboard
36. Sofa, Sheraton Style
37. Sheraton Sideboard
38. Sheraton Sideboard
39. Empire Sofa
40. Empire Sofa
41. Pier-Table
42. Empire Sideboard
43. Empire Work-Table
CHAPTER V
44. Kitchen at Deerfield, Mass.
45. William Penn's Table
46. Rush-Bottomed Chairs
47. Connecticut Chest
48. Mahogany Desk
49. Corner Cupboard
50. Banquet-Room, Independence Hall, Philadelphia
51. Windsor Chairs
52. Wall-Paper
53. Bed at Concord, Mass.
54. Bed at Mount Vernon
55. Bed at Somerville, N. J.
56. Carved Oak Bedstead
CHAPTER VI
57. Room in Whipple House, Ipswich, Mass.
58. Carved and Gilded and Mahogany Mirror-Frames
59. Mahogany Desk and Chest of Drawers
60. Combined Bookcase and Desk
61. Field Bed
62. Low Four-Post Bed
63. French Bed
64. Highboy
65. Corner Cupboard
66. Inlaid and Lacquered Table and Chair
67. Lacquered Table
68. Mahogany Bureau
69. American-Made Chairs
70. American-Made Rosewood Card Table
CHAPTER VII
71. Bedroom of Anne of Austria at Fontainebleau
72. Bed of Louis XIV at Versailles
73. Chairs of the Period of Louis XIV
74. Tapestry Furniture
75. Commodes of the Time of Louis XV
76. Garderobe Period of Louis XV
77. Bedroom of Marie Antoinette at the Little Trianon
78. Chairs and Table of Louis XVI Style
79. Encoignure, Period of Louis XVI
80. Bed of Josephine at Fontainebleau
81. Bed of Napoleon at Grand Trianon
82. Room at Fontainebleau with Historic Table
83. Empire Reading and Writing Desk
CHAPTER VIII
84. Organ in St. Michael's Church, Charleston, S. C.
85. Spinet
86. Harpsichord
87. Cristofori Piano
88. Harp
89. Bass Viol
90. Glass Harmonica
91. Geib Piano
92. Nuns Piano
93. Upright Piano
CHAPTER IX
94. Tall-Case Clocks, English
95. Three Centuries of Clocks.--Lantern, Portable, and Willard or
Banjo Clocks
96. Tall-Case Clocks, English and American
97. Mantel Clocks
CHAPTER X
98. Kitchen of Whipple House, Ipswich, Mass.
99. Handles, Escutcheons, etc.
100. Feet
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. OLD OAK, OLD LEATHER, TURKEY WORK, ETC. 1
II. DUTCH FURNITURE 28
III. CHIPPENDALE 48
IV. ADAM, SHERATON, EMPIRE 73
V. COLONIAL AND LATER PERIODS 95
VI. COLONIAL AND LATER PERIODS--_Continued_ 128
VII. FRENCH FURNITURE 148
VIII. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 173
IX. CLOCKS 197
X. HANDLES, FEET, STUFFS, ETC. 222
INDEX 237
THE OLD FURNITURE BOOK.
CHAPTER I.
OLD OAK, OLD LEATHER, TURKEY WORK, ETC.
With the revival of interest in all "antiques," which is so widely
spread at this time, any of us who chance to own an old piece of
furniture feel an added degree of affection for it if we can give it an
approximate date and assign it to a maker or a country. There is much
good old furniture in the United States, chiefly of Spanish, Dutch and
English make, though there are constant importations of other makes,
notably French, since it is recognized on all sides that Americans are
becoming the collectors of the world. Our public museums are gradually
filling with works of art presented by broad-minded citizens, while the
private galleries are rich and increasing every day. To keep pace with
these possessions, furniture from old palaces and manor-houses is being
hauled forth and set up again in our New World homes. Indeed, whole
interiors have been removed from ancient dwellings, and the superb
carvings of other days become the ornaments of modern houses, like the
gilded oak panels from the Hotel Montmorency which were built into the
Deacon House in Boston, or like Mrs. Gardiner's Venetian carved wood
which decorates her palace in the Boston Fens.
Oak panelling, like everything else, passed through various periods and
styles. In Queen Elizabeth's time the panels were carried to within
about two feet of the cornice; then, after some years, there came a
division into lower and upper panelling, the upper beginning at about
the height of the back of a chair from the floor. Pictures became more
common, and they were frequently let into the upper panelling, and
then it was discarded altogether, only the lower half or dado being
retained. This, too, after some years, became old-fashioned, and the
board known as skirting, or base-board, was all that was left of the
handsome sheathing which extended from the floor almost to the ceiling.
This old oak panelling was entirely without polish or varnish of any
kind, and grew with years and dust almost black in colour. Sometimes it
was inlaid with other woods, and often it was made for the rooms where
it was placed. Where the panels are carved, they are generally bought
in that state and set in plain framework by the household joiner. If,
however, the frame is carved and the panels plain, they were made to
suit the taste and purse of the owner of the mansion. Oak panelling
took the place of the arras, tapestry hangings, and crude woodwork of
earlier times. Of course it was adopted by the rich and luxurious, for
it rendered more air-tight the draughty buildings.
[Illustration: Figure 1. OLD OAK BEDSTEAD.]
The oldest furniture was made of oak, more or less carved, whether of
Spanish, Italian, Dutch, or English make. The multiplication of objects
which we consider necessary as "furnishings" were pleasingly absent,
and chests used as receptacles for clothes or linens, for seats by day
and beds by night, with a few beds also of carved oak, and tables, made
up the chief articles of domestic use.
Even the very word "furniture" itself is of obscure origin and was
used formerly, as now, to describe the fittings of houses, churches,
and other buildings.
There are a few terms applied to furniture referring either to its
decoration or process of manufacture with which it is well to become
acquainted. They are given here in the order of their importance.
_Veneering_ is the process of coating common wood with slices of rare
and costly woods fastened down with glue by screw presses made to fit
the surface to be covered. It was first used in the reign of William
and Mary, in the last decade of the seventeenth century. Until that
time furniture had been made of solid wood. Veneer of this early
period, particularly burr-walnut veneer, was about one sixteenth of an
inch thick, and was sometimes applied to oak. Chippendale, Hepplewhite,
and Sheraton used mahogany and satin-wood both solid and for veneers.
When used as veneers they were all hand-cut, as they are in all
high-class furniture to-day. It was not till the late Georgian period
that machinery for cutting veneer was first used, and slices were
produced one thirty-second of an inch in thickness. Most of the cheaper
kinds of modern furniture are veneered.
_Marquetry_ is veneer of different woods, forming a mosaic of
ornamental designs. In the early days of the art, figure subjects,
architectural designs, and interiors were often represented in this
manner.
_Rococo_, made up from two French words meaning rock and shells,
_roequaille et coquaille_, is a florid style of ornamentation which was
in vogue in the latter part of the eighteenth century.
_Buhl_, or _Boulle_, is inlaid work with tortoise-shell or metals in
arabesques or cartouches. It derived its name from Boule, a French
wood-carver who brought it to its highest perfection.
_Ormolu_ refers to designs in brass mounted upon the surface of the
wood. This metal was given an exceedingly brilliant colour by the use
of less zinc and more copper than is commonly used in the composition
of brass, and was sometimes still further made bright by the use of
varnish and lacquer.
_Baroque._ This word, which was derived from the Portuguese _baroco_,
meant originally a large irregular pearl. At first the term was used
only by jewellers, but it gradually became technically applied to
describe a kind of ornament which became popular on furniture early
in the nineteenth century, after the rage for the classic had passed.
It consisted of a wealth of ornament lavished in an unmeaning manner
merely for display; and scrolls, curves, and designs from leaves were
used to cover pieces, making them lack beauty and that grace which
comes from pure and simple lines.
_Lacquer_ is coloured or opaque varnish applied to metallic objects
as well as wood. The name is obtained from "resin lac," the material
which is used as the base of all lacquers. In the East Indies the
whole surface of wooden objects, large and small, is covered with
bright-coloured lacquers. The Japanese lacquers are the finest that are
made. They excel in the variety and exquisite perfection of this style
of work, and under their skilful manipulation it becomes one of the
choicest forms of decorative art. The most highly prized lacquer is on
a gold ground, some specimens of which reached Europe in the time of
Louis XV.
_Japanning._ This style of treating wood and metal derives its name
from the fact of its being an imitation of the famous lacquering
of Japan, although the latter is prepared with entirely different
materials and processes, and is in every way much more durable,
brilliant, and beautiful than any European "Japan work." This latter
process is done in clear transparent varnishes, or in black or colours,
but the black japan is the most common. By japanning a very brilliant
polished surface may be secured, which is more durable than ordinary
painted or varnished work. It is usually applied to small articles of
wood, to clock-faces, papier-maché, etc.
_Joined_ furniture. All the parts are joined by mortise and tenon, no
nails or glue being used. This method prevents the parts from warping
or springing, as so much of the modern machine-made furniture does.
Figure 1 shows an ancient carved-oak bed of the time of Queen
Elizabeth, with grotesque carvings on the headboard in Renaissance
style, which is said to have been introduced into England by Holbein.
This bed has an interesting history. It belongs to the Herricks
of Beaumanor Park, and came to them from Professor Babington, of
St. John's College, Cambridge, England. He inherited it from his
father, whose ancestors kept the "Blue Boar" inn at Leicester, where
Richard III slept the night before the battle of Bosworth Field, in
August, 1485. This has always been called "King Richard's Bed," and
many learned antiquaries have waxed eloquent for and against this
assumption. Mr. Henry Shaw, author of "Specimens of Early Furniture,"
published in 1836, says it is a good specimen of the modern four-poster
of Elizabeth's time, the more ancient beds being without foot-posts.
In fact the earlier beds were mere couches. As more luxury was demanded
they grew larger, counterpanes were made of the richest materials,
gorgeously embroidered with the arms and badges of their owners, and
from their great cost and imperishable character descended from one
generation to another. They provided employment, too, for the lady of
the castle and her bower maidens, who had no end of leisure which had
to be filled in some way, and which dragged along for many a long year,
broken only by the chance visit of a wandering hawker or my lord's
return from the wars.
Hollingbourne Manor, in Kent, is one of the old mansions still standing
which was built in Queen Elizabeth's time. The manor was originally
owned by Sir Thomas Culpeper, and his initials appear in many places
about the house. In the great hall the fireplace has an iron back with
the initials "T. C." and the date 1683 wrought in it. The present
owner, Mr. Gerald Arbuthnot, has preserved the old-time atmosphere
as much as possible, and in connection with home-made tapestry the
"needle-room" is especially interesting. In that room the four Ladies
Culpeper, daughters of that John, Lord Culpeper, who was exiled for
his devotion to King Charles, spent so much of their time making
tapestry that one of the sisters became blind from the effects of
her close application. Among the pieces of the handiwork of the four
sisters preserved is a magnificent altar-cloth which they presented
to the parish church. For two centuries and a half a needle left
by the fingers of the worker remained sticking in the corner of the
cloth, but it was stolen about two years ago by some one of a party of
antiquarians visiting the Manor.
[Illustration: Figure 2. OLIVE-WOOD CHEST.]
In Mr. Shaw's book already quoted are many items concerning these great
and handsome beds, which were often the finest pieces of furniture in
the castle or manor, and from the safe seclusion of which the king or
great lord received the homage of his vassals.
The bed and bedstead were sometimes classed separately, but in
many inventories the former word covers the bedstead and all its
furnishings. The fittings of the bed were well in keeping with the
fine carved woodwork, and were of softest feathers or down. Sheets of
linen, and rugs or blankets of fine wool, were covered by a cloth woven
of samite, damask, or heavy with gold threads.
Richard, Earl of Arundel, in 1392, left to Philippa, his second wife,--
--"a blue bed marked with my arms and the arms of my late wife, also
the hangings of the hall, which were lately made in London, of blue
tapestry with red roses, with the arms of my sons, the Earl Marshall,
Lord Charlton, and Mons. Willm. Beauchamp; to my son Richard, a
standing bed called "Clove"; also a bed of silk embroidered with the
arms of Arundel and Warren quarterly; to my dear son Thomas, my blue
bed of silk embroidered with greffins; to my daughter Margaret my blue
bed."
Not many earls had so great a store of worldly goods.
In 1434 Joanne, Lady Bergavenny, devises--
--"a bed of gold swans, with tapettar of green tapestry, with bunches
and flowers of diverse colours; and two pair of sheets of Raynes; a
pair of fustian, six pairs of other sheets; six pairs of blankets; six
mattrasses; six pillows; and with cushions and bancoves that longen
with the bed aforesaid."
This was only one bed of six specified by this lady, several being of
velvet, silk, and one of "bande kyn," a rich and splendid stuff of gold
thread and silk, still farther enriched with embroidery. Before the
cloth spread or counterpane the covering was of fur. It was also the
fashion in these primitive times to name the beds, like that specified
"Clove" in the Earl of Arundel's inventory, sometimes with the names of
flowers, sometimes with those of the planets or of birds. The beds were
surmounted with testers or canopies of rich silk edged with fringes,
and suspended from the rafters of the room by silk cords. There were
side-curtains also, and much carving on the headboard, while the
foot-posts, as we have said, are wanting in the earliest beds, prior
to the year 1500. Mr. Shaw goes on to say that there are very few beds
still extant which date before Elizabethan times, and that the most
ancient he met with was of the time of Henry VIII., and belonged to a
clergyman of Blackheath who bought it out of an old manor-house. The
posts and back are elaborately carved in Gothic style, but the cornice
is missing.
Of Elizabethan times there are several noted beds extant, the finest of
them being known as the "Great Bed of Ware" mentioned by Shakespeare in
"Twelfth Night." It is seven feet high and ten feet square. There is
one in the South Kensington Museum, London, more richly carved than the
one we show, and having in addition a carved foot-board. This bed is
dated 1593.
[Illustration: Figure 3. OLD OAK CHEST.]
The curtains and hangings which have in our day become mere
ornaments were during the Elizabethan period most necessary. Windows
unglazed, and rude walls unplastered, or at best hung with tapestry,
permitted drafts to wander through the sleeping-rooms, so that the
curtains were closely drawn at night for actual protection. At best in
many a castle or dwelling of the wealthy but one bed would be found,
and that belonged to the lord and lady, the rest of the family taking
their rest on rugs or cushions bestowed on the floor, or on chests or
settees, or even on tables.
There are also found, though rarely, oak tables of this period, or
perhaps a little later, heavily carved along the sides, and with
ponderous turned legs and plain stout braces. These tables, perhaps the
earliest approach to a sideboard, are so long that they have six legs,
the top seldom being less than twelve feet in length. One we refer to
was found recently in an old barn in England, where it had lain since
the neighbouring manor-house had been pulled down in 1760. While its
condition was good,--that is, needing no restoring,--it had become
nearly black and almost fossilized from exposure. It is now used as a
sideboard by the vicar of the parish who found it in its lowly estate,
and on it stand pewter and plate, also antiques from the neighbourhood.
Such treasures can seldom be found here, certainly not any that have
lain concealed since 1760.
After the Elizabethan period the next one of importance may be called
Jacobean. James I. encouraged his people to use chairs instead of
stools. It was not long before settles, lounges, and "scrowled chairs,"
the latter inlaid with coloured woods, crowded out the stools of former
days, and the idea of enriching the useful became the interest of
the skilled workman, and utility was no longer the measure of value.
Stools, to be sure, were still used, but they had heavy cushions of
brocade, or worked stuff, or velvet, and were hung around with a rich
fringe and with gimp, fastened with fancy nails. The arm-chairs of this
period, a fashion introduced from Venice, had the legs in a curved X
shape across the front, and chairs are still extant which were used
by James I. himself. These chairs, which are all somewhat similar in
design, were rendered still more comfortable by a loose cushion which
could be adapted to the inclination of the sitter. The bedsteads of the
period were also smothered in draperies, the tester trimmed with rows
upon rows of fringe, the head-boards, carved and gilded, being about
the only woodwork allowed to show.
As we have said, the earliest wood used, at least in northern England,
seems to have been oak. At the close of the sixteenth century there
was furniture decorated with inlays of different coloured woods,
marbles, agate, or lapis lazuli. Ivory carved and inlaid, carved and
gilded wood, metals and tortoise-shell, were used also in making the
sumptuous furniture of the Renaissance. The greatest elegance of form
and detail was observed during this century, and it declined noticeably
all over Europe, during the seventeenth century. The framework became
heavy and bulky and the details coarse. Silver furniture made in Spain
and Italy was used in the courts of the French and English kings.
Then came the carved and gilded furniture which received its greatest
perfection in Italy, though it was made throughout Europe till late in
the eighteenth century.
[Illustration: Figure 4. CHEST WITH ONE DRAWER.]
Second only to the bed in importance as an item of household furnishing
was the chest, a seat by day, a bed by night, and a storehouse of
valuables always. It usually stood at the foot of the bed, possibly so
that it could not be pilfered at night without the owner's knowledge.
Some chests, heavily made, provided with locks and bound with iron,
held all the worldly wealth of the owner, as well as his papers and
deeds. Before the time of James I. bills of exchange were not used, and
the actual coin passed in all transactions. Italy was the first country
to establish banks, the money-dealers of Florence practising banking
as early as the thirteenth century. Holland followed their example,
and in 1609 the Bank of Amsterdam was founded, but kept in its coffers
the actual coin paid in, being merely a repository for safe keeping.
England had no bank until the seventeenth century, when this business
was undertaken by the goldsmiths of London. The Bank of England was not
founded until 1694. It can be easily seen how necessary a part of the
household goods a stout chest for valuables was, especially in remote
parts of the country, where access to the cities was not easy. Not
alone in houses was the chest a necessary article; one or more were a
part of every church's furniture, and in them were kept the vestments,
church linen, the plate, and other valuables.
There is a lawsuit mentioned in the Court Records of New Amsterdam,
where one of two sisters living at Jericho, Long Island, about 1647,
sues a neighbour for coming into their house and breaking into her
chest, which was in her bedroom, and stealing from it several measures
of wheat which were stored therein, as well as some coins which were in
the till.
The wearing-apparel of the family also was kept in these chests, and
for years before her marriage the daughter of the house was employed
in filling one up with linen spun and woven through all the different
processes from the flax, the size and fullness of the chest often
proving quite a factor in the marriage negotiations.
The chests of the Jacobean time, enriched with mouldings, panellings,
and drop ornaments, are by no means unknown in America. They are
furnished with drawers, cupboards, and then drawers above, making them
massive and useful pieces of furniture. They stand upon large round
legs, and the handles to drawers and cupboards are drops. In Italy
marriage chests were beautifully painted, often by famous masters, and
sometimes gilded as well. In Holland the chests were carved or inlaid;
and many of these, owing to the commercial relations between England
and Holland, found their way into the former country and thence to
America, in addition to those brought directly from the Low Countries.
Chests were used as trunks by travelers long before Shakespeare's time,
and he makes a chest play an important part in "Cymbeline." In the
early days of the American colonies, when the settlers sent back to
England for comforts not procurable in America, these were generally
despatched in chests for safe keeping and to preserve their contents.
The following letter shows a lady's desire to get hold of her
property which had been unduly detained. Lady Moody was a member in
1643 of the Colony of Massachusetts, but, "being taken with the error
of denying baptism to infants, was dealt with by many of the elders,"
As she persisted in her "error" she was persuaded by friends, in order
to avoid further trouble, to move to the New Netherlands. This she did,
and it is noted by the Rev. Thomas Cobbett, of Lynn, that "Lady Moody
is to sitt down on Long Island, from under civil and church watch,
among the Dutch."
[Illustration: Figure 5. OAK CHEST ON FRAME. _English._]
Later she became a warm friend of the younger Winthrop, and many
letters passed between them. The following was written in 1649:
"Wurthi Sur:
My respective love to you, remembering and acknowledging your
many kindnesses and respect to me. I have written divers lines to
you, but I doubt you have not received it. At present being in
haste I can not unlay myselfe, but my request is y^t you will be
pleased by this note, if in your wisdom you see not a convenienter
opertunity to send me those things y^t Mr Throgmorton bought for
me, and I understand are with you, for I am in great need of y^e,
together with Mark Lucas's chest and other things.
"So, with my respective love to you and your wife and Mrs Locke
remembered, hoping you and they with your children are in helth,
I rest; committing you to y^e protection of y^e Almighty. Pray
remember my necessity in this thing.
DEBORAH MOODY."
Chests are to be found in the well-settled as well as in out-of-the-way
corners, and of Dutch, English, and American make. The Dutch, broadly
speaking, are more common in the neighbourhood of New York, Albany,
and other places settled by these pioneers from Holland, while the
English-made ones, many of them, are to be found in New England, and
scattered over the Eastern States as well, since in the past year
I have seen two fine ones, both found in the western part of New
York State. The very earliest chests which were among the effects of
our first settlers are very plain affairs, hardly more than boxes
mounted on simple sawed legs. They were all furnished with locks,
and generally with rude handles, and we can well conceive the motley
array of household and personal "stuff" which came over in them. Elder
Brewster's chest is in the Memorial Hall at Plymouth, and is just such
a plain box on legs as has been described.
Though there were many oak chests undoubtedly brought over during these
early years, there were also many of pine, and, being plain and cheap
receptacles, more easily damaged than if of harder wood, they gave
way to better and more ornate pieces as soon as the family fortunes
warranted it.
In Flanders were made many fronts of chests only, quite elaborately
carved, and sent to England, there to be fitted with the other parts.
Among the guilds the chest-makers bore an important part, as chests,
particularly of churches, were sometimes fastened with two locks, and
the lock plates were often very highly and handsomely wrought. Of later
years chests of every degree of elegance and beauty have found their
way to America; some covered with carving of the florid style of the
Renaissance, some still showing traces of the fine gilding with which
they were covered. Even some of historic interest are owned here,
such as the carved chest of olive-wood said to have belonged to the
Stuarts, and brought to this country by a member of the family who
fled to Virginia after the beheading of Charles I. It remained in the
possession of a family named Stuart till recently, and was bought by
its present owner, Miss C. F. Marsh, of Clermont-on-the-James. This
chest, though restored as to its feet, is remarkable on account of the
decorations on the inside of its lid, which are unusual in that place,
and from the fact that they are done in burnt work as well as carving.
A portrait of James I. occupies the centre, and there are carved panels
on either side depicting the "Judgment of Solomon." On the top of the
lid the arms of the Stuarts are burnt in, while the front is decorated
with panels of castles and warriors, and above the middle panel are
the British lions supporting the royal arms. This chest is about six
feet in length, twenty-four inches high, and twenty-two inches wide.
The plantation on which it was found belonged to Captain John Smith in
1610. Its real value was quite unknown to those who possessed it. It
was sold at auction, and was bought by a German farmer for a feed-box,
on account of its strength. He carted it home, and was so satisfied
with his bargain that he was quite unwilling to sell. It is made of
eight-inch planks of olive-wood, cut several centuries ago in Palestine.
Nor is this the only chest of this description in the country. In
Memorial Hall, Philadelphia, is one very similar to it (Figure 2), but
in a perfect state of preservation, with the original ball feet and
more ornate twisted wrought-iron handles. The style of decoration on
the two chests is quite similar, they are both made of olive-wood, but
the wrought-iron handles are much handsomer on the Philadelphia chest
than on the Stuart one. It has, however, no carving on the inside of
the lid; the four panels of carving are enclosed with a moulding; but
the lions rampant are very well done, and there are figures in cavalier
costume on the panels. While, of course, elegant chests like these are
most uncommon, it is the less ornate specimens which prove the most
interesting, because there is more likelihood of our becoming possessed
of them.
Figure 3 represents a good specimen of one of these early chests. It
is of English make, entirely of oak, the boards of the bottom being
as heavy and solid as lead. The top is a heavy plank of oak with a
fine grain. The chest is panelled within and has one till. The lock is
modern, and some nails have been driven to hold the chest together,
for the back legs as well as the sides are worm-eaten. This chest is
three feet nine inches long, twenty-eight inches high, and twenty
inches wide, and is in good condition save for the nails. Its date is
about the last quarter of the seventeenth century. It was found in
New York State and belongs to Mr. W. M. Hoyt of Rochester. While oak
and pine were the most common materials for these chests, olive-wood
was sometimes used, as we have seen, and sometimes the panels were of
cedar, and the ornaments of some of the softer woods, like pine or
maple, coloured and stained to imitate ebony. American walnut came into
use late in the seventeenth century, but, although used in furniture
and popular as a veneer, it was not used for chests. Cypress wood was
also in demand as a material for chests, the aromatic smell keeping off
the pest of housekeepers, the moth. In summer time the heavy woollen
tapestries and woollen clothes of the family were stowed away, and
the former, at least, from their cost and the labour expended upon
them, had to be carefully protected.
[Illustration: Figure 6. SPANISH LEATHER CHAIR.]
The roughest sort of a chest was called a "standard," and in it were
packed the more perishable movables and furniture; and in moving from
one residence to another these standards were carried by pack-horses or
on rude carts. Chinese chests of teak-wood, lacquer, or cedar are very
rarely met with, though you will sometimes see them in old homes in
England, where some ancestor of the family followed the sea.
The inventory of the estate of Colonel Francis Epes, of Henrico County,
Virginia, dated October 1, 1678, is a long and varied one. The first
article recorded is "One foure foot chest of drawers seder Sprinkled
new, but damnified £1-10.0." Further along are mentioned--
--"one middle size calve skin truncke with drawers. One old
leather truncke with lock and key ... one old middle size chest
with lock and key. One small old chest with lock and key. Two
other old chests without keys and one without hinges."
Quite a number of chests and trunks for one family when it is noted
that they had chests of drawers also. When the Rev. Samuel Sewall, so
well-known from his voluminous diary, returned from a trip to England
in 1689, he brought with him on the ship "America" a trunk for each
of his three children, with their names and the dates of their births
carved thereon. Presumably these trunks did not come over empty. He
brought also a sea-chest, a barrel of books, a large trunk marked H. S.
with nails, two smaller trunks, a deal box of linen, a small case of
liquors, and a great case of bottles. He slept on a feather bed laid
above a straw bed on the voyage, and was comfortably covered with a
bedquilt.
American oak was used, however, in many American-made chests. Some
of the early chests, particularly those found in the United States,
stand flat on the ground. Others have legs, sometimes formed by the
continuation of the stiles, as those parts of the chests are called
which hold the panels on the sides. The two boards which occupy the
top and bottom of the sides and back and front are called the rails.
The upper rails in some of the chests of early make have a row of
carving on them which adds still further to the beauty of the chest,
and in some instances the stiles are also carved. Ordinarily, however,
the stiles are plain or with but a slight moulding, and the rails are
quite plain. Geometric patterns in arched, diamond, or square form were
early employed, each maker copying industriously the patterns used by
other makers and only occasionally having the originality to design for
himself. After the legs formed by the continuation of the stiles came
legs made in the shape of great balls such as were used on much Dutch
furniture and were copied by the English makers.
The great Dutch _kas_, or chest, was a very large and ornamental piece
of furniture, carved, painted, or decorated in marquetry. Such pieces
are unusual now, most of them having been gathered in by collectors
or museums, the Dutch towns along the Hudson, as well as Albany and
Schenectady, having been pretty well picked over.
The evolution of the bureau from the chest is an interesting study,
and shows plainly the different periods through which the useful and
homely "kist" passed before it emerged into such an ornamental thing
as the carved and decorated highboy. The first step in its upward
career was taken when a drawer was added below the chest proper. This
came as early as the last half of the seventeenth century, those chests
belonging to the first half being without drawers. Sometimes this
single drawer was divided, and the very earliest specimens had the
runners on which the drawers moved on the sides, and not on the bottom,
as came later. The sides of the drawer were hollowed out in a groove,
and a stout runner was affixed to the side of the chest. Such a chest
is shown in Figure 4. With the appearance of drawers came a difference
in ornamentation, and mouldings in great variety were used, beading and
turned drops also coming in for use. These patterns were merely the
familiar mouldings used in wainscots and panellings put to the purpose
of adorning the chests. The early chests without drawers ran in the
neighbourhood of five feet long and twenty-four inches high. As the
drawers were added, the chests naturally rose in height, and to prevent
their becoming too bulky they decreased in length.
A nice example of one of these early oak chests, mounted on turned
legs and with curved strainers, is shown in Figure 5. It is in a fine
state of preservation and has the original brass escutcheons. It was
evidently intended as a receptacle for valuables, as both drawer and
chest are made to lock. It belongs to the Waring Galleries, London.
Two drawers followed one, the chest portion still retaining its
prominence, and in this simple way the chest of drawers grew from the
box-like affair of 1600 and later. By 1710 chests were looked upon as
"old," and so advertised for sale, although they continued to be made
until the middle of the eighteenth century. They were too useful to be
abandoned by a people who were obliged to be often on the move, and
who needed some stout receptacle in which to carry their household and
personal goods.
There are chests which are peculiar to certain localities, notably in
New England, which were doubtless made by a single cabinet-maker, his
workmen and apprentices. They are almost entirely confined to these
localities, and are therefore of less interest to the collector in
general than such pieces as are more widely distributed. Under this
head comes that style of receptacle known as the Hadley Chest, and the
Connecticut chest shown in Chapter V. The Dutch chests were often of
pine, painted, only the choicest ones being of walnut. One inventory
records a "chest brought from Havanna,"--probably Spanish.
After matters became a little less anxious for the early settlers,
personal comfort began to be thought of more, and such colonists as had
brought no chairs began to send for them to England or have them made
in America. Every ship from England took out fresh comforts, and the
dignitaries of the colonies had substantial household gear. Tables,
chairs, beds, and carpets,--these latter not for floors, but for use as
table-covers,--are mentioned with great frequency in the inventories,
and the settlers' house, albeit many of them boasted of but four rooms,
had more than a modest degree of luxury.
[Illustration: Figure 7. TURNED CHAIR WITH LEATHER COVER.]
The New Haven Colony--as indeed did all the Colonies--had, as her
chief officers, men used to the best that England afforded, and
the following inventory speaks for itself. John Haynes, governor of
Connecticut, in 1653 left an estate at Hartford valued at £1,400. In
his hall, one of the most esteemed parts of the house at this period,
were,--
5 leather and 4 flag-bottomed chairs 1 table and 3 joined stools
1 tin hanging candlestick 7 cushions
1 firelock musket 1 matchlock do.
1 carbine 1 rapier
1 pr. cob-irons 1 iron back
1 gilded looking-glass 1 smoothing-iron
--the whole valued at £8 13_s._ 10_d._ The parlor had velvet chairs and
stools, also Turkey-wrought chairs, and a green cloth carpet valued at
£1 10_s._ There were also curtains of say, curtain rods and "vallants,"
many napkins, as these were necessary from lack of forks, and much
Holland bed and table linen. There were many chests and "lean-to" or
livery cupboards.
"The men's chamber," had "a bedstead with two flock beds; one feather
boulster, one flock do.; one blanket; one coverlet." His best rooms had
feather beds. In the cellar were many brewing-vessels and wooden-ware,
while the kitchen had a complete "garnish" of pewter, but not a single
piece of crockery. Brass candlesticks, iron possnets and porringers,
and the useful brass warming-pan were here also. Theophilus Eaton, also
governor of Connecticut, left in 1657 an inventory of goods of even
greater value.
Even earlier than this, rich furniture was imported by those who could
afford it, and in 1645 a Mistress Lake, sister-in-law of Governor
Winthrop the younger, sent to England for the furnishings for her
daughter's new house. There were many items in the list, and among
them were only one--
--"bedsteede of carven oak; 2 armed cheares with fine rushe
bottums; three large & three small silvern spoons, & 6 of horne."
As late as 1755 "armed cheares" were highly esteemed, and Joseph
Allison, of Albany, N. Y., bequeathed two to his second son, a
walking-cane to his firstborn, and to his youngest son some clothes.
Chairs, stools, and cushions are mentioned in many inventories as being
covered with "set work;" this was heavy woolen tapestry much after the
fashion of Oriental rugs, and most durable. It is rather unusual to
find no mention of leather chairs in inventories, for they were used in
America late in 1600, and chairs covered with "redd lether," as well as
with Spanish leather, are of frequent occurrence.
Lion Gardiner was one of the chief proprietors of Easthampton, L. I.,
in 1653, where he passed the last ten years of his life "rummaging old
papers" and in other peaceful pursuits. The inventory of his estate is
set out fully and seems scant enough.
2 Great Bookes several bookes
4 Great cheirs 15 peeces of pewter
13 peeces of hollow pewter 4 porringers & 4 saucers
5 pewter spoons A stubing how
A broad how A little how
Horses Cattle
Swine Clothing
Bedding 2 pastry boards
Cooking utensils A cickell
A cheese press A churn
It was this same Lion Gardiner who, after the Pequot War, bought from
the Indians the island Monchonock, embracing thirty-five acres of
hill and dale. The price paid was a large black dog, a gun, some powder
and shot, a few Dutch blankets. This is the place which we know to-day
as Gardiner's Island. The "great cheirs" mentioned in the inventory
were, no doubt, either Turkey-work or leather, and seem to be the only
articles of this kind of furniture possessed by him.
[Illustration: Figure 8. ENGLISH CHAIR. _C. 1680_]
[Illustration: ITALIAN CHAIR. _Same Period._]
In 1638, in London, a man named Christopher took out a patent for
decorating leather, which somewhat reduced its cost. Up to this time
all leather was imported from Spain or Holland.
Figure 6 is a fine example of a Portuguese or Spanish leather chair, as
they were variously called, and shows well the splendid and ornamental
leather as well as the rich carving seen particularly on the front
brace. The leather is fastened to the frame with large brass nails, and
that part of the oak frame which is exposed is turned work. On many of
these chairs there are three little metal ornaments on the curved top.
In this example two are lost. Besides the carving on the front brace,
a pattern which was often adopted and copied by English and Dutch
cabinet-makers, this chair shows well that form of foot which came to
be known as the "Spanish foot." It is seen on all makes of furniture,
and with some variations of form, but always turns out at the base,
and has the grooved work so conspicuous in Figure 6. There is no doubt
that this was an exceedingly popular style of chair, for there are many
examples almost exactly like this in many collections. This particular
one is in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
Another style of leather chair is shown in Figure 7, and its solidity
is a great contrast to the Spanish chair previously shown. The woodwork
is turned, and the heavy underbracing shaped, while the second bracing
is a feature peculiar to this chair itself. The date of this piece is
probably about 1650, or a little later,--about the same date as similar
turned pieces which are covered with Turkey work. The leather on the
seat is so old and worn that it seems as if it had never been renewed,
while the back is much fresher and looks comparatively new. The seat of
this chair is so high from the floor that a footstool was a necessity,
and in the old inventories the item of "low stools," or "foot-banks"
appears with some frequency. This chair is of about the same period as
the Spanish leather chairs. Many leather chairs are found in the United
States, both North and South, and are probably of English make. Some
inventories mention them as "old," as early as 1667, and many were in
use in different parts of the country.
But while most of our early New England colonists were grappling with
the serious business of life, almost content if they could scrape
together enough to eat and to wear, and a substantial roof to cover
them, in England life was taking a more ornamental aspect. Charles II.,
indolent and fond of luxury, came to the throne in 1660. Two years
later he married Catherine of Braganza, a Portuguese princess, and
both of them introduced a more elegant style of living; his French and
her Spanish training leading them to require more comforts than had
hitherto been known in England.
[Illustration: Figure 9. CANE CHAIR, FLEMISH STYLE.]
Among other things which were exported from Holland was cane furniture
of a superior quality. It became very much the fashion, and was in
Spanish or Flemish styles, both of which were copied or adapted
by English cabinet-makers. Some of this furniture found its way to
America, and there are pieces to be found showing all three styles,
Flemish, Spanish, and English adaptation. In Figure 8 is shown an
example of the English treatment of the Spanish style, at least as to
foot; while the flat underbrace is English, the curved back and bandy
leg are quite Dutch. The carving on the top is very beautiful, and the
knees of the front legs carved, not with the usual shell, but with
heads, and below these an oval with moulding. This chair is in the
South Kensington Museum, London, and dates from about 1680. The wood
is walnut, and the scrolls and foliage on the back stand out in high
relief; the seat, originally as now, is covered with a rich brocade,
with fine brass nails and a fringe.
The second chair is one of about the same period, of very beautifully
carved oak, and not restored. The arms are missing, but show the places
where they originally were. It has lost its feet, but the exquisite
carving on the underbrace and top is still quite intact and quite
Italian in style. This chair is at the Waring Galleries, London.
A very splendid example of the Flemish treatment of the same style is
shown in Figure 9, the oak woodwork being carved and turned, and the
foot turning out in true Flemish style. The date of the chairs shown in
both Figures 8 and 9 is prior to 1700.
The wealthy people of Charles II.'s time all indulged in these chairs.
Before that period stools had been in general use, and only the master,
mistress, or guest of honour occupied the few chairs possessed in a
household.
In New England centres like Salem, Boston, or New Haven, even before
the time of Charles II., there was in some of the houses comfort as we
understand it. Mr. George Lamberton, of the New Haven Colony, sailed
in 1646 to England upon business in the "Great Ship." She was never
heard from again, and her loss crippled the little colony almost beyond
belief. Mr. Lamberton's inventory shows a variety of items. He had as
many as eighty napkins; bedding and table, chimney and board cloths in
proportion; feather and down beds with their accompanying hangings.
These with more than a dozen cushions to make soft the stiff chairs
and settles, silver plate, four chests, ten boxes and trunks, eleven
chairs, five stools, and three tables, both round and square, made up
comfortable furnishings for a house with probably not more than four
rooms. The colonists were not only "plain people," but there were those
who came, shortly after the first settlement, who brought with them
the household goods and clothes to which they had been accustomed. The
"Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth" tells not only of the stress of
living and the struggle with Indians and forest creatures. There was
time to reprehend the frivolities of women's wear, and the pastor's
wife was the chief offender in the matter of over-gay apparel. She was
a young widow when Mr. Johnson married her, and brought goodly estate
and personal belongings to her second husband. She continued to wear
the clothes she had brought with her, and the chief exceptions were
taken to the cork-soled shoes she wore, and the whalebone in the bodice
and sleeves of her gown. Both the pastor and his wife seem to have been
more than reasonable, since they were willing to reform the cut of
their garments as far as they could "without spoiling of them."
[Illustration: Figure 10. TURNED AND CARVED ARM CHAIR]
While the general habit of the Puritans was to keep their houses and
apparel extremely plain, yet here and there among them bits of comfort
and elegance would crop out. Among the stiff and straight-backed
chairs, one with stuffing would be found, while in the more luxurious
and easy-going South they were not so rare. The covering probably was
"sett work or Turkey work;" but then, too, brocade ones were found, and
such a chair as is shown in Figure 10 would be an ornament in any home.
It is a fine example of walnut-wood, turned and carved with bannister
back and stuffed seat. The covering has been restored, but is of a
pattern which was of the period. The out-turned Flemish foot is more
ball-like in shape than is often seen, but it has the bowed knees which
are so familiar.
Yet, if the chairs were none too comfortable, there were few families
in any of the settlements that did not own at least one feather bed.
If not feathers, then "flock beds" were used, that is chopped rags, or
feathers and flock mixed, or, as a last resort, the down from the brown
soft, cat-tails which grew plentifully in every marsh was utilized
instead of more costly material.