ADAM, SHERATON, EMPIRE.
The increased market offered to English merchants in the colonies, now
more prosperous, produced in quick succession several cabinet-makers
who worked in a different style from Chippendale, and made much very
handsome furniture. Robert and James Adam, by training and profession
architects, turned their attention to furniture which would be
appropriate in rooms of Greek or Roman style. Their designs were all
on classic lines, and were beautifully painted besides by the popular
artists of the day, like Angelica Kauffmann and Pergolese, who, like
Alma Tadema in our day, did not hesitate to expend their art upon fine
pieces of furniture.
The Adam brothers introduced the use of composition ornaments coloured
and gilded, which were really a revival of the Italian process of
"gesso," and which they had learned during their years of study in
Italy. They designed many mantelpieces, also decorated in classic
style, and had a decided influence in moulding the taste of their
contemporaries and successors. Satin-wood was introduced by them, or
at least at this period, and was used for inlaying as well as for the
manufacture of whole pieces of furniture. Most of it, when used as the
wood of the entire piece, is decorated with medallions of marquetry of
some darker wood, as tulip, rosewood, or mahogany.
The Adam brothers did not make any furniture themselves, but had it
made by popular makers under their personal direction. In Figure 29 are
shown three chairs of Adam design. The side chair retains its original
covering of a heavy wool plush, with classic figures stamped in it of
wreaths and maces. Its covering was also designed by Adam. This chair
and the arm-chair like it are very delicately carved in low relief
with a small leaf pattern. The legs are fluted and end in a form of
spade-foot. The arm-chair on the top is very richly carved, and the
entire woodwork is gilded. The covering has been restored. These three
chairs are in the Museum connected with Cooper Institute.
In 1764 Robert Adam published his book dedicated to George III., and
illustrated with most elaborate engravings by Bartolozzi and other
fashionable engravers. For this graceful act Robert Adam was appointed
architect to the king, and his rise was rapid and brilliant. James
Adam had now completed his studies and was taken into partnership
by his brother. In 1773 they began to publish engravings of their
architectural works in serial parts. They continued to issue these
until 1778, when the entire work was published under the title of
"Works in Architecture by Robert and James Adam Esquires." It contains
quite as many designs for furniture as some of the so-called furniture
catalogues. While the outlines of the furniture are very graceful
and delicate, their beauty is much increased by the skilful and
artistic paintings of Angelica Kauffmann and Zucchi by which they are
embellished. Pergolese was brought from Italy to add still further to
the beauty of their work. John Flaxman, at this time creating
lovely classic designs in various kinds of wares for Wedgwood, also
contributed to their success, and many of his plaques and panels were
set in their furniture to its further adornment. They were used not
only in satin-wood, but in other furniture as well which was painted
in the same colours as the Wedgwood ware. Whole rooms, walls, ceiling,
and furniture were coloured to match, even the harpsichord and
candle-stands being painted and decorated with Wedgwood plaques. Of the
second book, furniture designs fill one volume, mirrors another, and
girandoles a third.
[Illustration: Figure 27. ROOM IN WHIPPLE HOUSE, IPSWICH, MASS.]
[Illustration: Figure 28. CHIPPENDALE, SHERATON, AND HEPPLEWHITE
CHAIRS.]
Robert Adam showed wonderful skill and aptitude in adapting classic
forms to modern taste, and his pieces are never overloaded with
ornament, but retain simple, graceful lines. He never considered any
detail too small for his minute attention. Besides designing the
woodwork of his furniture he also drew the patterns for the stuffs to
cover them; even the little silk cushions on the arms of the chairs
had the same care bestowed on them as the backs and seat. When he
designed a bed, the counterpane to go on it was also made under his
direction or designed by him. A little bag to hang on a lady's arm was
not too slight an object to be made beautiful by his artistic hand.
He paid the greatest attention to having the covering for upholstered
furniture appropriate to the style of chair it went on, but he allowed
himself great latitude in gilding, and, as we have already said, in
painting his furniture in colours. He also gave variety to his tables
by the use of coloured marble tops. The Adam brothers designed some of
the interior fittings for "Strawberry Hill." They also built Colzean
Castle, designed Alnwick Castle, and many other splendid homes.
Thomas Shearer is a name not often heard in America, yet the book,
"The London Cabinet-Maker's Book of Prices," published in 1788,
contained many beautiful designs by him. This work provided more for
the cabinet-maker himself than for the gentleman, to whom most of the
previous works of this nature had been dedicated. There were many
members of the London Cabinet-Maker's Society, but only three made the
illustrations to the book,--Thomas Shearer, Hepplewhite, and a man
named Casement, who furnished but two. Now, when there are so many
banks and safe-deposit companies, we do not feel the need of secret
drawers and repositories for storing our valuables. They were quite
necessary a hundred years or more ago and much ingenuity was expended
in concealing them from curious or prying eyes. We are also wont to
consider recent times and conditions responsible for such shams and
mockeries as folding beds, and articles of furniture that are not
what they seem. In these early books of designs are not only folding
beds, press-beds, and library bedsteads, but folding washstands and
toilet-tables, as well as tables, toilets, and bureaus which concealed
the mattress and bed furniture by day.
Some of these pieces were most elaborate and had intricate machinery
to work them. A graceful, classical urn of wood, touched on the right
spot, would open and disclose a basin and ewer, while a writing-table
could be unfolded into a lady's dressing-table with folding glasses,
and boxes for the necessary powder, pomatum, brushes and pins.
[Illustration: Figure 29. ADAM CHAIRS.]
[Illustration: Figure 30. HEPPLEWHITE CHAIRS.]
To Thomas Shearer we are indebted for that useful article, the
sideboard, which has assumed such a variety of forms, and among his
designs were dressing, card, and tea-tables, of many styles, and
various desks, but he designed no chairs. Many of his pieces bear a
close resemblance to those of Sheraton. Between the severity of the
latest period of Chippendale and the dainty designs of Sheraton,
Shearer and Hepplewhite find their place, though neither of them ever
approached in beauty of design, or in popularity, Chippendale who
preceded them or Sheraton who succeeded them.
A. Hepplewhite's book, "The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide, or
Repository of Designs for Every Article of Household Furniture in the
Newest and Most Approved Taste," was published in 1789 and contained
three hundred designs for pieces of furniture which have been so often
copied that they have grown familiar to us. His chairs are extremely
pretty, but, unlike those of Chippendale, who sought solidity and
careful construction, Hepplewhite's chairs were so faulty and fragile
in construction that they broke easily. Up to this time the splat had
joined the back of the chair and served to make it much stronger, but
Hepplewhite never brought it down to the seat, usually having it curved
and joining the side rails three or four inches above the seat.
There are more pieces of Hepplewhite furniture in America than one
is aware of. His chairs are by no means uncommon, and are very
easily recognized by their peculiar backs. His tables, with the
delicate inlay and slender tapering legs, as also his sideboards,
are frequently called by the name of his great successor, Sheraton,
and even in England the two makers are frequently confused. He had a
specialty of his own,--that of japanned or lacquered furniture, and
the patterns he most frequently employed were fruit and flowers on a
black ground. Paintings such as these were taught to young ladies as
an accomplishment at school, and no doubt many of them tried their
"prentice" hands on some nice old mahogany piece as soon as they got
home.
Hepplewhite had another peculiarity in his preference for using a
circle or some portion of it in his designs. On looking over his
"Guide" one will notice that a half circle was often used as the design
for a sideboard, or table to be set against the wall. His small tables
are nearly always round or a broad oval, and his chair-backs follow the
same shape, so did his girandoles and tea-trays. For a central ornament
to his chair backs he frequently carved three Prince's feathers,
or drooping ears of wheat, neither of which design is particularly
pleasing. Besides the circular he used also the shield-shaped back. In
Figure 30 are shown three of his characteristic chairs. The one on the
left has the Prince's feathers, and all of them show the slender leg
which in two of them ends in the spade-foot.
The dining-tables of this period, before the days of the extension
table, had round, square, or octagonal tops, supported on a column
which rested on a plinth having several carved feet. There were
a number of variations of the arrangement of feet. In order to
accommodate a large party several of these tables could be placed
together, and when not in use could be placed against the wall to serve
as side-tables. His easy chairs--and he made many of these, large
and comfortable--he covered entirely with upholstery, no woodwork
showing but the legs. (See Figure 56).
[Illustration: Figure 31. HEPPLEWHITE CARD-TABLE.]
In the Hepplewhite and Shearer pieces the noticeable feature of
decoration is the inlay, often of two or three coloured woods and in
a variety of designs. Many kinds of wood were employed at this time
in inlay or marquetry work, besides all the familiar ones Shearer
mentions,--"tulip, rose, snake, panella," etc., and later lilac-wood
also was used. The husk pattern was very popular at this period for an
inlay pattern, and Wedgwood also used it frequently in his splendid
jasper pottery. It resembles the husks of oats when ripe, the spreading
of the two halves allowing the pattern to be used over and over again.
In Shearer's work, as well as Hepplewhite's, a slender tapering leg is
much in use, inlaid down about half its length, often with satin-wood
or holly, and sometimes with ebony as well. Many of the sideboards
made in America were on English models, and they are veneered on pine,
the back and drawers being made of this same wood. There are many
variations of shape,--what are known as serpentine and swell fronts
being quite usual, the handles being the oval ones which are so common
on all varieties of pieces with drawers, and there is also a fan-shaped
piece of inlay which will frequently be seen. The position of this is
not always the same, it may be found in the corners of closets, and
long bottle-drawers, or it may be inserted as a sort of brace between
the bottom of the sideboard and the legs. Hepplewhite was very fond
of inlaying a band of holly or satin-wood around the legs of his
pieces, three or four inches from the ground. It will be found on
his sideboards, card-tables and desks, and is generally about an inch
wide. His book was one of the most valuable ever given to English
cabinet-makers. His individuality of shape is always pleasing, even
if he did not concern himself about making his furniture structurally
correct. He claims, and indeed with absolute correctness, "to unite
elegance with utility and blend the useful with the agreeable."
In Figure 31 is shown one of a pair of card-tables, Hepplewhite design,
made of mahogany and inlaid with ebony and satin-wood. They belong to
Mr. William M. Hoyt of Rochester, N. Y.
Like Adam, Hepplewhite made great use of satin-wood for whole pieces
of furniture. He used his well-known and characteristic shapes in
chair-backs and little sofas, cabinets and workstands, table stands,
harpsichord cases, and commodes. Satin-wood had been but recently
introduced from the East Indies and was instantly popular. Even
mantelpieces were made of it, to match the furniture, and there was a
fancy to have the drawing-rooms and boudoirs very light and elegant.
Clothes had shrunk in dimensions, no more hoops and farthingales
embarrassed their wearers, the stiffness was banished from coat-tails,
and consequently the furniture had shrunk too. Chairs were small
and narrow, and window-seats, made in abundance by Hepplewhite,
were deservedly popular, and the coverings were in accord with the
gaiety of the woodwork. Figure 32 shows two Hepplewhite settees with
shield-shaped backs. The upper one is of mahogany with low relief
carvings on the tops, and the lower of satin-wood, with cane seat and
the woodwork beautifully painted. The elegance of this painted
satin-wood has long been admired. Unfortunately it has caught the
popular taste, and it is now reproduced in such large quantities
that it is freely offered for sale by dealers in our large cities.
The pieces shown in our illustration are both fine specimens of the
original maker and are owned by the Waring Galleries, London.
[Illustration: Figure 32. HEPPLEWHITE SETTEES.]
[Illustration: Figure 33. SHERATON CHAIRS.]
It was no longer necessary to make the legs of chairs of such stout
proportions, and as the bodies of the chairs were lighter so the legs
dwindled exceedingly and were given only a semblance of solidity by
the use of the "spade-foot" so much affected by Hepplewhite. Their
appearance of fragility was farther enhanced by groovings and flutings,
but they are always pretty.
Although his characteristic chairs have shield-shaped or oval backs, he
gives in his book eighteen designs of bannister-backed chairs, to be
carried out in mahogany. The general dimensions given by Hepplewhite
for his chairs are as follows:
"Width in front, 20 inches; depth of seat, 17 inches; height of
seat frame, 17 inches; total height, about 37 inches."
He gives most definite directions about coverings. Mahogany chairs
should have the seats of horsehair, plain, striped, checkered, etc.,
according to taste; or cane bottoms with cushions which should be
covered with the same material as the bed and window curtains. He was
fond of the "Duchess," which consisted of two Barjeer or arm-chairs
with a stool between them, all three pieces fitting together at
pleasure and making a lounge from six to eight feet long. His
press-beds vary little in appearance from wardrobes, but it was in
smaller and daintier pieces that his particular talent found play. His
knife-boxes are extremely elegant, particularly when in urn shape with
a rod in the centre to prevent the top of the urn from being removed.
All the handles and knobs on his larger pieces of furniture are round,
but on sideboards frequently oval, his double chests of drawers have
either French or block feet.
Tripod reading-desks, urn-stands, beautiful tea-trays, caddies and
tea-chests are richly inlaid or painted. We find him not only making
very ornate and richly inlaid card-tables, but "Pembroke tables" as
well, with either round or square tops. Such tables have leaves, but,
instead of the legs moving out to support the leaves, small arms come
out from the table-frame.
His writing-tables and desks have tambour tops, that is strips of wood
pasted on cloth, so that they roll back into receptacles provided
for them, and are filled with secret drawers and flat cupboards for
deeds or papers. Among his other small pieces which are distinguished
by their grace are dressing-glasses, shaving-tables with glasses
and without, "bason" stands, designs for brackets, fire-screens,
wash-hand-stands, cornices, lamps, girandoles, and looking-glasses.
His larger designs show dressing-tables and bureaus with curved and
swell fronts, beds, four-posters, and field-beds with very graceful
sweeps and much variety of design. His stuffed furniture is comfortable
in the extreme, and the tall easy chairs with cheek pieces must have
been well calculated to protect from searching draughts. Many of these
easy chairs found their way to America, and as their cost was not
extortionate moderate homes enjoyed them as well as wealthy ones.
After the Revolution, in all the seaboard towns and the more settled
places near cities, there was a still greater call for all styles and
luxuries popular in England. Indeed the former Colonies presented very
curious and marked contrasts, being, as it is tersely put, "rolling in
wealth or dirt poor." In Philadelphia there had been much style and
"gentility" for many years. The English officers had, no doubt, brought
some comforts with them, and they found others awaiting them. Major
Andrés letter describing supper at the "Mischianza," May 18, 1778,
gives a vivid picture of the festivities of the times.
[Illustration: Figure 34. SHERATON DESK.]
--"At twelve, supper was announced, and the large folding-doors
being suddenly thrown open discovered a magnificent salon of
210 feet long by 40 feet wide, and 22 in height, with three
alcoves on each side which served for sideboards. Fifty-six large
pier-glasses ornamented with green silk artificial flowers and
ribbands; one hundred branches with three lights in each trimmed
in the same manner as the mirrors; eighteen lustres each with
twenty-four lights suspended from the ceiling and ornamented as
the branches.
Three hundred wax tapers disposed along the supper-tables, four
hundred and thirty covers, twelve hundred dishes, twenty-four
black slaves in Oriental dresses with silver-collars and bracelets
ranged in two lines, and bending to the ground as the General Howe
and the Admiral appeared together."
All the lustres, mirrors, etc., with which the room was adorned, were
borrowed, says Watson, from the townsfolk, and all were returned
uninjured.
Eighty-four families kept carriages in 1772, and writing as late as
1802, Dr. Michaud calls Philadelphia--
--"At present the largest, the handsomest, and the most populous
city of the United States. The streets are paved, and are provided
with broad bricked footways. Pumps, placed on each side of them at
about one hundred yards from each other, supply an abundance of
water."
Dolly Madison, writing in 1791 of the fashions of the day in
Philadelphia, says:
"Very long trains are worn, and they are festooned up with loops
and bobbin and small covered buttons, the same as the dress. The
hats are quite a different shape from what they used to be. The
bonnets are all open on the top, through which the hair is passed,
either up or down as you fancy, though latterly they wear it more
up than down; it is quite out of fashion to frizz or curl the
hair."
Salem, in Massachusetts, with her vessels touching at every port, was
already becoming known for her luxury, her teak-wood as well as her
mahogany furniture, her china and plate. Enough of these still remain
to show her importance and the elegance of her homes. But there was
another side to this picture. Here is the description of the home of a
settler away from any of the large centres, Charles Rich, of Vermont,
member of Congress, began housekeeping as late as 1791. All his
household possessions were valued at $66.00. He writes:
"I constructed at the mill a number of household articles of
furniture which have been in daily use from that time to the
present."
The newest styles were of small importance in such surroundings as
these, and luxuries passed slowly along pioneer roads; yet every ship
coming to American ports brought furniture, stuffs, plate, and china
to tempt the wealth of those who could afford them, and among such
were pieces made by Sheraton, the fashionable cabinet-maker who came
on the scene late enough to profit by the designs of his predecessors.
Indeed he is most frankly pleased with his own skill and artistic
taste, and in his long preface sets forth the merits of his own book
and discredits all those before him. He considers his book much
superior because he gives drawings in perspective. Much of the
book is a very dry dissertation on geometry. Its second half gives
descriptions of furniture, of the various styles, and the uses of the
pieces. He says in his Introduction:
[Illustration: Figure 35. SIDEBOARD.]
[Illustration: Figure 36. SOFA, SHERATON STYLE.]
"The design of this part of the Book is intended to exhibit the
present taste of furniture, and at the same time give the workman
some assistance in the manufacturing part of it."
Sheraton's early furniture is distinguished by great elegance of
design, fine construction, and graceful ornament. (See Figure 33.) The
legs of his pieces are slender and straight, as distinguished from the
cabriole leg, but are generally enriched with flutings, and they taper
pleasingly to the foot. While he uses carving, it is generally applied
in low relief and does not interfere with the lines of construction.
His preference is, like Hepplewhite's, for ornamenting with inlay
of woods of different colours and decorating with brass. The fine
proportions of his early furniture, the simple shapes clearly defined,
and its structural beauty where each part is doing its work, render it
admirable in every way.
A simple desk of Sheraton pattern is given in Figure 34. It is of
mahogany, and the doors of the upper part open, revealing pigeon-holes
and drawers. The flat top over the drawers opens out on rests, making a
broad, flat desk top. The brasses and key-scutcheons are original, and
the moulding of the drawers overlaps.
After 1793 Sheraton made little furniture, but gave his time chiefly
to writing his furniture books. For the patterns used in his inlay
he had recourse to classic models for his inspiration, like the Adam
brothers, who had done much to popularize this simplicity of design.
Sheraton used urns, rosettes, festoons, scrolls, and pendant flowers
as his favorite decorations. The simple curves of which many of these
are composed lent themselves admirably to inlay, and the harmony of the
colours of the woods gave a grace to this form of ornament and suits it
exactly to the furniture on which it finds a place.
Sheraton wrote several works on furniture and upholstery. The first one
published in 1791, was "The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing
Book." This was followed by "Designs for Household Furniture" in 1804,
and he had not completed his "Cabinet-Maker, Upholsterer, and General
Artist's Encyclopedia" in 1807. He gave directions for making, among
other things, folding-beds, washstands, card-tables, sideboards, and
many other pieces. He frequently employed the lyre as a design for his
chair-backs, as well as supports for tables. In chairs it often has
strings of brass; on the tables it takes heavier and more substantial
form.
Sheraton's beds seem almost as impossible as Chippendale's. He, too,
made alcove, sofa, or couch beds. He also gave designs for "summer
beds" made in two compartments (we should call them "twin beds,") but
both are included under a frame or canopy, and the whole affair is
very cumbersome and heavy. His chairs, tables, and sideboards are the
pieces by which we know him best and in which he is most admirable. He
says himself, in regard to drawing-room chairs, that many are finished
in white and gold, or that the ornaments may be japanned, but that
the French finish them in mahogany with gilt mouldings. Sheraton
made very dainty designs for tripod stands, fire-screens and ladies'
desks, with tambour doors. Also "bason"-stands with tambour doors and
writing-desks with curved cylinder tops, which tops fell into the
space behind the pigeon-holes and drawers. Wash-hand tables had also
these curved cylinder tops, and all furniture which was put to toilet
purposes was so arranged that it would look like something else, and
transform a bedroom into a boudoir. These cylinder-topped pieces were
designed as early as 1792.
[Illustration: Figure 37. SHERATON SIDEBOARD.]
In furniture, as in art, there are no absolutely abrupt changes, but
one style is overshadowed by another as Chippendale gradually overcame
the rococo and stood for an individual style. Hepplewhite influenced
Sheraton very much, although the latter declares in one of his books,
published two years later than Hepplewhite's, that the latter's designs
have become quite antiquated. Such a piece of furniture is seen in the
sideboard-table or sideboard given in Figure 35. It was undoubtedly
made by one of these two men, and it is difficult to decide which. The
form of foot is more common to Hepplewhite than to Sheraton, and the
inlaid border of satin-wood is wider than he was wont to use. The brass
rail at the back was used to support silver or porcelain dishes. The
handles are original and the wood mahogany. This handsome piece belongs
to the Waring Galleries, London.
Horsehair was used for covering by both makers, and in both cases
gilt-headed nails put in a festoon were used to fasten it down.
Sheraton's first style was much the most pleasing. It was distinguished
by a delicacy and an elegance which were entirely lost in his later
designs, which were so strongly influenced by the Empire style. The
first illustration in his "Cabinet Maker's and Upholsterer's Book" is
what he calls a "Universal table," to be made of mahogany, and which
at will may be converted into a dining-table, or, by pulling out a
drawer, discover all the compartments necessary for storing kitchen
condiments, such as sugar and spices, etc. The sofa depicted in Figure
36 shows this merging into Empire style, for the legs are heavier than
those we are accustomed to, and the carved pineapple appears on the arm
instead of the more delicate carving seen on earlier chairs and sofas.
The covering is hair-cloth fastened down with brass nails. This sofa
stood for many years in the Old Manse at Concord, Mass. It belonged to
the Rev. Ezra Ripley, who came to Concord as pastor in 1778. Times were
unsettled and currency was depreciated, so that when his salary of five
hundred and fifty pounds was paid it was found to be worth just forty
pounds. To make up this deficiency Dr. Ripley did a man's work in the
fields. For years he laboured at tilling the ground at least three days
in a week and sometimes even more. He was an ardent man, and from his
moral worth was often known as "Holy Ripley." This sofa, uneasy as it
looks to modern eyes, perhaps seemed luxurious to him after a day at
the plough. The cover which it wears is said to be the original one,
and if this is true its condition is so good that I fear the sofa was
kept permanently in the "south parlor" or the "north parlor," as the
best room was called in those days, and the good man was given nothing
easier to rest on than a wooden Windsor chair, or a straight-backed
rush-bottomed one, or perhaps the kitchen settle.
[Illustration: Figure 38. SHERATON SIDEBOARD.]
With the introduction and extended use of the sideboard came several
articles to be used in connection with it, to which Sheraton turned his
attention. Among these may be mentioned knife and spoon-boxes, which
were of several different designs. Sheraton apparently did not make
these knife-boxes himself, but only designed them, for he says,
"As these cases are not made in regular cabinet shops it may be of
service to mention where they may be executed in the best taste by
one who makes it his main business, i. e. John Lane, No. 44, St.
Martin's-le-Grand, London."
Two pretty ones, as well as two wine-coolers, are shown on the
sideboard in Figure 37. This sideboard has two little closets with
tambour doors at the bottom, and deep wine-drawers on the sides. There
is the brass rail similar to the one in Figure 35. This piece belongs
to the Waring Galleries, London.
One of the handsomest knife-boxes is an urn-shaped one which has
been noted as made also by Hepplewhite. It is wrought in mahogany,
the veneer made in pie-shaped pieces, each bit being outlined with a
delicate line of hollywood. The knives were held in a perforated rack
inside, with the handles up, and a pair of these boxes on either end
of the sideboard made a very ornamental finish. Another shape also in
vogue was more box-like in shape, the cover sloping toward the front.
Not only knives, but spoons also, were held in the racks with which
the interior was fitted; and as these latter were put in bowls up, the
cases, when open, showed to excellent advantage the worldly wealth of
the household, and were ornamental besides. Sometimes the covers of
these boxes set back flat against a portion of the top, and made a
tray on which could be placed silver cups, mugs, posset-pots, ewers,
or any pieces of table silver of moderate size. Then there were the
wine-boxes, or wine-coolers as they were often called, handsome massive
boxes of wood, generally mahogany, or whatever wood the sideboard was
made of. They stood beneath it, or, if the sideboard was low, at one
side. The usual number of bottles they contained was from four to a
dozen. General Washington's wine-box has room for eighteen bottles.
There are still a dozen of the original bottles in it, holding a gallon
each. We should call them decanters, for they are of handsome cut glass.
There is a letter from General Washington to Colonel Hamilton in the
possession of Major Church of Rochester, N. Y., presenting him with
a wine-cooler, "holding six bottles ... one of four which I imported
during my term of governmental administration."
A more usual style of sideboard, Sheraton pattern, is that given
in Figure 38. This handsome and useful piece of furniture had its
counterparts in many of the stately old houses from the Carolinas up.
It is of the swell-front type and has five deep drawers and a closet.
The wood is mahogany and without inlay. This sideboard is at the
Whipple House, Ipswich, Mass.
[Illustration: Figure 39. EMPIRE SOFA.]
[Illustration: Figure 40. EMPIRE SOFA.]
After the French Revolution of 1790 furniture became markedly
different. Greek models were chosen once more; the tripod became a
favorite support. Mahogany was freely used, but so were coarse woods,
in which case they were carved and profusely gilded. The most valuable
book, for cabinet-makers, on "Empire" furniture, was published by
the architects Percier and Fontaine in 1809. It was not filled with
fanciful designs merely, as we have seen was the case with some
of the catalogues of English makers, but every design shown in it had
been carried out before it was published. Many of the drawings were
adapted from classic models preserved in the Vatican. In many ways this
style has not much to recommend it. It is apt to be heavy and stiff,
particularly when made by English makers. The French decorated it with
exquisite forms in metal (treated in another chapter), but the English
contented themselves with cast brass. It was far preferable under the
manipulation of American cabinet-makers, who restricted the use of
brass and allowed the handsome woods to show themselves to the best
advantage. The Dutch, who also were not behind hand in the adoption
of this and Napoleonic style, made tables, secretaries, chairs,
etc., severe and regular in form, but enriched with their admirable
marquetry, and with heads and feet of animals sparingly used. Sheraton
and Shearer were swept along by the tide of fashion and drew Empire
designs.
Gillow, the inventor of the extension-table, whose firm was established
as early as 1800, made many fine designs and had orders from the best
patrons. His firm is still carried on under the same name.
In 1808 George Smith was made "Upholder Extraordinary to H. R. H., the
Prince of Wales." He published a book, of course, having a hundred and
fifty-eight designs. They included bedsteads, tables, chairs, bookcases
and commodes, and other articles of furniture copied from the French,
like escritoires, jardinières, chiffonièrs, showing how the fancy for
French things was increasing. He gives very definite rules as to how
and when to use various woods.
--"Mahogany, when used in houses of consequence, should be
confined to the parlour and bed-chamber floors.
"In furniture for these apartments the less inlay of other woods,
the more chaste will be the style of work. If the wood be of a
fine compact and bright quality, the ornaments may be carved clean
in the mahogany. Where it may be requisite to make out panelling
by inlay of lines, let these be of brass or ebony.
"In drawing-rooms, boudoirs, ante-rooms, East and West India
satin-wood, rosewood, tulip-wood, and the other varieties of woods
brought from the East, may be used. With satin and light-coloured
woods the decorations may be of ebony or rosewood; with rosewood
let the decorations be ormolu and the inlay of brass."
Figure 39 shows a handsome sofa of carved mahogany, Empire style,
before it had arrived at its heaviest stage. The carving is extremely
handsome, both rails of seat and back being decorated with dolphins.
The foot is of the bear shape, and the arms are graceful in curve. This
piece is of English make.
While we miss in the late Empire styles--say from 1810 to 1825--much
of the lightness and grace which had been contributed by the carving
and inlay which were so freely used in the preceding period, yet there
was a solidity and massive dignity which was not without a certain
charm. Then, too, these pieces were generally veneered, and in them the
beautiful grain of the mahogany, which was the favorite wood, showed
to greatest advantage. The sofa in Figure 40 is such a piece. It is of
unusual length, the top of the arm is stuffed, thus doing away with
"squabs," as the cushions which were used on sofas, long and narrow,
were called.
The wood, which is largely shown, is of that dark rich hue inclined
to red, with veining many shades darker, and it is in a fine state of
preservation. This piece belongs to Anthony Killgore, Esq., Flemington,
N. J.
[Illustration: Figure 41. PIER-TABLE.]
[Illustration: Figure 42. EMPIRE SIDEBOARD.]
To about the same period does the pier-table belong (Figure 41), which
is not usual in design, because of the third pier which starts from a
circular shelf in the middle of the base. The swan piers at each end
are very graceful, and the handsome grain of the mahogany is shown
to great advantage. This piece belongs to the Misses Killgore, of
Flemington, N. J., as does the sideboard shown in Figure 42. The doors
of the lower part, with the fan, are solid mahogany, the carving on the
legs and ornamental scrolls is fine. The middle of the top is raised to
permit the insertion of a looking-glass, and the capitals at the tops
of the pillars are of fine brass-work. Above the middle drawer, a shelf
draws out for use in serving meals. The whole sideboard sets back on a
little shelf above the bear's feet, a feature not unusual in the finer
boards of this period.
The surroundings of this fine old piece of furniture are in keeping
with its importance, the china showing above it on the wall being the
Staffordshire blue made during the first quarter of the nineteenth
century, while the mirror directly above it is of equal age.
Environment has a great deal to do with bringing out the true beauties
of this stately old furniture. It must be surrounded with objects of
approximate age and of equal dignity, otherwise it looks as unseemly as
an ancient dame with a pink rose in her hair. The work-table shown in
Figure 43 belongs to the same period, but of a little earlier date than
the last pieces shown. The legs are richly carved, as is the central
pillar. This also belongs to the Misses Killgore.
Not many pieces of such solidity were required in a room, and in
those days overloading did not stand for elegance. In 1800, when the
spacious Tayloe house in Washington was built, the furniture of the
great drawing-room was a set of ash, sixteen pieces. There were twelve
chairs with chintz cushions, and two card-tables; there were also a
centre table and one upholstered couch, and a settee, but not one
so-called easy-chair. Much furniture like that shown in Figures 40-43,
is to be found in the old houses of such places as Cherry Valley, N.
Y., where there is little changing about, and furniture has descended
from one generation to another and still stands in its old familiar
home.
[Illustration: Figure 43. EMPIRE WORK-TABLE.]