The dressing-table, or low-boy, illustrated above, is a fine example of
the more elaborate cabinet work done in this country during the XVIII
century. It dates from about 1760 to 1775, and was probably made in
Philadelphia. In a dressing-table very similar to ours there has been
found the advertisement of the maker, “William Savery, at the Sign of the
Chair near the Market on Second Street, Philadelphia.” The small group of
existing furniture to which our piece belongs includes some of the finest
examples of American furniture. Low-boys and high-boys; that is,
dressing-tables and high chests of drawers on legs, would appear generally
to have been made in pairs. The companion piece to our lowboy has been
lost sight of, but the type is well known. The lower part would have been
about the same in design as the dressing-table; the chest of drawers,
which it supported, completed by a scroll top. The high chest of drawers
enjoyed a long continued popularity in America. The type just described,
despite its Chippendale motifs, was distinctly American. The expressions,
high-boy and low-boy, are not found in the old records; they probably
originated later in derision, when the chest of drawers and its
accompanying table seemed grotesquely out of fashion.
[Large Flip Glass and Two Liquor Bottles. Stiegel Glass, American, XVIII
Century.]
Large Flip Glass and Two Liquor Bottles. Stiegel Glass, American, XVIII
Century.
We take glass so much for granted today that it is difficult for us to
realize how rare and precious a commodity it was to the first settlers of
this country. It is significant that the first attempt to establish a
manufacturing industry in the American colonies was the building and
equipping of a glass house. About the middle of the XVIII century, glass
began to be manufactured upon an extensive scale. The Stiegel Glass
Works, the second successful glass factory, and the best known of the
early American works, commenced operations at Manheim, Pa., in 1765.
“Baron” Stiegel—his title was a courtesy one—was born in Germany, at
Cologne, in 1729; came to Philadelphia in 1750; married the daughter of a
rich iron master; and in the course of time, launched his ambitious
project for the establishment of a glass manufactory that would compete
successfully with the European glass centers for the American market. The
Colonies were then going through a period of economic stress that was soon
to lead to the Revolution. Unable or unwilling to read the signs of the
time aright, Stiegel speedily met with financial embarrassment, failed in
1774, and was even imprisoned for debt. The victim of his own vanity, or
rather self-confidence, this early American captain of industry died in
destitution, January 10, 1785. His factory, maintained for a while after
is failure, was not operated after 1780. The three pieces of glass
illustrated above are typical of the white flint glass with engraved
designs made at the Stiegel works. The manufactory was also renowned for
its colored flint glass, and for glass with enameled decoration.