TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
—Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.
—Bold text has been rendered ad =bold text=.
—Superscript letters have been rendered as word^s.
FURNITURE
OF THE OLDEN TIME
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO · DALLAS
ATLANTA · SAN FRANCISCO
MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED
LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA
MELBOURNE
THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD.
TORONTO
[Illustration]
FURNITURE
OF
THE OLDEN TIME
BY
FRANCES CLARY MORSE
NEW EDITION
WITH A NEW CHAPTER AND MANY NEW ILLUSTRATIONS
“_How much more agreeable it is to sit in the midst of old furniture
like Minott’s clock, and secretary and looking-glass, which have come
down from other generations, than amid that which was just brought
from the cabinet-maker’s, smelling of varnish, like a coffin! To sit
under the face of an old clock that has been ticking one hundred and
fifty years—there is something mortal, not to say immortal, about it;
a clock that begun to tick when Massachusetts was a province._” H. D.
THOREAU, “Autumn.”
New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1926
_All rights reserved_
COPYRIGHT, 1902 AND 1917,
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Set up and electrotyped November, 1902. Reprinted April, 1903;
July, 1905; February, 1908; September, 1910; September, 1913.
New edition, with a new chapter and new illustrations, December, 1917.
Norwood Press
_J. S. Cushing Co._—_Berwick & Smith Co._
_Norwood, Mass., U.S.A._
To my Sister
ALICE MORSE EARLE
Contents
PAGE
INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER I
CHESTS, CHESTS OF DRAWERS, AND DRESSING-TABLES 10
CHAPTER II
BUREAUS AND WASHSTANDS 41
CHAPTER III
BEDSTEADS 64
CHAPTER IV
CUPBOARDS AND SIDEBOARDS 84
CHAPTER V
DESKS 117
CHAPTER VI
CHAIRS 154
CHAPTER VII
SETTLES, SETTEES, AND SOFAS 213
CHAPTER VIII
TABLES 242
CHAPTER IX
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 280
CHAPTER X
FIRES AND LIGHTS 315
CHAPTER XI
CLOCKS 348
CHAPTER XII
LOOKING-GLASSES 374
CHAPTER XIII
DOORWAYS, MANTELS, AND STAIRS 411
GLOSSARY 451
INDEX OF THE OWNERS OF FURNITURE 459
GENERAL INDEX 465
List of Illustrations
Lacquered Desk with Cabinet Top _Frontispiece_
ILLUS. PAGE
Looking-glass, 1810-1825 10
1. Oak Chest, about 1650 11
2. Olive-wood Chest, 1630-1650 13
3. Panelled Chest with One Drawer, about 1660 14
4. Oak Chest with Two Drawers, about 1675 15
5. Panelled Chest with Two Drawers, about 1675 16
6. Carved Chest with One Drawer, about 1700 17
7. Panelled Chest upon Frame, 1670-1700 18
8. Panelled Chest upon Frame, 1670-1700 18
9. Panelled Chest of Drawers, about 1680 19
10. Panelled Chest of Drawers, about 1680 20
11. Handles 21
12. Six-legged High Chest of Drawers, 1705-1715 22
13. Walnut Dressing-table, about 1700 23
14. Lacquered Dressing-table, about 1720 24
15. Cabriole-legged High Chest of Drawers with China
Steps, about 1720 26
16. Lacquered High-boy, 1730 27
17. Inlaid Walnut High Chest of Drawers, 1733 28
18. Inlaid Walnut High Chest of Drawers, about 1760 29
19. “Low-boy” and “High-boy” of Walnut, about 1740 30
20. Walnut Double Chest, about 1760 32
21. Double Chest, 1760-1770 33
22. Block-front Dressing-table, about 1750 34
23. Dressing-table, about 1760 35
24. Chest of Drawers, 1740 36
25. High Chest of Drawers, about 1765 37
26. Dressing-table and Looking-glass, about 1770 39
27. Walnut Dressing-table, about 1770 40
Looking-glass, 1810-1825 41
28. Block-front Bureau, about 1770 42
29. Block-front Bureau, about 1770 43
30. Block-front Bureau, about 1770 45
31. Kettle-shaped Bureau, about 1770 44
32. Serpentine-front Bureau, about 1770 46
33. Serpentine-front Bureau, about 1785 47
34. Swell-front Inlaid Bureau, about 1795 48
35. Handles 49
36. Dressing-glass, about 1760 50
37. Bureau and Dressing-glass, 1795 51
38. Bureau and Dressing-glass, about 1810 52
39. Bureau and Miniature Bureau, about 1810 53
40. Dressing-table and Glass, about 1810 54
41. Case of Drawers with Closet, 1810 55
42. Bureau, about 1815 56
43. Bureau, 1815-1820 57
44. Empire Bureau and Glass, 1810-1820 58
45. Basin Stand, 1770 59
46. Corner Washstand, 1790 60
47. Towel-rack and Washstand, 1790-1800 61
48. Washstand, 1815-1830 62
49. Night Table, 1785 62
50. Washstand, 1800-1810 63
Looking-glass, about 1770 64
51. Wicker Cradle, 1620 65
52. Oak Cradle, 1680 65
53. Bedstead and Commode, 1750 66
54. Field Bedstead, 1760-1770 67
55. Claw-and-ball-foot Bedstead, 1774 69
56. Bedstead, 1780 70
57. Bedstead, 1775-1780 71
58. Bedstead, 1789 72
59. Bedstead, 1795-1800 74
60. Bedstead, 1800-1810 75
61. Bedstead, 1800-1810 76
62. Bedstead, 1800-1810 77
63. Bedstead, 1800-1810 78
64. Bedstead and Steps, 1790 79
65. Low-post Bedstead, about 1825 80
66. Low-post Bedstead, 1820-1830 81
67. Low Bedstead, about 1830 82
Looking-glass, 1770-1780 84
68. Oak Press Cupboard, 1640 85
69. Press Cupboard, about 1650 87
70. Carved Press Cupboard, 1680-1690 88
71. Corner “Beaufatt,” 1740-1750 90
72. Kas, 1700 92
73. Chippendale Side-table, about 1755 93
74. Chippendale Side-table, 1765 94
75. Shearer Sideboard and Knife-box, 1792 97
76. Urn-shaped Knife-box, 1790 99
77. Urn-shaped Knife-box, 1790 99
78. Knife-box, 1790 100
79. Hepplewhite Sideboard with Knife-boxes, 1790 102
80. Hepplewhite Serpentine-front Sideboard, 1790 104
81. Hepplewhite Sideboard, about 1795 105
82. Sheraton Side-table, 1795 106
83. Sheraton Side-table, 1795 107
84. Sheraton Sideboard with Knife-box, 1795 108
85. Sheraton Sideboard, about 1800 109
86. Sheraton Sideboard, about 1805 110
87. Cellarets, 1790 111
88. Sideboard, 1810-1820 113
89. Empire Sideboard, 1810-1820 114
90. Mixing-table, 1790 115
91. Mixing-table, 1810-1820 116
Looking-glass, about 1760 117
92. Desk-boxes, 1654 118
93. Desk-box, 1650 118
94. Desk, about 1680 119
95. Desk, about 1680 120
96. Desk, 1710-1720 121
97. Cabriole-legged Desk, 1720-1730 124
98. Cabriole-legged Desk, 1760 125
99. Desk, 1760 126
100. Desk, about 1770 127
101. Block-front Desk, Cabinet Top, about 1770 128
102. Block-front Desk, about 1770 129
103. Desk with Cabinet Top, about 1770 130
104. Block-front Desk, about 1770 133
105. Kettle-front Secretary, about 1765 135
106. Block-front Writing-table, 1760-1770 136
107. Serpentine-front Desk, Cabinet Top, 1770 137
108. Serpentine or Bow-front Desk, about 1770 138
109. Bill of Lading, 1716 139
110. Bookcase and Desk, about 1765 142
111. Chippendale Bookcase, 1770 143
112. Hepplewhite Bookcase, 1789 144
113. Maple Desk, about 1795 146
114. Desk with Cabinet Top, 1790 147
115. Sheraton Desk, 1795 149
116. Tambour Secretary, about 1800 150
117. Sheraton Desk, 1800 151
118. Sheraton Desk, about 1810 152
119. Desk, about 1820 153
Looking-glass, 1720-1740 154
120. Turned Chair, Sixteenth Century 155
121. Turned High-chair, Sixteenth Century 156
122. Turned Chair, about 1600 157
123. Turned Chair, about 1600 157
124. Wainscot Chair, about 1600 158
125. Wainscot Chair, about 1600 159
126. Leather Chair, about 1660 160
127. Chair originally covered with Turkey Work, about 1680 160
128. Flemish Chair, about 1690 161
129. Flemish Chair, about 1690 161
130. Cane Chair, 1680-1690 162
131. Cane High-chair and Arm-chair, 1680-1690 163
132. Cane Chair, 1680-1690 164
133. Cane Chair, 1680-1690 166
134. Cane Chair, 1680-1690 166
135. Turned Stool, 1660 167
136. Flemish Stool, 1680-1690 167
137. Cane Chair, 1690-1700 168
138. Queen Anne Chair, 1710-1720 168
139. Banister-back Chair, 1710-1720 169
140. Banister-back Chair, 1710-1720 169
141. Banister-back Chair, 1710-1740 170
142. Roundabout Chair, about 1740 170
143. Slat-back Chairs, 1700-1750 171
144. Five-slat Chair, about 1750 172
145. Pennsylvania Slat-back Chair, 1740-1750 173
146. Windsor Chairs, 1750-1775 174
147. Comb-back Windsor Rocking-chair, 1750-1775 175
148. High-back Windsor Arm-chair and Child’s Chair,
1750-1775 176
149. Windsor Writing-chair, 1750-1775 177
150. Windsor Rocking-chairs, 1820-1830 178
151. Dutch Chair, 1710-1720 179
152. Dutch Chair, about 1740 180
153. Dutch Chair, about 1740 180
154. Dutch Chair, 1740-1750 181
155. Dutch Chair, 1740-1750 181
156. Dutch Chairs, 1750-1760 182
157. Dutch Roundabout Chair, 1740 183
158. Easy-chair with Dutch Legs, 1750 184
159. Claw-and-ball-foot Easy-chair, 1750 185
160. Chippendale Chair 186
161. Chippendale Chair 186
162. Chippendale Chair 187
163. Chippendale Chair 187
164. Chippendale Chair 189
165. Chippendale Chairs 188
166. Chippendale Chair 190
167. Roundabout Chair 190
168. Extension-top Roundabout Chair, Dutch 191
169. Roundabout Chair 192
170. Chippendale Chair 192
171. Chippendale Chair 193
172. Chippendale Chair 193
173. Chippendale Chair 194
174. Chippendale Chair 194
175. Chippendale Chair in “Chinese Taste” 195
176. Chippendale Chair 196
177. Chippendale Chair 196
178. Hepplewhite Chairs 198
179. Hepplewhite Chair 197
180. Hepplewhite Chair, 1785 199
181. Hepplewhite Chair, 1789 199
182. Hepplewhite Chair, 1789 200
183. French Chair, 1790 201
184. Hepplewhite Chair, 1790 201
185. Arm-chair, 1790 202
186. Transition Chair, 1785 202
187. Hepplewhite Chair 203
188. Hepplewhite Chair 203
189. Hepplewhite Chair 204
190. Hepplewhite Chair 204
191. Sheraton Chair 205
192. Sheraton Chairs 206
193. Sheraton Chair 207
194. Sheraton Chair 207
195. Sheraton Chair 208
196. Sheraton Chair 208
197. Sheraton Chair 209
198. Painted Sheraton Chair, 1810-1815 209
199. Late Mahogany Chairs, 1830-1845 210
200. Maple Chairs, 1820-1830 212
Looking-glass, 1770-1780 213
201. Pine Settle, Eighteenth Century 214
202. Oak Settle, 1708 215
203. Settee covered with Turkey work, 1670-1680 216
204. Flemish Couch, 1680-1690 217
205. Dutch Couch, 1720-1730 218
206. Chippendale Couch, 1760-1770 218
207. Chippendale Settee, 1760 219
208. Sofa, 1740 220
209. Chippendale Settee 221
210. Double Chair, 1760 222
211. Chippendale Double Chair and Chair in “Chinese Taste,”
1760-1765 224
212. Chippendale Double Chair, 1750-1750 225
213. Chippendale Settee, 1770 226
214. French Settee, 1790 227
215. Hepplewhite Settee, 1790 228
216. Sheraton Settee, 1790-1795 229
217. Sheraton Sofa, 1790-1800 230
218. Sheraton Sofa, about 1800 230
219. Sheraton Settee, about 1805 231
220. Sheraton Settee, 1805-1810 232
221. Empire Settee, 1800-1810 232
222. Empire Settee, 1816 233
223. Sheraton Settee, 1800-1805 234
224. Sofa in Adam Style, 1800-1810 235
225. Sofa, 1815-1820 236
226. Sofa, about 1820 237
227. Cornucopia Sofa, about 1820 238
228. Sofa and Miniature Sofa, about 1820 239
229. Sofa about 1820 239
230. Sofa and Chair, about 1840 240
231. Rosewood Sofa, 1844-1848 241
Looking-glass, 1750-1780 242
232. Chair Table, Eighteenth Century 243
233. Oak Table, 1650-1675 244
234. Slate-top Table, 1670-1680 245
235. “Butterfly Table,” about 1700 245
236. “Hundred-legged” Table, 1675-1700 246
237. “Hundred-legged” Table, 1680-1700 247
238. Gate-legged Table, 1680-1700 248
239. Spindle-legged Table, 1740-1750 249
240. “Hundred-legged” Table, 1680-1700 250
241. Dutch Table, 1720-1740 251
242. Dutch Card-table, 1730-1740 251
243. Claw-and-ball-foot Table, about 1750 252
244. Dutch Stand, about 1740 253
245. “Pie-crust” Table, 1750 253
246. “Dish-top” Table, 1750 254
247. Tea-tables, 1750-1760 254
248. Table and Easy-chair, 1760-1770 255
249. Tripod Table, 1760-1770 256
250. Chinese Fretwork Table, 1760-1770 256
251. Stands, 1760-1770 258
252. Tea-table, about 1770 258
253. Chippendale Card-table, about 1765 259
254. Chippendale Card-table, 1760 260
255. Chippendale Card-table, about 1765 261
256. Pembroke Table, 1760-1770 262
257. Pembroke Table, 1780-1790 262
258. Lacquer Tea-tables, 1700-1800 263
259. Hepplewhite Card-table with Tea-tray, 1785-1790 264
260. Hepplewhite Card-tables, 1785-1795 265
261. Sheraton Card-table, 1800 266
262. Sheraton Card-table, 1800-1810 266
263. Sheraton “What-not,” 1800-1810 267
264. Sheraton Dining-table and Chair, about 1810 267
265. Sheraton Work-table, about 1800 268
266. Sheraton Work-table, 1810-1815 268
267. Maple and Mahogany Work-tables, 1810-1820 269
268. Work-table, 1810 270
269. Work-table, 1810 270
270. Hepplewhite Dining-table, 1790 271
271. Pillar-and-claw extension Dining-table, 1800 272
272. Pillar-and-claw Centre-table, 1800 273
273. Extension Dining-table, 1810 274
274. Accordion Extension Dining-table, 1820 274
275. Card-table, 1805-1810 275
276. Phyfe Card-table, 1810-1820 275
277. Phyfe Card-table, 1810-1820 276
278. Phyfe Sofa-table, 1810-1820 277
279. Pier-table, 1820-1830 278
280. Work-table, 1810-1820 279
Looking-glass, 1760-1770 280
281. Stephen Keene Spinet, about 1690 282
282. Thomas Hitchcock Spinet, about 1690 284
283. Broadwood Harpsichord, 1789 285
284. Clavichord, 1745 288
285. Clementi Piano, 1805 290
286. Astor Piano, 1790-1800 292
287. Clementi Piano, about 1820 293
288. Combination Piano, Desk, and Toilet-table, about 1800 294
289. Piano, about 1830 295
290. Peter Erben Piano, 1826-1827 296
291. Piano-stool, 1820-1830 298
292. Piano, 1826 299
293. Piano-stools, 1825-1830 300
294. Table Piano, about 1835 301
295. Piano, 1830 302
296. Music-stand, about 1835 303
297. Music-stand, about 1835 303
298. Dulcimer, 1820-1830 304
299. Harmonica or Musical Glasses, about 1820 305
300. Music-stand, 1800-1810 306
301. Music-case, 1810-1820 307
302. Harp-shaped Piano, about 1800 308
303. Cottage Piano, or Upright, 1800-1810 309
304. Chickering Upright Piano, 1830 310
305. Piano, about 1840 311
306. Hawkey Square Piano, about 1845 312
307. Harp, 1780-1790 313
Looking-glass, 1785-1795 315
308. Kitchen Fireplace, 1760 316
309. Andirons, Eighteenth Century 317
310. Andirons, Eighteenth Century 317
311. “Hessian” Andirons, 1776 318
312. Fireplace, 1770-1775 319
313. Steeple-topped Andirons and Fender, 1775-1790 320
314. Andirons, Creepers and Fender, 1700-1800 321
315. Brass Andirons, 1700-1800 322
316. Brass-headed Iron Dogs, 1700-1800 322
317. Mantel at Mount Vernon, 1760-1770 324
318. Mantel with Hob-grate, 1776 325
319. Franklin Stove, 1745-1760 327
320. Iron Fire-frame, 1775-1800 328
321. Betty Lamps, Seventeenth Century 329
322. Candle-stands, First Half of Eighteenth Century 330
323. Mantel with Candle Shade, 1775-1800 332
324. Candlesticks, 1775-1800 333
325. Crystal Chandelier, about 1760 334
326. Silver Lamp from Mount Vernon, 1770-1800 335
327. Glass Chandelier for Candles, 1760 336
328. Embroidered Screen, 1780 338
329. Sconce of “Quill-work,” 1720 340
330. Tripod Screen, 1770 341
331. Tripod Screen, 1765 341
332. Candle-stand and Screen, 1750-1775 342
333. Chippendale Candle-stand, 1760-1770 343
334. Bronze Mantel Lamps, 1815-1840 344
335. Brass Gilt Candelabra, 1820-1840 345
336. Hall Lantern, 1775-1800 346
337. Hall Lantern, 1775-1800 346
338. Hall Lantern, 1760 347
Looking-glass, First Quarter of Eighteenth Century 348
339. Lantern or Bird-cage Clock, First Half of Seventeenth
Century 349
340. Lantern Clock, about 1680 350
341. Friesland Clock, Seventeenth Century 350
342. Bracket Clocks, 1780-1800 352
343. Walnut Case and Lacquered Case Clocks, about 1738 354
344. Gawen Brown Clock, 1765 356
345. Gawen Brown Clock, 1780 356
346. Maple Clock, 1770 357
347. Rittenhouse Clock, 1770 357
348. Tall Clock, about 1770 359
349. Miniature Clock and Tall Clock, about 1800 360
350. Tall Clock, 1800-1810 361
351. Wall Clocks, 1800-1825 362
352. Willard Clock, 1784 363
353. Willard Clocks, 1800-1815 364
354. Hassam Clock, 1800 366
355. “Banjo” Clock, 1802-1820 367
356. Presentation Clock, 1805 368
357. Banjo Clock or Timepiece, 1802-1810 368
358. Willard Timepiece, 1802-1810 369
359. Lyre Clock, 1810-1820 369
360. Lyre-shaped Clock, 1810-1820 370
361. Eli Terry Shelf Clocks, 1824 371
362. French Clock, about 1800 372
Looking-glass, First Quarter of the Eighteenth Century 374
363. Looking-glass, 1690 375
364. Looking-glass, 1690 376
365. Looking-glass, about 1730 378
366. Pier Glass in “Chinese Taste,” 1760 380
367. Looking-glass, about 1760 382
368. Looking-glass, 1770-1780 383
369. Looking-glass, 1725-1750 384
370. Looking-glass, 1770-1780 386
371. Mantel Glass, 1725-1750 387
372. Looking-glass, 1770 388
373. Looking-glass, 1770 388
374. Looking-glass, 1776 389
375. Looking-glass, 1780 390
376. Looking-glasses, 1750-1790 392
377. Looking-glass, 1790 393
378. Looking-glass, 1780 393
379. Enamelled Mirror Knobs, 1770-1790 394
380. Girandole, 1770-1780 395
381. Looking-glass, Adam Style, 1780 396
382. Looking-glass, 1790 397
383. Hepplewhite Looking-glass, 1790 398
384. Mantel Glass, 1783 399
385. Looking-glass, 1790-1800 400
386. “Bilboa Glass,” 1770-1780 402
387. Mantel Glass, 1790 403
388. Mantel Glass, 1800-1810 404
389. Cheval Glass, 1830-1840 405
390. Looking-glass, 1810-1825 406
391. Looking-glass, 1810-1815 407
392. Looking-glass, 1810-1825 408
393. Pier Glass, 1810-1825 409
394. Looking-glass, 1810-1825 410
Looking-glass 411
395. Doorway and Mantel, Cook-Oliver House 413
396. Doorway, Dalton House 414
397. Mantel, Dalton House 416
398. Mantel, Dalton House 417
399. Hall and Stairs, Dalton House 418
400. Mantel, Penny-Hallett House 419
401. Doorway, Parker-Inches-Emery House 420
402. Mantel, Lee Mansion 421
403. Landing and Stairs, Lee Mansion 422
404. Stairs, Harrison Gray Otis House 424
405. Mantel, Harrison Gray Otis House 425
406. Stairs, Robinson House 426
407. Stairs, Allen House 427
408. Balusters and Newel, Oak Hill 428
409. Stairs, Sargent-Murray-Gilman House 429
410. Mantel, Sargent-Murray-Gilman House 430
411. Mantel, Kimball House 431
412. Mantel, Lindall-Barnard-Andrews House 432
413. Doorway, Larkin-Richter House 433
414. Doorway, “Octagon” 434
415. Mantel, “Octagon” 435
416. Mantel, Schuyler House 436
417. Mantel and Doorways, Manor Hall 438
418. Mantel and Doorways, Manor Hall 439
419. Mantel, Manor Hall 440
420. Doorway, Independence Hall 441
421. Stairs, Graeme Park 442
422. Mantel and Doorways, Graeme Park 443
423. Doorway, Chase House 445
424. Entrance and Stairs, Cliveden 446
425. Mantel, Cliveden 447
426. Fretwork Balustrade, Garrett House 448
427. Stairs, Valentine Museum 449
428. Mantel, Myers House 450
FURNITURE
OF THE OLDEN TIME
Furniture of the Olden Time
INTRODUCTION
THE furniture of the American colonies was at first of English
manufacture, but before long cabinet-makers and joiners plied their
trade in New England, and much of the furniture now found there was
made by the colonists. In New Amsterdam, naturally, a different style
prevailed, and the furniture was Dutch. As time went on and the first
hardships were surmounted, money became more plentiful, until by the
last half of the seventeenth century much fine furniture was imported
from England and Holland, and from that time fashions in America were
but a few months behind those in England.
In the earliest colonial times the houses were but sparsely furnished,
although Dr. Holmes writes of leaving—
“The Dutchman’s shore,
With those that in the _Mayflower_ came, a hundred souls or more,
Along with all the furniture to fill their new abodes,
To judge by what is still on hand, at least a hundred loads.”
If one were to accept as authentic all the legends told of various
pieces,—chairs, tables, desks, spinets, and even pianos,—Dr. Holmes’s
estimate would be too moderate.
The first seats in general use were forms or benches, not more than one
or two chairs belonging to each household. The first tables were long
boards placed upon trestles. Chests were found in almost every house,
and bedsteads, of course, were a necessity. After the first chairs,
heavy and plain or turned, with strong braces or stretchers between the
legs, came the leather-covered chairs of Dutch origin, sometimes called
Cromwell chairs, followed by the Flemish cane chairs and couches. This
takes us to the end of the seventeenth century. During that period
tables with turned legs fastened to the top had replaced the earliest
“table borde” upon trestles, and the well-known “hundred legged” or
“forty legged” table had come into use.
Cupboards during the seventeenth century were made of oak ornamented in
designs similar to those upon oak chests. Sideboards with drawers were
not used in this country until much later, although there is one of an
early period in the South Kensington Museum, made of oak, with turned
legs, and with drawers beneath the top.
Desks were in use from the middle of the seventeenth century, made
first of oak and later of cherry and walnut. Looking-glasses were owned
by the wealthy, and clocks appear in inventories of the latter part of
the century. Virginals were mentioned during the seventeenth century,
and spinets were not uncommon in the century following.
With the beginning of the eighteenth century came the strong influence
of Dutch fashions, and chairs and tables were made with the Dutch
cabriole or bandy leg, sometimes with the shell upon the knee, and
later with the claw-and-ball foot. Dutch high chests with turned legs
had been in use before this, and the high chest with bandy legs like
the chairs and tables soon became a common piece of furniture. With
other Dutch fashions came that of lacquering furniture with Chinese
designs, and tables, scrutoirs or desks, looking-glass frames, stands,
and high chests were ornamented in this manner.
The wood chiefly used in furniture was oak, until about 1675, when
American black walnut came into use, and chests of drawers, tables, and
chairs were made of it; it was the wood oftenest employed in veneer at
that time.
Sheraton wrote in 1803: “There are three species of walnut tree, the
English walnut, and the white and black Virginia. Hickory is reckoned
to class with the white Virginia walnut. The black Virginia was much in
use for cabinet work about forty or fifty years since in England, but
is now quite laid by since the introduction of mahogany.”
Mahogany was discovered by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1595. The first
mention of its use in this country is in 1708. Mr. G. T. Robinson, in
the London _Art Journal_ of 1881, says that its first use in England
was in 1720, when some planks of it were brought to Dr. Gibbon by a
West India captain. The wood was pronounced too hard, and it was not
until Mrs. Gibbon wanted a candle-box that any use was made of the
planks, and then only because the obstinate doctor insisted upon it.
When the candle-box was finished, a bureau (_i.e._ desk) was made of
the wood, which was greatly admired, and as Mr. Robinson says, “Dr.
Gibbon’s obstinacy and Mrs. Gibbon’s candle-box revolutionized English
household furniture; for the system of construction and character of
design were both altered by its introduction.” It is probable that
furniture had been made in England of mahogany previous to 1720, but
that may be the date when it became fashionable.
The best mahogany came from Santiago, Mexican mahogany being soft, and
Honduras mahogany coarse-grained.
The earliest English illustrated book which included designs for
furniture was published by William Jones in 1739. Chippendale’s first
book of designs was issued in 1754. He was followed by Ince and
Mayhew, whose book was undated; Thomas Johnson—1758; Sir William
Chambers—1760; Society of Upholsterers—about 1760; Matthias
Lock—1765; Robert Manwaring—1766; Matthias Darly—1773; Robert and
J. Adam—1773; Thomas Shearer (in “The Cabinet-makers’ London Book of
Prices”)—1788; A. Hepplewhite & Co.—1789; Thomas Sheraton—1791-1793
and 1803.
Sir William Chambers in his early youth made a voyage to China, and it
is to his influence that we can attribute much of the rage for Chinese
furniture and decoration which was in force about 1760 to 1770.
Thomas Chippendale lived and had his shop in St. Martin’s Lane,
London. Beyond that we know but little of his life. His book, “The
Gentleman’s and Cabinet-Maker’s Director,” was published in 1754, at
a cost of £3.13.6 per copy. The second edition followed in 1759, and
the third in 1762. It contains one hundred and sixty copper plates,
the first twenty pages of which are taken up with designs for chairs,
and it is largely as a chair-maker that Chippendale’s name has become
famous. His furniture combines French, Gothic, Dutch, and Chinese
styles, but so great was his genius that the effect is thoroughly
harmonious, while he exercised the greatest care in the construction of
his furniture—especially chairs. He was beyond everything a carver,
and his designs show a wealth of delicate carving. He used no inlay
or painting, as others had done before him, and as others did after
him, and only occasionally did he employ gilding, lacquer, or brass
ornamentation.
Robert and James Adam were architects, trained in the classics. Their
furniture was distinctly classical, and was designed for rooms in the
Greek or Roman style. Noted painters assisted them in decorating the
rooms and the furniture, and Pergolesi, Angelica Kaufmann, and Cipriani
did not scorn to paint designs upon satinwood furniture.
Matthias Lock and Thomas Johnson were notable as designers of frames
for pier glasses, ovals, girandoles, etc.
Thomas Shearer’s name was signed to the best designs of those published
in 1788 in “The Cabinet-Makers’ Book of Prices.” His drawings
comprise tables of various sorts, dressing-chests, writing-desks, and
sideboards, but there is not one chair among them. He was the first to
design the form of sideboard with which we are familiar.
As Chippendale’s name is used to designate the furniture of 1750-1780,
so the furniture of the succeeding period may be called Hepplewhite;
for although he was one of several cabinet-makers who worked together,
his is the best-known name, and his was probably the most original
genius. His chairs bear no resemblance to those of Chippendale, and
are lighter and more graceful; but because of the attention he paid
to those qualifications, strength of construction and durability were
neglected. His chair-backs have no support beside the posts which
extend up from the back legs, and upon these the shield or heart-shaped
back rests in such a manner that it could endure but little strain.
Hepplewhite’s sideboards were admirable in form and decoration, and it
is from them and his chairs that his name is familiar in this country.
His swell or serpentine front bureaus were copied in great numbers here.
His specialty was the inlaying or painting with which his furniture
was enriched. Satinwood had been introduced from India shortly before
this, and tables, chairs, sideboards, and bureaus were inlaid with this
wood upon mahogany, while small pieces were veneered entirely with it.
The same artists who assisted the Adam brothers painted medallions,
wreaths of flowers or arabesque work upon Hepplewhite’s satinwood
furniture. Not much of this painted furniture came to this country,
but the fashion was followed by our ancestresses, who were taught,
among other accomplishments, to paint flowers and figures upon light
wood furniture, tables and screens being the pieces usually chosen for
decoration.
Thomas Sheraton published in 1791 and 1793, “The Cabinet-Maker and
Upholsterer’s Drawing Book”; in 1803, his “Cabinet Dictionary”; in
1804, “Designs for Household Furniture,” and “The Cabinet-Maker,
Upholsterer, and General Artist’s Encyclopedia,” which was left
unfinished in 1807.
“The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing Book” is largely taken
up with drawings and remarks upon perspective, which are hopelessly
unintelligible. His instructions for making the pieces designed are
most minute, and it is probably due to this circumstantial care that
Sheraton’s furniture, light as it looks, has lasted in good condition
for a hundred years or more.
Sheraton’s chairs differ from Hepplewhite’s, which they resemble in
many respects, in the construction of the backs, which are usually
square, with the back legs extending to the top rail, and the lower
rail joining the posts a few inches above the seat. The backs were
ornamented with carving, inlaying, painting, gilding, and brass. The
lyre was a favorite design, and it appears in his chair-backs and in
the supports for tables, often with the strings made of brass wire.
Sheraton’s sideboards are similar to those of Shearer and Hepplewhite,
but are constructed with more attention to the utilitarian side, with
sundry conveniences, and with the fluted legs which Sheraton generally
uses. His designs show sideboards also with ornamental brass rails at
the back, holding candelabra.
His desks and writing-tables are carefully and minutely described, so
that the manifold combinations and contrivances can be accurately made.
Sheraton’s later furniture was heavy and generally ugly, following the
Empire fashions, and his fame rests upon the designs in his first book.
He was the last of the great English cabinet-makers, although he had
many followers in England and in America.
After the early years of the nineteenth century, the fashionable
furniture was in the heavy, clumsy styles which were introduced with
the Empire, until the period of ugly black walnut furniture which is
familiar to us all.
While there have always been a few who collected antique furniture,
the general taste for collecting began with the interest kindled by
the Centennial Exposition in 1876. Not many years ago the collector of
old furniture and china was jeered at, and one who would, even twenty
years since, buy an old “high-boy” rather than a new black walnut
chiffonier, was looked upon as “queer.” All that is now changed. The
chiffonier is banished for the high-boy, when the belated collector can
secure one, and the influence of antique furniture may be seen in the
immense quantity of new furniture modelled after the antique designs,
but not made, alas, with the care and thought for durability which were
bestowed upon furniture by the old cabinet-makers.
Heaton says: “It appears to require about a century for the wheel of
fashion to make one complete revolution. What our great-grandfather
bought and valued (1750-1790); what our grandfathers despised and
neglected (1790-1820); what our fathers utterly forgot (1820-1850), we
value, restore, and copy!”
Since the publication of this book in 1902, many old houses in this
country have been restored by different societies interested in the
preservation of antiquities. These historic houses have been carefully
and suitably furnished, thus carrying out what should be our patriotic
duty, the gathering and preserving of everything connected with our
history and life. Thus much furniture has been rescued, not only from
unmerited oblivion, but from probable destruction.
CHAPTER I
CHESTS, CHESTS OF DRAWERS, AND DRESSING-TABLES
[Illustration]
THE chest was a most important piece of furniture in households of
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It served as table, seat, or
trunk, besides its accepted purpose to hold valuables of various kinds.
Chests are mentioned in the earliest colonial inventories. Ship chests,
board chests, joined chests, wainscot chests with drawers, and carved
chests are some of the entries; but the larger portion are inventoried
simply as chests.
All woodwork—chests, stools, or tables—which was framed together,
chiefly with mortise and tenon, was called joined, and joined chests
and wainscot chests were probably terms applied to panelled chests to
distinguish them from those of plain boards, which were common in every
household, and which were brought to this country on the ships with the
colonists, holding their scanty possessions.
The oldest carved chests were made without drawers beneath, and were
carved in low relief in designs which appear upon other pieces of oak
furniture of the same period.
[Illustration: Illus. 1.—Oak Chest, about 1650.]
Illustration 1 shows a chest now in Memorial Hall, at Deerfield, which
was taken from the house where the Indians made their famous attack
in 1704. The top of the chest is missing, and the feet, which were
continuations of the stiles, are worn away or sawed off. The design
and execution of the carving are unusually fine, combining several
different patterns, all of an early date. Chests were carved in the
arch design with three or four panels, but seldom as elaborately as
this, which was probably made before 1650.
Illustration 2 shows a remarkable chest now owned by Mrs. Caroline
Foote Marsh of Claremont-on-the-James, Virginia. Until recently it has
remained in the family of D’Olney Stuart, whose ancestor, of the same
name, was said to be of the royal Stuart blood, and who brought it with
him when he fled to Virginia after the beheading of Charles I.
The feet have been recently added, and should be large balls;
otherwise the chest is original in every respect. It is made entirely
of olive-wood, the body being constructed of eight-inch planks. The
decoration is produced with carving and burnt work. Upon the inside
of the lid are three panels, the centre one containing a portrait in
burnt work of James I. with his little dog by his side. The two side
panels portray the Judgment of Solomon, the figures being clad in
English costumes; in the left panel the two kneeling women claim the
child; in the right the child is held up for the executioner to carry
out Solomon’s command to cut it in two. The outside of the lid has the
Stuart coat of arms burnt upon it. Upon the front of the chest are four
knights, and between them are three panels, surrounded by a moulding,
which is now missing around the middle panel. These three panels are
carved and burnt with views of castles; and around the lock, above the
middle panel, are carved the British lions supporting the royal coat of
arms. The chest measures six feet in length and is twenty-four inches
high.
Chests with drawers are mentioned as early as 1650, and the greater
number of chests found in New England have one or two drawers.
[Illustration: Illus. 2.—Olive-wood Chest, 1630-1650.]
Illustration 3 shows a chest with one drawer owned by the Connecticut
Historical Society, made about 1660. There is no carving upon this
chest, which is panelled and ornamented with turned spindles and drops.
The stiles are continued below the chest to form the feet.
[Illustration: Illus. 3.—Panelled Chest with One Drawer, about 1660.]
A chest with two drawers is shown in Illustration 4, made probably
in Connecticut, as about fifty of this style have been found there,
chiefly in Hartford County. The top, back, and bottom are of pine, the
other portions of the chest being of American oak. The design of the
carving is similar upon all these chests, and the turned drop ornament
upon the stiles, and the little egg-shaped pieces upon the drawers,
appear upon all. They have been found with one or two drawers or none,
but usually with two. This chest is in Memorial Hall, at Deerfield.
A chest with two drawers owned by Charles R. Waters, Esq., of Salem,
is shown in Illustration 5. The mouldings upon the front of the frame
are carved in a simple design. The wood in the centre of the panels is
stained a dark color, the spindles and mouldings being of oak like the
rest of the chest.
[Illustration: Illus. 4.—Oak Chest with Two Drawers, about 1675.]
A number of chests carved in a manner not seen elsewhere have been
found in and about Hadley, Massachusetts, and this has given them the
name of Hadley chests. The carving in all is similar, upon the front
only, the ends being panelled, and all have three panels above the
drawers, with initials carved in the middle panel. The other two
panels have a conventionalized tulip design, which is carved upon the
rest of the front, in low relief. The carving is usually stained while
the background is left the natural color of the wood.
Illustration 6 shows a Hadley chest with one drawer owned by Dwight M.
Prouty, Esq., of Boston.
[Illustration: Illus. 5.—Panelled Chest with Two Drawers, about 1675.]
Carved chests with three drawers are rarely found in any design,
although the plain board chests were made with that number.
Illustration 7 and Illustration 8 show chests mounted upon frames.
Illustration 8 stands thirty-two inches high and is thirty inches wide,
and is made of oak, with one drawer. It is in the collection of Charles
R. Waters, Esq., of Salem. Illustration 7 is slightly taller, with one
drawer. This chest is in the collection of the late Major Ben: Perley
Poore, at Indian Hill. Such chests upon frames are rarely found, and by
some they are supposed to have been made for use as desks; but it seems
more probable that they were simple chests for linen, taking the place
of the high chest of drawers which was gradually coming into fashion
during the latter half of the seventeenth century, and possibly being
its forerunner. Chests continued in manufacture and in use until after
1700, but they were probably not made later than 1720 in any numbers,
as several years previous to that date they were inventoried as “old,”
a word which was as condemnatory in those years as now, as far as the
fashions were concerned.
[Illustration: Illus. 6.—Carved Chest with One Drawer, about 1700.]
Chests of drawers appear in inventories about 1645. They were usually
made of oak and were similar in design to the chests of that period.
The oak chest of drawers in Illustration 9 is owned by E. R. Lemon,
Esq., of the Wayside Inn, Sudbury. It has four drawers, and the
decoration is simply panelling. The feet are the large balls which were
used upon chests finished with a deep moulding at the lower edge. The
drop handles are of an unusual design, the drop being of bell-flower
shape. This chest of drawers was found in Malden.
[Illustration: Illus. 7 and Illus. 8—Panelled Chests upon Frames,
1670-1700.]
Illustration 10 shows a very fine oak chest of four drawers, owned by
Dwight M. Prouty, Esq., of Boston. The spindles upon this chest are
unusually good, especially the large spindles upon the stiles. There is
a band of simple carving between the drawers. The ends are panelled and
the handles are wooden knobs.
[Illustration: Illus. 9.—Panelled Chest of Drawers, about 1680.]
From the time that high chests of drawers were introduced, during the
last part of the seventeenth century, the use of oak in furniture
gradually ceased, and its place was taken by walnut or cherry, and
later by mahogany. With the disuse of oak came a change in the style of
chests, which were no longer made in the massive panelled designs of
earlier years.
The moulding around the drawers is somewhat of a guide to the age of a
piece of furniture. The earliest moulding was large and single, upon
the frame around the drawers. The next moulding consisted of two
strips, forming a double moulding. These strips were in some cases
separated by a plain band about half an inch in width.
[Illustration: Illus. 10.—Panelled Chest of Drawers, about 1680.]
Later still, upon block front pieces a small single moulding bordered
the frame around the drawers, while upon Hepplewhite and Sheraton
furniture the moulding was upon the drawer itself. Early in the
eighteenth century, about 1720, high chests were made with no moulding
about the drawers, the edges of which lapped over the frame.
[Illustration: Illustration 11.]
Another guide to the age of a piece of furniture made with drawers is
found in the brass handles, which are shown in Illustration 11 in the
different styles in use from 1675. The handle and escutcheon lettered
A, called a “drop handle,” was used upon six-legged high chests, and
sometimes upon chests. The drop may be solid or hollowed out in the
back. The shape of the plate and escutcheon varies, being round,
diamond, or shield shaped, cut in curves or points upon the edges, and
generally stamped. It is fastened to the drawer front by a looped wire,
the ends of which pass through a hole in the wood and are bent in the
inside of the drawer.
A handle and escutcheon of the next style are lettered B. They are
found upon six-legged and early bandy-legged high chests. The plate of
the handle is of a type somewhat earlier than the escutcheon. Both are
stamped, and the bail of the handle is fastened with looped wires.
[Illustration: Illus. 12.—Six-legged High Chest of Drawers, 1705-1715.]
Letter C shows the earliest styles of handles with the bail fastened
into bolts which screw into the drawer. Letters D, E, and F give the
succeeding styles of brass handles, the design growing more elaborate
and increasing in size. These are found upon desks, chests of drawers,
commodes, and other pieces of furniture of the Chippendale period.
The earliest form of high chest of drawers had six turned legs, four
in front and two in the back, with stretchers between the legs, and
was of Dutch origin, as well as the high chest with bandy or cabriole
legs, which was some years later in date. Six-legged chests were made
during the last quarter of the seventeenth century, and were usually of
walnut, either solid or veneered upon pine or whitewood; other woods
were rarely employed.
[Illustration: Illus. 13.—Walnut Dressing-table, about 1700.]
The earliest six-legged chests were made with the single moulding upon
the frame about the drawers, and with two drawers at the top, which was
always flat, as the broken arch did not appear in furniture until about
1730. The lower part had but one long drawer, and the curves of the
lower edge were in a single arch.
The six-legged high chest of drawers in Illustration 12 belongs to F.
A. Robart, Esq., of Boston. It is veneered with the walnut burl and is
not of the earliest type of the six-legged chest, but was made about
1705-1715. The handles are the drop handles shown in letter A, and
the moulding upon the frame around the drawers is double. There is a
shallow drawer in the heavy cornice at the top, and the lower part
contains three drawers.
Dressing-tables were made to go with these chests of drawers, but with
four instead of six legs. Their tops were usually veneered, and they
were, like the high chests, finished with a small beading around the
curves of the lower edge.
The dressing-table in Illustration 13 also belongs to Mr. Robart, and
shows the style in which that piece of furniture was made.
The names “high-boy” and “low-boy” or “high-daddy” and “low-daddy”
are not mentioned in old records and were probably suggested by the
appearance of the chests mounted upon their high legs.
[Illustration: Illus. 14.—Dressing-table, 1720.]
High chests, both six-legged and bandy-legged, with their
dressing-tables were sometimes decorated with the lacquering which was
so fashionable during the first part of the eighteenth century.
Illustration 14 shows a dressing-table or low-boy from the Bolles
collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is covered with
japanning, in Chinese designs. This dressing-table is the companion
to a lacquered high-boy, with a flat top, in the Bolles collection.
The handle is like letter C, in Illustration 11. That and the moulding
around the drawers place its date about 1720.
Coming originally from the Orient, japanned furniture became
fashionable, and consequently the process of lacquering or japanning
was practised by cabinet-makers in France and England about 1700, and
soon after in this country.
The earliest high chests with cabriole or bandy legs are flat-topped,
and have two short drawers, like the six-legged chests, at the top.
They are made of walnut, or of pine veneered with walnut. The curves
at the lower edge are similar to those upon six-legged chests and are
occasionally finished with a small bead-moulding.
[Illustration: Illus. 15.—Cabriole-legged High Chest of Drawers with
China Steps, about 1720.]
The bandy-legged high-boy in Illustration 15 is owned by Dwight Blaney,
Esq. It is veneered with walnut and has a line of whitewood inlaid
around each drawer. The moulding upon the frame surrounding the drawers
is the separated double moulding, and the handles are of the early
stamped type shown in Illustration 11, letter B. The arrangement of
drawers in both lower and upper parts is the same as in six-legged
chests. A reminder of the fifth and sixth legs is left in the turned
drops between the curves of the lower edge.
Steps to display china or earthenware were in use during the second
quarter of the eighteenth century.
They were generally movable pieces, made like the steps in Illustration
15, in two or three tiers, the lower tier smaller than the top of the
high chest, forming with the chest-top a set of graduated shelves upon
the front and sides.
The broken arch, which had been used in chimney pieces during the
seventeenth century, made its appearance upon furniture in the early
years of the eighteenth century, and the handsomest chests were made
with the broken arch top.
A lacquered or japanned high-boy in the Bolles collection, owned by the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, is shown in Illustration 16. It is of later
date than the lacquered dressing-table in Illustration 14, having the
broken arch. The lacquering is inferior in design to that upon the
dressing-table, and at the top is a scroll design following the outline
of the top drawers and the moulding of the broken arch.
[Illustration: Illus. 16.—Lacquered High-boy, 1730.]
A large and a small fan are lacquered upon the lower middle drawer, and
on the upper one is a funny little pagoda top, with a small fan, both
in lacquer. The handles are of an early type, and the moulding around
the drawers is a double separated one. Such japanned pieces are rare
and of great value.
A fine high chest is shown in Illustration 17, from the Warner house in
Portsmouth. It is of walnut and is inlaid around each drawer. The upper
middle drawer is inlaid in a design of pillars with the rising sun
between them, and below the sun are inlaid the initials J. S. and the
date 1733.
[Illustration: Illus. 17.—Inlaid Walnut High Chest of Drawers, 1733.]
The lower drawer has a star inlaid between the pillars, and a star is
inlaid upon each end of the case. The knobs at the top are inlaid with
the star, and the middle knob ends in a carved flame.
J. S. was John Sherburne, whose son married the daughter of Colonel
Warner. The legs of this chest were ruthlessly sawed off many years
ago, in order that it might stand in a low-ceilinged room, and it is
only in comparatively recent years that it has belonged to the branch
of the family now owning the Warner house. A double moulding runs upon
the frame around the drawers, and the original handles were probably
small, of the type in Illustration 11, letter C.
[Illustration: Illus. 18.—Inlaid Walnut High Chest of Drawers, about
1760.]
A walnut high chest of a somewhat later type is shown in Illustration
18, belonging to Mrs. Rufus Woodward of Worcester. It is of walnut
veneered upon pine, and the shells upon the upper and lower middle
drawers are gilded, for they are, of course, carved from the pine
beneath the veneer. The frame has the separated double moulding around
the drawers. A row of light inlaying extends around each drawer, and
in the three long drawers of the upper part the inlaying simulates the
division into two drawers, which is carried out in the top drawers
of both the upper and lower parts. The large handles and the fluted
columns at the sides would indicate that this chest was made about
1760-1770.
Illustration 19 shows a “high-boy” and “low-boy” of walnut, owned by
the writer. The drawers, it will be seen, lap over the frame. The
“high-boy” is original in every respect except the ring handles, which
are new, upon the drawers carved with the rising sun or fan design.
It was found in the attic of an old house, with the top separate from
the lower part and every drawer out upon the floor, filled with seeds,
rags, and—kittens, who, terrified by the invasion of the antique
hunter, scurried from their resting-places, to the number of nine or
ten, reminding one of Lowell’s lines in the “Biglow Papers”:—
“But the old chest won’t sarve her gran’son’s wife,
(For ’thout new furnitoor what good in life?)
An’ so old claw foot, from the precinks dread
O’ the spare chamber, slinks into the shed,
Where, dim with dust, it fust and last subsides
To holdin’ seeds an’ fifty other things besides.”
[Illustration: Illus. 19.—“Low-boy” and “High-boy” of Walnut, about
1740.]
But carefully wrapped up and tucked away in one of the small drawers
were the torches for the upper and the acorn-shaped drops for the lower
part. These drops were used as long as the curves followed those of the
lower part of six-legged chests, but were omitted when more graceful
curves and lines were used, as the design of high chests gradually
differed from the early types.
[Illustration: Illus. 20.—Walnut Double Chest, about 1760.]
The “low-boy,” or dressing-table, was made to accompany every style of
high chest. The low-boy in Illustration 19 shows the dressing-table
which was probably used in the room with the bandy-legged high-boy,
flat-topped or with the broken arch cornice. It is lower than the under
part of the high-boy, which is, however, frequently supplied with a
board top and sold as a low-boy, but which can be easily detected from
its height and general appearance. The measurements of this high-boy
and low-boy are
HIGH-BOY, lower part LOW-BOY
3 feet high 2 feet 4 inches high
3 feet 1½ inches long 2 feet 6 inches long
21 inches deep 18 inches deep
The high-boy measures seven feet from the floor to the top of the
cornice.
High chests and dressing-tables were made of maple, often very
beautifully marked, in the same style as the chests of walnut and
cherry. The high chest was sometimes made with the drawers extending
nearly to the floor, and mounted upon bracket, ogee, or claw-and-ball
feet. This was called a double chest, or chest-upon-chest.
The double chest in Illustration 20 is in the Warner house at
Portsmouth. It is of English walnut, and the lower part is constructed
with a recessed cupboard like the writing-table in Illustration 106.
The handles upon this chest are very massive, and upon the ends of both
the upper and lower parts are still larger handles with which to lift
the heavy chest.
[Illustration: Illus. 21.—Mahogany Double Chest, 1765.]
A double chest which was probably made in Newport, Rhode Island,
about 1760-1770, is shown in Illustration 21. The lower part is
blocked and is carved in the same beautiful shells as Illustration 31
and Illustration 106. This double chest was made for John Brown of
Providence, the leader of the party who captured the _Gaspee_ in 1772,
and one of the four famous Brown brothers, whose name is perpetuated
in Brown University. This chest is now owned by a descendant of John
Brown, John Brown Francis Herreshoff, Esq., of New York.
[Illustration: Illus. 22.—Block-front Dressing-table, about 1750.]
A low-boy of unusual design, in the Warner house, is shown in
Illustration 22. The front is blocked, with a double moulding upon
the frame around the drawers. The bill of lading in Illustration 109
specified a dressing-table, brought from England to this house in 1716,
but so early a date cannot be assigned to this piece, although it is
undoubtedly English, like the double chair in Illustration 212, which
has similar feet, for such lions’ feet are almost never found upon
furniture made in this country.
[Illustration: Illus. 23.—Dressing-table, about 1760.]
The shape of the cabriole leg is poor, the curves being too abrupt,
but the general effect of the low-boy is very rich. The handles are
the original ones, and they with the fluted columns and blocked front
determine the date of the dressing-table to be about 175O.
The low-boy in Illustration 23 is probably of slightly later date. It
has the separated double moulding upon the frame around the drawers,
and the curves of the lower part are like the early high chests, but
the carving upon the cabriole legs, and the fluted columns at the
corners, like those in Chippendale’s designs, indicate that it was made
after 1750. Upon the top are two pewter lamps, one with glass lenses
to intensify the light; a smoker’s tongs, and a pipe-case of mahogany,
with a little drawer in it to hold the tobacco. This dressing-table is
owned by Walter Hosmer, Esq.
[Illustration: Illus. 24.—Chest of Drawers, 1740.]
The little chest of drawers in Illustration 24 belongs to Daniel
Gilman, Esq., of Exeter, New Hampshire, and was inherited by him. It
is evidently adapted from the high-boy, in order to make a smaller and
lower piece, and it is about the size of a small bureau. The upper part
is separate from the lower part, and is set into a moulding, just as
the upper part of a high-boy sets into the lower. The handles and the
moulding around the drawers are of the same period as the ones upon the
chest in Illustration 20.
[Illustration: Illus. 25.—High Chest of Drawers, about 1765.]
The furniture made in and around Philadelphia was much more elaborately
carved and richly ornamented than that of cabinet-makers further
north, and the finest tables, high-boys, and low-boys that are found
were probably made there. They have large handles, like letter F, in
Illustration 11, and finely carved applied scrolls.
The richest and most elaborate style attained in such pieces of
furniture is shown in the high chest in Illustration 25, which is one
of the finest high chests known. The proportions are perfect, and
the carving is all well executed. This chest was at one time in the
Pendleton collection, and is now owned by Harry Harkness Flagler, Esq.,
of Millbrook, New York.
[Illustration: Illus. 26.—Dressing-table and Looking-glass, about
1770.]
Such a chest as this was in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s mind when he wrote:
“After all, the moderns have invented nothing better in chamber
furniture than those chests which stand on four slender legs, and send
an absolute tower of mahogany to the ceiling, the whole terminating in
a fantastically carved summit.”
The dressing-table and looking-glass in Illustration 26 are also owned
by Mr. Flagler. The looking-glass is described upon page 385. The
dressing-table is a beautiful and dainty piece of furniture of the
same high standard as the chest last described. The carving upon the
cabriole legs is unusually elaborate and well done. It will be noticed
that the lower edge of these pieces is no longer finished in the simple
manner of the earlier high-boys and low-boys, but is cut in curves,
which vary with each piece of furniture.
In Illustration 365 upon page 378 is a low-boy of walnut, owned by
the writer, of unusually graceful proportions, the carved legs being
extremely slender. The shell upon this low-boy is carved in the frame
below the middle drawer instead of upon it, as is usual.
The dressing-table in Illustration 27 also belongs to the writer.
It is of walnut, like the majority of similar pieces, and is finely
carved but is not so graceful as Illustration 365. The handles are the
original ones and are very large and handsome.
High chests and the accompanying dressing-tables continued in use until
the later years of the eighteenth century.
[Illustration: Illus. 27.—Walnut Dressing-table, about 1770.]
Hepplewhite’s book, published in 1789, contains designs for chests of
drawers, extending nearly to the floor, with bracket feet, one having
fluted columns at the corners, and an urn with garlands above the flat
top. It is probable, however, that high chests of drawers were not made
in any number after 1790.