From at least the early 20th century, and especially since the emergence of the Studio Furniture movement, most furniture makers who use shop marking to identify squared faces and edges of boards and to differentiate and orient carcase and drawer parts, have removed these marks from their finished products through planning, erasure, or other means. … Continue reading Theories of Structure – The Shop Marks of John Head
Month: October 2018
Dealing with Drawers
In January 2009, Christie’s, New York, sold a small spice box described in their catalogue as a Chippendale Walnut Spice Cabinet, Probably Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1740-1780. Christie’s was not familiar with aspects of design and construction that could be found in work documented to John Head’s shop and missed an opportunity to attribute the spice … Continue reading Dealing with Drawers
Boxes in Boxes
John Head and his journeymen and apprentices knew how to make boxes. They made scores and scores of boxes; carcases of chest on chests, high chests and dressing tables, spice boxes, desks, 4-tier chests of drawers, and the drawers they contained. Hundreds of "boxes" were produced by joiners in the Head shop from the end … Continue reading Boxes in Boxes
In Proportion to the Trouble 