"Where columns are turned out of the solid, charge according to the trouble of procuring the stuff, sawing them off, hewing, and attendance on the boring, turning and fixing them up." Articles of the Carpenters Company of Philadelphia: And Their Rules for Measuring and Valuing House-Carpenters Work, Philadelphia, 1786 Interior columns were glued up. The … Continue reading “Forests were the first temples of God and in forests men grasped their first idea of architecture.” James C. Snyder
Craft
Tea Table Pairs Again
A comment to this site asked that I reference the locations of the possible pairs of tea tables I illustrated here. I do that here and include links and books that illustrate them. On the left: Sold January, 2015, Keno Auctions, New York seen here. On the right: Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art … Continue reading Tea Table Pairs Again
More From New York
A chest-on-chest in the Americana sale at Christie’s last week, seen here, has a single shell-carved drawer in the top tier that is a bit of a twist on the common practice of having the grasses on the sides of the shell carved separately and applied to the face of the drawer. On this drawer, … Continue reading More From New York
Jesse Bair at Sotheby’s
A high chest that sold at auction in New York this week is perhaps Jesse Bair’s masterpiece of restoration carving. The base of the high chest was first illustrated in 1935. The grasses appliqué on the carved shell drawer were missing then. The upper case was not illustrated at that time with the base as … Continue reading Jesse Bair at Sotheby’s
Jesse Bair at Winterthur
Jesse William Bair (fl. 1922-1962) was a furniture maker and restorer who lived in Hanover, Pennsylvania. He worked for a number of well-known antique dealers during the mid-twentieth including Joe Kindig, Jr. of York, Pennsylvania and Robert S. Stuart of Philadelphia. After his death his son Richard began donating drawings and patterns of furniture, business … Continue reading Jesse Bair at Winterthur
In Proportion to the Trouble 