John Head left "my House and Lot or piece of ground in Mulberry Street wherein I now dwell, joyning to Mary Pounds Lott" to his daughter Mary Head Lawrence. The house was on the north side of Arch Street (the name of the street was changed from Mulberry to Arch before the end of the … Continue reading Re-framing History, John and Rebecca Head’s Home
John Head
“To a Walnut Dask”, Part II, The Writing Compartment.
For a lack of other surviving desks that can be attributed to John Head’s shop, we have no way of knowing if the writing compartment is typical of his work. More or less elaborate interiors may account for some part of the range of prices Head charged for desks. Along the back at the center … Continue reading “To a Walnut Dask”, Part II, The Writing Compartment.
John Head his Book of Accounts
In advance of the book launch tonight at the American Philosophical Society, the APS has finalized the John Head's account book digitization project. It is now available for all to view online. We can't thank the APS enough for their effort. https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/john-head-account-book-1718-1753#page/1/mode/1up More news is that the APS will be live streaming the event tonight … Continue reading John Head his Book of Accounts
“To a Walnut Dask” Part I
In the account book of the joiner John Head (1688-1754) there are debit entries for 45 desks, the first entry coming in 1719, two years after Head immigrated from England to Philadelphia, the last in 1742, two years before he ended his production of furniture. Compared to chests of drawers, there are few extant desks … Continue reading “To a Walnut Dask” Part I
Theories of Structure – The Shop Marks of John Head
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
In Proportion to the Trouble 