William Beakes’ drawer construction is common to late seventeenth and early eighteenth joiner’s work. The wood species were similarly used by the majority of Delaware River Valley joiners and cabinetmakers. Black walnut was the principle primary wood species used in furniture making in the early eighteenth century, drawer sides were most often of hard pine, … Continue reading William Beakes’ Drawer Making
Joinery
William Beakes, Joyner, Part II
A chest of drawers by the joiner William Beakes III is signed and dated in white chalk on the interior surface of a side panel. The inscription was written before the chest was assembled. It may even have been written before the panel edges were chamfered to fit into grooves in the stiles and rails … Continue reading William Beakes, Joyner, Part II
Sweetgum/Liquidambar Styraciflua
Questions about the use of the wood species sweetgum in eighteenth century Delaware River Valley furniture from the last post reminded me of a high chest that sold at Sotheby’s a decade ago this month. High chest, Delaware River Valley, probably made in Philadelphia 1740-1750. Mahogany, mahogany veneer, sweetgum, Atlantic white cedar, hard pine, brass. … Continue reading Sweetgum/Liquidambar Styraciflua
The Dominy Craftsmen of East Hampton
Winterthur Museum in Delaware has an online digital collection database. Click here to access it. In the tab “Tools” you’ll find many of the Dominy family woodworking tools illustrated in Charles Hummel’s “With Hammer in Hand: The Dominy Craftsmen of East Hampton, New York”, Charlottesville, 1968. Even if you own Hummel’s book, the new color … Continue reading The Dominy Craftsmen of East Hampton
A Collector’s Vision: Highlights from the Dietrich American Foundation
The exhibition “A Collector’s Vision: Highlights from the Dietrich American Foundation” opened at the Philadelphia Museum of Art the first week of February 2020 and was scheduled to run through June 7, 2020. On March 13, all of the museums on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia announced they were closing to help stem the … Continue reading A Collector’s Vision: Highlights from the Dietrich American Foundation
In Proportion to the Trouble 