As some of you know, the chest of drawers made by William Beakes III, inscribed “William Beakes 171? in white chalk on the interior of the proper left side, will be sold at auction January 22, 2022 when Sotheby’s sells the collection of William (Bill) K. du Pont. The chest has been published numerous times … Continue reading William Beakes III
New Jersey
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
William Beakes, Joyner
My article about a chest of drawers made by the joiner William Beakes in 1720 has just been published in the 21st Anniversary/Spring 2021 issue of the magazine Antiques & Fine Art. The chest is owned by the Dietrich American Foundation. In 2013 during the survey of the Foundation's furniture collection, I performed a detailed examination of the … Continue reading William Beakes, Joyner
Secondary Wood Species, Part 1
The joiners who immigrated to the Delaware River Valley in the last quarter of the seventeenth and the first quarter of the eighteenth centuries, and the American-born joiners they trained, had a choice of timbers to use for secondary elements in their furniture. In Britain, the hardwood white oak (Quercus alba) and two softwoods, Red … Continue reading Secondary Wood Species, Part 1
Penn’s Woods
“The trees of most note are the black walnut, cedar, cypress, chestnut, poplar, gumwood, hickory, sassafras, ash, beech; and oak of divers sorts, as red, white, and black, Spanish, chestnut, and swamp, the most durable of all; of all which there is plenty for the use of man.” Letter from William Penn, Proprietary and Governor … Continue reading Penn’s Woods
In Proportion to the Trouble 