Rush-seat couch. Made in southeastern Pennsylvania, c. 1755. Maple, oak, yellow poplar, black walnut, bull-rush. Dietrich American Foundation collection. In 1997 the Dietrich American Foundation placed a rush-seat couch on long-term loan to Stenton Museum. It resides in the room on the ground floor called "the Back Dining Room" in the 1752 probate inventory of … Continue reading 1 Couch & Couch Bed & Cushions
Woodworking
Crafting History: Philadelphia Woodwork and Furniture in Context at Stenton
On Tuesday, October 3rd at 1:00 Stenton curator Laura Keim and I will be leading a virtual tour and discussion at Stenton in Germantown, Philadelphia. Exterior front facade of Stenton's main house, 1723-1730. Image courtesy of Stenton Museum. Stenton house, built for James Logan (1674-1751) and his family, was completed in 1730 and has been … Continue reading Crafting History: Philadelphia Woodwork and Furniture in Context at Stenton
Windsors in the Dietrich American Foundation
My recent article on furniture in the Dietrich American Foundation is now available on line. It can be seen here. I want to make a correction to the previous post about the over-size high-back Windsor armchair in the Foundations collection. It has been on long-term loan to Stenton where I examined it several years ago. … Continue reading Windsors in the Dietrich American Foundation
A Philadelphia High-Back Windsor Armchair
High-back Windsor armchair, Philadelphia, Penn., 1765-1775. Artist unknown. Yellow poplar seat and medial-section of arm, Maple legs and stretchers, Hickory crest rail, Mahogany arms, arm supports, and short spindles behind the arm supports. H. 43 3/4", W. 32 1/4", D. 26" Dietrich American Foundation. The armchair has been on loan to Stenton since 1971. The … Continue reading A Philadelphia High-Back Windsor Armchair
The First Philadelphia Windsor Highchairs
As noted in the last post, Windsor chairmakers in Philadelphia were making highchairs shortly after they began producing high-back Windsor armchairs in the mid-1740s. No highchairs modeled on the earliest Philadelphia high-back Windsors with plain crest rails and shaved arm supports are known to have survived, nor have any highchairs been discovered with Thomas Gilpin's … Continue reading The First Philadelphia Windsor Highchairs
In Proportion to the Trouble 