Art and Industry in Early America: Rhode Island Furniture, 1650–1830

[jacon4]

An exhibition on Rhode Island early furniture and other objects and a book published this month titled "Art and Industry in Early America: Rhode Island Furniture, 1650–1830". One of the stars in this exhibition is this bookcase below built by Christopher Townsend, 1745-1750, plum pudding mahogany, mahogany secondary wood with silver mounts/pulls by Samuel Casey, silversmith. Of particular interest are the feet, something rarely seen in american furniture.
http://artgallery.yale.edu/exhibitions/exhibition/art-and-industry-early-america-rhode-island-furniture-1650-1830

[mart]

What ??  No Goddard furniture in there ??

[jacon4]

Well, i didn't really check but is pretty sure Goddard is in there. Thing is, many artisans did NOT sign their work which is bummer if trying to figure out who made what. Some, like John Townsend was a prolific signer of his stuff and so much easier than saying "attributed" to so & so.

[jacon4]

The above bookcase sold for over 8 million in 1999 i think, making it the second highest price ever paid for a single piece of american furniture. It was found in France minus the ball feet and stands at 9 feet tall. The missing ball feet were replaced after the sale, apparently the feet were lost while it was in France for several generations. It is known as the Appleton secretary, a pastor in Cambridge Mass who ordered this from the Goddard/Townsend  shop and it is reportedly               "  the most lavish and expensive piece of Colonial furniture ever commissioned in North America." Yeah, i don't doubt it, it looks like this pastor was doing OK in 1745.

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/11/garden/design-notebook-oh-the-tales-a-secretary-could-tell.html?pagewanted=all

[mart]

Wonder what the original price was to have it made ??

[mart]

I rarely brag on anyones journalism skills but  the person that wrote that article was excellent !!  He made you feel like you were at that auction !!  Only thing he did not do,,assuming it was intended,, is to say who the phone bidder was !!  Darn !!

[jacon4]

Wonder what the original price was to have it made ??

Boy, i dunno but it had to be a BUNCH! because, when was the last time you heard of a piece of furniture with the same secondary wood as the primary? and then there is the matter of the hardware, solid silver! i think it is the only known piece of colonial furniture that has silver pulls. This pastor had some rather expensive tastes!
Then there is the feet, although these ball feet are new/replaced, when was the last time you saw a piece with bracket feet AND ball feet below the bracket feet? And how about the cabinetmaker Chris Townsend? check out his house/shop below & Goddard house/shop on water st, these guys built furniture for the aristocracy. Add all this up, this was a very expensive piece of furniture, even in 1745.

[ghopper1924]

Wonder what the original price was to have it made ??

Sometimes you can use a reverse currency calculator to get an idea, but in this case it doesn't work. Still....

For fun, $8,000,000 in 1774 dollars (the year the dollar was established) = $278,467. Let's just say that, in 1745 currency the piece cost $200, which would be high, even with silver pulls. Before anyone starts nitpicking, this is NOT exact, it's just for fun.....

Even the finest house in the 13 colonies did not cost anywhere near $278,000, much less a piece of furniture. There is a heck of a lot of appreciation in there! I guess it's like Jacon said, at the top end of the market there are still investment opportunities. 

[jacon4]

 I guess it's like Jacon said, at the top end of the market there are still investment opportunities.

OH YEAH! check this out, in 2013 John Goddard's house was put on the market in Newport for 890k.......and DIDN'T sell!
http://www.oldhousedreams.com/2013/07/10/1750-georgian-newport-ri/

What to do? paint it green, add a couple extra old houses to go with it and reduce the price to 750K......SOLD!
 http://www.oldhousedreams.com/2013/05/23/c-1750-georgian-newport-ri/

[ghopper1924]

Nice. Not my thing, but great interiors. I would happily live in either one. But what's with the barracks-style sleeping in the attic of Goddard's house?

[jacon4]

But what's with the barracks-style sleeping in the attic of Goddard's house?

Well hey, you gotta have help when building furniture, that's where the apprentices slept!

[jacon4]

All kidding aside, Chris & Job Townsend (founders of the clan) were joiners when they came to Newport and made the change to cabinetmakers. John Goddard was an apprentice to Job and eventually started his own shop on Water St. All these guys were Quakers, the 2 families were inter-married, Goddard married Job's daughter. In all, over the course of 120 years or so, there were 20 something members of this clan building furniture at various times all through the 18th century and into the 1st quarter of the 19th century.

[mart]

Loved the Goddard house,, but the Townsend house is a bit over done !!

[jacon4]

That's right, pick on the old man of the family biz, reaches for my smite stick!

[jacon4]

I suspect that over the years, everyone in the clan played a role, from beginner to the old man who actually worked out the details of a commission over tea or some such. Considering the clients they had, it's understandable that they would want a setting where the client was comfortable.