American Classical Furniture 1810-35

Bold, stately, and elegant furniture is revealed in this entirely new survey of design, regional varieties and workshop collaborations in the American East Coast in the early nineteenth century.

Collectors Randy and Kelly Schrimsher began collecting American Classical decorative art in the late 1980s. Their notable collection now comprises over 100 pieces of furniture by some of the most celebrated cabinetmakers from across 5 key centers of Classical furniture production that emerged in the United States at the end of the eighteenth century: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC, with works by Duncan Phyfe, Charles-Honoré Lannuier, Isaac Vose, William Hancock, the Finley Brothers, Anthony Quervelle, and Joseph Barry. It is this exploration of “the inter-city connections” through a series of thematic essays, case studies, and accompanying illustrated catalogue entries by heralded furniture historians, that set this new volume apart.

Wonderful examples of objects by all these makers and their shops are explored by city to illustrate regional varieties and workshop collaborations. In addition to the 100 full-page color illustrations of different pieces of furniture from the Schrimsher Collection across the main production cities, the book features nearly 90 additional comparative illustrations covering pattern books, designs, prints and historic views, plus photos of chair legs, supports, capitols, gilding, and a pictorial glossary. Arranged across approximately 4-5 appendices, this provides an important source of new information for scholars.