A unique expression of the Arts & Crafts movement .
In 1899 Frank and Florence Dickinson got engaged and began designing their home in leafy Surrey. It was a long engagement since Frank was unprepared to marry until he had built their dream home. He left school at the age of 13 and worked for most of his life as a draftsman for Doultons Pottery in Lambeth. When he met Florence, he was living in crowded accommodation with his family in Paddington. He became a follower of William Morris and John Ruskin and the house was created to reflect their ideals.
Frank studied books on construction and borrowing £300 built Little Holland House himself with the help of his brother and a friend. He went to night school to learn metalwork and furniture making. Florence was a talented embroiderer and seamstress. Virtually everything in the house was made by one or other of them over a period of sixty years. They raised a family at Little Holland House, Frank encouraging his son in furniture making. Their well-crafted pieces show the influence of Charles Voysey. The house remains exactly as it was left on the death of Frank in 1971 and the departure of Florence a year later, when it was bought by Sutton Council and opened to the public.
To join this visit please book on-line: sutton.events.mylibrary.digital or dial Sutton Library: 020 8770 4740. Visits are available for limited numbers at half-hour intervals 11-17:00. Some members are booked for 11:00, so I suggest aiming for a similar time . If you do book please contact Jeremy Bate, events organiser so that he has an idea of who will be visiting.
Little Holland House , 40 Beeches Avenue Carshalton, Surrey. There is free parking on the road and the house is a 5 minute walk from Carshalton Beeches station ( 44 minutes from Victoria )
Picture credits: Chair designed by Ernest Gimson after 1888, V&A Circ.232-1960; Munstead Wood, designed by Edwin Lutyens for Gertrude Jekyll, 1896; Lily wallpaper designed by William Morris 1873, V&A E.484-1919.
THE 48TH ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM OF THE FURNITURE HISTORY SOCIETY
Art Workers’ Guild, 6 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AT
Saturday 23 March 2024, in person or live-streamed via Zoom. 10.30 am – 5.00 pm.
In person registration from 10.00 am
‘New Light on Arts and Crafts Furniture and Interiors’
The 2024 annual symposium will focus on Arts and Crafts furniture and interiors between about 1880 and 1920, including new research into the iconic British interiors Kelmscott Manor and Emery Walker’s House, with their rich and complex mix of furnishings, and the National Trust’s new acquisition, Gertrude Jekyll’s house Munstead Wood. In the second sessions speakers will present fresh information on individual designers and makers, on the transmission of design traditions and the influence of published photographs. The day will feature papers from an eminent panel of curators, scholars and furniture makers.
PROGRAMME
10.00-10.30am Registration and coffee/tea
10.30-10.35am Welcome by Christopher Rowell, FHS Chairman
10.35-10.40am Introduction by chair of morning: Tessa Wild – Designers and Interiors
10.40–11.05am Evidential Choreography: Recomposing the interiors at Kelmscott Manor
Dr Kathy Haslam FSA, Curator, Kelmscott Manor
11.05–11.30am Emery Walker’s House: The London Arts & Crafts Home
Mallory Horrill, Senior Curator at Emery Walker’s House, Curator of Collections & Exhibitions at the William Morris Society
11.30–11.40am Short Break
11.40am–12.05pm Gertrude Jekyll at Munstead Wood: the home of the ‘artist-gardener’
Dr Caroline Ikin, Curator, National Trust, Munstead Wood
12.05–12.30pm Evolution, not revolution. Interpreting Ernest Gimson’s designs through the generations
The Marchmont Workshop: Richard Platt & Sam Cooper, Furniture Makers
12.30–12.45pm Q & A
12.45–2.00pm LUNCH – for attendees who have booked in the Master’s Room at the Art Workers’ Guild. Otherwise various cafes/restaurants nearby.
2.00–2.05pm Introduction by chair of afternoon: Martin Levy – Designers and Makers
2.05–2.25pm TheEarly Years of the Art Workers’ Guild
Peyton Skipwith, Fine art consultant and author
2. 25–2.45pm BIFMO and the Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society Catalogues, 1888-1916
Clarissa Ward, BIFMO 19th/early 20th Century Editor & Jo Buckrell, BIFMO Research Assistant and Researcher, Haslemere Educational Museum
2.45–3.10pm A Question of Attribution: the contemporaneous appropriation of architect designed Arts & Crafts furniture.
Tony Peart, Senior Lecturer in Illustration at the University of Cumbria
3.10–3.25pm SHORT BREAK
3.25–3.50pm Augustus H. Mason: ‘Cabinet Maker, chiefly special designs’
Annette Carruthers, Honorary Senior Lecturer, University of St Andrews
3.50–4.15pm ‘Garden of Hearts: A Case Study of an American Arts and Crafts Masterpiece’
Daniel S. Sousa, Assistant Curator, Historic Deerfield, Massachusetts, USA
Special Collections at University of Leeds Libraries & Leeds Museums & Galleries
CALL FOR PAPERS
What is Furniture History?
Thursday 6th June – Friday 7th June 2024
University of Leeds (& online)
Henry Lawford The cabinet of practical, useful and decorative furniture designs (1855). Image copyright, the University of Leeds Libraries
The history of furniture remains one of the dominant areas of interest within the history of the so-called ‘Decorative Arts’. Since it emerged in the 19th century, scholarship focused on furniture history has expanded far beyond the interests of its earlier pioneers, transforming furniture history as a discipline. This 2-day symposium, developed as part of the exhibition ‘Part of the Furniture: The Library of John Bedford’ (Treasures of the Brotherton Gallery, University of Leeds, 9th January-21st December 2024), and in collaboration with Temple Newsam, Leeds, seeks to explore furniture history as a subject and to reflect on what furniture history of the future might look like.
We invite submissions for papers on themes related to the history of furniture, focused on any period, any geography, from scholars, museum professionals, collectors, dealers, and furniture makers. We invite papers through any lens, including methodological papers on furniture history as method/approach, case studies on objects and collections, papers on furniture historians, as well as work-in-progress papers on possible futures for furniture history.
Contributions might address (not exhaustive):
The history of furniture history
Furniture historians
Publications of furniture history
The sources and materials of furniture history
Furniture collections in museum/historic houses
Collectors and collecting furniture
Studies of individual examples of furniture
Studies of types of furniture
Furniture dealers; the market for furniture
Societies and communities of furniture enthusiasts
The themes of furniture history (style, biography, material, geography etc)
Furniture history of the future
Papers should be 20 minutes in length; participation can be in-person or online (Microsoft TEAMS).
The symposium programme will include facilitated tours at Temple Newsam (part of Leeds Museums & Galleries) to explore the world class furniture collections at the house. As well as an opportunity to see extra materials from the collection of John Bedford at the University.
DEADLINE for submission for proposals (c.200 words) is – MONDAY 15th April 2024 to (m.w.westgarth@leeds.ac.uk). Successful speakers will be notified by FRIDAY 26th April 2024.
Speakers – Free
Conference delegates (in person) £25 per person (2 days) £15 per person (1 day), includes refreshments and lunch and transport to Temple Newsam. Online delegates – Free.
NB: The RFS is pleased to support the costs of attending the What is Furniture History conference in person, for five early career professionals in the field or students (part- or full-time). This special event bursary will cover the ticket fee (£25 two days/£15 one day) and UK travel costs (standard class rail or reasonable alternative) but not overnight accommodation. The bursary is open to existing or new RFS members. Non-members, please note: RFS annual membership costs only £28 by banker’s order (£20 for students) and includes numerous benefits, almost certainly much less than the cost of attending the conference without a bursary, so this may be a perfect opportunity to join the RFS.
Applicants should email the Grants and Bursaries Secretary Nick Humphrey nickhu@vam.ac.uk providing details of your early career professional post or course of study, and the attendance and travel costs you wish to claim. Successful applicants will be required to provide receipts for reimbursement. Applications will be dealt with on a First Come, First Served basis.
The Frederick Parker Collection is a unique and outstanding educational resource spanning over 300 years of British furniture making and design, from 1660 to the present day. The Collection comprises over 200 chairs, together with an archive of related historical documents and artefacts and became part of the Furniture Makers’ Company in 2013.
We are delighted that we have two exceptional speakers for the Annual Lectures this year:
Joseph Bray – “Sylva Wood School: bridging the gap between education and practice”
Joe leads the Sylva Foundation’s Wood School and describes himself as a designer, maker and teacher. He is passionate about inspiring and supporting people to become skilled craftspeople and furniture makers. He has been directly involved in the furniture industry for the past 25 years.
After completing a BA(Hons) and MA in Furniture Design he worked as a bespoke furniture designer, maker and production coordinator, before returning to educate the next generation of furniture designers and craftspeople at Rycotewood in Oxford. He strives to develop partnerships and collaborations leading to live projects, study trips, work experience, internships and sponsorship for students.
Joe is a Churchill Fellow, in 2018/2019 he travelled to Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and the USA, to explore the future of furniture craft education. The experience was enlightening, providing the inspiration for the creation of Sylva Foundation’s workshops and development of their unique courses.
His talk will chart the development of a unique approach to teaching furniture making skills, inspired by his 14 years teaching at Rycotewood and his fellowship travels. He will then share his work to establish a programme to improve diversity across the sector
Roger Wates – “E & A Wates – a furnisher in south London 1900-2021”
Roger’s degree was in accountancy and business law at Stirling University but he spent his career in the retail sector. Cutting his teeth with Marks & Spencer in stores around the country he then worked in Peru before joining his family business E & A Wates in 1985 which comprised three stores in South London. In a career that challenged every facet of his character, he became joint MD in 1990 and loved the all-encompassing nature of the work.
Long standing businesses tend to have a wide breadth of services and E & A Wates, which was established in1900, embraced selling furniture, undertaking removals and storage, commercial and domestic furniture restoration and interior design.
Roger balanced the wonderful restoration work with the drive to purchase and create inspiring displays of new furniture. The company was at the heart of the Streatham community with many local clients and ran workshop tours, public talks and shows alongside fascinating commercial projects in London and overseas.
Roger ran his family furnishing business for 36 years until it closed in 2021. He will talk about the origins and growth of the company, his father’s talent, the personalities involved, its building connections, and the influence of war. Roger will also examine its interesting client base and highlight the skilled work undertaken by the company’s craftspeople.
* * *
The lectures will be followed by a sparkling wine reception. We hope you will also wish to stay for the annual dinner (see booking form), which is always a popular and enjoyable occasion and an excellent opportunity to meet other supporters of the Frederick Parker Collection. Places are limited so please reply as soon as possible using the attached application form. All proceeds from the evening will go to support the Collection and its development as an educational resource for aspiring furniture designers.
If you are interested the application form is here.
Members may be interested in the following BIFMO-FHS online course on Zoom:
1 November: 5 pm – 7.30 pm (GMT) and 1 pm – 3.30 pm (EDT) 8, 15, 22 and 29 November: 5 pm – 7.30 pm (GMT) and 12 noon – 2.30 pm (EST) Please note that for the first week, the start time for US ticketholders on the East Coast will be four hours behind the UK. Thereafter, the time difference will be five hours.
Join us online for a couple of hours every Wednesday throughout November, when curators and historians will consider the development of styles in Britain, from the seventeenth to the mid-twentieth century, by examining the creative process involved in making furniture. Speakers will look at how designs were devised and the impact of collaboration between different disciplines on the way concepts and ideas were realised and translated into objects.
Guided by specialist speakers, the course will look at a wide range of examples of design and craftsmanship from almost 500 years of furniture making in Britain; from the influence of print designs on makers in the early seventeenth century to the mass-produced furniture of Charles and Ray Eames in the twentieth.
Here’s an overview of the course programme:
Session 1 – 1st November
Early print sources and their influence on furniture makers
Speakers: Nick Humphrey, Catherine Doucette, Dr Amy Lim.
Session 2 – 8th November
Furniture makers interpreting design in the 18th century
Speakers: Katherine Hardwick, Annabelle Westman, Dr Megan Aldrich.
Session 3 – 15th November
Furniture makers, Designers and Architects in 18th century Britain
Speakers: Dr John Cross, Professor Jeremy Howard, Dr Kerry Bristol.
Session 4 – 22nd November
Stretching the imagination: furniture making in the 19th century
Speakers: Ellinor Gray, Dr Diana Davis, Clarissa Ward.
Session 5 – 29th November
Innovation and modernity: the role of the designer in the 20th century
Speakers: William Lorimer, Matthew Winterbottom, Professor Pat Kirkham.
Tickets may be bought for individual sessions or for the entire course, but you will benefit from a discount if all 5 sessions are bought together. Don’t worry if you cannot attend the sessions live because they will be recorded and links to the recording will be sent to ticketholders.
For further information and to purchase tickets please click here to travel straight to the Eventbrite page. FHS members and ECD members will receive a discount on all tickets. If you have any questions, please contact Ann Davies at bifmo@furniturehistorysociety.org.
Banqueting Hall at Penkill, Ayrshire, William Bell Scott and Alice Boyd, oil on board, by Arthur Hughes, 1892
On Friday 1 December, the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh is hosting an all-day seminar on The Scottish Interior. Ten speakers will address the Scottishness – or otherwise – of Scottish interiors from the sixteenth century to the present day, examining craftsmanship, patronage, collecting, and identity. The event is free and lunch will be provided (courtesy of the Paul Mellon Centre) but booking is essential. Details can be found here.
House of The Binns; image: National Trust for Scotland
A family home founded by Thomas Dalyell about 1612, an Edinburgh merchant who made his fortune at the court of King James VI and I in London. Presented to the National Trust for Scotland in 1947 by Eleanor (Nora) Dalyell, mother of the late MP Tam Dalyell. The family retain the right to live there. Much altered and extended in the 18th and 19th century, the house contains an eclectic mix of furniture and works of art from all eras, including political and military memorabilia, associated with its more colourful owners, including General Tam Dalyell who escaped from the Tower of London and fought alongside Peter the Great’s father in Russia.
Kathleen Dalyell and Helen Knox, NTS Manager will be our hosts whilst David Jones has kindly agreed to guide us through the furniture.
Coffee will be provided on arrival. At the end of the visit a nearby venue for lunch will be suggested (not included in the fee). If you are a member of the National Trust or Scottish National Trust, please remember your membership card. If numbers exceed 12, we may need to progress in two parties.
Linlithgow is easily reached from Glasgow or Edinburgh by train. Members with cars will pick up travellers from the station.
If you wish to join the visit, a cheque for £10 a head, payable to Regional Furniture Society should be posted to : RFS Events Organiser, 2 Grove Cottages, Sutherland Road London W4 2QS together with a list of members and friends attending and a mobile telephone number. Alternatively, make a bank transfer to the RFS sort code 30-94-81 a/c 00882432 quoting reference: ‘Binns’, followed by an email to the events organiser, confirming the names of those attending, mobile number and the date of the bank transfer. Closing date for applications is Monday September 4th.
As members may be aware, a tour of the Southern States of America is planned for October 2024, studying the regional furniture, houses and social context of early settlers, later migrants, farmers and tradespeople, plantation owners and slaves during the 18th and 19th centuries.
We will be guided by Dan Ackerman, Chief Curator and Director of Research at MESDA and RFS American Secretary, whose specialist knowledge in this area is based on many years of academic research and fieldwork.
The tour will be over 11 days from Monday 14 October to Thursday 24 October, with flights to and from Charlotte International airport, and starting at MESDA (Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts) and Old Salem Museum in North Carolina, heading north to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, then east to Colonial Williamsburg and from there south down the coast to Charleston, South Carolina, before returning to MESDA. The tour dates are such that if any of us wanted to stay on for the biennial MESDA furniture seminar, which will be on Friday 25 to Saturday 26 October, it would be simple to do so.
The provisional itinerary is attached below.
We provisionally estimate the cost at £2,500 per person, including flights, accommodation (based on 2 people per room), admissions and insurance etc, but not including lunches and dinners, which will be paid for as we go.
If you are interested in joining the tour, please email events.RFS@gmail.com by 15 September 2023. Those members who have already been in touch about the tour need not respond to this call: you are already on the list.
David Dewing, tour organiser
Provisional Itinerary
Flights from UK to Charlotte International airport, arriving Monday October 14 Tour over 11 days (10 nights) Depart Charlotte International Airport, Thursday October 24 Option to stay Friday and Saturday 25-26 for the biennial MESDA Furniture Seminar
Day 1: Monday October 14
Transfer from Charlotte to MESDA and Old Salem Museums, North Carolina, 84 miles Welcome, introduction and first supper Stay 2 nights MESDA, Monday and Tuesday
Period Room at MESDA (Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts)
Day 2: Tuesday October 15
MESDA and Old Salem Museums, sites and collections Research and Conservation facilities
Miksch House, Old Salem
Day 3: Wednesday October 16
Travel from MESDA to Harrisonburg, Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, 215 miles Frontier Culture Museum (Staunton, Virginia) Stay 2 nights, Harrisonburg, Wednesday and Thursday
Day 4: Thursday, October 17
Shenandoah Valley Collections Museum of the Shenandoah Valley Two Winchester-area private collections Jeff and Beverley Evans Collection (Dinner)
Frontier Culture Museum, Staunton, Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
Day 5: Friday, October 18
Travel from Harrisonburg to Williamsburg, Virginia, 180 miles Monticello en route, home of Robert Jefferson, house, gardens and slave quarters Stay 2 nights, Williamsburg, Friday and Saturday
Monticello, Virginia
Colonial Williamsburg
Day 6: Saturday, October 19
Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg Williamsburg houses and sites Research and conservation facilities
Conservation Workshops Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia
Day 7: Sunday October 20
Travel to from Williamsburg to Edenton, North Carolina, 111 miles Cupola House Private Collections
Stay 1 night, Edenton, Sunday
Cupola House, Edenton, North Carolina
Day 8: Monday October 21
Travel from Edenton to Wilmington, North Carolina, 177 miles Free time in Wilmington Stay 1 night, Wilmington, Monday
Roanoke River Lighthouse, Edenton
Day 9: Tuesday, October 22
Travel from Wilmington to Charleston, South Carolina, 176 miles Drayton Hall plantation house en route Stay 2 nights, Charleston, Tuesday and Wednesday
Drayton Hall, South Carolina
Day 10: Wednesday October 23
Charleston houses and museums
Nathanial Russel House
Charleston Museum
St. Michaels Church
Slave Mart Museum
Edmonton Alston House, Charleston
Nathaniel Russel House
Day 11: Thursday October 24
Return from Charleston to Charlotte airport, 211 miles Optional: Continue to MESDA for the Furniture Seminar, Friday and Saturday October 25-27
Last November Daniel Ackermann very kindly presented his webinar ‘Working wood in the inland American South’. The YouTube version is now available. The index to the talk appears below. There is a maximum character limit within the YouTube index of 5000 characters. A longer version of the index, which additionally includes hyperlinks to items, articles and publications referred to in the talk appears in this post after the YouTube short version.
0:00 Introduction: 0:07 H Vanhorn Carpenter & Joiner; baby needs cradle, dead a coffin & life needs chests/chairs/desks; 1:09 Alexander Spotswood’s VA small part of early America 1:51 Mexican desk/bookcase cf Boston high chest 2:04 Blue Ridge/Appalachians barrier to expansion & provided defence via Shenandoah 4:18 1681 Charles II grants PA to Wm Penn; 4:43 PA crucible thru geography & religious tolerance 5:10 1761 map of diversity of religion: PA settled via grants: later led to migration 6:40 into Shenandoah 6:55 Gt Wagon Rd to Augusta GA, 9:00 multiple cultures together 10:06 Quakers in N Shenandoah Germans/Lutherans in mid & Scots-Irish Presbyterians in S 10:28 1649 Fairfax Grant by Charles II set up Quakers in N 10:58 by early 1730s e.g. Hopewell Friends’ Meeting House 11:35 Quakers English Scots-Irish Welsh w regional furniture traditions 11:48 Luptons moved to Shenandoah to 1700 acres, grist & sawmills; David Lupton (1757-1822) Frederick Cty, VA built $5k house; high chest, corner cupboard, desk/bookcase 13:08 see American Furniture 1997 13:30 also Nick Powers on Quaker furniture makers MESDA jnl 13:42 1795 Lupton High Chest cf 1765-75 Philadelphia Rococo High Chest; Lupton’s Neo-classical adaptation of earlier Rococo form 15:05 Lupton desk/bookcase, see Gusler 1997 16:38 Lupton close-ups 17:02 confluence of Potomac/Shenandoah 17:32 sophisticated mahogany sideboard, Winchester, Frederick Cty VA; 17:58 moving up the Valley, German-speaking families from PA Lutherans who would fight (Quakers wouldn’t) from 1740s 19:08 Fort Egypt in Page Cty VA 19:17 cf Quaker 1740s Ross’s Spring w Fort Egypt 1758 19:42 Mahatango Valley Farm 20:19 Chest, Shenandoah Cty 20:58 Fraktur, J Strickler 1794 cf 21:14 to Hanging Cupboard/Clock by J Spitler, Page Cty VA 21:30 more Spitler work 21:34 Chests & Schrank 1779 w sulphur inlay 22:12 Shenandoah sulphur inlay blanket chest cf 1777 Fraktur decorated w hearts/tulips/urns 22:34 Käge 1788 Chest cf Siron 1793 chest 23:14 Scots-Irish (Ulster Protestants) 23:47 map of Beverley Manor/Irish Track 24:08 J Lewis of Ulster cleaved landlord’s skull in twain 24:56 Irish unkindly described by Chas Wood Mason 25:48 furniture simple solid & conservative; 26:14 Augusta Stone Church 1747 26:25 Jos Ray – PA, Wagon Rd by 1759 in Augusta Cty 27:02 Dressing table Augusta Cty, Ray for Lewis; 27:24 Jos Ray & J Price, Augusta Cty, High Chests 1765 & 1775-95 & Longcase Clocks 27:55 Longcase clocks by Wm Huston (PA then Augusta via Wagon Road) 1775-95 Augusta case by Ray; 28:12 son Jas clockmaker 28:42 Wagon Rd connects to Cumberland Rd/Cumberland Gap 29:18 Chest on chest Ray-Price shop & corner cupboard Moses Crawford 1790-1810 in Knox Cty East TN 29:50 Tracey Parks article re Moses Crawford; 30:12 High chest on frame Thos Pierce, Guilford Cty NC 1785-95 cf one by Virgil Eachus Chester Cty PA 1789 30:47 D Osborne Guilford Cty NC ; 31:18 Frakturs from PA/NC/SC by Ehre Vater Artist 31:35 Painted blanket chests Lebanon Cty PA, Alamance Cty NC, Wythe Cty VA, and Walton Cty GA, 31:47 Blanket chest, Christian Seltzer, Lebanon Cty PA 1796 cf J Huddle, Wythe Cty VA 1825-30 ; 32:19 Convergences of traditions Chest of drawers, Moses Pyle, Chester Cty PA 1746 line & berry cf Jos Wells Alamance Cty NC, sulphur inlay for German client 32:53 Germanic Chair w Cherokee woven seat Walton Cty GA 1790-1820; 33:23 cf Cherokee basket 33:30 Diamond Hill, Jos Vann House, Murray Cty GA Cherokee & Moravian 33:53 Punched tin decoration food safes 34:24 food safe at Colonial Williamsburg w linen 34:36 punched tin safe Green Cty TN 34:51 another with lights inside cf 35:23 example from Wythe Cty VA 35:31 cf Rockbridge Cty VA see Kurt C Russ and Jeffrey S Evans ISBN 9780984462421 35:53 Corner Cupboard Hugh McAdams Washington Cty TN 1808 cf another Sullivan Cty TN 1800-08 & desk/bookcase Wm Campbell Madison Cty KY 1800-10 exuberant inlay 36:14 Amber Clawson article; 36:26 Desk Hugh McAdams Washington Cty TN 1808 cf Wm McClure Green Cty TN 1803-12 36:39 Trans-Appalachian West into Ohio River Valley 37:02 1810 Mason Cty KY Census in Lewisburg. Gerrard Calvert J Foxworthy & P Tuttle. 37:30 Calvert Chest of drawers Mason Cty 1795-1800 cf sugar desk 1800-15 37:47 more than 100 chests 38:31 Calvert/Foxworthy/Tuttle start in Prince Wm Cty, Chesapeake Bay VA, move to Maizeville/Lewisburg. Ohio River joins Mississippi 39:15 Calvert Chest of drawers Mason Cty speaks to New Orleans Armoire 1800-20 Pied de biche foot goes upstream while Anglo-American inlay goes downstream creating new styles 40:31 Backcountry furniture not backwards 40:48 Wm Challen chairs Lexington KY 1825-35 & 1809 advertisement. Think about 41:38 VA SC PA WV on own terms of people/places they came from 42:22 Q&A topics include sulphur inlay, punch-tin, Jeff Evans on vernacular chairs, fluted qtr columns in NW England (Quaker link?), repetition of motifs & possibly artists within Frakturs and painted chests; any link between Dutch painted furniture and US painted?
Longer version of index with hyperlinks to items and publications:
0:00 Introduction: Settlement Culture Migration 0:07 Henry Vanhorn Carpenter & Joiner; the baby needs a cradle, the dead require a coffin and in between there are the chests the chairs and the desks; 0:30 objects are the result of people, place and time: new styles for a new nation 1:09 the Virginia of Alexander Spotswood 1:37 Virginia was small part of early America 1:51 Mexican desk and bookcase contemporaneous to Boston high chest 2:04 Blue Ridge and Appalachians presented a barrier to westwards expansion and provided defence via settlement of Shenandoah Valley 2:56 Expansion westwards to the Fault Lines, then the Blue Ridge Mountains as more land was wanted; also Piedmont and Tidewater regions 4:18 1681 Charles II grants province of Pennsylvania to William Penn; 4:43 Philadelphia becomes crucible and grows through both geography and religious tolerance 5:10 1761 map of Philadelphia shows diversity of religion 5:45 settlement of Pennsylvania initially via grants: later shortage led to waves of migration 6:40 also into the Shenandoah Valley 6:55 The Great Wagon Road went all the way to Augusta Georgia, 9:00 almost a Fertile Crescent and Silk Road in one bringing multiple cultures together 10:06 Quakers in the Northern part of the Shenandoah Valley German speakers and Lutherans further south in the middle and Scotch-Irish Presbyterians further south 10:28 1649 Fairfax Grant by Charles II in exile set up Quakers in Northern part 10:58 by early 1730s early Meeting Houses e.g. Hopewell Friends’ Meeting House 11:35 Quakers were English Scots-Irish Welsh and brought their own regional furniture traditions 11:48 David Lupton’s father and grandfather moved into the Shenandoah Valley and accumulated 1700 acres with grist and sawmills; in 1791 David Lupton (1757-1822) of Apple Pie Ridge, Frederick County, Va built $5k house; high chest, corner cupboard, desk and bookcase two now at Colonial Williamsburg 13:08 American Furniture 1997 https://chipstone.org/article.php/286/American-Furniture-1997/Crossroads-of-Culture:-Eighteenth-Century-Furniture-from-Western-Maryland ; https://chipstone.org/article.php/290/American-Furniture-1997/The-Furniture-of-Winchester,-Virginia ; https://chipstone.org/article.php/317/American-Furniture-1997/Adaptation-and-Reinterpretation:-The-Transfer-of-Furniture-Styles-from-Philadelphia-to-Winchester-to-Tennessee ; 13:30 also on MESDA website Nick Powers article on Quaker furniture makers https://www.mesdajournal.org/2018/friends-in-high-places-quaker-furniture-makers-in-virginias-northern-shenandoah-valley/ ; 13:42 The 1795 Lupton family High Chest compared to a 1765-75 Philadelphia Rococo High Chest; Lupton’s is really a Neo-classical adaptation of the earlier Rococo form 15:05 Lupton desk and bookcase, well-constructed objects – see Gusler 1997 (link above) 16:38 Lupton close-ups 17:02 confluence of the Potomac and the Shenandoah 17:32 sophisticated sideboard, Winchester, Frederick County VA. in mahogany and rosewood; 17:58 moving up the Valley, German-speaking families from Pennsylvania Lutherans who would fight (Quakers wouldn’t) moving in from 1740s 19:08 Fort Egypt in Page County VA 19:17 compare Quaker 1740s Ross’s Spring with Fort Egypt 1758 19:42 Mahatango Valley Farm 20:19 Chest, Shenandoah County 20:58 Fraktur, Jacob Strickler 1794 compared 21:14 to Hanging Cupboard and Clock by Johannas Spitler of Page County VA 21:30 more examples of Spitler’s work 21:34 Chests and Schrank 1779 with sulphur inlay 22:12 Shenandoah Valley sulphur inlay blanket chest compared alongside a 1777 Fraktur both decorated with hearts and tulips and urns 22:34 Abraham Käge 1788 Chest https://mesda.org/item/collections/blanket-chest/2402/ compared to John Siron 1793 chest https://emuseum.history.org/objects/2723/blanket-chest;jsessionid=93605B048050C3AE4188D12303697B42 ; 23:14 Scotch-Irish (Ulster Protestants) 23:47 settled in Beverley Manor Irish Track 24:08 John Lewis of Ulster who cleaved his landlord’s skull in twain 24:56 Irish described by Charles Wood Mason as ‘rude, ignorant, void of manners education or good breeding, no genteel or polite person among them, a set of the most lowest vilest crude breathing Scotch Irish Presbyterians from the north of Ireland’ 25:48 furniture simple solid and conservative https://mesda.org/item/collections/arm-chair/851/ ; https://emuseum.history.org/objects/35288/armchair-panel-back?ctx=ea89dfba2b39a0a2f4b1befcf13dfa90a97924ca&idx=127 ; 26:14 Augusta Stone Church 1747 26:25 Joseph Ray – Philadelphia, Wagon Road by 1759 in Augusta County 27:02 Dressing table Augusta County by Ray for John Lewis; 27:24 Joseph Ray and John Price, Augusta County, High Chests 1765 and 1775-95 and Longcase Clocks same dates 27:55 Longcase clocks by William Huston (Philadelphia then Augusta via the Wagon Road) 1775-95 Augusta case by Ray; 28:12 son James Huston also a clockmaker 28:42 Wagon Road connects to the Cumberland Road and the Wilderness Trail and Cumberland Gap 29:18 Chest on chest from Ray-Price shop and corner cupboard by Moses Crawford 1790-1810 in Knox County East Tennesee 29:50 C Tracey Parks article about Moses Crawford https://www.mesdajournal.org/2013/moses-crawford-tennessees-earliest-cabinetmaker-revealed/ ; 30:12 High chest on frame Thomas Pierce, Guilford County North Carolina 1785-95 and High chest on frame Virgil Eachus Chester County Pennsylvania 1789 30:47 David Osborne Guilford County North Carolina https://www.mesdajournal.org/2018/friendly-furniture-the-quaker-cabinetmakers-of-guilford-county-north-carolina-1775-1825/ ; 31:18 Frakturs from Pennsylvania and North and South Carolina by the Ehre Vater Artist 31:35 Paint-decorated blanket chests from Lebanon County Pennsylvania, Alamance County North Carolina, Wythe County Virginia, and Walton County Georgia, 31:47 Blanket chest, Christian Seltzer, Lebanon County PA 1796 and one by John Huddle, Wythe County VA 1825-30 ; 32:19 Convergences of traditions Chest of drawers, Moses Pyle, Chester County PA 1746 line and berry and one by Joseph Wells Alamance County North Carolina, sulphur inlay for a German client 32:53 Germanic Chair with Cherokee woven seat Walton County Georgia 1790-1820; 33:23 compare with Cherokee basket 33:30 Diamond Hill, Joseph Vann House, Cherokee Nation now Murray County Georgia Cherokee and Moravian 33:53 Punched tin decorated furniture for food safes 34:24 food safe at Colonial Williamsburg with linen 34:36 punched tin safe again Green County Tennessee 34:51 punched tin safe again Green County Tennessee with lights inside cf 35:23 example from Wythe County Virginia 35:31 one from Rockbridge County Virginia see Opening the Door. Safes of the Shenandoah Valley by Kurt C Russ and Jeffrey S Evans ISBN 9780984462421 Published by Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, 2017 35:53 Corner Cupboard Hugh McAdams Washington County Tennessee 1808 cf another Sullivan County Tennessee 1800-08 and desk/bookcase Wm Campbell Madison County Kentucky 1800-10 exuberant inlay 36:14 Amber Clawson article https://www.mesdajournal.org/2016/the-mcadams-family-of-cabinetmakers-and-the-cultural-palette-of-east-tennessees-rope-and-tassel-school-of-furniture/ ; 36:26 Desk Hugh McAdams Washington County Tennessee 1808 cf Wm McClure Green County Tennessee 1803-12 36:39 Trans-Appalachian West into Ohio River Valley 37:02 1810 Mason County Kentucky Census has 3 cabinet makers in Lewisburg. Gerrard Calvert John Foxworthy and Peter Tuttle. 37:30 Calvert Chest of drawers Mason County Kentucky 1795-1800 cf sugar desk 1800-15 37:47 Matt Cox fieldwork has identified more than 100 chests 38:31 Calvert/Foxworthy/Tuttle families start in Prince William County, Chesapeake Bay VA and move to Maizeville Washington and Lewisburg. Ohio River joins Mississippi and influence goes down to Louisiana 39:15 Calvert Chest of drawers Mason County speaks to New Orleans Armoire 1800-20 Pied de biche foot goes upstream while Anglo-American inlay tradition goes downstream creating new styles 40:31 What is Backcountry furniture? Not backwards – more dynamic 40:48 William Challen chairs Lexington Kentucky 1825-35 and his 1809 advertisement 41:10 Good Better Best 41:23
Good Better Best Backcountry not the best way to think about 41:38 VA SC PA WV on their own terms of people places they came from 42:22 Q&A topics include sulphur inlay, , punch-tin, Jeff Evans on vernacular chairs, fluted quarter columns in the north-west of England (any connection with Quakers?), repetition of motifs and possibly artists within Frakturs and painted chests; any link between sugar desks and Dutch grain desks? any link between Dutch painted furniture and US painted?
The Annual General Meeting of the Regional Furniture Society will be held at Bangor University in the Reichel Building on Sunday 9 July at 9:00 a.m.
The Agenda, the Minutes of the last AGM and the Annual Report & Accounts for 2022 will be posted on the website a week before the meeting, as well as being available at the Conference on 9 July.
The Annual Report and Accounts for 2022 can also be sent to any member requiring a paper version. They should contact the Secretary to request a copy and should send an A4 self-addressed envelope.
Regional Furniture Society 
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