Maurie D. McInnis and Robert A. Leath
Beautiful Specimens, Elegant Patterns: New York Furniture for the Charleston Market, 1810–1840

American Furniture 1996

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Card table attributed to Deming and Bulkley, New York City, ca. 1825. Rosewood and satinwood veneer with white pine. H. 30", W. 37 1/8", D. 18 1/2". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    Thomas Middleton, Friends and Amateurs in Musick, Charleston, 1827. Wash drawing with touches of white on paper. (Courtesy, Gibbes Museum of Art/Carolina Art Association, gift of Henry Cheves.) This 1827 drawing of Arthur Middleton’s house depicts an elite Charleston interior with its large painting collection and inherited furniture from earlier periods. The rush-seated fancy chairs and sideboard are typical of northern furniture shipped to Charleston from 1810 to 1840.

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3 Painted armchair, English, ca. 1815. Woods unrecorded. H. 34 1/2", W. 18", D. 20". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
  • Figure 4
    Figure 4 Detail of the gilded diapering and chinoiserie decoration on the armchair illustrated in fig. 3. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Gilbert Stuart, Sarah I’on Lowndes,Washington, D. C., ca. 1803. Oil on canvas. (Courtesy, Gibbes Museum of Art/Carolina Art Association, bequest of Mrs. Royal Phelps Carroll.)

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Side chair attributed to Duncan Phyfe, New York City, ca. 1815. Mahogany; secondary woods and dimensions unrecorded. (Courtesy of Sack Heritage Group.) www.sackheritagegroup.com

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    Detail of the carved lyre back of the side chair illustrated in fig. 6. (Courtesy of Sack Heritage Group.) www.sackheritagegroup.com

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Side chair, New York City, ca. 1815. Mahogany with ash. H. 33", W. 16 3/4", D. 22". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9 Recamier, New York City, ca. 1815. Maple; secondary woods and dimensions unrecorded. (Private collection.)
  • Figure 10
    Figure 10

    Card table attributed to Charles Honoré Lannuier, New York City, ca. 1815. Mahogany; secondary woods and dimensions unrecorded. (Private collection.)

  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

    Center table by Deming and Bulkley, New York City, 1828. Rosewood veneer with white pine and ash. H. 30 1/2", Diam. 36". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    Design for a round monopodium or table illustrated on pl. 39 in Thomas Hope, Household Furniture and Interior Decoration (1807). (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum.)

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    Detail of the freehand gilded decoration on the pedestal of the center table illustrated in fig. 11. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14

    Design for a center table illustrated in Rudolph Ackermann’s Repository of Arts, Literature, Commerce, Manufactures, Fashions and Politics, May 1825, pp. 305–6. (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum.)

  • Figure 15
    Figure 15 Detail of the gilded swan decoration on the skirt of the center table illustrated in fig. 11. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
  • Figure 16
    Figure 16 Card table attributed to Deming and Bulkley, New York City, ca. 1825. Rosewood veneer and mahogany with white pine. H. 29 1/2", W. 36", D. 18". (Courtesy, Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) http://charlestonmuseum.org
  • Figure 17
    Figure 17

    Detail of the gilded swan decoration and cell-pattern diapering on the skirt of the card table illustrated in fig. 16. (Courtesy, Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) http://charlestonmuseum.org

  • Figure 18
    Figure 18

    Edward Greene Malbone, Colonel Thomas Pinckney, Charleston, ca. 1804. Watercolor on ivory. (Courtesy, Gibbes Museum of Art/Carolina Art Association.)

  • Figure 19
    Figure 19

    Card table attributed to Deming and Bulkley, New York City, ca. 1825. Rosewood veneer with white pine, tulip poplar, and oak. H. 29 1/4", W. 37 1/4", D. 18 3/4". (Courtesy, The Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) http://charlestonmuseum.org

  • Figure 20
    Figure 20

    Detail of the grapevine border and flower basket on the top of the card table illustrated in fig. 19. (Courtesy, The Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) http://charlestonmuseum.org

  • Figure 21
    Figure 21

    Detail of the velvet playing surface on the card table illustrated in fig. 19. (Courtesy, The Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) http://charlestonmuseum.org

  • Figure 22
    Figure 22

    Card table illustrated in fig. 1 opened to the original velvet playing surface. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 23
    Figure 23 Detail of the grapevine border and satinwood edging on the top of the card table illustrated in fig. 22. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
  • Figure 24
    Figure 24

    Card table attributed to Deming and Bulkley, New York City, ca. 1825. Mahogany veneer with white pine, beech, oak, and poplar. H. 283/4", W. 37 1/4", D. 18 3/4". (Courtesy, The Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) http://charlestonmuseum.org

  • Figure 25
    Figure 25

    Card table, English, ca. 1813. Rosewood veneer with brass inlay; secondary woods and dimensions unrecorded. (Courtesy, Royal Pavilion, Brighton, England.)

  • Figure 26
    Figure 26

    Recamier attributed to Deming and Bulkley, New York City, ca. 1830. Rosewood veneer and mahogany with oak, ash, and poplar. H. 38 1/2", W. 90 1/2", D. 25". (Courtesy, The Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) http://charlestonmuseum.org

  • Figure 27
    Figure 27

    Detail of the crest rail on the recamier illustrated in fig. 26. (Courtesy, The Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) http://charlestonmuseum.org

  • Figure 28
    Figure 28

    Detail of an arm, foot, and brass inlay on the recamier illustrated in fig. 26. (Courtesy, The Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) http://charlestonmuseum.org

  • Figure 29
    Figure 29

    Sofa, New York City, ca. 1830. Mahogany and mahogany and rosewood veneer; secondary woods unrecorded. H. 38", W. 99", D. 25 1/2". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 30
    Figure 30

    Armchair by Deming and Bulkley, New York City, 1821. Maple. H. 33", W. 20 1/2", D. 17 1/2". (Courtesy, St. John’s Lutheran Church; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 31
    Figure 31

    Detail of the grapevine border and carved eagle heads on the lyre back of the armchair illustrated in fig 30. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 32
    Figure 32

    Detail of the grapevine border on the arms of the armchair illustrated in fig. 30. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 33
    Figure 33

    Painted side chair attributed to Deming and Bulkley, New York City, ca. 1825. Maple. H. 33 3/4", W. 16 3/4", D. 21 1/2". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 34
    Figure 34

    Detail of the freehand gilded eagle on the crest rail of the side chair illustrated in fig. 33. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 35
    Figure 35

    Sideboard by Deming and Bulkley, New York City, 1825. Mahogany veneer with tulip poplar and white pine. H. 52 1/2", W. 66 3/16", D. 24 5/8". (Private collection; photo, Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts.)

  • Figure 36
    Figure 36

    Center table with partial label by Deming and Bulkley, New York City, ca. 1835. Mahogany veneer with ash and white pine. H. 29 1/2", Diam. 35 3/4". (Private collection; photo, Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts.)

  • Figure 37
    Figure 37

    Secretary-and-bookcase with partial label by Deming and Bulkley, New York City, ca. 1835. Mahogany veneer with cedrela, white pine, and tulip poplar. H. 87 1/2", W. 73 1/2", D. 48 1/2". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 38
    Figure 38

    Detail of the Deming and Bulkley label on the secretary-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 37. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 39
    Figure 39 Aiken-Rhett house, Charleston, 1817; with 1833 and 1858 additions. (Courtesy, Historic Charleston Foundation.) www.historiccharleston.org
  • Figure 40
    Figure 40 Interior of the Aiken-Rhett house with original furnishings, photographed in 1918. The whereabouts of the dolphin card table in the lower lefthand corner is unknown. (Courtesy, Historic Charleston Foundation.) www.historiccharleston.org
  • Figure 41
    Figure 41

    Sideboard and cellaret attributed to Deming and Bulkley, New York City, ca. 1835. Mahogany veneer with white pine. H. 48 1/2", W. 73 1/2", D. 25". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)