Southside Virginia, possibly Surry County, 1760-1780
Black walnut with yellow pine, oak, and boxwood or maple
Catalog no. 139
This neat and plain desk and bookcase was made in the vicinity of Surry County, Virginia, a rural district in the eighteenth century. Although the exposed parts were well conceived and nicely finished, the coarsely cut backboards are at odds with urban cabinetmaking practices. Set into rabbets on the case sides, the boards are heavily nailed to the back of each bookcase shelf. Compare this construction with that on the back of the desk to the right. This desk and bookcase also exhibits the prevalent use of pinned joinery, laminated cornice molding, and skillfully sash-molded muntins in the doors, all of which suggest an artisan familiar with carpentry and architectural conventions produced it. This conclusion is further supported by the plinths bracing the rear feet, which appear to be a pair of unfinished blanks for staircase spandrels (see illustration).