The Cost of Things

The individual features on these three Philadelphia chairs are listed in the 1772 Philadelphia Prices of Chair and Cabinet Work. In this publication, the first column indicates the price for furniture made of expensive imported mahogany; the second column lists the price for the same form made of native walnut; and the third column lists the wages paid to the journeymen workers. All three chairs seen here are made of mahogany and feature “extraordinary carved work” that would have added considerably to their final cost.

Armchair, ca. 1770
Carving attributed to John Pollard
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mahogany, pine, and reproduction silk upholstery
Lent by the Chipstone Foundation 1992.10

Side Chair, 1770
Attributed to Benjamin Randolph
(American, 1721–91)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mahogany, wool-on-linen embroidery, and silk damask
Lent by the Chipstone Foundation 1990.5

The wealthiest American colonials often filled their homes with extraordinary furnishings, some imported from Europe and others commissioned from the best artisans working in the colonies. In 1770 John Cadwalader and his wife Elizabeth, a wealthy member of the Lloyd family of Maryland, ordered a large suite of furniture for their fashionable Philadelphia townhouse. Included in this ornately carved set were twelve chairs including the example seen here, two card tables, a tea table, an upholstered easy chair and two matching sofas, two desks, and even a harpsichord case. The Cadwaladers paid the remarkable sum of £344 to furnish this one room—more than twice what many Philadelphians paid for their entire houses.

Prices of Cabinet and Chair Work, 1772
Philadelphia
Printed by James Humphreys, Junior

This facsimile of The 1772 Philadelphia Furniture Price Book appears courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Photos Gavin Ashworth.