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Figure 1  Desk-and-bookcase, Providence, Rhode Island, 1775–1785. Mahogany with white pine.
H. 97", W. 42", D. 26". (Courtesy, Rhode Island Historical Society; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 2  Chest-on-chest, Providence, Rhode Island, 1775–1785. Mahogany with chestnut and white pine. H. 86 3/4", W. 411/2", D. 21 3/4". (Collection of George M. and Linda H. Kaufman; photo, Dirk Bakker.) John Brown’s daughters inscribed the piece “1785/Abby Brown/1786/Sally Brown.”

Figure 3  Chest-on-chest, Providence, Rhode Island, 1775–1790. Mahogany with chestnut and white pine. H. 91", W. 40 3/8", D. 22". (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum.)

Figure 4  John Carlisle, Jr., desk, Providence, Rhode Island, 1760–1785. Mahogany with chestnut, white pine, and cedar. H. 43 1/2", W. 42 1/2", D. 22 1/2". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 5  Chest-on-chest, Providence, Rhode Island, 1785–1800. Mahogany with white pine. H. 92 1/2", W. 42 3/4", D. 24 1/2". (Courtesy, Cleveland Museum of Art, gift of Moselle Taylor Meals.)

Figure 6  Desk-and-bookcase, Newport, Rhode Island, 1760–1790. Mahogany with chestnut, white pine, yellow pine, and cherry. H. 107 1/4", W. 44 2/3", D. 25 1/5". (Courtesy, Yale University Art Gallery, Mabel Brady Garvan Collection.)

Figure 7   Joseph Brown house, 50 South Main Street, Providence, Rhode Island, 1773–1774. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 8  Facing page: Owners of Lots in Providence from Power Street to Smith Street, taken from Henry R. Chace, Owners and Occupants of the Lots, Houses, and Shops in the Town of Providence Rhode Island in 1798 (Providence: Livermore & Knight, 1914), pl. 3. (Courtesy, Printed Book and Periodical Collection, Winterthur Museum Library.)

Figure 9  Chest-on-chest, Newport, Rhode Island, 1762–1775. Mahogany with chestnut, cherry, and pine. H. 82 1/2", W. 42", D. 21 1/2". (Courtesy, Chipstone Foundation; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 10  Tall case clock with movement by George Sommersall (London), Providence, Rhode Island, 1765–1785. Mahogany with white pine. H. 84 1/2", W. 20 1/4", D. 11 5/8". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 11  Tall case clock with movement by Seril Dodge, Providence, Rhode Island, 1765–1785. Mahogany with white pine and maple. H. 85 1/2", W. 21", D. 10 5/8". (Private collection; photo, Sotheby’s.)

Figure 12  Desk-and-bookcase, Providence, Rhode Island, 1769–1775. Mahogany with chestnut and white pine. H. 86", W. 39 1/2", D. 23". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 13  Second-floor hallway of the Nicholas Brown, Jr., house, 357 Benefit Street, Providence, Rhode Island, ca. 1870. (Courtesy, John Nicholas Brown Center for the Study of American Civilization, Brown University.)

Figure 14  Secretary-and-bookcase, Providence, Rhode Island, 1795–1810. Mahogany with chestnut, cedar, and white pine. H. 110", W. 47", D. 22 7/8". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 15  Secretary-and-bookcase, Providence, Rhode Island, 1795–1810. Mahogany with cherry and white pine. H. 100 1/4", W. 48", D. 43 1/2". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 16  Owners of Lots in Providence, taken from Henry R. Chace, Owners and Occupants of the Lots, Houses, and Shops in the Town of Providence Rhode Island in 1798 , pl. 11. (Courtesy, Printed Book and Periodical Collection, Winterthur Museum Library.)

Figure 17  Desk-and-bookcase, Providence, Rhode Island, 1765–1785. Cherry with chestnut and white pine. H. 92 3/8", W. 38 1/2", D. 23 1/4". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) The use of chestnut as a secondary wood is common in Rhode Island furniture but relatively rare in Massachusetts work.

Figure 18  Owners of Lots in Providence from Power Street to Fox Point, taken from Henry R. Chace, Owners and Occupants of the Lots, Houses, and Shops in the Town of Providence Rhode Island in 1798, pl. 1. (Courtesy, Printed Book and Periodical Collection, Winterthur Museum Library.)

Figure 19  Detail of a convex shell on a Newport chest of drawers. (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum.)

Figure 20  Detail of a convex shell on the chest-on-chest illustrated in fig. 3.

Figure 21  Detail of a foot on the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 1. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 22  Detail of a foot on the chest-on-chest illustrated in fig. 3.

Figure 23  Detail showing the front foot construction of the chest-on-chest illustrated in fig. 3.

Figure 24  Detail showing the rear foot construction of the chest-on-chest illustrated in fig. 3.

Figure 25  Detail of the dovetails on a drawer from a Newport chest of drawers. (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum.)

Figure 26  Detail showing the saw kerf on a drawer from the chest-on-chest illustrated in fig. 3.

Figure 27  Detail of the interior of the desk illustrated in fig. 4. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 28  Detail of miter joints on the doors of the secretary-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 14. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 29  High chest, attributed to Grindal Rawson, Providence, Rhode Island, 1750–1770. Cherry with chestnut and pine. H. 72", W. 38 3/4", D. 22". (Courtesy, Decorative Arts Photographic Collection, Winterthur Museum Library.)

Figure 30  Detail of the knee carving on the high chest illustrated in fig. 29.

Figure 31  Detail of the carving on the plinth of the tall clock case illustrated in fig. 10. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 32  Tall case clock with movement by Edward Spalding, Providence, Rhode Island, 1765–1785. Mahogany with pine and chestnut. H. 96", W. 19", D. 12". (Private collection; photo Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 33  Tall case clock with movement by Edward Spalding, Providence, Rhode Island, 1765–1785.
Walnut. Dimensions not recorded. (Courtesy, John S. Walton.)

Figure 34  Detail of a rosette on the tall case clock illustrated in fig. 10. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 35  Detail of a rosette on the tall case clock illustrated in fig. 11. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 36  Detail of a rosette on the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 17. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 37  Detail of a through-tenon used in the construction of the hood of the tall case clock illustrated in fig. 10. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 38  Detail of a through-tenon used in the construction of the tall case clock illustrated in fig. 10. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 39  Detail of one of the fallboard supports and blocking of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 17. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 40  Detail of the interior of the bookcase section of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in
fig. 17. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 41  Detail of the interior of the desk section of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in
fig. 17. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 42  Detail of the interior of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 12. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 43  Detail of a door on the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 12. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 44  Detail of the joint between the base molding and bottom board of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 12. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.) The sides of the dovetails are not as flared as those on Massachusetts examples.

Figure 45  Chest of drawers, Newport or Providence, Rhode Island, 1755–1785. Mahogany with yellow poplar, white pine, red cedar, and chestnut. H. 32 2/5", W. 36 4/5", D. 21 1/5". (Courtesy, Yale University Art Gallery, Mabel Brady Garvan Collection.)

Figure 46  Detail of a foot on the desk illustrated in fig. 4. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 47  Detail of the interior of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 1. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 48  Detail of the joint between the base molding and bottom board of the chest-on-chest illustrated in fig. 2. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 49  Detail of a shell on a drawer of the chest-on-chest illustrated in fig. 3.

Figure 50  Detail of the score marks on an interior backboard of the chest-on-chest illustrated in
fig. 2. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.) These marks were probably made by a lumberman grading or sorting the planks.

Figure 51  Chalk sketch of a side chair drawn on a drawer bottom of the chest-on-chest illustrated in fig. 3.

Figure 52  Chalk sketch of an urn finial drawn on the bottom board of the lower case of the chest-on-chest illustrated in fig. 3.

Figure 53  Clothespress, Philadelphia, 1780–1790. Mahogany with tulip poplar and white cedar.
H. 100", W. 47 3/4", D. 24 1/2". (Private collection, on loan to the Rhode Island Historical Society; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 54  Detail of the dovetails on a drawer of the chest-on-chest illustrated in fig. 5.

Figure 55  Detail of the dovetails on a drawer of the chest-on-chest illustrated in fig. 3.

Figure 56  Detail (left) of the waist moldings of the chest-on-chest illustrated in fig. 5. (Artwork, Wynne Patterson.)

Figure 57  Detail (right) of the waist moldings of the chest-on-chest illustrated in fig. 3. (Artwork, Wynne Patterson.)

Figure 58  Desk-and-bookcase, Providence, Rhode Island, 1760–1785 (desk), 1795–1810 (bookcase). Mahogany with chestnut, white pine, and cedar. H. 95 1/2", W. 42 1/2", D. 22 1/2". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) The bookcase was produced at a later date to accompany the desk by John Carlile, Jr. (see fig. 4).

Figure 59  Detail showing the back edge of the cornice moldings of the secretary-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 15. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

Figure 60  Desk-and-bookcase, Providence or Newport, Rhode Island, 1760–1790. Mahogany with cherry, chestnut, and tulip poplar. H. 89", W. 39", D. 24". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)