Donna K. Baron
Definition and Diaspora of Regional Style: The Worcester County Model

American Furniture 1995

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Chimney wall paneling and fireplace surround from the parlor of the Shumway House, Fiskedale, Massachusetts, ca. 1740. Pitch pine, 15' 3" x 13' 10" x 7' 10". (Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Purchased from the Helen and Alice Colburn Fund, acc. 25.620.) Reproduced with permission, ©2000 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. All rights Reserved.

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    Fireplace surround and corner cupboard in the Nathaniel Walker house, Sturbridge, Massachusetts, ca. 1765. (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, John O. Curtis.) www.osv.org

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    Side chair, possibly Worcester County, ca. 1770. Walnut with pine (slip seat). H. 37 3/4", W. 20 2/4", D. 17 3/8". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Henry E. Peach.) The side chair is from a set of six, all having original needlework seat covers. www.osv.org

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Chest of drawers, possibly Worcester County, ca. 1760. Mahogany with unidentified secondary woods. H. 31", W. 36 1/4", D. 21 3/4". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Henry E. Peach.) www.osv.org

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Ladder-back armchair, possibly Worcester County, 1730-1780. Woods unidentified. H. 38 3/4", W. 23". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Henry E. Peach.) The rockers are nineteenth-century additions. www.osv.org

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Photograph showing the Chase family of Southbridge, Massachusetts, on their front lawn with a pair of crooked-back side chairs dating 1740-1760. (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village.) www.osv.org

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    Swelled-front bureau signed and dated Alden Spooner Athol 1807. Cherry and ash with unidentified conifer. H. 35 1/2", W. 39 1/2", D. 21 1/4". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Henry E. Peach.) www.osv.org

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Swelled-front bureau signed Spooner & Fitts Athol, 1808-1813. Cherry and maple veneer with unidentied conifer. H. 42 3/4", W. 44 3/4", D. 23 1/8". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Henry E. Peach.) www.osv.org

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9

    Desk by Ezekiel Brigham, Grafton, Massachusetts, ca. 1812. Mahogany and mahogany veneer with unidentied conifer. H. 44 1/4", W. 41", D. 17 5/8". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Thomas Neill.) www.osv.org

  • Figure 10
    Figure 10 Swelled-front bureau by George W. Holmes, Sturbridge, Massachusetts, 1820-1830. Cherry with unidentied conifer. H. 42 3/8", W. 42 3/4", D. 21 3/8". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Thomas Neill.) www.osv.org
  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

    Bedstead, probably Barre, Massachusetts, ca. 1830. Maple and pine; original blue-green paint. H. 31 1/2", L. 74 3/4", W. 51 3/4". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Henry E. Peach.) www.osv.org

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    Ladder-back chair, probably Barre, Massachusetts, 1800-1840. Woods unidentified. H. 41 3/4", W. 17 3/4", D. 135/8". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Henry E. Peach.) The chair is from a set of six. www.osv.org

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    Chest, probably Barre, Massachusetts, 1810-1840. Pine; original painted decoration. H. 18", W. 43 7/8", D. 18". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Henry E. Peach.) www.osv.org

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14 Advertisement published in the 1844 Worcester Almanac, Directory & Business Advertiser by Lansford Wood, a cabinetmaker and furniture wareroom operator. (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Thomas Neill.) www.osv.org
  • Figure 15
    Figure 15 Common chair by Joel Pratt Jr., Sterling, Massachusetts, 1820-1840. Pine (seat) and unidentified hardwoods. H. 32 1/2", W. 16", D. 15 7/8". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Thomas Neill.) The chair is from a set of six. www.osv.org
  • Figure 16
    Figure 16 Fancy chair, Worcester County, Massachusetts, 1830-1850. Flag (seat) and unidentified hardwoods. H. 33 1/4", W. 17 3/8", D. 14 7/8". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Jan Stittleburg.) Worcester County chairmakers probably referred to such chairs as "screwed back. This example descended in an Auburn (Ward), Massachusetts, family. www.osv.org
  • Figure 17
    Figure 17

    Common rocking chair by Levi Pratt of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, 1830-1840. Pine (seat) and unidentified hardwoods. H. 31", W. 17 1/4", D. 24 1/4". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Thomas Neill.) www.osv.org

  • Figure 18
    Figure 18 Settee by Charles Webster Bush, Gardner, Massachusetts, 1835-1845. Pine (seat) and unidentified hardwoods. H. 34", W. 83", D. 15". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Thomas Neill.) This settee is the earliest known example of labeled Gardner seating furniture. www.osv.org
  • Figure 19
    Figure 19

    "Common" chair by John David Pratt, Lunenburg, Massachusetts, 1825-1840. White pine (seat) and unidentified hardwoods; original yellow paint and stenciled decoration. H. 34 13/16", W. 17 1/4", D. 15 7/8". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Thomas Neill.) The chair is from a set of four. www.osv.org

  • Figure 20
    Figure 20 Side chair, Worcester County, 1820-1840. White pine (seat) and unidentified hardwoods; original red over black graining and stencil decoration. H. 32 7/8", W. 16 1/2", D. 16 1/8". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Henry E. Peach.) The chair has a solid history of ownership in the county. www.osv.org
  • Figure 21
    Figure 21

    Fancy chair, possibly Worcester County, 1830-1840. Woods unidentified. H. 33 1/2", W. 17 1/2", D. 16". (Courtesy, Western Reserve Historical Society.)

  • Figure 22
    Figure 22

    Scrolled-arm rocking chair by Abijah Wetherbee, New Ipswich, New Hampshire, 1815-1840. Pine (seat) and unidentified hardwoods. H. 43 1/2", W. 23 1/8", D. 22 1/4". (Courtesy, New Hampshire Historical Society.)

  • Figure 23
    Figure 23

    Scrolled-arm rocking chair by John Bradley Hudson and John Loring Brooks, Portland, Maine, 1815-1823. Pine, maple, and mahogany. H. 45", W. 20 3/4", D. 27". (Courtesy, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Skromme, 1971, acc. 1971.161.) All rights reserved, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

  • Figure 24
    Figure 24

    Common chair by Samuel Kilburn White, Fairfield or Dexter, Maine, ca. 1836-1840. Probably basswood (seat) and birch. H. 33", W. 17", D. 18 1/2". (Courtesy, Maine State Museum.)

  • Figure 25
    Figure 25 Common chair attributed to Walter Corey, Portland, Maine, 1830-1840. White pine (seat) and unidentified hardwoods. H. 32 7/8", W. 15 3/4", D. 15 1/4". (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village; photo, Henry E. Peach.) www.osv.org
  • Figure 26
    Figure 26 Side chair by Stephen Kilburn, probably Sterling or Templeton, Massachusetts, 1820- 1825. Materials and dimensions not recorded. (Courtesy, Historic Deerfield; photo, Jennifer Mange.) www.historic-deerfield.org