Emelie Gevalt
Revisiting Taunton: Robert Crosman, Esther Stevens Brazer, and the Changing Interpretations of Taunton Chests

American Furniture 2018

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Miniature chest of drawers, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1729. White pine with maple; paint. H. 22 1/2", W. 21", D. 11 1/2." (Private collection; photo, © 2006 Christie’s Images Limited.)

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    Detail showing the painted inscription on the reverse of the chest illustrated in fig. 1. 

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    Miniature chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1727. White pine with chestnut; paint. H. 20 1/2", W. 22 5/8*", D. 13." (Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Bayou Bend, gift of Miss Ima Hogg, B.57.92.) This is a group A chest.

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1729. White pine; paint. H. 32 3/4", W. 35", D. 17". (Courtesy, Currier Museum of Art.) This is a group B chest.

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1735. White pine with cedar; paint. H. 32 1/2", W. 35 1/2", D. 17". (Courtesy, Metropolitan Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. J. Insley Blair, 1945, 45.78.5.) This is a group C chest.

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Details of wavy lines (from left to right, top to bottom) on the chests illustrated in cat. nos. 2, 8, 7, 20, 15.

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    Details of three-berry clusters (from left to right, top to bottom) on the chests illustrated in cat. nos. 2, 9, 8, 1, 13, 22.

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Details of tulips (from left to right, top to bottom) on the chests illustrated in cat. nos. 9, 13, 16, 15, 17, 19.

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9

    Details of raspberry-type motifs (from left to right, top to bottom) on the chests illustrated in cat. nos. 9, 8, 13, 24.

  • Figure 10
    Figure 10

    Details of thorn-like leaves (from left to right) on the chests illustrated in cat. nos. 22, 9, 7.

  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

    Details of roosting birds (from left to right, top to bottom) on the chests illustrated in cat. nos. 24, 9, 13, 15, 8, 16.

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    Details of flying birds (from left to right, top to bottom) on the chests illustrated in cat. nos. 25, 9, 17, 15, 8, 19, 13.

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    Details of branches and berries (from left to right) on the chests illustrated in cat. nos. 2, 1, and 20.

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14

    Details of the thorny leaves on the chests illustrated in cat. no. 21 (left) and cat. no. 3 (right).

  • Figure 15
    Figure 15

    Digital overlay of the tree and bird motifs on the chest illustrated in cat. no. 9. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 16
    Figure 16

    Detail showing the drawer construction of the chest illustrated in fig. 4. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 17
    Figure 17

    Detail showing the construction of the chest illustrated in cat. no. 7. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 18
    Figure 18

    Detail showing the lock from the chest illustrated in cat. no. 8. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 19
    Figure 19

    Detail showing the reverse of the lock illustrated in figure 18. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 20
    Figure 20

    Detail of the inscription on the reverse of the chest illustrated in cat. no. 23. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 21
    Figure 21

    Robert Crosman, drum, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1740. Oak; paint. H. 18", diam. 15". (Courtesy, Museum of the American Revolution.) This drum has been repainted.

  • Figure 22
    Figure 22

    Robert Crosman, drum, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1739. Oak; paint. H. 14 1/4", diam. 16 1/2". (Courtesy, Old Colony History Museum; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) This drum has been repainted.

  • Figure 23
    Figure 23

    Detail showing the label on the drum illustrated in figure 22. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 24
    Figure 24

    J. S. Howard, Taunton Green in 1790, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1790–1870. Watercolor on
    paper. 5 3/5" x 5 1/10". (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum.)

  • Figure 25
    Figure 25

    Photograph of Esther Stevens Brazer, 1940–1945. (Courtesy, Historical Society of Early American Decoration.)

  • Figure 26
    Figure 26

    Photograph of Esther Stevens Brazer at work, 1940–1945. (Courtesy, Historical Society of Early American Decoration.)

  • Figure 27
    Figure 27

    Photograph of Esther Stevens Brazer (right) with an unidentified subject, 1940–1945. (Courtesy, Historical Society of Early American Decoration.)    

  • Figure 28
    Figure 28

    Detail of the chest illustrated in fig. 4. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 29
    Figure 29

    Chest of drawers, southeastern Massachusetts, 1700–1725. White pine and maple; paint. H. 39 1/2," W. 36" (case), D. 20 1/2" (case). (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 30
    Figure 30

    Detail of the decoration on the chest of drawers illustrated in figure 29. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 31
    Figure 31

    Chest of drawers, southeastern Massachusetts, 1700–1725. Pine; paint. H. 41", W. 36 3/4", D. 20 1/2". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 32
    Figure 32

    Detail of the decoration on the chest of drawers illustrated in figure 31. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 33
    Figure 33

    Chest of drawers, probably Taunton, Massachusetts. 1700–1730. Pine; paint. H. 39 3/4", W. 37", D. 19". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) This chest has a shipping label for the Taunton Express and is inscribed “WR Atwood, Aurora, Cuyuga County.” William Richmond Atwood was born into an old Taunton family and was related to the Atwoods who owned the chest illustrated in cat. no. 9. He was listed as living in Aurora, N.Y., according to the 1850 Federal Census (Sotheby’s, Property from the Collection of Irvin and Anita Schorsch, New York, January 20–22, 2016, lot 425).

  • Figure 34
    Figure 34

    Detail of the vines on the chest of drawers illustrated in fig. 33. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 35
    Figure 35

    Chest with drawer, probably Taunton area, Massachusetts, 1700–1725. White pine; paint. H. 21 1/2", W. 18 1/2", D. 43." (Courtesy, Brooklyn Museum of Art.) The crude construction of this chest, which was made without dovetails, sets it apart from the Crosman group; however, the related decoration suggests that Crosman’s designs may have been influenced by an earlier local tradition.

  • Figure 36
    Figure 36

    Jean Le Pautre, ornamental design, Paris, 1640–1682. (Jean Le Pautre, Collection des plus belles compositions de Lepautre, gravée par Decloux, architecte, et Doury, peintre [Paris: E. Noblet, 1854]; courtesy, Winterthur Library, Printed Book and Periodical Collection.)

  • Figure 37
    Figure 37

    Jean Bérain, design for a lock, Paris 1640–1711. (After Hugues Brisville, Diverses pièces de serruriers, Paris: N. Langlois, ca. 1663, p. 10, recto; courtesy, Metropolitan Museum of Art.)

  • Figure 38
    Figure 38

    Page from the design book of Jean Berger, Boston, 1718. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 39
    Figure 39

    Printer’s ornament, used by James Franklin and Samuel Kneeland, Boston, 1718. (Elizabeth Carroll Reilly, A Dictionary of Colonial American Printer’s Ornaments and Illustrations [Worcester, Mass.: American Antiquarian Society, 1975]; courtesy, Winterthur Library, Printed Book and Periodical Collection.)

  • Figure 40
    Figure 40

    High chest of drawers, Boston, Massachusetts, 1710–1725. Japanned pine with maple. H. 61", W. 40 1/2", D. 22", (Chipstone Foundation; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) Japanning probably by Nehemiah Partridge.

  • Figure 41
    Figure 41

    Bed hanging, Connecticut, 1750–1800. Linen, cotton, and wool. 72 3/4" x 33 1/4". (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum.)

  • Figure 42
    Figure 42

    Palampore, India, 1750–1800. Cotton. 105 1/4" x 79 3/4". (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum.)

  • Figure 43
    Figure 43

    Palampore, India, 1700–1800. Cotton and linen. 111" x 87". (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum.)

  • Figure 44
    Figure 44

    Miniature chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1725–1728. Pine; paint. H. 20 1/2", W. 12 1/2", D. 12 1/2."

  • Figure 45
    Figure 45

    Miniature chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1725–1730. Pine; paint. H. 20 3/4", W. 22 1/2", D. 12 3/4."

  • Figure 46
    Figure 46

    Miniature chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1725–1730. Pine; paint. H. 21", W. 22 5/8", D. 13."

  • Figure 47
    Figure 47

    Miniature chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1725–1730. Pine; paint. H. 20 1/2", W. 22 1/4", D. 12 3/4."

  • Figure 48
    Figure 48

    Miniature chest with drawer, probably by Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1725–1730. Pine; paint. H. 21 1/2", W. 21", D. 12 1/4."

  • Figure 49
    Figure 49

    Miniature chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, 1727. Pine and chestnut; paint. H. 20 1/2", W. 22 5/8", D. 13."

  • Figure 50
    Figure 50

    Miniature chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1728. Pine; paint. H. 20 1/2", W. 21", D. 12 1/4."

  • Figure 51
    Figure 51

    Chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1729. Pine; paint. H. 32 3/4", W. 35", D. 17."

  • Figure 52
    Figure 52

    Chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, 1729. Pine; paint. H. 32 1/4", W. 35 1/2", D. 17."

  • Figure 53
    Figure 53

    Chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, ca. 1729. Pine, paint. H. 33 7/8", W. 35 7/8", D. 17 1/2."

  • Figure 54
    Figure 54

    Chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, ca. 1729. Pine; paint. H. 32 3/4", W. 38 1/2", D. 18 1/2."    

  • Figure 55
    Figure 55

    Chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1731. Pine; paint. H. 32 1/2", W. 37 3/4", D. 17 3/4".

  • Figure 56
    Figure 56

    Chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1731. Pine; paint. H. 32", W. 35", D. 17 1/4."

  • Figure 57
    Figure 57

    Chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1732. Pine; paint. H. 32 1/2", W. 36", D. 17 3/4."

  • Figure 58
    Figure 58

    Chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1735. Pine and cedar; paint. H. 32 1/2", W. 35 1/2", D. 17."

  • Figure 59
    Figure 59

    Chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1735. Pine; paint. H. 32", W. 35", D. 18."

  • Figure 60
    Figure 60

    Chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1736. Pine; paint. H. 31 1/2", W. 37", D. 17 1/2."

  • Figure 61
    Figure 61

    Miniature chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1738. Pine; paint. H. 20", W. 21", D. 12 1/2."

  • Figure 62
    Figure 62

    Miniature chest with drawers, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1742. Pine, red oak, and chestnut; paint. H. 24", W. 21 3/4", D. 13 1/2."

  • Figure 63
    Figure 63

    Chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1725–1730. Pine; paint. H.  32 1/2", W. 38 1/2", 18 1/2."

  • Figure 64
    Figure 64

    Chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1726. Pine; paint. H. 18", W. 36", D. 17 1/4."

  • Figure 65
    Figure 65

    Chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1727. Pine; paint. H. 32 1/2", W. 37 1/2", D. 16 3/4."

  • Figure 66
    Figure 66

    Chest of drawers, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1727. Pine; modern paint. H. 31 1/2", W. 35 3/4", D. 18 3/4."

  • Figure 67
    Figure 67

    Miniature chest of drawers, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massa-chusetts, 1729. Pine and maple; paint. H. 22 1/2", W. 21", D. 11 1/2."

  • Figure 68
    Figure 68

    Box with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1729–1742. Pine; paint. H. 10", W. 15 3/4", D. 9."

  • Figure 69
    Figure 69

    Box with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, 1729–1742. Pine; paint. Dimensions unknown

  • Figure 70
    Figure 70

    Chest with drawer, attributed to Robert Crosman, 1729–1742. H. 32 1/2", W. 42 1/4", D. 16 1/2."