James Gergat and Nancy Goyne Evans
The Decline and Rise of Francis Trumble: A Philadelphia Success Story

American Furniture 2023

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Map of South East England showing Beccles, Colchester, Ipswich, and London, the known locations of Francis Trumble prior to 1740.

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    Trade card of John Kendall, cabinetmaker, 1726. Illustrated in Essex County Standard, August 1, 1931. (© Trustees of the British Museum.)

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    Samuel Wale (1721-1786), John Sheppard Escaping from Newgate, undated. Pen, gray ink, and gray wash on paper. 6" x 4". (© Trustees of the British Museum.)

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Frederick Nash, The Press Yard, Newgate Prison, ca. 1840. Watercolor on paper. (© London Metropolitan Archives / Bridgeman Images.)

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    High-back Windsor armchair, attributed to Francis Trumble, Philadelphia, 1755–1762. Yellow poplar (seat) with maple, oak, and hickory (microanalysis). H. 44 7/8", W. (arms) 26 3/4", D. (seat) 16 3/4". (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum.)

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Low-back Windsor armchair, possibly by Francis Trumble, Philadelphia, 1760–1770. Yellow poplar, ash, white oak, soft maple, and hickory (replaced right stretcher, beech). H. 28 3/8", W. 27", D. 21 3/4". (Courtesy, Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg.)

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    Sack-back Windsor armchair, branded by Francis Trumble, 1770–1785. Tulip, soft maple, walnut, hickory, and oak (microanalysis). H. 37 13/16", W. 21 1/16“, D. 15 15/16". (Courtesy, Independence National Historical Park.)

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Fan-back Windsor side chair, branded by Francis Trumble, Philadelphia, ca. 1778–1785. Yellow poplar, maple, black walnut, oak, and hickory (microanalysis). H. 35 3/4", W. 23 1/2", D. 19 1/4". (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum.)

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9

    Bow-back Windsor side chair, branded by Francis Trumble, 1788–1795. Tulip, soft maple, white oak, and hickory (microanalysis). H. 35 9/16", W. 16 1/2", D. 16 9/16". (Courtesy, Independence National Historical Park.)

  • Figure 9a
    Figure 9a

    Detail of brand on underside of seat of chair in fig. 9. (Courtesy, Independence National Historical Park.)

  • Figure 10
    Figure 10

    Detail of Nicholas Scull’s Plan of the Improved Part of the City of Philadelphia, 1762; reprint, 1858. The circles indicate the locations of Francis Trumble’s shops and residences. (Courtesy, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.)

  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

    James Thackara, A View of the New Market, Philadelphia, 1787. Engraving on white wove paper, 3 7/16" x 6 5/8". (Courtesy, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, acc. no. 1876.9.481s.)

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    Buck Tavern, Moyamensing, Pennsylvania. Photograph, 1907. (Courtesy, Athenaeum of Philadelphia.)

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    Illman Brothers after Charles Willson Peale, The State House in Philadelphia, 1778, 1876. Engraving on paper. 7 1/2" x 9". (Courtesy, Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma.)

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14

    Edward Savage after Robert Edge Pine, Congress Voting Independence, 1906. Stipple and line engraving from unfinished plate. 18 7/8" x 25 11/16". (Courtesy, Reynolda House Museum of American Art, affiliated with Wake Forest University, gift of Barbara B. Millhouse.)

  • Figure 15
    Figure 15

    “Inventory of the Goods and Chattles of the Estate of Francis Trumble deceased,” p. 1 (fragment). Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683–1993, Ancestry.com.

  • Figure 16
    Figure 16

    “Inventory of the Goods and Chattles of the Estate of Francis Trumble deceased,” p. 2 (fragment). Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683–1993, Ancestry.com.