This year has been a good one – maybe our second or third best since we started in 2007. I won’t have all the numbers for a couple weeks, but to close out the year, here are our top 10 books in terms of unit sales. There are some surprises.
The Anarchist’s Tool Chest: This book topped the list because we printed the last press run of the current edition in an original tan cover. (If you want a copy, you better snatch it because we are almost out.) I’m working on the revised edition, which will be in color and will be released in 2025.
The American Peasant: We sold out the first press run and we are now into the second.
Principles of Design: We printed (and sold) 3,000 copies in three months. We weren’t planning on doing a second run, but y’all changed our minds. This book will be back in stock in January.
Set & File: Not a surprise. This book sold well right out of the gate and has long legs.
Dutch Tool Chests: A surprisingly strong showing for a book that was released so late in the year (October). The book sold more copies on the first day than any book in our history.
Top: carved panel on the lower section of a high Chest of Drawers, dated 1765-1775, Philadelphia Museum of Art. Bottom: woodcut by William Caxton from his English-language edition of “Aesop’s Fables,” dated 1484, British Library.
Aesop’s Fables have long been an inspiration for carvers and “The Fox and the Grapes” can be found carved on furniture, frames and decorative panels. It offers the carver the opportunity to carve round grapes, grape leaves moving in a breeze, knotty trees and a fox with a bushy tail. In this example, on an 18th-century Philadelphia high chest, foliate swirls curl around the scene creating a frame.
The High Chest of Drawers & Dressing Table
The high chest and dressing table, Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art had the high chest of drawers in their collection from 1957, but the museum did not know of the dressing table until years later. The set is dated 1765-1775 and the maker is unknown. The chest would have been used to store textiles and the dressing table would likely be used in a ladies bedroom. The notes for the set identify the work as American because “the raised space underneath the high chest distinguishes it as a confection of North America since the British had abandoned that design by the 1730s.”
The high chest is certainly a bonbon of woodwork with an abundance of ornamentation from the carved urn at the top, a cascade of blooms along the front rails down to the claw and ball feet.
Dimensions of the high chest are: 8 ft.-3/4 in. x 46-1/2 in. x 25-3/4 in. (245.7 x 118.1 x 65.4 cm). Dressing table dimmensions are: 29-7/8 in. x 35 in. x 23-1/4 in. (79.9 x 88.9 x 59.1 cm).
Both pieces are made of mahogany, tulip poplar, white cedar and yellow pine. The drawer pulls and keyhole escutcheons are brass.
Why That Carving on This Chest and Dressing Table?
The museum notes, “Aesop’s moralistic tales were the only fiction Quakers were allowed to read.” The tale of “The Fox and the Grapes” features a fox trying its best to reach grapes hanging high above, but he cannot reach them. In William Caxton’s book, the disappoined fox turns away and complains the grapes are probably as sour as crabs. He dismisses what he can’t have. The high chest and the dressing table are the opposite: an expression of wanting, and having, it all. The two pieces were made with mahogany brought from the Caribbean and a skilled cabinetmaker and carvers put in long hours to complete the work. Each extra detail added to the expense of the set.
It was common to include designs inspired by the natural world on 18th-century furniture. The museum has similar profusely-ornamented high chests in their collection, with lower central panels carved with large scallop shells. A carved panel with a lesson is different. There is a dissonance between the carved panel and the luxury on display on each piece of the set. Was the person who commissioned the set sending a message to the recipient, as in, be thankful for what you have?
Who Was the Carver?
The carved panel and cartouche.
The fox and grapes panel sits above an elaborately-carved cartouche. Although the maker of the chest is unknown, it is thought the panel and cartouche were done by Martin Jugiez. A much-needed conservation and restoration of the high chest began in 2007.
Christopher Storb, then conservator for furniture and woodwork at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, wrote an article about the restoration of the high chest for the Spring 2008 issue of Antiques & Fine Art magazine. His article includes background information on Martin Jugiez and some surprising details concerning the cartouche. You can find the article here.
The gallery below shows a few more views of the high chest and dressing table. The last photo, from the article in Antiques & Fine Art magazine, shows the carved panel during restoration.
Ad in the Nashville Banner, October 28, 1830 via “Tennessee Cabinetmakers and Chairmakers Through 1840” by Ellen Beasley in Antiques Magazine, October 1971.
Well before gaining statehood in 1796, carpenters, cabinetmakers and chairmakers were leaving Eastern Seaboard states to settle in Tennessee. They crossed the mountains using The Great Road (also known as The Great Wagon Road). They advertised their services in local newspapers and, very fortunately for me, and possibly for you, these ads were collected by Ellen Beasley, a researcher for the Historic Sites Federation of Tennessee. Her sources were newspapers and the 1820 Census of Manufacturers.
Following is a selection of advertisements and census information dating from 1809 to 1840 taken from Ellen Beasley’s article, “Tennessee Cabinetmakers and Chairmakers Through 1840,” published in Antiques Magazine, October 1971. At the end of the ads you will see capital letters which are keys to the newspaper or census source.
John D. Goss on the Price of Mechanical Labor and a Hearse Available
In 1824 John Goss traveled by horseback from Baltimore to Nashville. The earliest ad for his cabinetmaking business is from 1830 (see the top figure). Goss’ advertisements are a good example of the “cradle to grave” services carpenters and cabinetmakers offered to the public. The last line in the illustration at top is, “N.B. He has also prepared himself to make with great dispatch the last article to which his fellow-men requires on this side of eternity.”
His 1831 ad included a promise to charge Cincinnati prices and in N.B. “A hearse shall be kept in rediness at all times.”
In an ad from 1837 the end-of-life service is again noted.
Eastern Styles Made Here
A cabinetmaker’s ad often pointed out their ability to make furniture in the styles of the large Eastern cities. They were up against furniture dealers importing and advertising furniture from New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and eventually Cincinnati.
You Made How Much ?
Where possible, Ellen Beasley matched a craftman’s ad to productivity information from the 1820 Census of Manufacturers. James S. Bridges was a chairmaker in Knoxville. An ad from August 1819 advises the public he has opened for business. At the end of his ad is a list of the shops’ productivity as found in the census (“Do” means ditto) and the census taker’s alternate spelling for chairs.
In the case of James Bridges we learn the types of chairs made in his shop.
Cabinetmaker John Ashton was located in Hawkins County in the northeast corner of the state. Without this bit of information from the 1820 Census we might not know of him.
Fine & Tasty Language
Many ads have similar language, likely the terms used were copy suggested by the newspaper. Mr. N. Bell, cabinetmaker of Lebanon,seems to have written his own copy and boldly claimsyou don’t have to go to the big city for fine tasty furniture.
A Bedstead Patentee
Many patents were issued that addressed the stability and comfort of bedsteads. Henry Boyd worked on improving the fastening of the rails to the vertical posts. A Thomas Early patent dealt with attaching bed curtains (one part of the whole range of bed clothes), a necessity in poorly heated bedrooms.
A Feud Between Chairmakers & a Forger Reported
When business slowed down it was a good idea to remind the public that you were still in business and where you could be found. In October 1810, Charle M’Karahan let everyone know he was still making chairs, and he could be found at the easy-to-remember location opposite the new jail.
John Priest set up his chairmaking business a couple years before M’Karahan. Here is his 1809 woodblock-print ad announcing his business. Nancy Goyne Evans included this image in her publications on Windsor chairs.
It seems within a year of M’Karahan settling in he had a disagreement with Priest over money. The feud was settled in court in December 1811 and Priest, with much apparent gloating, paid for an ad to let the public know.
About a year later Priest gave up chairmaking in Nashville and resorted to cabinetmaking.
M’Karahan continued to work in Nashville and issued a public service announcement in early 1813 warning that another chairmaker was a forger.
Malicious Mischief & Murder by Cabinetmakers
Chairmakers will be relieved to know they, so far, were not the worst in the furniture world, at least in Tennessee, and before the year 1840.
Malicious mischief is the willful destruction of property, either public or owned by another person. Phineas, with his rascally countenance and apparent lack of contrition, had no intention of staying behind bars and broke jail. I hope they caught him.
A nasty piece of work, is (was) this Kinchen Wilborn. When apprehended, he was well into Arkansas Territory (statehood was in 1836) and traveled almost 250 miles. The slippery scoundrel escaped and we don’t know if he was ever caught.
Marriage & Misdirection
Let’s throw ina turner for some comic relief. Ferdinand Rienman, a turner in Nashville, announced his wedding to Miss Susannah Rule via poetry. Clever.
Ulysses G. Smith, printer and cabinetmaker, took a different approach to marriage. He married Miss Rosannah Mc’Affy on February 1, 1827, with the newspaper announcement on February 7. One week later he ran an ad announcing he had taken over the establishment formerly occupied by his father-in-law, Terrence Mc’Affry, also a cabinetmaker.
Mc’Affry was well-known and respected in Knoxville. He had been in business as a cabinetmaker for about 27 years. Smith’s announcement took him unawares. He soon responded to Ulysses Smith’s claim in another ad.
Wait, there’s more! Mc’Affry, aged “upwards of 60 years” died in April 1830, with the report of his funeral in the April 14 edition of the Knoxville Register. A week earlier, in the same newspaper, it was reported Mc’Affry’s daughter sued Ulysses Smith for divorce. Oh, poor Ulysses, Rosannah chose not to be your Penelope.
Kudosto Ellen Beasley for matching up the juicy details of this cabinetmaker soap opera.
Cherry & Walnut Wanted
A good way to find out what woods were used by cabinetmakers and chairmakers in a particular area is to find this type of ad.
Runaway
Advertisements for runaway apprentices and enslaved servants were common. This ad, for an enslaved craftsman and two others, is notable for the large reward and the description of Perimus. He was obviously skilled and well-regarded by Burchett.
On the other hand, after an escape the usual course of action was to question and punish other enslaved in order to find out where the runaways were headed. Dyer County is in the far western part of Tennessee, north of Memphis. The runaways had a long and perilous journey to reach freedom.
At the Sign of the Large Chair
I have a particular fondness for signs depicting the article made and for sale within a shop. Big shoes, big lock and keys, big fish and so on. Did Isaac Barton have a chair painted on a sign or an actual large chair suspended from an iron support? Also, exactly how big was this large chair?
I’m Still Here
At the end of the year, a weary “I’m still here” is a sentiment many of us might feel, while others might lean towards surprised consternation. As for Mr. William Young, considering Shelbyville was not a one-horse town, including your location in your advertisement would have been a good idea.
N.B. Ellen Beasley’s work in digging up the advertisements for cabinetmakers and chairmakers before 1840 was a gargantuan task. It required many hours of travel throughout Tennessee to search through physical editions of newspapers, newspapers on microfilm and microfiche and deciphering the handwriting of the 1820 census takers. After working in Tennessee she continued her research work in Texas and in 1984 was named a Loeb Fellow at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.
– Suzanne Ellison
Today marks the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and the longest night. Last year I wrote a short story, “The Long Night” for this blog. If you would like to read, or reread, the story you can find it here.
Our fulfillment center and storefront will be closed from Dec. 24 to Jan. 1. So any online orders placed during that time will not ship until we return from the break.
So if you want a book or tool shipped out before the end of the year, please place your order before Dec. 23.
The coming year will be filled with new projects and products: our new storefront will open at 407 Madison Ave. in Covington, we have at least four new books and a new video in the works and we will launch our apparel line, Joyner.
With that mountain of work ahead, John and I decided we should all take a break before plunging into 2025.
Kate Swann, founder of the Florida School of Woodwork, grew up in England – so not only is there big woodworking fun to be had, there are guaranteed tea breaks!
Every year Chris, Lucy and I give what we can to a variety of charities. And we are picky. We do our research. And look at the records that charities file each year (here’s a primer).
The following woodworking organizations are ones we have supported with both money and time. If you are interested in supporting charitable woodworking organizations, here are some to consider.
There is no political message in these choices. We do our best to help those who want to enter the worl of woodworking. The best way to ensure the survival of our craft is to widen the net.
Chris has supported this foundation, which is affiliated with the Marc Adams School of Woodworking, for more than two decades. The foundation funds a variety of scholarships, from strictly need-based to military to young woodworkers.
Based in the U.K., Pathcarvers offers hands-on training for a variety of students, including those in drug and alcohol rehabilitation, those using mental health services, low-income families and prisons. You can help fund their work through the Kieran Binnie Fund for Craft, a fund that we helped launch with the oraganization.
Run by Rob Cosman, the Purple Heart Project provides woodworking training to wounded veterans. You can donate via this page. All donations go 100 percent to help veterans.
A Baltimore-based workshop program that provides training and support for woodworkers who are women or non-gender conforming. WOO offers a wide variety of courses and Open Shop Hours. You can donate here.
This Los Angeles-based organization provides training and work for people experiencing homelessness or poverty. People in the program make a variety of objects for sale in the Would Works store. You can donate here.
This organization helps support new chairmakers and toolmakers who have traditionally been excluded from the craft because of their gender, race or other factors. We have sponsored multiple scholarship classes at our shop, and will hold two more in 2025. You can donate money or tools here.
