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Lot Essay
This unusual combination chair and desk closely resembles drawings accompanying Stephen Hedges' patent no. 10, 740 for a "convertible chair." Patented in April 1854, the invention was described by Hedges as "A new and useful Piece of Furniture, Intended to Serve as a Table Alone or as Chair and Table combined." What he claimed as unique was the manner of hinging "a table of ordinary construction" with a chair to form a small stand, writing desk, and chair in one.
This desk is one of at least twenty examples that have been identifed in public and private collections nationwide, including the Museum of the City of New York and the Morris-Jumel Mansionin New York City. Such desks are frequently known as "Aaron Burr" desks due to a 1911 article which illustrated an example and stated not only had it belonged to Aaron Burr, but, with its small size, had been specifically designed to accomodate his "short stature" ("Here is the Quaint Old Desk on Which Aaron Burr Penned His Love to Mme. Jumel," New York Herald, Sunday, December 24, 1911). Burr's death in 1836, however, pre-dates Hedges' patent; furthermore, many of the desks, including the example offered here, display circular saw marks, evidence of their later construction. For further information, see Henry H. Anderson, "Recap. of Stephen Hedges' 'Aaron Burr desks'," unpublished mss., 1994, recorded in the Winterthur Library: Decorative Arts Photographic Collection.
This desk is one of at least twenty examples that have been identifed in public and private collections nationwide, including the Museum of the City of New York and the Morris-Jumel Mansionin New York City. Such desks are frequently known as "Aaron Burr" desks due to a 1911 article which illustrated an example and stated not only had it belonged to Aaron Burr, but, with its small size, had been specifically designed to accomodate his "short stature" ("Here is the Quaint Old Desk on Which Aaron Burr Penned His Love to Mme. Jumel," New York Herald, Sunday, December 24, 1911). Burr's death in 1836, however, pre-dates Hedges' patent; furthermore, many of the desks, including the example offered here, display circular saw marks, evidence of their later construction. For further information, see Henry H. Anderson, "Recap. of Stephen Hedges' 'Aaron Burr desks'," unpublished mss., 1994, recorded in the Winterthur Library: Decorative Arts Photographic Collection.