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Lot Essay
The label present on this desk-and-bookcase is from Elbert Anderson's early years when he worked at 5 Maiden Lane. He remained at that location between 1786 and 1796. From 1799 to 1803, he is listed as working on Duane Street where he worked with his son, Elbert Jr.; they are also known to have had a "ware-room" at 3 Courtland Street. (William C. Ketchum Jr., American Cabinetmakers, marked American Furniture 1640-1940 (New York, 1995), p. 16.) The label's hand-written reference to 53 Maiden Lane is puzzling, as he is not recorded to have worked at that address; however, it is possible he worked there between 1796 and 1799, when he moved to Duane Street.
Few pieces survive with Anderson's label: the desk-and-bookcase offered here, a Federal sideboard scheduled for sale at Christie's New York, The Collection of John W. Kluge Morven, December 16, 2005, lot 69, a Federal demilune card table illustrated in F. Lewis Hinckley, A Directory of Antique Furniture (New York, 1953), no. 990, and a portion of a dining table, at one time at Van Cortlandt Manor and illustrated in Joseph T. Butler, "The family furniture at Van Cortlandt Manor," The Magazine Antiques (December 1962), pp. 644-647, fig. 9. Stylistically, this desk-and-bookcase demonstrates elements characteristic of the Chippendale vernacular and may be the earliest surviving example of his labeled work. It is also interesting to note some stylistic similarities between the lower section of this desk-and-bookcase and the large case piece shown on the left side of his label (see detail).
Thomas Masters married Isabella Caldwell of Philadelphia on June 3, 1807. It is unlikely that they were the original owners of this desk-and-bookcase, which was probably made between 1786 and 1796, when Anderson was working at 5 Maiden Lane.
Few pieces survive with Anderson's label: the desk-and-bookcase offered here, a Federal sideboard scheduled for sale at Christie's New York, The Collection of John W. Kluge Morven, December 16, 2005, lot 69, a Federal demilune card table illustrated in F. Lewis Hinckley, A Directory of Antique Furniture (New York, 1953), no. 990, and a portion of a dining table, at one time at Van Cortlandt Manor and illustrated in Joseph T. Butler, "The family furniture at Van Cortlandt Manor," The Magazine Antiques (December 1962), pp. 644-647, fig. 9. Stylistically, this desk-and-bookcase demonstrates elements characteristic of the Chippendale vernacular and may be the earliest surviving example of his labeled work. It is also interesting to note some stylistic similarities between the lower section of this desk-and-bookcase and the large case piece shown on the left side of his label (see detail).
Thomas Masters married Isabella Caldwell of Philadelphia on June 3, 1807. It is unlikely that they were the original owners of this desk-and-bookcase, which was probably made between 1786 and 1796, when Anderson was working at 5 Maiden Lane.