NEW YORK, 1800-1820

Charles F. Montgomery opines on a similar table in the Winterthur collection: "Perhaps no furniture is so typical of New York cabinetmaking of the second decade of the nineteenth century as the pedestal form of the tables with long, concaved legs and urn shaft made by Duncan Phyfe and his contemporaries" (American Furniture: The Federal Period (New York, 1966), p.352, fig. 332). In addition to the Winterthur table, a related example is illustrated and deemed "Superior" in Albert Sack, The New Fine Points of Furniture (New York, 1993), p. 279. Another similar table bearing the label of Stephen and Moses Young appears in Clement E. Conger and A.W. Rollins, Treasures of State: Fine and Decorative Arts in the Diplomatic Receptions Rooms of the U.S. Department of State (New York, 1991), p. 235, fig. 143). Serving a variety of functions as card tables, occasional tables or breakfast tables, small tables such as this were folded against the wall in hallways and living spaces and brought out when needed.