Lot Essay
Made in Boston between 1730 and 1750, this table represents one of the more technically complex, yet aesthetically delicate combinations of its era, with double-inwardly folding sides balanced and supported by slender cabriole legs. Three concertina-action gaming tables other than the example seen here are known and include a table in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, illustrated and discussed in Randall, American Furniture in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Boston, 1965), fig. 79; a table in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houson and on loan at the MMA, that is illustrated and discussed in Warren, Bayou Bend (Houston Texas, 1975), p. 30, fig. 57; as well as a table presently in a private collection.
This table is thought to have been made for Daniel Hubbard (1706-1741), wealthy Bostonian whose family settled in Ipswich in 1635 and was among the more influential early Massachusetts families. The Hubbard Family was associated by marriage with several other important Massachusetts families as well, including the Bradstreet, Cotton, Leverett and Greene families by the time of Daniel's marriage to Martha Coit in 1731, for which it is possible this table was made. In addition to the scarcity of this form, a further unusual feature of this gaming table is that its wrought iron hinges are stamped by their maker. While "NW" is presently unknown, this card table is an addition to the small (three) catalogue of marked early Boston tables; the identification of one's work by an 18th century artisian, particularly a blacksmith, is otherwise rare.
This table is thought to have been made for Daniel Hubbard (1706-1741), wealthy Bostonian whose family settled in Ipswich in 1635 and was among the more influential early Massachusetts families. The Hubbard Family was associated by marriage with several other important Massachusetts families as well, including the Bradstreet, Cotton, Leverett and Greene families by the time of Daniel's marriage to Martha Coit in 1731, for which it is possible this table was made. In addition to the scarcity of this form, a further unusual feature of this gaming table is that its wrought iron hinges are stamped by their maker. While "NW" is presently unknown, this card table is an addition to the small (three) catalogue of marked early Boston tables; the identification of one's work by an 18th century artisian, particularly a blacksmith, is otherwise rare.