Lot Essay
This dynamic and graceful sidechair with its original brown finish represents the most fully developed Queen Anne chair design produced in eighteenth century Connecticut. One of four chairs from an original set of seven, this chair is a product of the craft traditions of several generations of the Lathrop family of Norwich and Wallingford, Connecticut (the other chairs from this set are at the Henry Ford Museum, Winterthur Museum and in a private collection). The first member of the Lathrop family of craftsmen to move to Norwich arrived in 1688 from New London and previously from Scituate, Massachusetts. One of his sons moved to Wallingford, Connecticut and married into the Royce family of carpenters, joiners and furniture makers, while another son, Joseph Lathrop (1661-1740), remained in Norwich where he was influenced by craftsmen from urban centers who brought the newest Queen Anne furniture styles into the craft community network.
This chair descended in the family of Colonel Simon Lathrop (1689-1774) of Norwich and his wife Martha Lathrop (1696-1775). First cousins, Simon and Martha were closely related to Joseph Lathrop and his nephew the joiner William Lathrop (1688-1778). William was also Martha's brother and scholars believe that he probably produced at least the turned elements for this set of chairs for his sister and her husband. This set of 'seven worked chairs' are listed in both Simon and Martha's inventories and were divided among two of their daughters, Eunice Lathrop Huntington (1719-1801) and Martha Lathrop Devotion Cogswell (1714-1771).
The original seats of three of the four chairs survive. The seat frames of this chair and the chair at the Henry Ford Museum are inscribed 'Juen 17th 1756 Elizabeth Lothrop.' Elizabeth (1733-1763) was an unwed daughter who apparently wrought the needlework seats of this set of chairs for her sister; the chair held privately still retains its original needlework upholstery. See Trent and Nelson, 'A Catalogue of New London County Joined Chairs,' The Connecticut Historical Society Bulletin 50, no. 4 (Fall 1985), pp. 79-100.
The three other chairs from this set are illustrated in, Bishop, Three Centuries of the American Chair (New York, 1972), fig. 80; Downs, American Furniture: Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods (New York, 1952), no. 102; The Connecticut Historical Society Bulletin, nos. 16, 20, 21. Four closely related chairs from the Wallingford branch of Lathrop craftsmen which retain their original needlework seats wrought by a member of the Southmayd family are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Heckscher, American Furniture (New York, 1985), no. 5). There are two other chairs from this last set, the location of one is unknown and the other is illustrated in The Magazine Antiques (May 1977):940.
This chair descended in the family of Colonel Simon Lathrop (1689-1774) of Norwich and his wife Martha Lathrop (1696-1775). First cousins, Simon and Martha were closely related to Joseph Lathrop and his nephew the joiner William Lathrop (1688-1778). William was also Martha's brother and scholars believe that he probably produced at least the turned elements for this set of chairs for his sister and her husband. This set of 'seven worked chairs' are listed in both Simon and Martha's inventories and were divided among two of their daughters, Eunice Lathrop Huntington (1719-1801) and Martha Lathrop Devotion Cogswell (1714-1771).
The original seats of three of the four chairs survive. The seat frames of this chair and the chair at the Henry Ford Museum are inscribed 'Juen 17th 1756 Elizabeth Lothrop.' Elizabeth (1733-1763) was an unwed daughter who apparently wrought the needlework seats of this set of chairs for her sister; the chair held privately still retains its original needlework upholstery. See Trent and Nelson, 'A Catalogue of New London County Joined Chairs,' The Connecticut Historical Society Bulletin 50, no. 4 (Fall 1985), pp. 79-100.
The three other chairs from this set are illustrated in, Bishop, Three Centuries of the American Chair (New York, 1972), fig. 80; Downs, American Furniture: Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods (New York, 1952), no. 102; The Connecticut Historical Society Bulletin, nos. 16, 20, 21. Four closely related chairs from the Wallingford branch of Lathrop craftsmen which retain their original needlework seats wrought by a member of the Southmayd family are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Heckscher, American Furniture (New York, 1985), no. 5). There are two other chairs from this last set, the location of one is unknown and the other is illustrated in The Magazine Antiques (May 1977):940.