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Lot Essay
Displaying a classic Newport form, this slant-front desk bears a remarkable resemblance to an example signed by Job Townsend, Jr. (1726-1778) now in the collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum and illustrated in Ward, ed., American Furniture with Related Decorative Arts 1660-1830 (New York, 1991), cat. 46, pp. 126-130. Although the latter has been attributed to Job Townsend, Sr. (1699-1765), the younger Job is the more likely maker as the desk's inscription appears to be the same as the handwriting in Job, Jr.'s account books. Both desks feature distinct blocked and shell-carved prospect doors that contrast with the known work of other Townsend-Goddard cabinetmakers. These shells are proportionally of greater height than most Newport carved shells and occupy an area greater than a half circle. With recessed arches, eight concave lobes and plain centers, the shells from each desk are almost identical, differing only in the raised center on the desk offered here and the flat center on the Milwaukee desk. Furthermore, the desks' shared construction features illustrate the habits of the same artisan and include the use of three lapped backboards, vertical battens on the interior of the backboards, same drawer construction and rear brackets that slide into the rear foot facings.
The most significant differences between the two desks indicate a difference in price, rather than maker. The Milwaukee desk is primarily of maple originally stained to imitate mahogany and its interior bears only one carved shell and lacks the blocked molding; thus, it illustrates a simpler and less costly version of the mahogany example offered here with three carved shells on the interior. Such staining was a cost-effective technique and recorded in the accounts of Job Townsend, Jr. now in the collection of the Newport Historical Society. Covering the years from 1750 to his death in 1778, the account books include only fifteen entries for mahogany desks, which were approximately twice to three times the cost of a maple example (Job Townsend and Job E. Townsend, Account Book, Newport Historical Society, pp. 1-21 and 71-141).
The most significant differences between the two desks indicate a difference in price, rather than maker. The Milwaukee desk is primarily of maple originally stained to imitate mahogany and its interior bears only one carved shell and lacks the blocked molding; thus, it illustrates a simpler and less costly version of the mahogany example offered here with three carved shells on the interior. Such staining was a cost-effective technique and recorded in the accounts of Job Townsend, Jr. now in the collection of the Newport Historical Society. Covering the years from 1750 to his death in 1778, the account books include only fifteen entries for mahogany desks, which were approximately twice to three times the cost of a maple example (Job Townsend and Job E. Townsend, Account Book, Newport Historical Society, pp. 1-21 and 71-141).