Lot Essay
The cabinetmaking firm of Emmons and Archibald was one of the major shops working in Boston during the first quarter of the nineteenth century.
Located on Orange Street, the premiere thoroughfare for cabinet shops, the firm produced "couches, sofas, mahogany chairs, and a variety of fashionable furniture." (Talbott, "Boston Empire Furniture," part II, Antiques, (May, 1976), p. 1005); Moody, American Decorative Arts at Dartmouth, (Hanover, 1981), fig. 38.
Diminutive in size compared to their counterparts, the pier tables made by Emmons and Archibald are characteristically related to one another by the use of chestnut as a secondary wood, a concave base either with rear columns or pilasters (as in this example), often with a grey marble top and brass mounts. The canted corners of this table differ from other known examples made by the firm. The ormolu, bases, and capitals were probably imported from France as is indicated from the sale of Emmons' cabinet stock after this death in 1825, "a variety of elegant French Caps and Bases, Rings, Knobs, and other Ornaments." (Fairbanks and Bates, American Furniture, (New York, 1981), pp. 268-269.
It stands to reason that this table, with Ticknor's name attached to it, was also owned by him and was part of the furnishings at Beacon Street. A paper label with the name "G. Ticknor" is glued to the right interior corner. George Ticknor, a graduate of Dartmouth College in 1807, was a professor at Harvard and a founder of the Boston Public Library. In 1829, he moved to a prestigious house built by Charles Bulfinch, on the corner of Park and Beacon Streets. Ticknor furnished his house with furniture in the Empire style, and an attibuted Emmons and Archibald pier table owned by him is now in the collection of Dartmouth College (Moody, "American Furnture at Darmouth College," Antiques, (August, 1981), pp. 326-333).
Three pier tables with the stencilled label of Emmons and Archibald
are at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Talbott, "Boston Empire Furniture," part I, Antiques, (May, 1975), p. 879). A pair of labelled Emmon and Archibald pier tables were recently sold by Plainfield Auction Gallery, September 7, 1992.
Located on Orange Street, the premiere thoroughfare for cabinet shops, the firm produced "couches, sofas, mahogany chairs, and a variety of fashionable furniture." (Talbott, "Boston Empire Furniture," part II, Antiques, (May, 1976), p. 1005); Moody, American Decorative Arts at Dartmouth, (Hanover, 1981), fig. 38.
Diminutive in size compared to their counterparts, the pier tables made by Emmons and Archibald are characteristically related to one another by the use of chestnut as a secondary wood, a concave base either with rear columns or pilasters (as in this example), often with a grey marble top and brass mounts. The canted corners of this table differ from other known examples made by the firm. The ormolu, bases, and capitals were probably imported from France as is indicated from the sale of Emmons' cabinet stock after this death in 1825, "a variety of elegant French Caps and Bases, Rings, Knobs, and other Ornaments." (Fairbanks and Bates, American Furniture, (New York, 1981), pp. 268-269.
It stands to reason that this table, with Ticknor's name attached to it, was also owned by him and was part of the furnishings at Beacon Street. A paper label with the name "G. Ticknor" is glued to the right interior corner. George Ticknor, a graduate of Dartmouth College in 1807, was a professor at Harvard and a founder of the Boston Public Library. In 1829, he moved to a prestigious house built by Charles Bulfinch, on the corner of Park and Beacon Streets. Ticknor furnished his house with furniture in the Empire style, and an attibuted Emmons and Archibald pier table owned by him is now in the collection of Dartmouth College (Moody, "American Furnture at Darmouth College," Antiques, (August, 1981), pp. 326-333).
Three pier tables with the stencilled label of Emmons and Archibald
are at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Talbott, "Boston Empire Furniture," part I, Antiques, (May, 1975), p. 879). A pair of labelled Emmon and Archibald pier tables were recently sold by Plainfield Auction Gallery, September 7, 1992.