ATTRIBUTED TO JOB TOWNSEND, SR. (1699-1765), NEWPORT, 1745-1760

The attribution to Job Townsend, Sr. is based upon distinctive construction details known to have been used by the master cabinetmaker. These include the presence of a quarter-round molding following the shaping of the blocked interior on top of the well compartment, a numbering system on the small drawers consisting of corresponding gouged marks on the inside of the fronts and backs, and a diagonal incision on the tops of the joints of the drawer sides and backs giving the appearance of a mitered joint. All these features are seen on a desk-and-bookcase labeled by Job Townsend, Sr. now in the collections of the Rhode Island School of Design (see Patricia E. Kane et al., Art & Industry in Early America: Rhode Island Furniture, 1650-1830 (New Haven, 2016), pp. 201-204, cat. 29).