Description:
Queen Anne side chair which according to family history was one of a set of six made by Samuel Gaylord, Jr. (1742-1816) for Charles Phelps, Jr. (1743-1814) of the property known as Forty Acres in Hadley, which is also known as the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House. Gaylord developed a prosperous business as a joiner/turner in Hadley, beginning in 1766. Gaylord’s second wife, Penelope Williams (1745-1815), was a close friend of Charles Phelps’ wife, Elizabeth Porter Phelps (1747-1817). The set is described in Gaylord's ledger on June 24, 1775 (Flynt Library) as "six banister chairs L 1:1:0." Two chairs from the set, repainted black, remain at "Forty Acres." The turnings are similar in style to the architectural balusters for the front stairway installed by Gaylord in the same month for the Phelps in the Phelps home. This chair, which has traces of the original red paint, has a turned base with distinctive long "brush" feet, shouldered baluster turnings, and tri-part egg-and-disc front stretcher; a rush (Flagg) seat; molded and shaped rear stiles; and a yoke crest rail that frames the solid splat of a flattened baluster shape. See side chair 1998.24 for comparison. The inside of the proper right rear leg is birch.
Label Text:
Persis Hoyt Sheldon's (1747-1829) will dated September 12, 1828, refers to: "six chairs with perpendicular slat backs." According to family history, this chair formed one of a set of six made by Samuel Gaylord for Charles Phelps Jr. (1742-1814) of Hadley’s Forty Acres. Gaylord developed a prosperous business as a joiner/turner in Hadley beginning in the 1760s. Gaylord also made architectural balusters for the front stairway of the Phelps family home. Gaylord’s second wife, Penelope Williams (1745-1815), was a close friend of Charles’ wife, Elizabeth Porter Phelps (1747-1817). Listed in Samuel Gaylord’s account, under the heading of June 23rd 1775, are recorded “six bannister chairs” made for Charles Phelps Jr. (1742-1814). In rural areas such as Hadley, currency was an uncommon form of payment at that time, so most craftsmen, shop keepers, and professionals kept account books to record transactions with their customers. Samuel Gaylord sold furniture in exchange for (noted as “contra”) labor, livestock, agricultural products, and at times, cash.
A prosperous farmer, Charles Phelps, Jr. (1743-1814) probably commissioned this chair from cabinetmaker and joiner Samuel Gaylord, Jr. (1742-1816) as part of a set for his home, Forty Acres, the present-day Porter-Phelps-Huntington House Museum, in Hadley. As he noted in his shop accounts, Gaylord offered a variety of chair forms at different prices which he described as: banister chairs, black chairs, best sort, crook-back chairs, and plain chairs. With its S-curved back fitted with vase-shaped splat, this chair is an example of the crook-back (crooked, or curved back) form—a style popular from the 1740s to the early-nineteenth century in western Massachusetts. Gaylord’s accounts indicate that, in addition to “crook-back chairs,” on June 24, 1775, Charles Phelps ordered a set of "six banister chairs” for which Gaylord charged £1-1s (roughly equivalent to 7 days’ wages at 3 shillings/day.) Gaylord not only made furniture for Phelps, but also carried out interior woodwork for Phelps’s home—the turnings on the central stairway banisters that he installed in June, 1775 are very similar to the turnings on this chair.
It is unclear where and with whom Gaylord learned the cabinetmaking and joinery trade. He may have apprenticed with his half-brother, the house joiner Samuel Partridge (1730-1809) with whom he later worked constructing buildings throughout the Hampshire County. Entries in Gaylord’s account book, spanning the years 1764 to 1792, indicate that he oversaw a busy and productive shop. Over nearly 30 years, he produced approximately 500 chairs, 170 tables and stands, 85 examples of case furniture and 92 coffins (in addition to examples of these forms sold directly to customers and therefore not noted in his accounts). He also specialized in making “stoves,” or footwarmers.
Branches text: According to family history, this side chair was one of a set of six made by Samuel Gaylord, Jr. for Charles Phelps, Jr. (1743-1814), owner of “Forty Acres” in Hadley, now known as the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House. Samuel Gaylord’s account book entry from June 24, 1775 reads, "six banister chairs £ 1:1:0." Two chairs from the set, repainted black, remain at Forty Acres. The turnings are similar in style to the architectural balusters for the Phelps’ entryway staircase that Gaylord and his men made and installed during the same month.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+88.097 |
