Description:
Rectangular desk with fall-front hinged lid made by William Lloyd (1779-1845), the son of John Jr. and Marianna Wright Lloyd of Springfield. The desk is significant for its rare form in American furniture, and its inscription: "Wm Lloyde of Springfield/Cabinet & Chair Maker/Sir please to call & By a/gain & you will much oblige/the above name Jany 15 1809/Price of this Desk is $ 18-[illigible]." Springfield's most successful early nineteenth-century cabinetmaker, Lloyd's early training is still a mystery, but he was in business by 1802. He produced a wide variety of forms, several of which are in ths collection, including elegant clock cases (53.092.1 and 2015.17), desks (1998.31), bookcases, sideboards (1998.32), bureaus (96.031), dining and card tables (probably 0423). This desk shows Lloyd at the height of his career and skill; the use of mahogany indicates that it was one of his more expensive items. The desk comprises a rectangular case fitted with a fall-front lid, hinged at the front, with an ivory diamond-inlaid keyhole surround; the lid opens to create a sloped, removable writing surface with storage below, and a bank of three short drawers with inlaid stringing and wooden pulls. The case has a single long drawer over an line-inlaid skirt, over four tapered, string-inlaid legs with inlaid cuffs. The brass hardware is not original. This desk has been selected for display in the Stebbins House because on 17 August 1805, Epaphrus Sheldon was charged three dollars for a writing table made by Greenfield cabinetmaker Daniel Clay (1770-1848), as seen in the bill of sale in the PVMA Library.
Subjects:
Mahogany; Graphite; Brass Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+1998.31 |
