Details
Description
Mahogany Federal-style card table with white pine as a secondary wood. When open, the tabletop is square with notched rounded corners. The fixed component of the table is a rectangle with rounded sides made of one board, and the movable component is the same. There are overhanging edges on all sides and the bottom edge of the fixed board has a beveled edge. There are two lines of string inlay around the edge of the movable board and the boards are attached with knife hinges. The tabletop is screwed to the frame. The frame is a rectangle with curved front corners. The frame has two pieces for the front apron. Two rails are mortise and tenoned from the front apron to the support beam for the gate leg at the back. The right rail inside the frame has two brackets connecting it to the apron. The board that supports the swing leg is attached to the support beam that makes up the back of the table frame with nails. The underside of the frame has curved wood inside the rounded corners with saw lines covered by burlap. The two back corners have glue blocks. The front of the frame is veneered.
All four legs are therm legs. The two front legs have a decorative inlay of an oval above two parallel lines, which matches the stringing on the front of the skirt. Below that are two lines along each side of the front of the leg perpendicular to the stringing. The back legs have the stringing on the sides. The gate leg is attached to the frame by a knuckle joint to the wood attached to the support beam. The knuckle joint is made of pine. There is a red wash on the pine.
Object use
Support furniture
Object type
Table
Place of origin
Vicinity of Boston, Massachusetts
Basis of origin
Identified by Brock Jobe as possibly being made in or around Boston due to characteristics of design and construction.
Date
1790-1815
Basis of date
Date range based upon characteristics of design and construction such as leg shape and veneers.
Style
Federal
Materials
Mahogany; White pine
Attributes & techniques
Straight-front; Therm legs; Inlay; Veneer; Varnishing; Brackets; Hinges
Marks, signatures, inscriptions
Blank white square with the surface worn away on the leg support plank.
Dimensions
Height when closed 28.75 in. (73 cm), Height when open 27.75 in. (70.5 cm), Width 35.375 in. (89.9 cm), Depth when closed 18 in. (45.7 cm), Depth when open 36 in. (91.4 cm)
History of ownership
Descended in the family of Gershom Bradford (1774-1844) and Sarah Hickling Bradford (1772-1861) of Duxbury. In 1968, the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society acquired the house built by Gershom and Sarah Bradford in 1808 along with its contents. Members of the Bradford family lived in the house between 1808 and 1968.
Exhibition history
Previously exhibited at the Gershom Bradford House.
Subject
Card tables
Current owner
Duxbury Rural and Historical Society
Owner's accession number
F-3
Rights
For reproduction requests or more information, contact the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society at 781-934-6106 or through its website, http://duxburyhistory.org/.
Source
Photographed by the staff of the Boston Furniture Archive, June 2015.
Date digitized
2018-07-23
Date modified
2018-07-23