Chest on chest attributed
to Eliphalet Chapin, circa 1780-90.
SPRINGFIELD, MASS. - A selection of late Eighteenth and early
Nineteenth Century furniture is on display at the Connecticut
Valley Historical Museum through March 31, 2002 in the
exhibition, "."
The exhibition features approximately 35 examples from the
museum's permanent collection, including chests of drawers,
tables, chairs, sideboards, desks and children's furniture, that
was made in this area. Also on display are a number of antique
carpentry tools.
Little furniture made before 1700 still exists, and none to date
can be positively identified as being made in Springfield, which
at that time encompassed most of the surrounding towns and parts
of Connecticut. It is difficult to identify those very early
furniture makers because they did not specialize in furniture,
nor did they call themselves furniture makers or cabinetmakers.
Instead, they were known as carpenters, joiners and turners.
Carpenters and joiners also built houses and other structures,
while turners worked with lathes to produce turned spindles.
Early Springfield records show a number of carpenters and joiners
working in the town. The Pynchon account books contain numerous
references to carpenters building houses or other buildings, and
the probate inventories of some of the town's residents contain
tools indicating that the people were carpenters.
Some of those most frequently mentioned are Joseph Leonard and
brothers Jonathan and David Morgan, who lived and worked in
Springfield in the late Seventeenth and early Eighteenth
Centuries. However, their names cannot be linked to specific
pieces of furniture from the Springfield area.
Secretary desk from the shop of William Lloyd, Springfield,
1804. This cherry and pine piece bears the signatures of
William Lloyd and Luther Bliss.
Conversely, there are several pieces of late Seventeenth or early
Eighteenth Century furniture that have histories of ownership on
Springfield families but that cannot be connected to a particular
carpenter. Among the earliest pieces displayed is a Windsor
armchair made around 1790 by an unknown joiner. It belonged to
Abijah Hendrick (born 1761) of Wilbraham, Mass., who enlisted in
the Revolutionary Army at age 16 and who later served to guard
the stores and arms at the Springfield Armory.
Meanwhile, other towns in the Connecticut Valley and in other
areas of New England are associated with distinctive styles of
furniture or with the names of specific cabinetmakers, such as
the Chapin family in Hartford and the Goddard and Townsend
families in Newport.
However, there is a fair amount of documentary evidence of
cabinetmakers working in Eighteenth century Springfield. Account
books kept by area residents contain records of purchases made
from local cabinetmakers.
The most complete body of evidence on Eighteenth Century
cabinetmaking in Springfield is found in the ledger of Solomon
Lathrop of West Springfield. Lathrop was born in 1759, started
his business in 1781, and died of consumption in 1787. During his
brief career he made a variety of furniture including tables,
chairs, candlestands (which he called "candlestools"), high
chests, bureaus (which he spelled "buroe"), and tea tables.
To supplement his income, he worked at housebuilding, and he even
built birdhouses for one customer. The ledger shows that most of
his furniture was made of cherry, and he was buying wood from
area farmers as well as from two suppliers in Becket. Lathrop
sold most of his furniture to local residents, but some of it was
shipped down the Connecticut River for sale.
The turn of the Nineteenth Century also heralded a sudden
increase in the number of cabinetmakers working in the
Springfield area and in the written evidence about these
cabinetmakers. Most importantly, it becomes easier to trace
cabinetmakers working in Springfield following the publication of
the city's first newspapers, The Massachusetts Gazette or The
General Advisor, in 1784, and the Federal Spy, in the
1790s.
One of the most startling pieces of information provided by the
newspapers is the large number of cabinetmakers working in the
Springfield area; in the years 1800 to 1825, 21 cabinetmakers
lived and worked in Springfield and surrounding towns. Clearly,
the town's population increased significantly in the early
Nineteenth Century.
The papers also provided a vehicle for cabinetmakers to advertise
their craft and to place want-ads for journeymen and apprentices.
Some cabinetmakers also began to sign or label their furniture.
For example, the museum owns a number of fine pieces by William
Lloyd, the best-documented of the 21 cabinetmakers working in
Springfield in the early Nineteenth Century. He first advertised
his cabinetmaking business in 1802. He also signed and labeled
his pieces, changing the spelling of his name from Lloyde, used
from 1802-1810, to Lloyd, used from 1811-1815, when his
advertisements abruptly ended.
Chest of drawers featuring the signature of William Lloyd,
Springfield, 1802. The berry-like birch inlay on the skirt of
this cherry and white pine chest is an unusual pattern.
Springfield-made furniture from the early Nineteenth Century has
several common elements. It is usually made of cherry, a popular
local wood at the time. Secondary woods, used on hidden parts of
the piece, were pine, maple, or sometimes poplar. Much of the
furniture is decorated with inlaid designs which are different
from those found on furniture made in other parts of the country.
For example, an unusual icicle-like inlay appears in pieces made
by both William Lloyd and Peletiah Bliss.
Another piece in the exhibit - less aesthetically pleasing, but
nonetheless fascinating - is a stand-up mercantile desk dating to
about 1850 that was owned by the famous abolitionist John Brown.
The desk was used by Brown in his offices in Springfield, where
he lived and worked as a wool merchant. Brown is remembered today
for his failed raid on the Harper's Ferry Arsenal, and for his
subsequent trial and execution.
At the turn of the Nineteenth Century, most cabinetmaking shops
were run by a master craftsman and staffed by several journeymen
and apprentices. By the middle of the Nineteenth Century,
furniture was no longer primarily the province of individual
craftsmen, but was being mass produced in factories and sold
through warehouses somewhat similar to modern furniture stores.
Most of this essay was excerpted from Springfield Furniture
1700-1850, a catalogue written by Gail Nessell Colglazier and
published by the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum in
conjunction with the exhibit "Springfield Furniture 1700-1850: A
Large and Rich Assortment" (April 27 to December 31, 1990).
The Connecticut Valley Historical Museum is at the Quadrangle,
corner of State and Chestnut Streets. Hours are Wednesday to
Friday, noon to 5 pm and Saturday and Sunday, 11 am to 4 pm. For
information, 413-263-6800, ext. 312.
