A new exhibit of fine antique furniture will open at Old Sturbridge Village October 24 featuring rarely seen pieces of early Massachusetts furniture from its collection. “Convenient and Fashionable: Furniture of Inland Massachusetts 1790‱830” spotlights work by both well-recognized and newly introduced furniture makers of rural Massachusetts like Nathan Lombard of Sutton, Solomon Sibley of Ward (now Auburn), Alden Spooner and George Fitts of Athol, William Lloyd of Springfield and John Smith of Barre. The exhibit will be on display through September 6.
Master furniture maker Norm Abram, of the PBS television series The New Yankee Workshop and a trustee of Old Sturbridge Village, will host a brunch and book signing on Saturday, October 24. Examples of antique children’s furniture will be on display in the visitor center, and there will be interactive displays of furniture making tools and techniques. The exhibit is free with museum admission.
The artistry and skill of the Massachusetts rural cabinetmakers whose works are included in the exhibit is equal to that of more famous names like John Cogswell or John Seymour of Boston, notes Brock Jobe, professor of American Decorative Arts for Winterthur’s program in American Material Culture. “These pieces are true treasures, carefully crafted and often expertly inlaid or carved,” he said.
“Cabinetmakers in inland Massachusetts made far more sophisticated furniture than previously thought, and more examples are still being discovered,” adds exhibit curator Nan Wolverton. “Inland communities were growing wealthier, and people wanted fashionable, more elegant household furnishings. They turned to local artisan-farmers for custom-made items like chests of drawers, card tables, desks, sofas and chairs.”
Furniture pieces in the exhibit were chosen both for the intricacies of their craftsmanship and for their provenance. Many of the pieces are marked by their makers, and many have documented histories of ownership tracing back to the buyers who acquired them and those who inherited them.
Among the more distinctive pieces is a chest of drawers (circa 1800‱805) attributed to Nathan Lombard of Sutton. The piece is on loan from a private collector, and has a history of ownership in Sturbridge. It is believed to have stood in the Oliver Wight house, which is now owned by Old Sturbridge Village. The chest has the signature on one of its drawers belonging to an innkeeper who ran the house as a tavern after 1815.
Another chest of drawers was just purchased by Old Sturbridge Village this year. Made in 1813 the chest carries this inscription: “Wm. Richardson made this chest for his wife, Alice Comins Richardson.”
The museum is at 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road. For more information, or to register for brunch with Norm Abram, www.osv.org or 800-733-1830.
