Early American tables and other furniture at Stenton

Magazine Antiques, May, 2004 by Philip D. Zimmerman

Stenton, the countryseat of James Logan (1674-1751), is an ambitious and well-documented house built between 1723 and 1730 in what was then the countryside surrounding Philadelphia. Logan's historical preeminence as a renowned man of letters and secretary to William Penn (1644-1718) contributed to the preservation of the house by his heirs as well as conscientious efforts to furnish it with family possessions believed to have once been in the house. This article is the third and last in a survey of the furniture at Stenton, which has already included articles on eighteenth-century case furniture and chairs. (1) The survey reaffirms the importance of these objects as documents of early Philadelphia furniture.

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Logan's records show that between 1712 and 1719 he bought fourteen tables. Four were "oval tables" ranging in price from [pounds sterling]1 10s. to [pounds sterling]3 15s. (for a "large" oval table). (2) No oval table was listed in his estate inventory in 1752, but the inventory does contain several "walnut" tables, including two identified as "large." (3) It is reasonable to assume that some of these walnut tables were the same ones merely described differently, reflecting changes in fashion and language. After about 1710, for example, walnut was the wood of choice, but it vied with mahogany by 1750. The oval walnut table in Plate I is believed to be one Logan owned, for it was bequeathed to Stenton by Samuel L. Betton II (1842-1915), a direct descendant. Its modest size indicates that it is not the large table Logan bought from Thomas Stapleford (d. 1739) late in 1717. (4) The presence of a drawer in one end as well as the use of walnut suggest that it is not the table made by Joseph Claypoole (1677-1744) for Logan in 1712 for only [pounds sterling]1 10s., a pound less than the remaining two tables. (5) The table in Plate I is probably either the one bought from Edward Evans for [pounds sterling]2 12s. along with a stand for 9 shillings in early 1715, or the one bought from John Widdowfield for [pounds sterling]2 5s. in mid-1717. (6)

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Despite uncertainty about the maker, this table represents one of the few well-documented Philadelphia gateleg tables. (7) Although it was refinished in 1961 and its drawer pull is a replacement, the table is in remarkably good condition, including the ball feet, which are so often damaged by moisture and use. Each of the three leaves that comprise the top is made of two boards glued edge-to-edge. The drop leaves are hinged by the original dovetail-shaped iron hinges. They meet the fixed center leaf with tongue-and-groove joints, a molding profile that generally changed to quarter-round "rule joints" by mid-century. There are four stationary legs marking the corners of the table frame and two swing legs that support the drop leaves. The swing legs form hinged "gates" that pivot on truncated versions of the leg turnings. Short horizontal turnings connecting the leg posts add interest and complexity to the composition.

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A survey of turned-leg tables believed to have been made in Philadelphia in the early eighteenth century reveals so great a variety in the turnings that establishing a chronology of design is difficult without additional evidence. Similarly, there is not a well-defined and dependable "Philadelphia style" of turnings to establish geographical origins, although lines scored around the widest part of the balusters, as in this example, are a note-worthy regional characteristic. The drawer sides and bottom of this table are made of Atlantic white cedar, a common secondary wood in Philadelphia furniture.

Without a reliable provenance, few furniture historians would associate the modest walnut tea table illustrated in Plate III with Philadelphia, to say nothing of its possible use at Stenton. (8) Yet, it too was part of the 1915 Betton bequest. Its baluster shaft (also called a pillar), undecorated cabriole legs ending in bulbous "plain" feet, and reverse molded tabletop edge are features popularly cited to indicate manufacture in the more rural communities of Chester or Lancaster counties or elsewhere in central Pennsylvania. Baluster shafts only occasionally occur with recognizable Philadelphia features, such as scalloped tops and acanthus carved knees. (9) Because this table challenges popular distinctions between urban and rural work, it deserves attention. The molded-edge, three-board top cannot be readily distinguished from many other tops of this general type made throughout Pennsylvania, but the shaft and legs do exhibit subtle differences from most rural counterparts, and those features may one day contribute to sorting these tables more precisely. The massive shaft, four and one-half inches in diameter, has a noticeably square-sided baluster, giving it a sort of milk-bottle shape. It has scored rings around the middle (see Pl. IIIa), and the reel turning below and the unusually broad disk turning above display extra rings and other turned details not normally found on these tables. The knees of the legs are high and boxy in profile. The legs are small in girth, making them look spindly, especially compared to the bulbous feet. This is attributable in part to the pronounced upward cut on the underside of the top of the leg. Similarly thin legs occur on other--and presumably later--tea tables that are more readily ascribed to Philadelphia, although few have such long ankles. (10)