Allen and Brother, Philadelphia furniture makers

Magazine Antiques, May, 1996 by Page Talbott

31 For more about Kennerdell and his furnishings, see [John Pearce], "Victorian Acquisitions," Historic Preservation, vol. 12, no. 3 (1960), pp. 110-111.

32 Kennerdell's parlor suite (also now in the National Museum of American History) consists of two armchairs, two settees, four side chairs, and four window cornices, elaborately carved in the French manner. The family tradition linking the set to the Allens' display at the Centennial Exhibition, as reported by John Pearce, seems questionable considering the style of the furniture, which suggests a date prior to 1876.

33 It has been said that the overhanging cornice found on the more elaborate beds of this period suggested a "roof and security" (Fitzgerald, Three Centuries of American Furniture, p. 254). Both William Morris and Brace Talbert incorporated this idea into their designs.

34 The Clothiers were married in 1864 and had nine children, of whom Isaac Hollowell Clothier Jr. (1876-1961) was born in the Centennial year. His birth might have been the impetus for the purchase of the bedroom suite. See Alfred Leif, Family Business: A Century in the life and Times of Strawbridge and Clothier (New York, 1968), p. 11. I am grateful to Sheila Connolly and Lindsley Hand for their assistance in researching this suite.

35 All the pieces are of ebonized cherry, the case pieces having bird's-eye maple interiors and shelves. The tops of the dresser and washstand are of white onyx. The cradle was sold separately and is presently unlocated.

36 Dresser's Art of Decorative Design... (London, 1862), which focused on the artistic potential of plants, influenced English and American cabinetmakers and designers of the 1860s to the 1880s. Dresser visited the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, and while in America produced and patented a number of wallpaper designs (Burke et al., In Pursuit of Beauty, pp. 421-423).

37 Unfortunately, the keys to the Clothier Bedroom set were lost before the current owner purchased it and therefore it is unknown whether they also were marked with the letter A.

PAGE TALBOTT, a decorative and fine arts consultant, is currently the project director and curator for the Sesquicentennial Anniversary of Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia.