THE AUGUR-DURYEE QUEEN ANNE HIGH CHEST OF DRAWERS, PROBABLY BY AARON BOOTH, WINDSOR OR EAST WINDSOR, CIRCA 1775

Back of top inscribed in chalk Aaron Booth. Appears to retain its original cast brass hardware and turned and carved finials. Retains a dark early possibly original finish.

Bottom case small three drawers numbered 1, 2, and 3; proper left drawers marked L; proper right drawers marked R; top case drawer 1, 2, 3/4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. 

Probable line of descent:
Lydia Augur (1754-1802), Milford, New Haven, Connecticut;
Lydia Augur Ives (1795-1872), Milford, New Haven, Connecticut, daughter;
Lydia Augur Budington (1821-1910), Milford, New Haven, Connecticut and Schenectady, New York, daughter;
married Rev. Isaac Groot Duryee (1810-1866), Schenectady, New York ;
Helen Duryee (1843-1914), daughter;
William Buddington Duryee (1847-1917), brother;
William Buddington Duryee III (1927-1968), son;
Ruth Duryee (1891-1962), Schenectady, New York, second cousin;
lnherited by James and Allison Duryee.

Secondary woods are white pine and poplar; proper left top corner of cornice with 1 3/4 by 3/4 in. loss; glue block behind central plinth loose; brass pulls on central drawers replaced; remaining cast brass hardware original; bottom case small three drawers numbered 1, 2, and 3; proper left drawers marked L; proper right drawers marked R; top case drawer 1, 2, 3/4, 5, 6, 7, and 8; proper left second drawer up from bottom of top case drawer runner replaced; proper left rear bottom disc / pad 1 3/4 in. in diameter is replaced; proper right front knee return is loose; locks are replaced; powder post beetle damage present, more predominantly on legs on proper right side of lower case; upper case has powder post beetle on lower most drawer face, proper right upper cornice molding; powder post beetle damage occurred after the piece was constructed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This high chest with its dramatically shaped apron appears initially to be associated to the Comstock Group as identified by Dr. Thomas Kugelman and Alice Kugelman with Robert Lionetti in their publication Connecticut Valley Furniture: Eliphalet Chapin and his Contemporaries, 1750-1800, (Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society Museum and distributed by University Press of New England, 2005), pp. 118-20.  The apron however is significantly more elaborate with a concavity and paired cyma scrolls beneath the bottom fan carved drawer.  Further, the knee returns are simple and not shaped as with the Comstock group.  The finials, apron shape (minus the lobes), and knee returns directly relate this piece to the Windsor: Timothy Loomis Group (see ibid, pp. 93-100).  A high chest that descended through the Wolcott family of East Windsor has a nearly identical finial, absent the carving, to those atop the Augur-Duryee high chest (ibid, pp. 98-9, no. 40).  The back board of the fan carved drawer in the upper case is inscribed Aaron Booth.  The Booth family of cabinetmakers are well known for the works they crafted in Litchfield County, Connecticut. To date no Booths are known to have worked in the Windsor or Middletown areas.  Surviving church records indicate however that an Aaron Booth married an Ann Nash on October 23, 1773 in Windsor-Bloomfield, Connecticut (see Frederic William Bailey, Early Connecticut Marriages as Found on Ancient Church Records Prior to 1800, vol. 4, (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc., 1968, p. 119).