The Mitchell Family Chippendale Carved and Figured Mahogany Games Table, New York or New Jersey

Handwritten label attached to the rear rail reads: "This Chippendale card table was the property of Stephen Mix Mitchell who was U.S. Senator from Connecticut 1793-1795. It passed to his daughter Harriet Mitchell who was unmarried then to Stephen Mix Mitchell, a grandson of the U.S. Senator. This second Stephen Mix Mitchell was Treasurer of the N. York, N.H. and Hartford R.R. Co. It passed from him to his daughter Harriet Mitchell Slate and from her to her daughter Alice Slate Norton."; proper left rear knee return missing

According to tradition:

Stephen Mix Mitchell (1743-1835), Wethersfield, Connecticut:

To his daughter, Harriet Mitchell (b. 1793);

To her nephew, Stephen Mix Mitchell;

To his daughter, Harriet Mitchell Slate;

To her daughter, Alice Slate Norton;

Willoughby Farr, Edgewater, New Jersey;

Purchased by Mrs. J. Insley Blair, June 1932;

Christie's, Property from the Collection of Mrs. J. Insley Blair, January 21, 2006, sale 1618, lot 538.

proper right rear leg has rubbing on the inside corner along the length of the leg; proper left rear knee return partially missing, cracking to veneer on skirt
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.

According to tradition, this table was originally owned by Stephen Mix Mitchell (1743-1835), a U.S. Senator and Chief Justice of the Connecticut Superior Court.  Born on December 9, 1743 to James and Rebecca (Mix) Mitchell of Wethersfield, Stephen graduated from Yale in 1763 and married Harriet Grant, daughter of the Newtown merchant Donald Grant, in 1769.¹  Trained as a lawyer, he was admitted to the bar in 1770 and practiced law in Newtown and later in Wethersfield. He served during the Revolutionary War on the Wethersfield Committees of Correspondence and sat in the State House of Representatives before being elected a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1783, 1785, and 1787. He subsequently served as US Senator from Connecticut from 1793 to 1795, filling a seat vacated by Robert Sherman, and later as judge and Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.²  The present table descended in his family until the early 20^th century, at which time it was purchased by the Edgewater, N.J. antiques dealer, Willoughby Farr, who subsequently sold it to Mrs. J. Insley Blair. It remained in her collection and family until 2006.

¹ Their portraits by Samuel F. B. Morse survive in the collection of the Connecticut Historical Society Museum.
² See Edward E. and Evelyn M. Salisbury, Family histories and genealogies (1892), pp. 176-179.