- 64
A Very Fine and Rare Chippendale Carved and Figured Mahogany Library Bookcase, Portsmouth, New Hampshire circa 1770
Description
- Height 83 in. by Width 80 1/4 in. by Depth 24 in.
Provenance
Literature
Levy Catalog, 1984, vol. 4, p. 35;
Jobe, Brock, ed. Portsmouth Furniture: Masterworks from the New Hampshire Seacoast, Boston: SPNEA, 1993, endnote 7, p. 162. This bookcase is referenced but not illustrated.
Condition
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.
Catalogue Note
Following almost verbatim a pattern for a "Library Bookcase" illustrated by Thomas Chippendale in The Gentleman & Cabinet-Maker's Director, London, 1754, no. XC, this impressive and imposing library bookcase attests to the popularity of London fashion in Portsmouth during the second half of the eighteenth century. It represents an exceedingly rare form as only a handful of library bookcases made in America before the Revolution survive. This example stands as one of three known from Portsmouth, which collectively rank as the most elaborate pieces of pre-Revolutionary furniture from that seacoast town.
A similarly ambitious and very closely related bookcase of this type originally belonged to Jonathan Warner (1726-1814), who was one of the most respected citizens of Portsmouth.1 In 1760, he married Mary Macpheadris Osborne and they moved into a mansion built by her father. After renovating the residence, they purchased new furnishings, including this bookcase for the "Front Setting Room," where it remains today. It is attributed to Robert Harrold, an immigrant craftsman who arrived in Portsmouth in 1765 and became the most prominent cabinetmaker in town. Harrold also appears to have made a bookcase of the form that survives as a fragment.2 The three bookcases are comparable in design, with the same distinctive fretwork pattern in the cornice that also appears on a china table that likely originated in Harrold's shop.3 While the present bookcase exhibits many design parallels with the others, it differs in construction and was probably not made by Harrold but perhaps by a craftsman familiar with his practice.
1 See Brock Jobe, ed. Portsmouth Furniture: Masterworks from the New Hampshire Seacoast, Boston: SPNEA, 1993, no. 27, pp. 159-62.
2 Referenced in Jobe on p. 160 and in note 7.
3 See Jobe, cat. No. 48.