Replies

1. 
   hammer1 | Jun 19, 2007 04:25pm | #1

   This is the best picture I have.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

   
1. 
   mapleman | Jun 19, 2007 07:04pm | #3

   Hammer,

   Very nice piece. Did you make it? It would be great to see more photos.

   Lee

1. 
   hammer1 | Jun 20, 2007 04:42am | #4

   Lee, that's the real deal, an eighteenth century Newport secretary..
   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

   
1. 
   Floss | Jun 20, 2007 07:58pm | #5

   Do you know if the hardware is original?The plate on the left side bottom drawer of the case has a key hole cut in it. Must have run out of regular brasses and supplemented a keyhole plate for a regular plate?Or possibly a replacement "close enough".Was that piece at the MFA in Boston?Thanks for answering the pesky questions.J.P.

1. 
   hammer1 | Jun 21, 2007 06:33am | #6

   JP, asking for info is what this forum is all about. Your questions or anyone else's are not pesky. Of course, that doesn't mean I have a good answer! The chest on chest is on display at Winterthur. I haven't been able to find specific details about the piece. The day I was there, the estate was decorated for Christmas and there were not any furniture tour guides. The place is filled with fantastic pieces. My dang camera started to give me trouble that day. Someday I hope to return for a focus tour. I do have a few pictures. I think the rococo chest is the one the Keno's are discussing on the #9 high chest recording.http://www.winterthur.org/visiting/tours_tickets.asp
   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

   
2. 
   mapleman | Jun 21, 2007 07:16am | #7

   Obviously my mind has been in the gutter way too  long. I thought the picture titled "crotch-secretary" was going to be something else entirely!

   Lee

3. 
   peter28 | Jun 21, 2007 04:02pm | #8

   hammer1

   Winterthur is a great place isn't it? The rococo chest is a Philadelphia piece circa 1760-90. The center draw motif with the carved round shell surrounded by carved foliage was one of their trade marks.

   The secretary bookcase is also Philadelphia.

   The block front tiger maple chest appears to be Massachusetts.

   The decorated chest is a Japanned Chest, Boston, circa 1730-1750. It's most likely on the earlier side due to the feet. The gilt shells and finials combined with the japanning made it the Rolls Royce of it's day.

   I didn't know they let you photograph pieces there. If you get there again, check out their library. It is second to none.

   My interest is the finishes and resins. I had original books I had only read about placed in front of me. I was able to look through an original copy of;

   A Treatise of Japaning and Varnishing by Stalker & Parker circa 1688. I felt like a kid in a candy store. I have a reprint now but there is something electric going through an original.

   Check out this book; American Furniture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Queen Ann and Chippendale Styles. You'll love the back of this book. It breaks down regional style very well.

   Thanks for the photos. The color on that maple is spectacular.

   Peter

    

4. 
   hammer1 | Jun 23, 2007 05:39am | #9

   Hi Peter, Winterthur is fabulous. I deplete my savings in the bookstore every time I go. Thanks for the information and resources. I have a couple links for old formulas you may find interesting.http://www.old-crafts.com/
   http://www.muzzleblasts.com/archives/vol5no2/articles/mbo52-1.html
   http://www.woodfinishingenterprises.com/techinfo.htmlBeat it to fit / Paint it to match

5. 
   peter28 | Jun 25, 2007 02:52pm | #10

   Hammer1,

   Thanks for the links. Great stuff. Having all those resins in stock, I've played around with different formulas.

   I was interested to see the gunsmith's article. He actually takes the time to cook his own. That can be a dangerous undertaking if not very careful.

   While there is something romantic about reproducing coatings, there is also another side. A good friend of mine did his internship at a major museum. He made a number of samples of finishes according to various recipes. They were left on a shelf in a window for about a year to age. Some broke down very quickly without any wear.

   If you get to Wintethur again check out " Decorative and Protective Finishes, 1750-1850" by Theodore Zuk Penn. Thesis , University of Delaware 1966. It is an incredible reference with an equally thorough bibliography. They will let you copy up to twenty pages. I was lucky enough to obtain a full copy from some one who knows him.

   Peter

    

6. 
   jrogerh | Jun 30, 2007 10:53pm | #15

   A question from the "ignorant-but-interested".  Why do the carved portions of the Rococo Chest seem so much darker than the other parts of the piece?

7. 
   hammer1 | Jul 01, 2007 03:11am | #16

   I'm not sure that I have a correct answer for you, jrogerh. I suspect that, for the most part, it was the style. I'm sure the contrast was much more pronounced when the pieces were new. The use of different species, color and contrast has long been a common design theme. I wonder if they would be upset to see their work turn to the muddy, obscured color that we call patina.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

8. 
   joinerswork | Jul 02, 2007 04:33am | #17

   jrogerh,

   In addition to what hammer has said, carving exposes end grain in the wood, which naturally takes finish differently (darker).  Then too, the irregular surfaces in the carved areas are more difficult to keep clean and polished, so, after a couple hundred years, they end up grungier than flat surfaces on the same piece.

   Ray

2. 
   tuppence | Jun 28, 2007 05:53am | #11

   thank you

2. 
   joinerswork | Jun 19, 2007 05:05pm | #2

   tuppence,

   Near the back of Vol III of Wallace Nutting's Furniture Treasury (p463 in my copy) is a set of plans for a Newport tallcase clock.  The drawing of the rosette is small, but includes sections thru the carving showing all you'd need to know to replicate it.  Pretty straightforward, all in all.  Perhaps you can find a copy at your local library.

   Ray

1. 
   tuppence | Jun 28, 2007 05:56am | #12

   thank you, unfortunately not possible

2. 
   9619 | Jun 28, 2007 04:23pm | #13

   Ray,
   Do you know of a museum that would let me make a cast of a Goddard rosette. I believe that such pieces could best be reproduced via castings in high grade plastic. If I could take the museum piece apart, I would make molds of all pieces, including dovetailed ends, because I want my plastic reproductions to be as accurate to the period as possible. MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot. 

1. 
   joinerswork | Jun 29, 2007 05:47pm | #14

   Yeah, Mel,

   That would be the Museum of Acrylic Furniture, it's located either in Vinyl, UHMW, or maybe Polycarbonate, PET; I can't remember offhand.  They only allow castings to ba made with Plastic Wood, so take a large can with you.

   Ray