Images(7)

Cabinet of Curiosities

Date1834

Maker T. Horsington Grigg

OriginAmerica, New York, Syracuse

MediumMahogany, tulip poplar, basswood, inlaid woods, silk, other fabrics, paper

DimensionsOverall: 15 1/2 × 12 × 5 1/8in. (39.4 × 30.5 × 13cm)

Credit LineGift of Richard Totoiu and Lois Boyles

Object number2022.2000.1

DescriptionThis cabinet appears to be a miniature sideboard piled high with books. The uppermost vertical books are sleeves that pull off the top of the books, the small horizontal books on the proper left end swivel open, the book that is on edge, front to back, has a drawer that pulls out from the front, the small horizontal book at the proper right end has a top that comes off, and the large horizontal book on which everything above is supported has a drawer that opens from the proper left end. The interior of that large drawer is lined with marbled paper and has various dividers with serpentine top edges. The drawer front is labeled on top with the printed paper "T. HORSINGTON GRIGG / MAKER, SYRACUSE, FEB. 24, 1834". The entire superstructure of books swivels around a point on the proper right end revealing one small and one larger sections below it each with a mahogany veneered and lightwood banded top. The smaller section is relieved with an oval shaped depression in the center,. The sideboard facade is divided into three sections, the outer two have facades of book spines, the middle one has a light and dark wood triangular banding around a frame that slides down with three drawer pigeonholes. The second on the proper right is a drawer with a mirror set into the underside of the top that swivel up for use. The interior of the mirrored section is papered with marbled paper. The back of this drawer has another drawer with book spines facing out from the rear of the main drawer, and subsequently there are two more smaller drawers of the same type. These drawers are lined with silk and other fabrics. Various printed titles on paper have been adhered to the spines of books including Poetry, Methinks, Health, and other titles.
Label TextThis whimsical cabinet of curiosities with its various hidden or surprising compartments was made by T. Horsington Grigg in Syracuse, New York and dated February 24, 1834. He wrote on a drawer bottom that he had presented the cabinet to Mrs. Rust as a mark of his respect. Mr. Grigg has not been identified, but Mrs. Rust was likely Esther Parsons Rust (1799-1882), wife of Charles Rust (1799-1867) who was listed as a cabinetmaker (owner of a cabinetshop) in Syracuse on the 1850 US Census and an undertaker on the 1860 census. Mr. Grigg likely was a journeyman working in the Rust’s shop. One wonders why Mr. Griggs decided to produce this piece. Was it to prove his skills to his employer? Fill his evenings with a hobby? While the why is unclear, the end result is a whimsy that was an object of curiosity and memory through the 19th century. Numerous scraps of paper were found inside the cabinet dating to the 1870s and 1880s. One written by Mary Potter and Rosamond Rust (the original owner's granddaughter) stated that they had looked at the cabinet of curiosities on that day suggesting that the other notes may also have been left by delighted friends of the cabinet's owner.
InscribedIn pencil on large drawer bottom: “Finished this Cabinet/ 19 Feb/ 1834/ by T H Grigg/ Syracuse/ and presented to/ Mrs. Rust/ as a mark of/ Respect”

Scraps of paper found in cabinet are inscribed:
1. "Deanna Seyf [or b]old + ?? Abraham?? Russ----/ Sept 19 1876"
2. "Mrs. Remarkable Plunkett
Remembrance Ann Plunkett
Mrs. Horatio Strong
Miss Anna Louise Russell
Isabel Evangeline Russell
Migrrerrette Adair
Diana [Miss] Stearns"

On reverse:
"Written at the foot of Mt. Weisling [?] in Mrs. Plunkett’s farm house/ June 30th 1879"
3. "May 22 1881"
4. "Mary Potter + Rosamond Rust looked over this cabinet of curiosities Aug. 23rd 1881"
5. "G. Hayden May 17- 1884"
6. "Anna E. Whitbread Sept. 10th 1887"
7. "Georg/ Mary [or May]"
MarkingsA large drawer is labeled on top of the drawer front with the printed paper "T. HORSINGTON GRIGG / MAKER, SYRACUSE, FEB. 24, 1834".
Various printed titles on paper have been adhered to the spines of books including Poetry, Methinks, Health, and other titles.