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2023-81, Work Table
Lady's Work Table
2023-81, Work Table

Lady's Work Table

Date1815-1820
OriginAmerica, New York, New York City
MediumMahogany, white pine, cherry, and brass
DimensionsOH: 29 15/16"; OW (open): 32 3/4"; W (closed): 18 1/8"; OD: 17 7/8"
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Doret Bailey Matthews
Object number2023-81
DescriptionAppearance: Small rectangular table with two short drop leaves on sides with molded edges and rounded corners; three shallow cockbeaded drawers, upper two slightly deeper than bottom and upper two have brass inset keyhole escutcheons; all three drawers have two round brass knobs (replaced); bottom, side-hung, drawer was originally intended as a slide for a textile work bag but bottom was an in-process change (no evidence of any bag having been used on this drawer); trapezoidal leaf supports with finger holds finger-joined to sides; four turned and reeded tapered legs with decorative brass cup castors; mahogany veneered back of table has cockbeaded outline of three drawer backs; top drawer originally had dividers on proper left side for ink and pens and a writing surface in the larger center section (now all replaced with reproduction elements); back of top drawer slighly lower than sides; sides of top drawer have double bead; drawer sides and fronts of mahogany with mahogany veneer.

Construction:
The single board mahogany top is joined to the back and sides with pocket screws (all screws replaced) and screwed from below to the upper front rail. The back, sides, top rail and drawer blades are tenoned into the square upper section of the legs. Drawer blades are composed of white pine faced with mahogany. The sides are formed by an outer board of cherry (with the tenon into the legs), a white pine board of equal thickness, and then a very thin board of white pine together creating the same thickness as the tops of the leg. Vertical rectangular glue blocks with chamfered inner corner and top edges reinforce the joint of the back to the legs to the backboard (proper right block missing). Below the case, the tapered legs are turned and reeded, terminating with decorative brass cup and casters.

Drop leaves with rounded corners and the same molded edges as the top are joined to the top with recessed hinges (probably original). Trapezoidal leaf supports with relieved edges for fingers, cut from the cherry side rails, rotate on finger joints.

Rectangular front to back drawer supports for the two top drawers are butt joined to the drawer blades and rear vertical glue blocks and nailed to the sides. Vertical drawer stops for the two upper drawers and horizontal stops for the bottom drawer are nailed to the sides at the back. Rectangular front to back drawer supports for the bottom side-hung drawer are nailed to the case sides.

The mahogany sides of all three drawers are half-blind dovetailed to the mahogany drawer fronts. Cockbead is glued and nailed around the relieved drawer fronts covering the front dovetails. The white pine backs are dovetailed to the drawer sides. On the upper two drawers, the white pine bottoms, slightly chamfered around the front and sides, are set in rabbets in the front and sides and nailed to the underside edge of the back. A series of rectangular blocks are glued to the underside of the bottom around the front and sides. The white pine bottom of the bottom drawer is nailed to the underside of the front, back, and sides. This drawer has horizontal, triangular mahogany blocks glued in each corner. It is side hung and therefore relieved with a full-length rabbet (1/4” deep, ½” wide) on each side to accommodate the drawer support.

The case back is veneered in mahogany and has the appearance of three cockbeaded drawer fronts created by the application of beads and cockbeads.

The drawers are missing locks and have replaced pulls. The topmost drawer has vertical slots for now missing compartment dividers.
Label TextLadies' work tables often included a textile bag attached to a drawer frame into which they could place their sewing or needlework projects. This New York table has a frame that was intended for a textile bag. However, no bag was ever attached to this frame. During construction of the table, or slightly after, a wooden bottom was nailed to the underside of that frame creating a shallow drawer. This table descended in a Norfolk, Virginia family. The table's lack of an expensive textile bag might be explained by a cabinetmaker sending his work on speculation as venture cargo. Cabinetmakers would not have invested in expensive additions that could be damaged in transit. Or, the table might have been specifically ordered without a textile bag.

Based on the family history, the table may have originally been owned by Mary Willoughy Sharp (1784-1845) whose grandson, John C. Baylor (1835-1879), inscribed his name multiple times on the table's drawer bottoms. In addition to his name (and one inscription where below his name he wrote "President of the United States") he also wrote an algebraic theorum and diagrams for determining areas of shapes. These inscriptions suggest that Baylor was using the table during his teen years (the late 1840s-early 1850s) while learning algebra and geometry and that the table was no longer being used as a lady's work table. Stylistically, this table would have been out of date the period of John's use. And, as Mary Sharp died in 1845, the table may well have ended up in her daughter Elizabeth Frances Sharp Baylor's (1811-1900) household perhaps in her son John's schoolroom. The table ultimately was owned by Elizabeth and John's cousin, Belle Waller Tunstall Walke (1853-1944), another descendent of Mary Willoughby Sharp, and desdended through a female line to the last owner.

New York furniture of the early 19th century was often acquired by coastal southern families. New York cabinetmaker exported pieces to those locales but southern families also placed orders for specific pieces with New York shops. It is not known how this table came to Norfolk, but an almost identical table descended in the Barrow family of Oglethorpe Co., Georgia suggesting that it was part of the New York export trade (MESDA research file S-8925).
InscribedNumerous inscriptions and mathmatical equations and diagrams are inscribed on the underside and inside of the drawer bottoms including the names John C. Baylor, Samuel Barron, and Mary. Also what appears to be the word "Pleefer". "Binomial Theorem" with an algebraic theorem proof, and "John C. Baylor/ President of the/ United States" along with drawings of men's heads and a horse.
ProvenanceDescended in the Baylor, Tunstall, Sharp families. Known line of descent: Belle Waller (Tunstall) Walke (1853-1944) of Norfolk, Virginia, to first cousin Margaretta “Mattie” Willoughby (Rowland) King (1860-1938) of Norfolk and Alexandria, Virginia; to daughter Dorothy Tazewell (King) Bailey (1904-1965) of Alexandria, Virginia; to daughter Doret (Bailey) Matthews (b.1931) of Mobile, Alabama. May have been originally owned by Mary Marnix (Willoughby) Sharp (1784-1845) of Norfolk, Virginia or Anne (Brooke) Baylor (b.1769).