Card table

Dateca. 1765

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

MediumMahogany, tulip poplar, oak, yellow pine, and white cedar.

DimensionsOH: 29 1/2"; OW: 34 1/2"; OD (closed): 17"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1976-26

DescriptionAppearance: Rectangular hinged top card table with rounded "turret" front corners; opens to a baize-lined playing surface with round reserves at corners and oval wells for gaming pieces to left of each corner; deep skirt with a canted lower edge carved with ruffles, foliage, and C scrolls on a diapered background, flat portions of front and side skirts transition with ogees to rounded front corners carved with same motifs as lower edge of skirt, rectangular drawer in center of front skirt with bead around edge of drawer, inset brass keyhole escutcheon and ornate bail and rosette drawer handle; four cabriole legs carved with acanthus leaves, ruffles, and single pendant bellflower; ball and claw feet; one rear leg swings to support top when open.

Construction notes: Frame of table is half blind dovetailed together at rear corners with inner rear and side rails and likely dovetailed at front corners; inner rear rail is nailed from the inside to the oak outer fixed rail, which in turn is knuckle joined to the rear oak swing rail; outer oak rear rails are tenoned and pegged into the rear legs; front legs are integral with the full rounded turrets and are likley notched around the corners of the table frame; the interior of that joint is not visible so additional shaping of the frame outer corner may have occured; large vertical, chamfered pine glue blocks in the front corners of the frame block any other joining construction between the leg and frame, but there is a modern screw through the proper right front glue block into the front corner of the table (not present on the proper left glue block); the shaped returns flanking the turrets on the skirt are separate pieces that are glued into shallow rabbets on the ends of the front and sides; the carved knee blocks and molding around the lower edges of the skirt are supported with pairs of large, chamfered rectangular glue blocks glued to the back of the angled molded skirt and the back of the rails, additionally there are some probably added modern screws and some wooden plugs in holes on the underside of the knee blocks suggested presence of screws; the extreme depth of the holes for these knee block screws suggests they may not have been original; the integral knees of the rear legs are relieved on their front faces about 7/16" to receive the carved molding of the side skirt; the front rail is relieved for the drawer opening; L shaped drawer supports are tenoned into the front of the rear rail and lapped over the front edge of the drawer opening; the top is attached with rectangular chamfered glue blocks; the table top is hinged at the rear corners with iron knife hinges; the top is relieved for the application of a textile playing surface, round corners, and deeper oval counter wells; drawer is dovetailed at rear corners and half blind dovetailed at front corners; the horizontally oriented bottom board is set in a rabbet in the underside of the drawer sides and glue blocks are glued along the sides (full length with chamfered back ends), and across the front (two shorter blocks); drawer front has cock bead set in a rabbet and nailed.

Woods: drawer sides and back are tulip poplar; drawer supports are yellow pine; all other glue blocks, inner rear rail, and drawer bottom appear to be white cedar.
Label TextThis is one of a superb pair of card tables traditionally owned by John Penn of "Solitude" in Pennsylvania. The second table is privately owned today. According to late nineteenth-century brass plaques on the CWF table, John Penn, grandson of William Penn, built a house called "Solitude" on the west bank of the Schuylkill River in 1784. Four years later he left for England, having sold his furniture at public auction. If true, this provenance suggests that the tables were made by Thomas Affleck, cabinetmaker to John Penn.

The baroque form of these card tables is derived from earlier English George II tables. The carving, however, is in the highly developed rococo style of the 1760s. The turreted corners with cross-hatched carving are seen on several other notable Philadelphia card tables.

The extreme depth of the frame and skirt appears to be a Philadelphia development: perhaps this is the form referred to there as "a Large Mahogany Commode Card Table," and suggests its use in a bedchamber or dressing room. George Washington ordered an English card table, specifying that it also be used as a dressing table. This may be the original use for large card tables with front drawers.
InscribedSee Marks
MarkingsInscribed on brass plaque on side of table (now removed, in object file): " "Solitude"/ Bought by Jos. Parker Norris/ at John Penn's Vendue/ June 1788/ H.F.N."

Inscribed on brass plaque on inside of drawer:
JOHN PENN BOUGHT 15 ACRES ON THE WEST BANK OF/ THE SCHUYLKILL FOR 600 POUNDS STERLING IN 1784/ AND ERECTED A HOUSE WHICH HE CALLED "SOLITUDE"/ HIS FURNITURE WAS SOLD AT AUCTION ON MONDAY/ MAY 26th 1788 AT 9:00 A.M. PREPARATORTY TO HIS/ RETURN TO ENGLAND FROM JENKIN'S THE FAMILY OF/ WILLIAM PENN PAGE 158. JOHN PENN GRANDSON OF/ WILLIAM PENN AND HIS SECOND WIFE HANNAH CALLOWHILL."
ProvenanceBrass plaques on side and inside of drawer of table documents ownership to John Penn of "Solitude". The pair of card tables descended through the Norris family of Philadelphia to Dr. Norris W. Vaux and then was acquired by dealer Joe Kindig, Jr.

Exhibition(s)