Desk and bookcase
Date1722-1730
Attributed to
Peter Scott
MediumBlack walnut with oak and yellow pine, brass
DimensionsOH: 82 3/4"; OW: 39 3/8"; OD: 24"
Credit LineThe President's House Collection at The College of William & Mary
Object number2007-86 (L)
DescriptionDesk and bookcase. Flat top bookcase with shaped paneled doors hung with iron knife hinges; candleslides below bookcase doors; three moveable shelves in bookcase interior; slant front desk with green baize writing surface; desk interior comprised of a central cross banded prospect door flanked on each side by three pigeon holes over one wide drawer with a tier of two stepped drawers surmounted by a pigeon hole at each end; hidden drawer behind lowest drawer on each side; central sliding panel reveals well below writing surface; writing surface supported by full heigh lopers; surbase molding (replaced) over two small drawers over two large drawers; straight bracket feet (replaced).Label TextPeter Scott (ca. 1695-1775) is Williamsburg's first known cabinetmaker. Born in Scotland, he was in Virginia by 1722. Scott plied his trade in Williamsburg for a remarkable 53 years until his death at age 81. Like many cabinetmakers trained at the begining of the 18th century, he focused on case furniture and left chairmaking to others. his Williamsburg workforce included two enslaved cabinetmakers whose names are unknown.
Construction methods and wood choices suggest he learned cabinetmaking in an urban British shop. Although he a made few stylistic changes over his long career, his work was surprisingly consistent in form and detail for half a century. This desk and bookcase, his earliest known work, mimics London style of the 1710s. Elite furniture buyers in the Chesapeake favored such British standards.
ProvenanceDescended in the Baytop family of Gloucester, Virginia.
Exhibition(s)
1700-1730
1750-1775
1705-1715
1800-1815
1760-1780
1760-1775
ca. 1775
ca. 1785
1760-1790
1760-1780
ca. 1810