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.

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