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Secretary and Bookcase

Dateca. 1810

Attributed to John Wills Jr.

OriginAmerica, North Carolina, Gaston County

MediumCherry, yellow pine, mahogany, black walnut, and glass

DimensionsOH: 116 1/4"; OW: 42 1/2"; OD: 20 3/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Sara and Fred Hoyt Furniture Fund and The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund

Object number2011-1

DescriptionAppearance: Two part secretary and bookcase.
Upper section consists of a broken scroll pediment inlaid with geometric banding and stringing that follows the shape of the pediment and ends in inlaid circles with dark dots at the center of the scrolls; scrolls flank an urn shaped inlaid center finial (probably replaced); single arched glazed door with molded muntins forming the rectangular panes and flat muntins with lightwood veneer on their outer surface in the arched portion of door; door flanked by string inlay in imitation of fluted pilasters topped by a three part banding forming a capital motif of rectangular shape with a downward shaped element across the top; inside bookcase are four fixed shelves (upper most original shelf behind arched section of door now gone).

Lower section contains upper section within a molding around the rear portion of its top and consists of a cross banded top molding over three graduated drawers, the top drawer containing a secretary interior, over a veneered base molding and flared French bracket feet and a swaged skirt; drawer fronts ornamented with a rectangular light string inlay around the perimeter and a three part (light-dark-light) banding in the shape of two ovals with pointed ends flanking a diamond shape composed of a geometric banding; drawer fronts have brass oval drawer pulls and diamond shaped inlaid lightwood keyhole escutcheons; veneered base molding band of light and dark wood with central section of geometric lightwood banding directly below diamond shapes on drawer fronts; feet have lightwood circle inlaid at return; interior of secretary drawer composed of a central prospect door with a diamond shaped inlaid lightwood keyhole escutcheon, behind which is a removable section with two pigeon holes with scalloped valences over a single small drawer with a brass knob, single document drawer revealed when prospect section removed; flanking the prospect door on either side are four pigeon holes with scalloped valences over two side by side small drawers with single brass knobs.

Construction:
On the bookcase, the top is dovetailed to the sides. The tympanum is arched at the bottom to receive the arched door and thus also serves as a top rail. It is pegged to the top, and inset into the case stiles to which it is tenoned and pegged. The stiles are additionally pegged into the bottom and sides and probably the top. The pediment molding is pegged and nailed to the top edge of the tympanum, stiles and sides. The flat molding fitting the inside edge of the pediment is nailed in place with several rose head nails. The plinth is reinforced with a shaped block nailed to the back and the plinth top is nailed in place. The finial is a replacement. The rosettes are inlaid and integral to the pediment. Glued inside to the back of the tympanum, a shaped door stop block extends ½” below the arch at the top.

Four horizontal yellow pine backboards are chamfered to fit into dados in the sides and are pegged from the back with 3 pins to the top and 2 pins to the bottom. The bottom and fixed shelves are set in dados in the case sides. The bottom rail is tenoned and pegged into the stiles and pegged into the bottom.

The two halves of the arched top rail of the door are saddle joined with a floating tenon in the center with pegs securing the joint on each side, and saddle joined with pegs to the door stiles. All three joints are reinforced with inset iron braces screwed on the rear of the door. The bottom rail is through tenoned and pinned to the stiles. Cock-beading is pegged in rabbets in the outer edge of the rails and stiles. The flat muntins in the arched portion of the door are tenoned to the arched top rail and to each other. The molded muntins in the rectangular section of the door are tenoned and pinned to the stiles and lower rail and tenoned to each other with the centermost rail through-tenoned and pinned to the stiles.
On the desk, the two-board top is dovetailed into the sides. The front (exposed) top board is cherry, the rear (under bookcase) board is yellow pine. Sliding dovetails join the top rail to the two-board cherry sides. A 1¼” flat block (6”x8”) is glued and fixed with one screw to the underside of the top directly behind the top rail. Two lath strips (later additions or replacements) are nailed to each side where it joins the top, and appear, along with the block, to support the desk assembly when in use.

A three piece molding is glued and nailed to the desk sides, top and top rail. A molding that frames the bookcase base is nailed to the desk top. The sides have a 1 1/8” flat face strip on the front edge which has replaced an original 1” cherry face strip.
The drawer blade under the desk assembly is half-dovetailed to the sides and butt joined (possibly originally tongue and groove joined) to a full depth dust board set in dados in the sides. A lower drawer blade is also joined to the sides with sliding half-dovetails. It is tongue and groove joined to two drawer supports that are mitered, nailed (wire nails) and glued to a back rail that is in turn half-dovetailed to the sides. The drawer supports were possibly originally tenoned to the back rail. Two drawer stops are glued to the top of the drawer blade and similarly placed on the bottom board.

The back is comprised of two (possibly originally three) horizontal tongue and groove yellow pine boards, chamfered and set in dados in the top and sides and pinned with three pegs to the bottom. The bottom is dovetailed to the sides, with evidence of two glue blocks (now missing) on the underside of the bottom on each side strengthening the joints. The sides are integral with the feet and are also shaped at the bottom to form a skirt. The front skirt is lap-joined and glued to the front feet and bottom, and nailed from the upper side of the bottom board with a single hand wrought nail. Two glue blocks (one missing) further strengthen the joint between the bottom and the skirt. Decorative bracket feet are pegged and glued over the structural feet. The base molding is a 3 piece 1 ½” veneer band nailed and glued to the sides and front skirt. The molding partially obscures the carved side skirts.

On the desk interior assembly, the top is dovetailed to the sides as is the bottom. The center dovetail on each side is pegged into the edge of the side. The front edge of the bottom has a full width rabbet, pegged on each end to the edge of the sides, that interlocks with a corresponding rabbet on the compass-hinge attached drawer front when the latter is folded down to become a writing surface. The drawer front bottom edge is slightly chamfered. Sides are walnut. Both top and bottom are of walnut (in show area), backed by butt joined yellow pine. The fold down writing surface as well as the pigeon holes and drawers are of cherry with yellow pine secondary wood. A ¾” peg drawer stop is on the back edge of each side. The prospect compartment sides are dadoed into the top and bottom. The proper left prospect side is further secured with an original screw both form the top and the bottom. The interior pigeon hole dividers are dadoed into the top, the sides, the prospect sides and the bottom, and miter dadoed to the drawer top and each other. Below the pigeon holes are two drawers on each side of the prospect, with pigeon-hole dividers extending to the bottom as drawer dividers. Pigeon-hole valences are glued in place. Holes at the back of the outside pigeon-holes hold ¾” pins that in turn are reduced to ½“ to slide in dados in the case sides and further stabilize the desk when it is pulled out.

The top and bottom of the removable prospect interior are dovetailed to the sides with the back set in dados in the top and sides and double pinned with pegs to the bottom. It is held in place with a wooden spring lock attached to the bottom. Inside, the dividers for two pigeon holes above the single drawer are set in dados in the top and sides and miter dadoed to each other. Behind that assembly is a hidden document case, the sides of which are dovetailed to the bottom and glued to the front and back. It is removed with an original rawhide pull in the center of the front.

The exterior drawers are of typical dovetail construction, with significantly more refined dovetails in front. Fronts are 7/8” cherry with all other surfaces yellow pine. Horizontal-grained chamfered bottoms are set in dados in the front and sides and are pinned with three pegs from the underside into the back. Drawer runners are replaced and glued and (wire) nailed in place.

Drawer fronts, including the fold down desk front, are decorated with a scratch bead, inlaid key escutcheon and string and band inlay that is set 5mm deep.

The interior drawers are of similar construction but with only one peg pinning the bottom to the back, no drawer runners and plain drawer fronts. In addition the tops of their sides are slightly chamfered and have a peg stop centered in the back. The prospect drawer is constructed like the other interior drawers with the major exception of the bottom which is vertically grained, not chamfered and nailed to the back (two early nails) rather than pinned (a possible early replacement).

Label TextThis secretary and bookcase belongs to a group of corner cupboards, secretaries and bookcases, and desk and bookcases attributed to the "Fluted Pilaster Group" and believed to have been made around Gaston or Lincoln County, North Carolina in the Catawba River Valley at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. The monumental size of this piece and the extensive use of inlay and stringing suggest that it must have been owned by a wealthy or prominent family in that area.
InscribedOn the backs of the interior drawers is a scribed “X”, the prospect drawer has the same but in pencil.
ProvenancePhilip and Charlotte Hanes of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, consigned the secretary and bookcase to Brunk Auctions in 2010. The piece was previously owned by Mr. Hanes' uncle in New York City. Hanes family tradition notes that it was purchased from a family in York, South Carolina, which has a common border with Gaston County, North Carolina.

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