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Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TILT-TOP TABLES COMMODITIES IN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY AMERICA by Sarah Neale Fayen A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Early American Culture Spring 2002 © 2002 Sarah Neale Fayen All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1408633 Copyright 2002 by Fayen, Sarah Neale All rights reserved. UMI___ ® UMI Microform 1408633 Copyright 2002 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TILT-TOP TABLES COMMODITIES IN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY AMERICA by Sarah Neale Fayen Approved: COJ^LiJtrL^x • J. Ritchie Garrison, Ph.D. Professor in charge of the thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee Approved: James C. (Zfi^rtis, Ph.D. Director pfthe Winterthur Program in Early American Culture Approved: JL Mark W. Huddleston, Ph.D. Acting Dean of the College of Arts and Science Approved: 3 Conrado M. Gempesaw H, Ph.D. Vice-Provost for Academic Programs and Planning Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My first and greatest thanks go to my advisor, J. Ritchie Garrison, whose creative and concerted efforts to comprehend our material world inspired and sustained my excitement for this project. His perfect combination of committed guidance and calm assurance afforded me the freedom to discover my story and my voice. At Winterthur, many people kindly listened to my questions when I stuck my head in their offices and stopped them in the hallways. Thanks to Mark J. Anderson, Wendy A. Cooper, Charles F. Hummel, Brock Jobe, and especially Michael S. Podmaniczky for reading an early draft. Several curators elsewhere generously met with me, sharing their time, research, and ideas. Thanks to Patricia E. Kane at the Yale University Art Gallery, and Ronald L. Hurst and Wallace B. Gusler at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. To many other people I owe significant debts of gratitude: for her enthusiasm, respect, and encouragement, special thanks to Prof. Ann Smart Martin at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, whose scholarship has paved the way for linking everyday objects to the historical context of consumerism; for important conversations, Thomas Denenberg at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Philip Zea at the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, and especially Prof. Edward S. Cooke, Jr. at Yale University iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. for sparking my initial interest in material culture; for sharing references, Dean Lahikainen at the Peabody Essex Museum, and Kem Widmer II; for research assistance, Susan Brady at the Library in the Yale Center for British Art, and Martha Rowe at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts; for access and advice, Rachel Bean at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Melissa Naulin at Mount Vernon, Alexandra A. Kirtley at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Dennis Carr at Yale University; for her nostalgia- inducing (and expert) revisions, Christina Cho; and finally, for listening to me talk about tilt-top tables throughout the last year and examining them with me during all of our travels, all my Winterthur classmates, especially Amanda Glesmann, Rob Rudd, and Laura Simo. Producing a master’s thesis requires significant logistical maneuvering. For their help with the details, thanks to Susan Newton in Winterthur’s Photographic Services, Neville Thompson in the Winterthur Library, Bert Denker in Winterthur’s Decorative Arts Photographic Collection, Jennifer Bean Bower at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, and Suzanne Warner at the Yale University Art Gallery. As time passes, I become increasingly aware that whatever successes and small triumphs I celebrate I owe entirely to my parents, George and Eugenia Fayen. My curiosity, confidence, and general happiness have grown directly from their unfailing encouragement, support, and love. With thanks, I dedicate this volume to them. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES..................................................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................. x TILT-TOP TABLES: COMMODITIES IN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY AMERICA 1 Seeing Similarity Rather than Difference........................................................................... 7 Tilt-top Tables and the 1740s............................................................................................ 23 Makers...................................................................................................................................30 Distributors .......................................................................................................................... 70 Buyers...................................................................................................................................77 U sers.....................................................................................................................................89 Finding Cultural Meaning .................................................................................................116 ENDNOTES............................................................................................................................ 124 REFERENCES........................................................................................................................ 138 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES Figure I. Tilt-top table ............................................................................................................... 2 Figure 2. Plain tops .....................................................................................................................9 Figure 3. Dished tops ................................................................................................................10 Figure 4. Scalloped tops ........................................................................................................... 11 Figure 5. Baluster pillars .......................................................................................................... 12 Figure 6. Plain column pillars ........................................................................................... 14 Figure 7. Plain column pillars with spiral fluted ums .....................................................15 Figure 8. Plain column pillars with squat balusters, some of them carved ....................16 Figure 9. Legs with high-arched shoulders ............................................................................17 Figure 10. Legs with shallow-sloped shoulders ...................................................................