The most opulent form: a structural analysis of New York five-legged card tables

Abstract

The structural examination of New York, five-legged, Chippendale era card tables presents new names, ideas and relationships, heretofore unknown regarding New York cabinetmaking. Through close structural analysis of over seventy examples, certain patterns of construction are apparent. These patterns appear to indicate specific shop traditions, and certain aspects about the marketplace for New York cabinetwork at this time. Moreover, the discovery of a signed example allows, for the first time, attributions of a group of card tables to a known New York firm, that of Marinus Willett and Jonathan Pearsee. Other groups of tables reveal identical tops appearing among many cabinetmaking shops, the work of craftsmen outside New York City's borders, and stamped metal hinges that support the previous dating of the form.