Three generations of New Jersey cabinetmakers: the Matthew Egerton Family

Abstract

Although the furniture of Matthew Egerton Sr. and Jr. has been sought by collectors since the late 1920s, the cabinetmakers have received little scholarly attention. This thesis attempts to remedy the situation. Any study of craftsmen needs to consider the community in which they worked and lived. In the eighteenth century, the town of New Brunswick, New Jersey, grew from a fordable spot on the Raritan River to a prosperous shipping port for agricultural produce. New Brunswick's ships returned with manufactured goods from New York City and New England. Furniture imports, especially from New York City, set the taste for local patronage. The town's diverse ethnic community, composed of English, Scots, and Dutch settlers, also served to influence the design and production of some of the Egerton furniture forms. ☐ Matthew Egerton Sr. arrived in New Brunswick in the 1760s. He established his shop, married into a local and well-established family, and raised a family. Two of his three sons also carried on the furniture making trade. Matthew Egerton Jr. took over his father's business in New Brunswick at the latter's death in 1802. His furniture is extensively labeled and its designs reflect both regional and ethnic preferences. Two of Matthew Egerton Jr.'s sons also entered the cabinetmaking trade. The furniture forms produced by the cabinetmakers of each generation reflect an expansion and elaboration in consumer taste. ☐ Few business records survive from the Egerton shop to illuminate their business practices or customers. The labeled furniture of Matthew Egerton Jr. is the largest body of documentary evidence. This quantity of labeled forms makes the family important for decorative arts scholarship.