Edmund Townsend
Desk and Bookcase

Desk and Bookcase

Public Domain

Desk and Bookcase
MakerAmerican, 1736/7–1811
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Desk and Bookcase
Datec. 1765–1785
Made inNewport, Rhode Island, United States
MediumMahogany; eastern white pine; chestnut; yellow poplar, and cedar
Dimensions98 1/4 × 43 3/8 × 25 1/2 in. (249.6 × 110.2 × 64.8 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of the estate of Marian M. Britton
Object numberB.99.24
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Newport Room
On view

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Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
DescriptionThe block-and-shell motif carved on the doors of this desk and bookcase is most closely associated with Newport, Rhode Island, though cabinetmakers used it in other colonial American locations as well. The likely maker of this desk, Edmund Townsend, was part of an extended family of Newport Quaker cabinetmakers; his father was a joiner and carpenter, two of his brothers were cabinetmakers, and two of his sisters married woodworkers from the Goddard family.
ProvenancePossibly owned by Raymond H. J. Perry (1789–1826), Newport, Rhode Island; […]; [George (1901–1988) and Benny Arons (1898–1978), Ansonia, Connecticut], by 1920s; [Ginsburg and Levy, New York, 1943]; purchased by the family of Julia Perry (née Esty); purchased by [Israel Sack, New York, 1973]; purchased by Marian M. (d. 1998) and James L. Britton, Jr. (1908–1988), Houston; Estate of Marian M. Britton; given to MFAH, 1999.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed: "3," " 4," and "5," in graphite, on backs of fronts of prospect drawers; "1," "2," "3," and "4," in chalk, in corners of fronts, sides, and backs of exterior drawers; "1" and "4," in graphite, on interior front and sides of larger interior drawers; "1" through "6," in graphite, on interior backs of valance drawers; V-shaped notches numbering one through five on top interior edges of valance drawers
[no marks]

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