American Chippendale furniture

The name of Thomas Chippendale is synonymous with the finest furniture produced in England in the 18^th century, and the styles that were influenced by it in later years. What may be less generally appreciated is that many Americans, in the pre-Revolutionary colonies, were also admirers of Chippendale furniture to the extent that they patronised local cabinetmakers who worked in the Chippendale style, producing a specifically American version as a result.

There were two Thomas Chippendales, father and son, but it is the father (1718-79) who is the more famous, particularly because he compiled “The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director” (first published in 1754). This was a pattern-book containing illustrations of designs for many types of furniture that Chippendale was able to produce, although it is thought that not all the designs were original to him. During the later 18^th century everyone with enough money was keen to furnish their homes with the very best that money could buy, and to follow the latest fashions by jumping on the Chippendale bandwagon.

The craze spread abroad, including to the American colonies, where many wealthy people were keen to retain their links with the home country and to be seen as being just as sophisticated and up-to-date as their cousins back in England. The Chippendale influence spread through the colonies, including those which were not peopled primarily by those of British descent. Clearly, importing one’s furniture from England was not always possible, and would always add greatly to the price, so a market was therefore created for “home made” fine furniture, using the “Director” as a guide to what was wanted.

The first American Chippendale cabinet-makers were based in the northern colonies, including the Quakers William Savery of Philadelphia, and the related Goddard and Townsend families of Newport, Rhode Island. The latter families produced some twenty fine cabinet-makers across three generations. Records show that, shortly before the War of Independence, there were about 150 skilled furniture makers and carvers in Boston alone. In the south, some of the cabinet-makers were actually slaves who were highly skilled and thus valued for their excellent products.

American versus English

One major difference between English and American Chippendale was the raw materials that were available. Although mahogany was used both in England and America, the tendency in Connecticut, for example, was to favour cherry as a material. Throughout the colonies, the framework of “carcase” pieces, such as chests and desks, was usually made from softwoods whereas the English practice was to use hardwoods such as oak.

Another favoured wood was Virginian walnut, especially the variety that has a reddish colour similar to mahogany.

A particular feature of American Chippendale is the block front, which is absent from the “Director”. In block-fronted furniture, the centre part of the front recedes in a shallow concave curve but right and left are slightly convex. In a three-drawer unit, the central drawer would therefore by slightly recessed in contrast to those on either side. This style is known to have existed in America before the Chippendale era and was simply tacked on to American Chippendale.

Another American peculiarity is the “highboy”, which contrasts with the English “tallboy”. Whereas the tallboy consisted of a chest standing on top of another chest, the lower part of the highboy is a much lower stand, with drawers, supported on cabriole legs. The top of the upper part is often surmounted by a carved swan-neck broken pediment, or “bonnet top”. (The illustration is of a highboy made in Philadelphia).

The highboy was designed as drawing-room furniture, as was the “lowboy”, which was basically the lower part of the highboy but with extra embellishments, including brass handles that were often imported from England. By contrast, the English tallboy was normally used as bedroom furniture and was more utilitarian than decorative.

In chairs, the American tendency was for Queen Anne style backs and seats to accompany the “pure” Chippendale frame, and for “dowel and tenon” jointing to be used whereas this method only appeared in less sophisticated chairs in English Chippendale.

Chippendale styles in England later developed into a number of forms under foreign influences, producing “Chinese”, “Gothick” and “French” Chippendale. However, these influences had much less impact across the Atlantic, where the Chippendale form remained much simpler. Much of the more complex carving and gilding seen, for example, on mirrors in American Colonial houses was the result of importing rather than local production.

The end of American Chippendale

American Chippendale ends quite abruptly with the Revolution. This was mainly because of the wish to break with the old country and not to be seen as having sympathies with the enemy state from which the former colonies had gained their independence. The new country wanted to go its own way in matters of personal style as in so much else, although, curiously enough, the preference of Thomas Jefferson for the Palladian style, as seen at Monticello, was scarcely original. The main thing was that it was not English!

The pieces of American Chippendale that can be seen today in museums and surviving houses of the period bear witness to an age of elegance that has not been matched since. The furniture is solid, practical, and not over-elaborate. The wood has matured into rich and beautiful shades. While clearly of the highest quality, it is not ostentatious in the way that much European furniture of the time (particularly French) clearly was. These were pieces made for people with money, but who also had a Puritan ancestry that would not allow them to boast too much of their wealth.

© John Welford