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THE LIBRARY OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF
NORTH CAROLINA
AT CHAPEL HILL
THE COLLECTION OF NORTH CAROLINIANA
C705
E12
4-6 & index
1978-80
UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL
00034012229
FOR USE ONLY IN IE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION
:'«'.*.••■
EARLY SOUTHERN DECORATIVE ARTS
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The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts is owned and operated by Old Salem, Inc., the non-profit corporation that is responsible for the restoration and operation of Old Salem, Moravian Congregation Town founded in 1766. MESDA is an educational institution with the established purpose of collecting, preserving, documenting and researching representative examples of southern decorative arts and craftsmanship for the period 1600s to 1820. The Museum exhibits its collection for public interest and study.
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JOURNAL of
EARLY SOUTHERN
DECORATIVE ARTS
May, 1979
Volume V, Number 1
Published twice yearly in
May and November by
The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Dorothy Welker, Chairman Frances Griffin Bradford Rauschenberg
Copyright© 1979 Old Salem, Inc. Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27108
Printed by Hall Printing Company High Point, North Carolina
Contents
John Shearer, Joiner of Martinsburgh 1
John J. Snyder, Jr.
A School of Charleston, South Carolina
Brass Andirons: 1 780- 1815 26
Bradford L. Rauschenberg
Members ofMesda 76
Figure 1.
John Shearer, Joiner of Martins burgh
John J. Snyder, Jr.
Before the appearance of the signed John Shearer desk-and- bookcase at auction in New York in February, 1978, the name of this West Virginia cabinetmaker was not generally known to students of American furniture (Fig. I).1 However, for fifty years his name has been known to a handful of people. In 1929, Edward Knedle, an early dealer in Hagerstown, Maryland, in- formed the owners of the desk-and-bookcase now in the collec- tion of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts that he knew about "three of these desks" made by a 'John Sharon" [sic] of Martinsburg, West Virginia.2 In 1970, the writer discovered a signed John Shearer chest of five tiers of drawers (Fig. 2) and commenced research on the often elusive John Shearer. Today, seven pieces of furniture may be credited securely to John Shearer. This body of work constitutes the largest group of documented Chippendale furniture that can be credited definitely to any Southern cabinetmaker, with the ex- ception of the numerous pieces bearing the label of John Shaw
Figure 1. Desk-and-bookcase signed by John Shearer of Martinsburg, West Virginia. Numerous inscriptions on the desk section indicate that it was made by John Shearer in Martinsburg in August and September, 1801. The exterior back of the bookcase section is signed "By / Shearer y Joiner 7 1806. " For its scale, complexity of design, and lavish ornamentation, this piece may be regarded as Shearers masterpiece. 106" HO A, 41" WO A, 24 V2 "DO A. Walnut and cherry primary woods; yellow pine and oak secondary woods. Col- lection of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts. MESDA research file 2979.
1
of Annapolis, Maryland. Further, John Shearer is one of the few Shenandoah Valley cabinetmakers whose works have been iden- tified. This study seeks to establish a groundwork for further research on John Shearer and his furniture.
Photograph by J. P. Herr.
Figure 2. Chest of drawers signed at least fourteen times by John Shearer of Martinsburg and dated 1804. The ogee bracket feet are a conjectural restora- tion. The brasses are a replacement, and although those on the top two tiers of drawers occupy the original positions, plugged holes on the bottom three drawers indicate a different original placement there. Tack marks between the cornice and the top tier of drawers may indicate the presence of a now-lost or- namental frieze. Walnut primary wood; yellow pine and poplar secondary woods. 53V2" HOA, 43 3/8" WOA, 24" DOA. Private collection.
The initial evidence for identifying John Shearer as maker is presented in the numerous inscriptions that he placed on in- terior surfaces, back boards, and inlays. Six of the seven Shearer pieces illustrated here retain legible inscriptions. In fact, the desk and bookcase (Fig. 1) is signed at least twenty times,3 and the chest with five tiers of drawers is signed at least fourteen times (Fig. 2).4 The desk with an armorial type of inlay is signed at least nine times.5 The serpentine-front low chest of drawers is signed twice (Fig. 3), and each of the pier tables is signed once. The majority of these inscriptions are written in red crayon, and
Photograph reproduced from Antiques, January 196}, p. 64.
Figure 3- Chippendale chest of drawers signed twice by John Shearer of Mar- tins burg and dated 1800. Walnut primary wood; yellow pine secondary wood. 37" HO A, 38" WO A, 22 V2 "DO A. Private collection.
a few are written in pencil. Only the walnut pier table made for Elizabeth Filler is signed in an inlaid medallion (Figs. 6 and 9). Representative of the script and wording of the crayon, pencil, and incised inscriptions are the lines "made by me, John Shearer Sebtr 1801 from Edinburgh 1775 /Made in Mar- tinsburgh' ' that appear on the back of a drawer of the desk and bookcase in the collection of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (Fig. 8).
Three of the inscribed pieces bear dates. In addition to the writing cited above, the desk section of the desk-and-bookcase bears two other inscriptions dated with both month and year, one reading " Made /by/ Shearer /Aug1- 1801" and another reading "Made by Shearer Nov. 180-." Thus, the desk section of this piece may be dated between August and November, 1801. On the back of the bookcase section of this desk-and- bookcase appears the pencil inscription "By /Shearer /Joiner/ 1806," written upside down. It is interesting to note that the bookcase section was fabricated about five years after the desk. The chest of five tiers of drawers is dated 1804 three times (Fig. 2). A red crayon inscription within the side of the low chest of drawers dates it 1800 (Fig. 3).
It is also noteworthy that the three signed and dated pieces also give the place of manufacture as "Martinsburgh." This follows the old spelling for the town that always has been the seat of Berkeley County.6 Martinsburg is noted three times in writing on the desk section of the desk-and-bookcase (Fig. 1), three times in inscriptions on the chest of five tiers of drawers (Fig. 2), and once on the low chest of drawers (Fig. 3).7 The other four Shearer pieces bear no notations identifying the place where they were produced.
Five of these signed pieces bear inscriptions identifying John Shearer as being ' 'From Edinburgh. ' ' This appears five times on the desk-and-bookcase (Figs. 1 and 8), twice on the chest of five tiers of drawers (Fig. 2), twice on the desk with an armorial type of inlay on the fall lid (Fig. 4), once in the pencil inscription on the underside of the top of the cherry and mahogany pier table (Fig. 7), and once, although abbreviated "Ednboro," on the in- lay of the Elizabeth Filler pier table (Fig! 6). The inscriptions on both the desk-and-bookcase and the chest of five tiers of drawers further identify Shearer as being "From Edinburgh — 1775." The interpretation that these inscriptions place Shearer's origins in the small town of Edinburgh on Stony Creek in Shenandoah
County, Virginia, is weakened by the fact that the town was fre- quently known by another name.8 Thus, it is more likely that Edinburgh refers to an origin in Scotland.
Two of the Shearer pieces discussed here bear writing in- dicating the maker's Tory sympathies. On the interior back of a shell-carved drawer of the interior of the desk-and-bookcase is
Figure 4. Desk signed repeatedly by Shearer, including "By Shearer [sic] /Join- er/From Edinburgh ' ' on the underside of the writing surface. Apparently, the inscriptions are undated. The interpretation of the inscriptions on the inlays is discussed in the text of this article. Walnut, oak, birch, and lightwood inlays constitute the primary woods; the secondary woods are oak, walnut, yellow pine, and poplar. 46" HOA, 38V4 " WOA, 22 5/8" DOA. Private collection. MESDA research file 8689.
written "God Save the King 1801" (Fig. 1). The chest of five tiers of drawers bears more numerous Tory inscriptions, in- cluding "God Save the King /By Me /John Shearer" written beneath the top, and "From a Tory /Vive le Roy/ 1804 /God Save the King /by me John Shearer" written on the interior of the second drawer from the bottom. Possibly the inlay on the fall lid of the desk (Fig. 4) pictorially expresses the same sen- timents, for the crowned lion rampant is an obvious British sym- bol. Even the motto "Victory Be Thine" incised above the lion may emphasize the "tory" in the last four letters of the word "Victory." It is believed that these are the only known pieces of American furniture bearing pro-Tory inscriptions or symbols.
Photograph courtesy of the owner.
Figure 5. Desk apparently unsigned, here attributed to John Shearer, c. 1800-1806. In form, ornament, and all structural details, this desk is very closely related to the desk section of the desk- and- bookcase illustrated in Figure 1. It is possible that inscriptions on interior surfaces may have been obliterated by the varnish that covers the drawer interiors. Cherry and lightwood inlays constitute the primary woods; the secondary wood is yellow pine. 48" HO A, 44" WO A, 22" DOA. Private collection.
The histories of these pieces complement and strengthen the evidence supplied by the inscriptions. Three of the seven Shearer pieces are without any information about early or original ownership. The desk attributed to John Shearer on stylistic and structural grounds (Fig. 5) can be traced only to re- cent ownership in California collections. The cherry and mahogany pier table (Fig. 7) formerly was in the collection of the late Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, but its inscription passed unrecognized in the catalogue of the Dodge sale. The low chest of drawers (Fig. 3) first appeared in January, 1965, when adver- tised by a Massachusetts dealer in Antiques.
Fortunately, the provenances of the other Shearer works pre- sent more explicit historical information. The desk-and- bookcase (Fig. 1) has three inscriptions that identify the original owner. Written in pencil on the back of the large central drawer is "By Shearer to Mr. Pendleton/ 1801"; on the underside of the writing surface appears "Shearer for Even' ' ; and on the back of the desk section an inscription in black paint that reads "E. Pendleton /Winchester." Thus it is evident that the desk-and- bookcase was made for an Evan (or Even) Pendleton in Win- chester, Virginia. This prominent Shenandoah Valley center is located about twenty miles southwest of Martinsburg. Although this Mr. Pendleton almost certainly was a member of a large and prominent Virginia family, his precise identity has yet to be established.
The straight-front chest of five tiers of drawers (Fig. 2) was purchased in Martinsburg by a dealer about 1962 or 1963; it had descended in a family of that locale for at least four generations.9 As will be noted later, there is intriguing cir- cumstantial evidence that this chest of drawers may have been owned by John Shearer.
The walnut pier table (Fig. 6) has two inlaid and inscribed medallions that identify both the maker and the original owner, one Elizabeth Filler. Possibly the wording "Miss Elizabeth Filler /Fame to Virtu" may be construed as a personal compli- ment from the cabinetmaker, in addition to being a mark of ownership. This table descended through generations of the Mann family of the Lovettsville area in Loudon County, Virginia; a Filler family also lived in this vicinity.10 It may be noted that Lovettsville is located about twenty-five miles southeast of Martinsburg.
Figure 6. Serpentine -front pier table with two inscribed, inlaid medallions, one stating "By Shearer of Ed*1 boro — Fame To Mars" and the other reading "Miss Elizabeth Filler — Fame to Virtue. " This table probably dates c. 1800. Walnut primary wood; there are no secondary woods. 29" HO A, 38 5 1 16" WOA, 18" DOA. Private collection. MESDA research file 7359.
Presenting a complex and rather problematical provenance is the desk with an armorial type of inlay on the fall lid (Fig. 4). Once in the collection of William Randolph Hearst, this desk was sold in New York from that collection in November, 1938. The sale catalogue stated that the desk had been found in Philadelphia in the late 1870s by Dr. William Kent Gilbert's sister; it had previously belonged to some "colored servants who had received it from the Washingtons."11 This desk has two in- scribed inlays that would seem to identify its early or original ownership. Incised on an inlaid panel on the top drawer are the lines "Presented by / Rorbert Mc Farland' ' [sic] . Beneath the oval with lion rampant on the fall lid is an eagle- inlaid shield with a dependent curved panel inscribed "John Custis." The transi- tional Chippendale-Federal style of the desk precludes even the possibility that it was made for John Custis, the father of Daniel Parke Custis, who was Martha Washington's first husband. In- deed, the desk seems to date later than the lifespan of Martha
8
Photograph by J. P. Hen.
Figure 7. Serpentine-front pier table inscribed in pencil beneath the top "John Shearer /Joiner From I 'Edinburgh. " This table probably dates c. 1800. The legs are mahogany, and the top and skirt are cherry; there are no secondary woods. 30 1/16" HOA, 32V4 " WOA, 17 118" DOA. —Private collection.
Washington's son, John Parke Custis. Further, the inlay tech- niques, color, and lettering on the eagle shield and the "John Custis" panel differ from all other inlays on the desk, sug- gesting that they might be a later addition. Indeed, an inlaid loop at the base of the oval inlaid with the lion rampant implies the existence of an earlier inlay that was removed and replaced by the shield with eagle and the "John Custis" panel.12 Several candidates could be identified as the Robert McFarland who evidently gave the desk as a gift; he might be the Robert McFarland who moved from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to Bedford County, Virginia, about 1757, or a member of his fami- ly.13 Another prominent McFarland family, intermarried with the Lewis family, lived in the vicinity of Staunton, Virginia, in
the last quarter of the eighteenth century.14 Obviously, this desk presents many yet unanswered questions.
In total, the inscriptions and histories of the John Shearer pieces already give some of the basic biographical information about the cabinetmaker. Evidently he was an adult working in or near Martinsburg, West Virginia, between 1800 and 1806. The general transitional Chippendale-to-Federal style of most of the pieces implies that the broader span of his working period might be about 1790 to 1810. Although Shearer's orientation appears to have been in the Martinsburg region, his clients lived as far away as Winchester, Virginia, and Loudon County, Virginia. Most surprising, the inscriptions leave no doubt that Shearer harbored strong, but secretive, Tory political feelings.
As Shearer had been hitherto overlooked in published references on American cabinetmakers, so, too, he was notable only in his absence from the published histories of Berkeley County, West Virginia. His name was never mentioned in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century newspapers from the Martinsburg area. None of the local historians in Martinsburg had ever heard of John Shearer, and the family name has now disappeared from Berkeley County. However, research in primary sources, plus the recent discovery of a collateral descen- dant of John Shearer living in Texas, have securely identified John Shearer (1765-1810) as the son of Archibald and Sarah Shearer, who lived at Falling Waters on the Potomac, north of Martinsburg.
According to long-standing tradition in the line of Ar- chibald Shearer's son, Thomas, the family left Scotland and set- tled in Berkeley County (then part of Frederick County) shortly before the beginning of the Revolutionary War.15 Archibald Shearer (1732-1800) may have been the son of a John Shearer who died in Berkeley County about 1777. l6 He married Sarah Prather (1739-1805), and had a family numbering at least four- teen children.17 Archibald Shearer owned a total of several thou- sand acres of land in both Berkeley County, Virginia, and Washington County, Maryland; he kept his residence at Falling Waters on the Potomac, where he owned mills and a distillery. Evidently he was a Presbyterian, for he and most of his family were buried in the now-abandoned Presbyterian graveyard near Falling Waters. In the last quarter of the eighteenth century, he appears to have been one of the richest inhabitants of Berkeley County, although he never held public office after the Revolu-
10
tion. In his will, made January 31, 1800, he designated his son John as one of the two executors of his estate and left to him "all that tract of land in Maryland which I purchased of Jack, Ross & Ringgold with its appurtenances." Archibald Shearer's estate inventory, taken April 25, 1800, included some relatively ex- pensive furniture and twelve slaves with a total value of £1325. 18
Aged about thirty-five at the time of his father's death, John Shearer probably moved to the lands which his father had pur- chased as early as 1778 in Washington County, Maryland.19 The tracts, known as 'Jack's Bottom" and "Additions to Jack's Bot- tom," were located along the Potomac River, near Williams- port, Maryland. It is likely that John Shearer married his wife, Mary Ann, some time between 1800 and 1805. However, he evidently maintained close ties on the south side of the Potomac River, for he was taxed on land in Berkeley County in 1802, and was involved in the settlement of his mother's estate in 1805. 20
On January 2, 1810, John Shearer made his will in Wash- ington County. He mentioned no trade, and left all his estate to his wife and his only son, Henry, then a minor. The wording of the will indicates that Shearer was seriously ill; he did not long survive, for letters to his estate were issued on March 9, 1810.21 The inventory of his estate, taken March 29, 1810, listed no joiner's tools and very few farming implements; it provided a few signs of material well-being, including six silver table- spoons, twelve silver teaspoons, and two pairs of silver sugar tongs.22 Possibly Shearer had retired to live from the income of his inherited lands. A reference in his estate account of November 24, 1811, to "Shop rent" at least implies an earlier period of activity.23
John Shearer's only son, Henry, died as a minor some time before August 30, 1824. His widow died shortly before March 22, 1825, having made a will on November 19, 1824. In this document, she left to "Martha Ross a woman of couler" the "Beurau which is now at the widow Jacobs Friends and also the bedstead."24 It is intriguing to associate this "Beurau" in- herited by "a woman of couler" in 1825 with the chest of five tiers of drawers (Fig. 2), which was owned by a black family named Fox in the Martinsburg area for at least four generations. This is the sole item having even a plausible argument to be considered as one of John Shearer's possessions.
Many factors support the identification of this John Shearer (1765-1810) as the cabinetmaker. He is the only "John
11
Shearer" who can be placed in the Martinsburg area between 1790 and 1810. Although he is never termed a joiner or cabinet- maker on any extant tax lists from Berkeley County in the period between 1790 and 1810, it appears that these lists generally did not mention trades. Unfortunately, no tax lists from Washington County, Maryland, dating between 1800 and 1810 are known to survive. John Shearer's signature on furniture, whether written on interior surfaces or incised in inlay (Figs. 8
• '!'/'/> / if <?/ it ; tfa&+^ • " 'J » '?'/ S
Figure 8. Detail of inscription on the back of a drawer of the desk-and- bookcase illustrated in Figure 1 .
Figure 9- Detail of the Shearer inscription incised on the inlay of the pier table illustrated in Figure 6.
and 9) is consistent. Comparison of these signatures to that on the 1810 will (Fig. 10) reveals some generalized similarities but betrays a less precise hand in the will. However, since Shearer evidently signed the will on his deathbed, a faltering hand can be expected. The inscriptions reading, "From Edin- burgh— 1775" may be interpreted to mean that Sarah Shearer and her children came to America several years after the arrival of Archibald Shearer; this pattern of settlement can be traced in many American families. Finally, it is John Shearer's statement
12
of Tory allegiance that clinches the identification. There remains in the vicinity of Falling Waters a strong tradition that the Archibald Shearer family held a secret loyalty to the crown, and this fact is confirmed in the unpublished Shearer family genealogy.25
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F/g#re /0. 7#* signature on the will made by John Shearer in Washington County, Maryland, on January 2, 1810. Reproduced from the original will at the Hall of Records, Annapolis, Maryland.
Stylistic analysis of the Shearer pieces may be divided into considerations of general style, form, ornament, and design sources. An overview of these works places the majority in an in- dividualistic transitional Chippendale-to-Federal style. Only the low chest of drawers (Fig. 3) has no Federal influence. On the two pier tables, the new Federal style has influenced the form through the use of the tapered legs terminating in tall spade feet (Figs. 6 and 7). On the other pieces, the overall form remains in the Chippendale style, while the ornament reveals the influence of the Federal style. Carved swags of drapery on the capitals of the quarter columns of the chest with five tiers of drawers bespeak the influence of neoclassicism (Fig. 2), as they also do on the attributed desk (Fig. 5). Otherwise, the neoclassical in- fluence is evident in the inlays of swags, pendant bellflowers, medallions, and thin, wavy lines (Figs. 1, 4, 5, 6, and 20).
A general stylistic peculiarity that seems to mark the Shearer pieces is the unusual placement of hardware. Notable is the ver- tical placement of the brasses on both the desk-and-bookcase (Fig. 1) and the desk with the armorial type of inlay on the fall lid (Fig. 4). On the low chest of drawers (Fig. 3) the hardware is set near the sides of the drawers, and this placement was utilized originally on the three large drawers of the chest with five tiers of drawers (Fig. 2).
13
Another unusual stylistic quality of the Shearer furniture ap- pears in the completely finished and scalloped backboards of the two pier tables (Figs. 14 and 15). Although the shaping is dif- ferent on the two illustrated examples, the use of repeated C-shaped curves is similar. Perhaps this treatment indicates that these tables were intended to serve secondary functions as free- standing furniture.
In basic form, all but one of the Shearer pieces repeat the same serpentine-front with squared or blocked corners; only the chest with five tiers of drawers has a plain straight front. This serpentine form always terminated in paired concavities on the top drawer; hence the likeness to blockfront furniture is increased. Where the serpentine-front pieces employ an ogee bracket foot (Figs. 3 and 4), the base molding is omitted from the central, serpentine section; thus, the vertical unity of the foot and the blocked corner section is strengthened. On the two pieces with claw-and-ball feet (Figs. 1, 5, and 16) a more decorative and sculptural effect is achieved.
Ornament on the Shearer furniture is both carved and in- laid. The carving on the capitals of quarter columns (Fig. 18) ap- pears on two pieces (Figs. 2 and 5). The chevron design that or- naments the base sections of the quarter columns of the chest with five tiers of drawers (Fig. 19) may be similar to gouge carv- ing found on Federal period woodwork in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the Shenandoah Valley. A favored carved motif is the pierced quatrefoil that ornaments the fronts of the pier tables (Figs. 6 and 7), and the pull-out supports for the fall lids of the desk-and-bookcase and the desk with the armorial type of inlay on the fall lid (Fig. 17). Of architectural inspiration is the very bold egg-and-dart molding which constitutes part of the cornice of the desk-and-bookcase (Fig. 1). More whimsical is the central carved anchor motif on this molding, the pierced tym- panum of the pediment, and the unusual carved side finials. Bold carving typifies the execution of the claw-and-ball feet which support the desk-and-bookcase and the attributed desk (Fig. 16); the stylized shell-like devices on the heavy knees of these feet are noteworthy.
Inlays adorn four of Shearer's works; the favored surfaces for this form of ornamentation are the fall lids of the desks (Fig. 20). With slight variations, all three fall lids bear similar designs of inlaid swags of drapery with heavy pendant bellflowers. Chain-like formations and inlaid wavy lines frequently appear.
14
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Figure 11. Interior of the desk section of the desk-and- bookcase illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 12. Interior of the desk illustrated in Figure 4.
Figure 13- Interior of the desk illustrated in Figure J.
15
Shearer's practice of incising his name and inscriptions on inlaid panels or medallions is unusual. As was noted before, the crowned lion inlaid on the desk (Fig. 4) again bespeaks Tory orientation. The motif of the inlaid mask appears three times on the desk with the armorial type of inlay on the fall lid (Fig. 4) and is related to the winged faces that ornament the medallions on the skirt of the Elizabeth Filler pier table (Fig. 9).26
Through the combined use of carving, inlays, and multi- colored woods, Shearer created elaborate and complex desk in- teriors. The finest of all his desk interiors is that of the desk-and- bookcase (Fig. 11), which boasts a combination of shell-carved niches, a large top drawer ornamented with two carved convex shells, fluted pilasters, step-fluted sliding tambours, and col- ored oval paterae. Particularly notable are the architectural details, including the simulated voussoirs with keystones that enframe the two lateral drawers with concave shell carving; the small console brackets beneath these drawers, and the simulated masonry enframing the concavities of the drawers beneath the pigeonholes complement this theme. Although different in total design, the interior of the attributed desk (Fig. 13) repeats these simulated voussoirs with central keystones. Here the six
Figure 14. Back of the pier table made for Elizabeth Filler illustrated in Figure 6.
16
Figure 15. Back of (be pier table illustrated in Figure 7.
pigeonholes are crowned with small drawers, each bearing a con- cave carved shell. The combination of fluted pilasters, tam- bours, and engaged fluted columns accentuates the other details of architectural inspiration. Without inlays, the interior of the desk with the armorial type of decoration on the fall lid achieves variety in color by means of a combination of natural birch and ebonized oak (Fig. 12). The central convex shell crowns a removable section whose bowed front is embellished with reeding. Unusual features include the Gothic arches and the vertical depressions in drawers which serve in the place of applied hardware.
Apparently Shearer drew his inspiration not from printed sources but rather from acquaintance with other pieces of fur- niture. The stylistic attributes of the seven pieces discussed here suggest that cabinetwork from three areas influenced Shearer: Virginia, inland Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. The orna- mented quarter-columns relate to other cabinetwork from the
17
Figure 16. Detail of claw-and-ball foot on the desk section of the desk-and- bookcase illustrated in Figure 1 .
Figure 17. Detail of the pierced pull-out support for the fall lid of the desk- and- bookcase illustrated in Figure 1.
area of Winchester, Virginia (Figs. 18 and 19). In form, the old claw-and-ball feet may be likened to those encountered on mid-eighteenth-century furniture from Williamsburg, Virginia. Gothic elements, as seen in the desk interior, also have parallels in Williamsburg cabinetwork.27
In both scale and drawer arrangement, the chest with five tiers of drawers is reminiscent of furniture from the counties of inland Pennsylvania (Fig. 2). Also akin to Pennsylvania cabinet- work is the form of the ogee bracket feet (Figs. 3,4). The coun-
18
Figure 18. (Left) Detail of the carved capital of a quarter column on the chest of drawers illustrated in Figure 2.
Figure 19. (Right) Detail of the base section of a quarter column on the chest of drawers illustrated in Figure 2.
ties of Chester, Lancaster, and Cumberland in Pennsylvania ex- erted considerable influence on the culture of the Shenandoah Valley.
Quite unexpected is the apparent influence of Rhode Island furniture evident in most of the Shearer pieces. The serpentine-
19
Figure 20. Detail of the inlaid fall lid of the desk section of the desk-and- bookcase illustrated in Figure 1.
front form with blocked corners, and even the position of shells on desk interiors, are reminiscent of blockfront pieces from Rhode Island and New London County, Connecticut.28 Indeed, the form of the two Shearer pier tables, with serpentine curve to the skirt, frame, and top, and with blocked corners, is found elsewhere in American furniture only in card tables usually at- tributed to the Goddard-Townsend cabinetmakers of Newport, Rhode Island. Whereas the routes of Virginia and Pennsylvania influence are apparent and expected, one can only speculate on the transmission of apparent Rhode Island influence to the nor- thern Shenandoah Valley.
All the Shearer pieces reveal consistent structural practices. The favored primary woods are walnut and cherry; the favored secondary wood is hard pine. The furniture is extremely heavy, and possesses the characteristic "overconstruction" found fre- quently on pieces made in the counties of southeastern and south-central Pennsylvania. The bottoms of drawers are secured by large rose-headed nails. More unusual is the occasional use of screws where nails or pegs might be expected. Each drawer rests upon a mortised frame that entirely encircles the inside of the carcase of the piece. Dovetails, as seen in the central section of the desk with the armorial type of inlay on the fall lid (Fig. 21) are long, precisely formed, and regularly spaced. The angles and spacing of dovetails in the Shearer pieces are remarkably similar.
Structurally, the most complex of all the Shearer pieces is the desk-and-bookcase (Fig. 1). Each foot is shaped from a single block of wood, secured to the base by a massive iron brace (Fig. 22). The pediment slides forward from the top of the bookcase
20
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Figure 21. Detail of the dovetails of the central section of the interior of the desk illustrated in Figure 4. The wooden locking device also should be noted.
Figure 22. Detail showing the construction of the feet in the desk section of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in Figure 1.
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section (Fig. 23); it is held in place by two boards applied to the top.
Both John Shearer and his furniture share some of the same qualities: provinciality in origin but sophistication in outlook. With many questions remaining unanswered, John Shearer has at last achieved what was denied him in life, widespread recognition for his works, and the freedom to express his Tory beliefs.
Figure 23- Detail showing the construction of the top and pediment of the bookcase section of the desk-and- bookcase illustrated in Figure 1.
Mr. Snyder, a Winterthur graduate and writer, lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
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NOTES
1. Sotheby Parke Bernet catalogue for sale number 4076, February 4, 1978, lot 1341. The desk-and-bookcase is illustrated in color.
2. Letter from Edward Knodle, Hagerstown, Maryland, to Mr. and Mrs. R. W. Tener, September 30, 1929- Courtesy of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Winston- Salem, North Carolina.
3. The majority of the most important of the numerous inscriptions on the desk-and-bookcase are discussed in the text. Enigmatic are inscriptions and a pencil drawing appearing on the interior surfaces of the large top drawer. The very faded drawing shows a figure almost certainly represen- ting the devil with a pronged fork prodding a man who is saying "Never Rebel." Writing in this drawer includes the following lines: "Down with the Cropper (Croppes?) of Irland"; "Cropper (Croppes?) is Repenting, and his Master is Angry"; and "Shearer Even you dam" futers (?)." Both the drawing and the writings seem to express anti-Irish sentiments.
4. The inscriptions written in red crayon on this chest of five tiers of drawers appear on the underside of the top, and on interior surfaces of the three large drawers. There is illegible writing on the five smaller drawers in the top two tiers. A long but very worn pencil inscription appears on the ex- posed underside of the middle large drawer.
5. On this desk, the inscriptions appear on the interior surfaces of drawers and the underside of the writing surface.
6. It should be noted that Berkeley County, West Virginia, was Berkeley County, Virginia, before the War Between the States.
7. When this low chest of drawers was advertised in Antiques in January, 1965, the word "Martinsburgh" was read incorrectly as "Harrisburgh."
8. The town now called Edinburg formerly was often called Shryock. See Klaus Wust, The Virginia Germans (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1969), p. 161.
9. Letter from Camden Ramsburg of New Market, Maryland, to John J. Snyder, Jr., December 26, 1972. Also, letter from Francis Silver, Mar- tinsburg, West Virginia, to John J. Snyder, Jr., January 16, 1973.
10. Information courtesy of Frank Horton, letter of March 30, 1978.
11. William Randolph Hearst Sale Catalogue, Parke Bernet, New York, November 19, 1938, Lot 562.
12. Letter from Wallace Gusler, Williamsburg, Virginia, November 19, 1976.
13. William H. Egle, Notes and Queries, Third Series, v. 2, (1896), pp. 119-122.
14. Ibid., Fourth Series, v. 1, (1893), pp. 327-328.
15. Unpublished Shearer family genealogy, assembled c. 1900 by Mary Marshall Shearer. Courtesy of Mrs. Kenneth Rich, San Antonio, Texas, a descendant of John Shearer's brother, Thomas.
16. John Shearer Appraisement and Accounts 1777-1778, Book 1, p. 88, p. 89, and p. 139, Berkeley County Courthouse, Martinsburg, West Virginia.
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17. From the unpublished Shearer genealogy, the will of Archibald Shearer, and extant tombstones both whole and fragmentary at Falling Waters, the following account of the children of Archibald and Sarah (Prather) Shearer may be outlined:
1. Elizabeth, born December 23, 1760; married 1783 to Alexander Porterfield.
2. Catherine, born May 25, 1762; died October 27, 1828, unmarried.
3. Martha (Patty) born September 13, 1763; married 1795 Jacob Towson; died January 6, 1824.
4. John (subject of this article) born February 13 (or 11?), 1765; married Mary Ann ; died 1810.
5. Ann (Nancy) born September 11, 1766; married 1799 to Elias Oden (1769-1830); died March 16, 1836.
6. Mary, born May 9, 1768; married Klinger.
7. Thomas, born July 19, 1769 (?); married Rachel Smith of Stevens- burg, Virginia; living in the decade 1810-1820. Left descendants.
8. James, born March 25, 1771; died October, 1836.
9. Henry, born December 22, 1772; died c. 1808; unmarried.
10. Archibald, born April 6, 1774; died c. 1819-1822; unmarried.
11. Basil, born February 27, 1777.
12. Samuel, born January 28, 1779.
13. Sarah, born July 15, 1781; evidently died in infancy.
14. Sarah (Sally?), born July 28, 1782; died aged 16 (?).
It should be noted that the name was spelled both "Shearer" and "Sheerer" in this period. Further, although it is likely that John Shearer (1765-1810) may have been buried at Falling Waters, no tombstone fragments of his stone may be found there. It is equally possible that he was buried in the vicinity of Williamsport, Maryland.
18. Archibald Shearer Will and Inventory, 1800, v. 3, p. 384, Berkeley Coun- ty Courthouse, Martinsburg, West Virginia.
19. Deeds A-231 and EE-321, Washington County Courthouse, Hagerstown, Maryland.
20. Berkeley County Tax Lists, 1802; Sarah Shearer Will and Vendue List, v. 3, p. 720; both at Berkeley County Courthouse, Martinsburg, West Virginia.
21. John Shearer Will 1810, Washington County, Maryland. Original at Hall of Records, Annapolis, Maryland.
22. John Shearer 1810 Inventory, taken by John Hogg and Milton H. Sackett, Washington County Book D-158, Hall of Records, Annapolis, Maryland.
23. John Shearer Estate Accounts, Washington County Book 4, pp. 64-66, Hall of Records, Annapolis, Maryland.
24. Mary Ann Shearer Will 1825, Washington County, Maryland. Original at Hall of Records, Annapolis, Maryland.
25. Conversation with John Ziegler of Falling Waters, November, 1974. Also see Shearer genealogy (Note 17).
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26. These mask motifs may ultimately be traced to widespread sources in Baroque an. Perhaps they are more than mere decoration on the Shearer pieces; they could be a symbolic allusion to his secret Tory identity.
27. Wallace B. Gusler and Sumpter Priddy III, "Furniture of Williamsburg and Eastern Virginia," Antiques, August 1978, pp. 282-293. Particularly relevant is the desk-and-bookcase illustrated there as Figure 5.
28. Ralph E. Carpenter, Jr. , The Arts and Crafts of Newport, Rhode Island, 1640-1820 (Newport: Preservation Society of Newport County, 1954), p. 95.
/ wish to acknowledge the assistance of Francis Silver of Martinsburg, John Ziegler of Falling Waters, and Mrs. Kenneth Rich of San Antonio, Texas.
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A School of Charleston, South Carolina Brass Andirons
Bradford L. Rauschenberg
Aside from a few marked American brass andirons, iden- tification of unmarked examples is difficult and has been little approached by scholars of American decorative art. Awareness of a particular region is based upon marked examples, construc- tion similarities, and histories of ownership. Variations of these regional characteristics reflect areas such as Baltimore, Boston, Newport, New York, and Philadelphia. To these areas can now be added Charleston, South Carolina. As a city recognized for its high style in the field of eighteenth- and early nineteenth- century architecture, paintings, furniture, and silver, Charleston has now yielded its secret of two styles of brass andiron produc- tion: neoclassical and Empire.
This recognition of a school of Charleston brass andirons has been approached with caution. The conception of Charleston as a center with a regional style of brass andirons developed during the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts' Field Research Program in coastal South Carolina.1 The frequent recognition of neoclassical (Figs. 1-12) and Empire (Figs. 13-15) examples in private homes and collections, each with Charleston family histories and similar construction characteristics peculiar to the two styles, suggested local production. This hypothesis now becomes a theory with the discovery of similar examples in col- lections around the United States, these also with histories of
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being acquired in Charleston. Further strengthening this theory, Charleston newspapers contain many advertisements of braziers and brass founders, the latter advertising brass andiron production.2
Before the Charleston school of brass production is discussed the two styles of andirons need to be identified as objects, each with its own characteristics and relationships to others of the
Figure 1. Philadelphia-Charleston, Neoclassical Group I, brass andirons, ca. 1780-83. 3OV2" HO A. Private collection.
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same style. Of the two styles, neoclassical and Empire, the neoclassical should be discussed first in deference to chronology and style development.
The change from Chippendale to neoclassical design in and- irons is seldom pure. Elements of neoclassicism or Adam style gradually appear. In Charleston andirons, Chippendale elements persist to circa 1800. In the neoclassical style of Charleston andirons it will be seen that certain features remain constant. Primary among these is an obelisk-like shape of the shaft which may be viewed as a reversed neoclassical furniture leg (Figs. 1-11).
Secondly, the plinth or bottom element of the shaft sits on top of the base or legs (Figs. 4-11). For the purpose of this arti- cle, the neoclassical style of Charleston-made brass andirons will be divided into three chronological groups of style develop- ment: I, 1780-1790 (Figs. 1-3); II, 1785-1800 (Figs. 4-7); and III, 1790-1805 (Figs. 8-12).
Group I