Some Quaker Furniture Makers in Colonial Philadelphia

The BULLETIN of Friends Historical Association Vol. 47Autumn Number, 1958No. 2 SOME QUAKER FURNITURE MAKERS IN COLONIAL PHILADELPHIA By Marguerite Hallowell* The rapid growth of Philadelphia after William Penn's arrival in 1682 probably exceeded even his expectations, though it was largely due to his real-estate salesmanship in England and the Rhine Valley. The Quaker city became the cultural capital of the colonies within fifty years of its founding; it has been called "America's first boom town."1 "With the number of dwellings multiplying rapidly, there was a tremendous demand for furniture. The Quakers, whose diligence and thrift made them affluent, did not indulge in worldly pleasures, but liked comfort and good living . And so, as Joseph Downs of the Winterthur Museum declares, "Philadelphia was the undisputed center of furniture making before the Revolution. The numerous cabinetmakers whose names are identified with signed furniture give the Philadelphia school certain and undisputed supremacy."2 He cautions against attributing furniture to specific cabinetmakers too confidently, since, as he * Marguerite Hallowell, a member of Horsham Meeting, was formerly Office Secretary, Friends Central Bureau, Philadelphia. 1 Carl W. Drepperd and Lurelle Van Arsdale Guild, New Geography of American Antiques (New York, 1948), p. 5. 2 American Furniture, Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods in the Henry duPont Winterthur Museum (New York, 1952), p. xviii. 67 68Bulletin of Friends Historical Association points out, "few labeled pieces exist as a basis of judgment."3 Nevertheless, the Philadelphia Museum of Art today exhibits furniture known to have been made by three Quakers—William Savery, Thomas Affleck, and David Evans. Furniture was made by a variety of craftsmen: cabinetmakers, chairmakers, joiners, turners, carvers, gilders, upholsterers, arkwrights or ships' carpenters. Though at one time there had been a marked division between the trades of cabinet and chairmakers (the former often being synonymous with joiner), the Chippendale Era brought the two together. John A. H. Sweeney, Assistant Curator at the Winterthur Museum, says, "The smallest firm consisted of a master and his apprentice, perhaps a journeyman or two. Many more were employed in large shops and there must have been a great division of labor, if not an assembly line." Identification of a maker is difficult, since the same specialist, such as a carver, might work for various chairmakers. The cabinetmakers united at times in setting price lists and the journeymen also banded together. "In the economic unrest which followed the Revolution ," Sweeney adds, "journeymen's societies were common and strikes not infrequent. In the 1790's the master cabinet and chairmakers of Philadelphia distributed handbills declaring they would not employ any journeymen as society men, but as individuals. The bickering between workmen and employers led to the publication in 1796 of The Cabinet-Makers Philadelphia and London Book of Prices, which established fees for the workmen. In the preface of the book, the masters and journeymen agreed on a costof -living raise, identical in principle to the practice instituted by General Motors in 1948."4 In Philadelphia, Second Street was a popular place for the craftsmen who hung the "sign of the Chair" outside their doors. The shops were small. William Savery's, for example, was only twelve feet wide, and Savery and his family lived above his shop, located a little below the Market in Second Street. Savery was a Quaker, born in 1722. He became a property owner in his late teens and by the age of twenty-four had an income of fifty-two s Ibid., #39. 4 "The Cabinetmaker in America," Antiques, October 1956, p. 368. Some Quaker Furniture Makers69 pounds from real estate he owned.5 He was active in Philadelphia politics but was so industrious at his trade that he became one of the finest cabinetmakers of the New World. Yet he did not make a practice of applying the ornamentation himself, and in fact did not even own a set of carver's tools.6 "A carved lowboy by Savery was the first labeled piece of Philadelphia furniture to be published ," wrote Joseph Downs, "and resulted in a fabulous reputation for that craftsman. His standing has since diminished by the discovery of several more ambitious, documented pieces by various cabinet and...