Provenance:Judge Henry T. Lummus, former Justice of Massachusetts Supreme Court;

Mrs. Arthur Virgin,
North Hatley, Ontario and New York
Charles
Woolsey Lyon, New York

Sotheby’s CATALOGUE NOTE:

A sophisticated example of Federal aesthetic in Boston,
this tambour secretary is extraordinary for its vibrantly-figured
curly-satinwood veneers, which cover nearly all of its visible surfaces. It is
virtually identical to a tambour secretary at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
bearing the label of John (1738-1818) and Thomas Seymour (1771-1848).1 The two
secretaries appear to have been made as a pair since they display the same
overall configuration, veneering cut from the same flitch of satinwood,
combination of woods, construction, and exceptional craftsmanship. They were
most likely made soon after John and Thomas Seymour arrived in Boston in 1793 as
testament to the high quality of their work and evidence of their ambition to
introduce high-style English neoclassical taste to Boston.

Both secretaries display artistic and balanced veneering that was executed in a
manner consistent with English practice, in which the curl of the satinwood was
set on the diagonal, alternating right to left on symmetrically opposing
surfaces. Veneering of this type characterizes much of the Seymour’s work and
they executed many variations on the theme to create visual interest on their
furniture forms. The Seymour’s used other decorative devices to enhance this
secretary and its mate such as the black/white stringing and crossbanding
patterns unique to their shop utilized here as visual separations, the carved
knee brackets derived from classical anthemion, and simple therm feet with
molded upper edges to relieve the blocky appearance of the lower case and legs.
The extensive use of ash and cedar as secondary woods suggests a very early date
of manufacture, circa 1793-96, when the Seymour’s were still producing work
heavily influenced by English practice at their Creek Square shop.

The present secretary lacks a Seymour label and displays therm feet that have
been cut down five-eighths of an inch from their original height but is
otherwise identical to the secretary at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The
vertically aligned pairs of holes in the drawer fronts indicate that the
secretary originally featured round enameled or brass neoclassical English
hardware with associated ring pulls. It retains its original blue paint in the
letter holes, ivory key-escutcheons, and small custom brass finger pulls on the
doors. The latter two features are also found on the secretary at the Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston, further underscoring the fact that these superb secretaries
were made as a pair. With their expensive materials and refined craftsmanship,
they no doubt represented the height of fashion in Federal Boston.

LITERATURE AND REFERENCES: Robert D. Mussey, Jr., The
Furniture Masterworks of John & Thomas Seymour, cat. 6, pp. 146-7.;  Christie’s, January 23, 1982, lot 347

Height 49 5/8 in. Width 39 1/2
in. Depth 20 3/8 in.