The important and fine General Henry
Champion Chippendale mahogany sofa featuring a serpentine shaped crest, scrolled
arms and eight straight molded legs. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, dated multiple
times on the arm 1786.
A Chippendale mahogany sofa featuring
a serpentine shaped crest with a high arched center. The crest is constructed of
tulip poplar and is joined to the arms and seat by a series of screws applied
from the back. The crest is supported by the scrolled outwards flaring arms that
are constructed of maple, tulip poplar and mahogany and joined to the seat
frame. The seat frame features straight seat rails constructed of oak and joined
in the center by two front-to-back shaped cross rails. The seat rails are joined
to the four mahogany straight molded front legs and the four backwards swept
rear legs. All the legs are joined together by four straight mahogany stretchers
running front to back between the legs and with three straight mahogany
stretchers joining the four rear legs. The four front to back mahogany
stretchers are intersected by three straight mahogany medial stretchers. The
right arm features the date 1786 lightly inscribed multiple times with a red
pencil.
Condition: In fine condition with orignal construction
throughout and a fine old surface to the straight molded mahogany legs. The
tulip poplar and maple secondary wood is in good condition with normal signs of
multiple upholstery over the years. Some of the original wrought iron nails used
for the webbing and under-upholstery are still intact.
Provenance: This fine Chippendale mahogany sofa
features the important history of ownership by General Henry Champion
(1751-1836) of Colchester, Connecticut. The sofa was constructed in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is dated “1786” multiple times in red pencil on
the right arm. A Sofa is listed in General Champion’s Estate Inventory that is
held in the collection of The Connecticut Historical Society, “The Henry
Champion Papers”, Box 80. The inventory is dated Sept. 7, 1836, and found on
page 7 is “Sofa – $8.00.” The sofa is comparable in value to a Secretary – $8.00
and a Sideboard – $14.00 also listed in the Inventory. The high comparable value
of the Sofa suggests is was a finely made and respected piece of furniture. The
Sofa descended within the Champion family and was purchased by Nathan Liverant
and Son Antiques in 2007 from a direct descendant of General
Champion.
General Henry Champion was the son of Colonel Henry Champion
(1723-1797) and Deborah Brainard (1724-1789) of East Haddam and Colchester,
Connecticut. General Champion was a noted officer in the Revolutionary War with
service beginning with the Lexington Arm and continuing to the end of the War.
He began his service as a Ensign with the East Haddam Militia and was promoted
to First Lieutenant of the 8th Company, 2nd Regimen. In June 1775 he led his
Company at the Battle of Bunker Hill. In December 1775, he was commissioned a
Second Lieutenant of the 22nd Regimen and named an Adjunct on the staff of
General Wyllys. In August of 1776, General Champion was active in the Battle of
Long Island and the difficult retreat to White Plains. In October 1776, Champion
was promoted to Captain with 86 men under his command. Then in January 1777, he
was named Captain of the First Connecticut Line of the Continental Army. He
served in this cpacity until 1779 when he was appointed an acting Major of
Meigs’ Regiment of the First Battalion Light Brigade, organized by General
Washington for the capture of Stony Point on the Hudson River. Serving under
General Anthony Wayne, General Champion and his Light Infantry were instrumental
in the capture of the strategic promontory on July 16, 1779. General Champion is
known to have celebrated the important victory at Stony Point for many years at
his home in Colchester. In May of 1780 Champoin retired his military position at
the request of his father, Commissary General Henry Champion (1723-1797), “whose
advanced age and weight of business, in his opinion, made my assistance
indispensible.” General Champion served in the Commissary Department with his
father providing food and supplies to the Troops until the end of the War.
General Champion was married on October 10, 1781 to
Abigail Tinker (1758-1818) of East Haddam. The Sofa is dated on the arm 1786 and
may have been purchased as the young couple set up their home in Westchester
Parish of Colchester. General Champion’s home still stands as a fine example of
Post-Revolutionary War Georgian architecture in Connecticut. In his capacity as
a Continental Officer, and a member of the Commissary Department, General
Champion would have had access to the Continental Congress meeting in
Philadelphia, where he and his agents were heavily involved. It is possible that
this access led to the acquisition of this fine Philadelphia–made Chippendale
sofa for his home in Colchester.
After the War, General Champion’s service in the
Continental Army was recognized and he was rewarded with a membership in the
Continental Branch of the Society of the Cincinnati. He continued his life of
public service and in May 1799 he was appointed Major General of the First
Division of Connecticut Militia. He also served as a Representative to the
General Assembly from 1786 to 1820, where he was elected to 24 sessions.
This Sofa is listed on Page 7 of Henry Champion’s
Estate Inventory, dated September 7, 1836. It was sold at the Estate Auction to
“A. Olmstead,” possibly Aaron Olstead (1760-1838 of East Haddam, Connecticut.
Aaron was the cousin of Henry’s wife Abigail Tinker, whose parents were Abigail
Olmstead (1735-1773) and Sylvanus Tinker who married in 1755. The Sofa descended
in the Champion Family and was purchased by Nathan Liverant and Son Antiques
from a direct descendant of General Henry Champion after a 50 year pursuit. It
is accompanied by a letter which reads as follows: “Dear Arthur, The Chippendale
Sofa which I sold to you on — 2007 – This Sofa was owned by General Henry
Champion. I am a direct descendant of Henry Champion, it was passed down to me
through the family lineage. Thanks. —-“
Height: 35 1/2 in. Width: 97 in.