This Newport secretary came out of a Greenwich, Connecticut estate in an off-season auction at Sotheby’s in the late 1980s. It did not have shells, and Phil Bradley, who underbid me, exclaimed, “Well, it’s not exactly downtown Newport.” Phillip Bradley, a Pennsylvania dealer, died young, and although he was not happy losing to me at auction, he was always a good friend and a kind individual with a great love of antique furniture.
While this piece did not have the desirable shell interior expected in a Newport secretary or desk, it did have a fully developed interior of another Newport cabinetmaker’s interpretation. So what did it have?
It had an old waxed dark first surface of fine mahogany, no breaks or alterations, and had its original brasses, etc. It also had a fascinating finial which managed to survive with an iron-hinged angle bracket behind. The gilding on the finial is original and of large size, which is integrated into its swan’s neck bonnet top, making for a compelling statement. It is not the usual small finial and gives it a sense of importance.
The doors have the desirable raised arch tombstone panels above what appears to be three candle slides below. These candle slides are actually small drawers, a treatment with which I was not acquainted. This small drawer treatment is true to the valances above the four large pigeonholes in the interior. Also, the interior drawer fronts are not flat, which is typical, but have a stylized horizontal molded surface. Further, the prospect door, which is hinged in the Newport manner, has the valance design carved into it. All of the hinges and locks, etc., are original.
The divergence of design in the execution of this Newport secretary tells a story of how this case piece of furniture becomes interpreted in a different way and not in the expected style of the Townsend-Goddard shop. Given this secretary’s full development and its original condition, we feel it deserves a place in our collection for meaningful contemplation and discussion in understanding the Newport furniture-making enterprise.
Referenced: Yale University Art Gallery Rhode Island Furniture Archive #RIF5943
Height: 93 in. Width: 41 ½ in.
Revised Aug 9, 2025, 6:45 PM