One of the most beautiful and stylistically different secretaries was crafted in Philadelphia c. 1820. It is called a Secrétaire à Abattant. This secretary is derived from the European fall-front secretary. It was crafted by an unknown maker of German training and style, a resultant of early German immigration to Philadelphia.
This secretary is one of the grouping that was acknowledged by Charles L. Venable, in his book American Furniture in the Bybee Collection, 1989, p. 102, fig. 11.
Only six examples are known and all are a bit different. They all share mahogany and bird’s eye maple interiors, all of which include an open central arch. All have fine ormolu mounts as well as brass edge accents. Outside of our example, another is illustrated in Michael Flanagan, American Furniture from the Kaufman Collection, New York, 1986, p.222, fig.91, which is on display in Washington as a gift from the Kaufman family.
Outside this grouping, other shops produced the drop-lid form, but never of the high-quality with the full ornamentation and highly developed interiors that this grouping exhibits.
Beyond the secretary’s rarity, it had the fullest development of the uppercase super structure compared to the other related examples. The top of this secretary showcases a large brass-edged gable pediment; the others lack it. If that were not enough, there is a small brass-edged chimney with flat platform that was designed to have a sculpture, i.e., the head of Beethoven, placed above it, which was quite a deviation from earlier termination with finials.
This was a must-have and appeared at Christie’s almost 20 years ago. I have never seen a better model with its unique super structure before or after. It was a must have and I had to go home with it.
Height: 70 in. Width: 35 in.
Revised Jul 19, 2025, 7:04 PM