This satinwood desk “is identical and was probably made as a pair,” according to Robert Mussey in his The Furniture Masterworks of Thomas Seymour, Salem, 2003. The other one is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and bears a Seymour label. The use of ash and cedar, according to Mussey, suggests an early date of manufacture.
Mussey believes, after careful examination, that they were made together in early 1793/1796. That was when Thomas Seymour came to America and brought English neoclassicism, with its high style, to Boston. This provided Seymour the opportunity to show his technical and artistic abilities. John Seymour’s son Thomas soon joined his father.
Exceptional visual attractiveness is achieved, according to Mussey, in the use of exotic satinwood that is set on the diagonal, alternating right to left on symmetrical opposing surfaces. Also, the use of black/white stringing and cross-banding patterns of satinwood demonstrates not only his skills but also his ambition.
This piece dates its earliest ownership to Judge Henry T. Lummus, former justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, and was later advertised in a full page in Antiques Magazine by C. W. Lyons of New York, a highly respected dealer at the time who acquired it from the family.
This desk was also illustrated in Vernon C. Stoneman’s pioneer book John and Thomas Seymour: Cabinetmakers in Boston, 1794–1816 (1959) and in the above-mentioned book by Robert B. Mussey. Also, Seymour‘s work was given an exhibition by Mussey at the Peabody Essex Museum in 1994.
This desk came up at Sotheby’s almost 20 years ago, in 2007, and I was able to acquire it. This was, however, an expensive piece, but I had begun to acquire some of Seymour’s wonderful pieces. I began to rationalize to myself that acquiring this early Classical masterpiece for our collection was a “must-have.” As a collector, I was determined, as I felt it would put our collection in this area among the best held in any museum or private collection. It was another nail in my liquidity coffin, but go tell that to a passionate collector!
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.
Revised Aug 10, 2025, 1:59 PM