This is a secretary of grand scale and quality, built circa 1800, for a very notable individual as recorded in National and Rhode Island history archives. Tristam Burgess was a Rhode Island chief justice, and was later elected to Congress in 1825. He was known for his oratory speeches in the style of Daniel Webster. He was 84 when he passed, and The New York Times in 1853 published an extensive obituary of his life and public career. The obituary claimed, “He had a degree of public attention in the speeches, and he commanded one of the most formidable opponents of General Jackson’s administration.” He was a federalist.
This secretary was built for a person of grand standing. It also belongs to a period where Colonial fashions begin to change. The slant-top desk now changed to a fall-front desk style, in keeping with the most current design books of Hepplewhite and Sheridan. As far as decorative embellishments, features like carved shells and leafage were no longer in fashion—this Colonial style was now passé.
The secretary was made in Providence and is one of two, as discussed by Wendy Cooper and Tara L. Gleason in “A Different Rhode Island Block and Shell Story: Providence Provenances and Pitched Pediments,” in American Furniture (UPNE, 1999), p.181. (A scan of this illustration is included in the images above.) Wendy points out that, aside from the Burgess secretary which we own, the other secretary was made for Thomas Poynton Ives, an in-law through marriage to the daughter of the famous entrepreneur, John Brown. His grand mansion, visited by George Washington, on Benefit Street, still stands and now is home to the Rhode Island Historical Society, of which I am chairman of their collections committee. The secretary in Wendy’s discussion was brought to my attention recently by a friend, Tom Goddard, also a descendant of John Brown. He has it now in his possession. It seems these pieces sometimes never leave the family. Tom, brother of Bill, served with me on the Providence Port Authority 40 years ago… it’s a small world in Providence, Rhode Island. Over the years, I’ve gotten to know many in that community through my involvement and as a board member of the private Hope Club on Benefit St.
Our secretary was made for a great Rhode Island historical figure, Rhode Island State Chief Justice Tristam Burgess (see provenance notes below), and is reflective of whom it was made. The pitched pediment dimensionally is quite deep and developed, as if to be built on a scale for a building. I remember Philip Zimmerman, an eminent scholar, who provided a detailed condition report of this piece, was very impressed by its scale and quality. He pointed out, among other things, that “back and bottom boards made of cherry, that resists warping and shrinkage—unusual and indicative of high quality cabinetry,” and that there is almost complete use of solids in lieu of veneers. This is a serious piece for a chief justice who no doubt filled the shelves. Nothing chintzy here.
It is interesting to note that these two secretaries both employ large, unjoined, one-piece, solid plum pudding mahogany panels within scalloped borders. Raised panels were now passé. It retains its original brasses and a serious four-pin lock. The bracket feet are low and intentionally constructed as such.
The maker points to the Providence cabinetmaker Carlisle. This is the Providence maker that Wendy, in her article, points out as having made some of the finest of the six- and nine-shell “Newport” secretaries. The secretary, as discussed above, is of the new style and, as such, is an important and rare piece of Rhode Island cabinetry. This secretary is the work of a master craftsman, providing uncompromising quality for the elite community in Providence.
I acquired this piece almost 20 years ago. Behind the prospect door is an engraved plaque naming five notable Rhode Islanders in whose hands this desk descended during the 19th and early 20th centuries. I acquired it out of the estate of P. Frantz, Dean at Lehi University, through a local auction brought to my attention by Wendy Cooper. She wanted it to be part of a major collection or institution… I think she found it.
Provenance –
Tristam Burgess (often misspelled “Tristram Burgess”) was son-in-law of Welcome Arnold, a prominent 18th century business partner of the Brown family of Rhode Island. Burgess was appointed Chief Justice of the State of Rhode Island in 1815, and represented Rhode Island in the United States Congress from 1825-1835. This desk was made for him around 1801.
The provenance of the desk is as follows. (…a brass plaque inside the prospect door documents the first 100 years of provenance.)
- ~ 1801 – Made for RI Chief Justice Tristam Burgess (1770-1853)
- After 1853 – Chief Justice Charles S. Bradley (1819-1888) buys desk from Burgess heirs.
- After 1888 – Charles L. Pendleton (1846-1904) buys desk from Bradley heirs
- 1901 – Pendleton sells to R. G. Hazard (of an old Providence Family)
- 1950s – Robert Trump (dealer) of Rhode Island probably acquired this desk out of the Hazard Estate, selling to J.Carey, perhaps 20 years later. Darby Ott, a Rhode Island collector, was involved with Trump, and for a time, the desk resided in the Rhode Island Historical Society, according to Trump.
- ~1980 – J. Carey sold to Paul Frantz, Dean at Lehi University
- 2011 – Frantz (estate) sold to Stanley Weiss
Height: 106 in. Width: 48 in. Depth: 43 ½ in.
Revised July 2, 2026