A great question about a southern iconic piece of furniture.
Question: Mr. Sampson, I am new at sending digital pictures, so this
email is an explanation of the pictures to follow (I hope). The
pictures are of a "hutch" that was in the first home my
husband and I purchased (1966). The home was in Somerset, KY, and the
house was sold with some furniture included in the sale. The "hutch"
was one of the pieces we were fortunate to get. The owner of the
house said that the markings you will see in one of the pictures was
the personal marking put his work by a cabinet maker of Pulaski
County many generations ago. I welcome any information you could give
me about this hutch. / I've never had it refinished. Isn't that
amazing?
Answer: What a sweet piece you have.
Congratulations! You have a Jackson Press and not a “hutch.” A
hutch is usually an open cupboard affair. Really, the proper name
for this, is simply, a press or a cupboard. On one knows where the
name Jackson came from. Perhaps, it was from the Andrew Jackson's
home the Hermitage in Tennessee. Maybe, there was one in his home
and the someone just said, “That looks like a cabinet down there in
Jackson's house.” We may never know where this phrase came from.
Well, the name stuck, and now its part of the southern antique
vernacular. Either way you have a beautiful walnut wood press.
I love the high style leg / foot on
this piece. The addition of the pressed decoration on the stiles was
very interesting, a detail, I've not seen before. Its more of a
country piece and is a blend of the Hepplewhite and Sheraton styles.
I enjoyed doing the research on this. I looked through the cabinet
makers listings in Mrs. Edna Talbott Whitley's book “ A Checklist
of Kentucky Cabinetmakers From 1775 – 1859. I found that there
were several cabinetmakers from Pulaski County. However, they were
operating, almost exclusively, in 1859. I think that you're press is
a tad earlier. Could it be one of them? Then I decided to
concentrate on the pressed decoration. I found no other examples,
anywhere.
So, its kind of a mystery. Is it from
Pulaski County? I tend, for some reason, to side with my gut
instincts and say that its likely from Lincoln or Boyle County.
Still, all counties are very close in location and styles did flow
back and forth over county lines. It is well made, by an unknown
cabinetmaker, certainly not a carpenter. Ahhh, this is one of those
things that makes me sad. The state of Kentucky needs and deserves
to have so much more scholarship done, in relation to, its furniture
culture. I feel that there are possibly, other examples, that are out
there,waiting, to be identified to a certain maker and region.
Furniture questions are a tricky
wicket. Even with nice photos, its hard to tell if the cornice is
original or if the doors have been re-hung or if the feet have been
altered. Everything looks right to me and I'll base my opinions, as
though, it is pure. One thing I can tell you, at some time, it was
refinished. This is just not an old, grubby 1840's finish. Don't
feel bad. More than likely, it was refinished, years and years,
before you got it. This was a popular thing to do, as far back as the
1940's – 1950's. It will affect the value to a degree. I say that
your handsome, walnut wood press, with a Kentucky provenance, in good
condition, will be priced in a retail store for about $3,000 -
$3,500. This amount could go up, if we could determine who and where
it was made. Be sure you write down any and all details about it,
that you can remember. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Was there an image of the "markings"?
ReplyDeleteYes, I just added that detail.
ReplyDelete