Collection consists of personal, legal, and business-related letters and documents concerning the life and affairs of J. Houston Mifflin. Also, similar documents to, from, and about other members of the extended Houston and Mifflin families. Contains typed copies of two letters from J. Houston Mifflin to his son, Lloyd Mifflin, containing an eye-witness account of the June 1863 Confederate advance into Wrightsville. Also, a legal document signed by John Passmore.
Bowfront mahogany veneer chest of drawers in the Hepplewhite style. Four drawers have progressing depths from the top to the bottom, each with overpressed drawer pulls two per drawer. At the top center of each drawer is a brass escutcheon keyhole. The top of the chest and each drawer are decorated with satin wood inlay. Chest is supported at its base by four french feet which feature a slightly outswept bracket foot combined with a valence skirt.
Provenance
Dr. Alexander Speer (James Buchanan maternal cousin)
Shaving stand is comprised of a mahogany veneer; the mirror attached to the top has a veneered bull-nose frame supported by ring and vase-turned stiles set into the top with tenons at a backward cant. The skirt has two half-drawers; however, the brass knob drawer-pulls are missing. The stand is supported by four ring and ball turned feet
Named for its principle use, this mahogany table top, with its oblong top and bead molded edge, was typically found at the side of a bedstead. The table's skirt is three to four inches deep and contains a single drawer that is the full width of the skirt. The drawer has two original brass knob pulls and a top centered brass escutcheon keyhole. The table is supported by four round tapering legs with ring and ball turnings at the top and two sets of ring turnings approximately two inches above the tapered feet of the legs.
Provenance
Alexander Speer, maternal first cousin to James Buchanan
