Upholstered wingback commode chair has four turned Sheraton legs. Has replacement of original soiled handsewn homespun linen (remnants in this file), now an orange fabric with potted and vining flower design. Solid pinewood seat under cushion has center hole with fitted removable wooden disc.
This chair was from the Pownall home at Gap, where it was used by Dickinson Gorsuch, Maryland slaveholder, during his recovery from wounds sustained during the Christiana Riot of Sept. 11, 1851. His father and two others were killed during the skirmish at the home of freedman William Parker, and Dickinson was transported to the Pownall home for recovery. William Parker later published his story in the "Atlantic Monthly" in 1866, making it highly publicized.
This incident "is an important example of the struggle over the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act and the escalating tension between the North and the South. This act gave slave owners broad powers to recapture runaway slaves". (ExplorePAhistory.com)
Polaroid photos of chair before re-upholstery, in file.
Likely Lancaster or Chester Co.
Provenance
Provenance: Chair owned by the Pownall family & given in 1973 to the Lancaster County Historical Society by Mrs. Levi Pownall of Lancashire Hall (569-7279).
It was initially loaned to the Heritage Center (# L.77.9 and # 161.64.80) but soon donated to HCLC. Board minutes of Dec. 8, 1975 include Richard F. Smith's Museum Committee report noting a donation of a "Sheraton armed wing chair commode, used by the Pownall home in nursing Dickinson Gorsuch following Christiana Riot in 1851." Later unsigned note (Bruce Shoemaker?) states John Aungst of LCHS was consulted & chair was removed 11/9/84 from list on LCHS loan form, settling an apparent question of ownership.
Bonnet-top high chest, walnut w/ yellow pine and poplar secondary wood. Pegged frame and panel construction. A bonnet top broken arch pediment surrounds the tympanum with a central round, concave shell carving. Large orb finial on plinth centered within broken arch. Upper section has five graduated drawer sections consisting of three small drawers over two drawers over three long single drawers, all cock-beaded with bail brasses and escutcheons. Pulls not original; ghosting visible of original brasses. Quarter columns have wide chamfers with double fluting.
Upper chest rests on stepped-out lower chest having one long drawer flanked by two small ones and two more small drawers below these. Cutout apron at bottom. Very wide chamfered & fluted quarter columns. Cabriole legs with trifid feet and stocking detail.
Make is unknown.
Lancaster County, probably Churchtown area
Provenance
Chest originally belonged to the Old family, prominent ironmasters of Lancaster and Berks Co. It may have been owned first by James Old (1730-1809) or one of his children. The chest later passed from Miss Harriet Old to the Hopkins family at Conowingo Furnace, Drumore Twp., Lancaster County.
Overall abrasions, scars and small losses of wood. 4" crack in pediment, left of finial. Significant grouping of gashes 4"x 3" spanning 2nd & 3rd level drawers, at left. Entire front of top chest detaching from sides. Piece at top of left stile, under cornice, is broken & poorly repaired. Deep horizontal 7" crack on left side of base unit. Vertical crack entire length of right side of top. 1 12" long gouge on stile of right front leg. White flecks on right front leg. Brasses tarnished with some rust.
Object ID
P.78.76
Notes
Exhibit label information:
John J. Snyder, Jr. suggests many points of similarity with a Q.A Phila. highboy owned by diarist Christopher Marshall who brought chest along with him when he moved to Lancaster Co. "on the eve of the Revolutionary War." (Winterthur collections). This chest may have inspired the design of the Old chest.
Wide fluted chamfered corners similar to a Q.A. secretary (G.03.1.1) formerly owned by the Jenkins family of Churchtown. Similar to a case of Geo. Hoff clock w/ brass face, and similar to casework by some Phila. and Maryland cabinetmakers.
Snyder notes that cockbeaded edges on drawers suggest a later date than expected (c. 1770-1790). This type in Phila. was being made c. 1740-1760.
Place of Origin
Lancaster County
Usage
Old family
Credit
Gift of James Hale Steinman Foundation, Heritage Center Collection
Miniature Empire chest of drawers. Cherry case with mahogany veneer on drawer fronts and edges of top and bottom. Large top drawer overhangs three graduated drawers, all with cock beaded molding. Pressed glass pulls. Overhang of top is supported by S-scrolls at sides. Turned bulbous feet. Small nails with oblong heads used throughout.
Inscriptions in pencilled script: Under bottom drawer is "Made in 1845 by Daniel Kurtz, Lancaster, Pa." On back of 2nd bottom drawer is "Mrs. Kurtz Lancaster, Pa." Chest back has: "Made in 1845 by Daniel Kurtz" and chest bottom has "Flora Kurtz got 1889 from Grandmam when I was 13 years".
A business card, now in file, reads "DANIEL KURTZ./NO. 130 CHARLOTTE STREET,/LANCASTER, PA." On reverse side is written: "Made by Daniel Kurtz in the/ midsumer [sic] of 1845 and/ presented to Miss Lizzy Stoner/ as a token of respect/ Lizzie Stoner who in the/ same year 1845 became his/ wife, later the mother of/ E.S. Kurtz."
Daniel Kurtz, son of Conrad, was raised in the Golden Triangle area. In 1847 he renovated the "Overlook" house on Fruitville Pike and lived there until listed in 1860 Census in the SE Ward of the City
Provenance
File states donor (Mary Herr Glenn) acquired this piece from her neighbor Florence Kurtz, later Mrs. Daniel Musselman Groff.
Maker Daniel Kurtz was a carpenter/builder. Son Emanuel S. Kurtz became a job printer, resided on Church St. and Florence (Flora) was his daughter. She, at age 13, was the recipient of the chest from her "grandmam" (Lizzie Kurtz) in 1889. How and when donor acquired this chest from her neighbor Florence is unknown.
Under bottom drawer is "Made in 1845 by Daniel Kurtz, Lancaster, Pa." On back of 2nd bottom drawer is "Mrs. Kurtz Lancaster, Pa." On chest back is: "Made in 1845 by Daniel Kurtz" and chest bottom: "Flora Kurtz got 1889 from Grandmam when I was 13 years".
Inscription Type
Inscription
Object Name
Chest of Drawers
Oither Names
Miniature Chest Of Drawers
Material
Wood, Glass
Height (in)
11.25
Width (in)
8.75
Depth (in)
5
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2015-05-12
Condition Notes
Multiple blemishes overall. Top has 2 losses of veneer at right and 1 at left end. Bottom has veneer at back left edge, as well as a repaired break of this corner with leg. Long crack along grain at back.
Chippendale high chest, mahogany, ornately carved, Phila-inspired Rococo style. Top section has scrolled broken arch pediment with central cartouche (attrib. to Phila carver, Martin Jugiez) and fully relief-carved vine tympanum, leading down to large central drawer w/ large carved shell & surrounding vines. Two small drawers flank center drawer, under which are 4 full-length, graduated drawers with original Chinoiserie brasses. Fluted corner columns on upper case; vine & leaf-carved corner columns on lower case.
Lower chest has top full-length drawer over 3 small drawers that mirror the 3 drawers at top. Again, the center drawer is fully carved. Below drawers is a fully vine-carved skirt w/ shaped bottom. Has 4 carved fully articulated cabriole legs w/ acanthus knees and ball and claw feet and original brass casters.
Original owner Matthias Slough was a colonel in the Rev. War, a superintendent of the Philadelphia to Lancaster Turnpike, a county coroner and treasurer, and tavernkeeper of the White Swan. Buried in St. James Episcopal Cemetery.
Made by unknown Lancaster Borough workshop.
Provenance
Original owner believed to be Mathias Slough, based on a 1934 letter from Ethel Torrington Davis to Mr.(James?) McCormick. Ms. Davis states her mother received story from her mother Mrs. Beatty. Mathias Slough married Mary Gibson and had three daughters. The oral tradition is that each daughter was given a high chest. These chests then descended in the family, one of which descended through the mother of Ethel T. Davis to James McCormick (in payment of an outstanding debt). This info researched by John J. Snyder.
From a July 1975 letter, donor George J. Finney recalls the highboy in the home of James McCormick of Hbg, his grandfather. After his death in 1917, it stayed with the house & his son Donald McCormick until his death in 1945. It was then put up for sale at auction of household good but failed to sell due to price not meeting expectations of executors. Donor learned of this, and in 1946 he offered to buy it for $2,500 and the estate accepted. Donor has owned highboy since 1946. Upon the death of the donor, it was bequeathed from his estate.
Multiple repairs (e.g. pieced out around drawers); refinished; some losses, most noticeable in some cartouche elements and leaves of rosettes. Finials missing the ball at mid section. Cosmetic conservation done by Cory Berrett April 1992.
Repairs made 12-2-09 by Winterthur conservator in consultation with curator Wendy Cooper (see conservation report in file). Major changes: broken off rosette leaf tips replaced; missing finial balls and top plates of plinths replaced.
Object ID
G.92.06
Notes
John Snyder states that mahogany is unusual for Lancaster Co. high-style pieces. Secondary woods are poplar and pine.
He notes six or fewer high chests of this Lancaster County Chippendale design are known to exist, and that of these six, "this piece is unquestionably the finest example." (Based on artistic evaluation, condition and provenance. Of these other chests, 2 are in private collections, one is in the State Department collection at Yale University, and the others' whereabouts are currently unknown.
Snyder says this high chest is closely related structurally to the famous Chippendale desk and bookcase acquired by the Winterthur Museum from the Withers family, living near Strasburg, Lancaster Co.
OBITUARY
May 14, 2009 FRANCES DAVIS HASSINGER EVERHART, of Lower Allen Township, Mechanicsburg, PA, passed away Thursday, May 14, 2009, in Bethany Village, Mechanicsburg. Frances was born March 1, 1916, in Harrisburg, PA, the daughter of CARL W. AND ETHEL TORRINGTON DAVIS. She was a 1938 graduate of Vassar Co...
Matthias Slough (1733-1812) was the tavernkeeper of the White Swan. The high chest was made at an unknown Lancaster Boro workshop, except for the carved cartouche of Philadelphia.
Place of Origin
Lancaster
Credit
Heritage Center Collection, bequest of George J. Finney Estate
Pieced quilt of silks, cotton batting, glazed cotton back, cut in 2 halves, made by Quaker Deborah Simmons Coates, wife of Lindley Coates (1794-1856). Has 19 horizontal bands of dress silks (many produced by Harmonist Community) in alternating triangles arranged in Birds in the Air or Flying Geese pattern using the template method. Large triangles of varying patterns alternate with large triangles with 3 smaller appliqued triangles of contrasting patterns. Colors are browns, tans, beiges, electric and royal blue, peach and green. Each quilt half has a green silk binding on the three outside edges, and tan silk on the inner vertical cut edge. Quilting patterns are clamshell, diamond, cross in a square and diagonals.
At quilt center is a cream-colored triangle with an abolitionist stamp depicting a kneeling enslaved Black male in chains over the words: "Deliver me from the oppression/ of man." This stamped triangle was cut in two when quilt was divided; image now hidden by modern binding. According to Cuesta Benberry research, this image of a kneeling enslaved person originated with the English ceramic firm of Wedgwood in the late 1700s. See items 08.242 and 42.76.11 in the collectiosn of Metropolitan Museum of Art for seals with a similar motif. The Wedgwood family were ardent abolitionists, decorating various ceramics with this image, resulting in its rapid adoption by American anti-slavery groups. Used in many forms and media over the years, it remains the logo of the still-existing Pennsylvania Abolition Society and appears on organization's official publications.
Lindley and Deborah Coates, of West Grove, Chester Co., married there on 12/16/1819 but lived near Christiana in Sadsbury Twp., Lancaster Co. They attended Sadsbury Friends Meeting House near Christiana. Ardent abolitionists, their home was what is now designated station #5 on the Underground Railway. Lindley became President of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1840, before William Lloyd Garrison. Deborah Coates became a Hicksite Quaker minister according to historian Beverly Wilson Palmer. Hicksites were the more radical Quakers, named after leader Elias Hicks.
Provenance
Quilt passed to son Simmons (1821-1862) & wife Emeline Jackson. (Deborah Coates lived w/ widow Emeline on her Chester Co. farm (Evergreen Hall in West Grove) for many years following Simmon's 1862 death. See census records). Descent to their daughter Elizabeth Jackson Coates who married Marriott Brosius, U.S. congressman from Lancaster. The quilt was then divided between their two daughters, donor's maternal grandmother Graceanna Brosius Biddle and her sister Gertrude Coho Reinhartson. The two halves were then reunited when given to donor, Marjorie Ayars Laidman. Deborah S. Coates was donor's great great great grandmother.
Overall good condition. Two halves of quilt (with recent inside binding on cut edges) are "mounted" on cotton muslin, side-by-side. Silks show significant deterioration -- cracking, splitting and abrasion -- with some losses. Binding also has deterioration with some losses. (See 1985-86 condition report by conservator Linnea Davis.)
Documented in Quilt Harvest #448-B (records in Archives).
Object ID
G.86.05
Place of Origin
Sadsbury Twp.
Credit
Gift of Marjorie A. Laidman, Heritage Center Collection
