Desk, Slant-Top
- Object Name:
- Desk, Slant-Top
- Object ID:
- 1974.071
- Place of Origin:
- Lyme, NH (possibly)
- Date:
- 1790-1800
- Description:
- Slant-Front Desk, Owned by Dr. Amherst Coult (1759-1830), Lyme and Chester, NH. Primary wood birch; secondary woods white pine and birch. Sloped lid constructed with transverse end cleats and supported on slides when open. Four markedly graduated drawers with molded edges. Each drawer has an oval, stamped brass escutcheon and two brass handles, each having a bail with bulbous center and a round plate for each post. A small brass knob on left slide, that on right slide replaced by a screw. Base having ogee molded upper edge and bottom cut to form four bulbous bracket feet. Escutcheon on lid of same design but smaller scale than those on drawers. Desk has stepped interior with three drawers on deeper bottom layer; middle drawer twice as wide as outer drawers. Upper level has four drawers surmounted by a series of flat-topped pigeonholes having scalloped corners. Two small pigeonholes above each outer drawer; one large pigeonhole above each other drawer. Brass knobs on interior drawers. Full bottom board of birch. Primary wood partly of "wavy" grain. Hand-headed cut nails used in construction. Dovetails at back of top drawer and bottom of case reinforced with early cut nails. Dovetail at back of uppermost drawer extend beyond back of drawer. Uppermost pair of drawer runners extend through backboard. A steel lock on lid and on each of the four drawers. Drawer locks are modern. A 1970 newspaper clipping re Dunlap furniture taped inside top drawer. Illegible pencil inscription on side of one interior drawer.
- Material:
- Wood
Birch
Pine
Brass
Steel - Dimensions:
- H-43 W-37.625 D-20.25 inches
- Provenance:
- Said to have been made for and owned by Dr. Amherst Coult (1759-1830), the great-great grandfather of the legator. Coult was born in Lyme, Connecticut, settled in Lyme, NH in 1783-4 and moved to Chester, NH about 1825. According to family tradition, Coult paid $8 for this desk, with most of the cost allotted to the brass handles. Legator's father, Edward Payson Coult (1866-1953) purchased the desk from a cousin, Frank Benjamin Coult (1848-), who was a grandson of Dr. Amherst Coult (see Notes field for transcript of documentation).
The NH Historical Society also owns the diary (1772-1778) and letters (1805-17) of Dr. Amherst Coult. - Credit Line:
- Bequest of Roderick Bissell Jones
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