Chest of Drawers

Object Name:

Chest of Drawers

Object ID:

2019.017

Creator:

Bartlett, Levi (1784-1864) -- Cabinetmaker

Place of Origin:

Concord, NH

Date:

1808-1809

Description:

Chest of drawers, bow front. Made by Levi Bartlett (1784-1864), Concord, NH, 1808-1809. Four drawers, skirt with carved pinwheel drop, and dovetailed ogee bracket feet. Inlaid bands around edge of top and bottom of case. Each drawer has two oval stamped brass bail handles. Yellow birch, cherry (?), and eastern white pine with yellow birch veneers. Partial printed paper label attached to interior of bottom drawer: "Mahogany, Cherry, and / Birch Furniture, of all / kinds, and of the latest / fashions, manufactured / By LEVI BARTLETT, / opposite GALE'S Tavern, / Concord, N. H."; "price 14 $" handwritten in ink on lower left corner of label.

Material:

Birch
Cherry
Pine
Brass

Dimensions:

H-33.75 W-41.4 D-21.4 inches

Provenance:

Acquired by the seller from a dealer at Brimfield, MA, in 2016.

The chest of drawers was made between 1808 and 1809 by Levi Bartlett (1784-1864) of Concord, NH. Born in Salisbury, Levi Bartlett was the son of Joseph and Hannah Bartlett and the grandnephew of Josiah Bartlett, signer of the Declaration of Independence. By 1804, Bartlett was associated with cabinetmaker Hubbard C. Gale of Concord. Shortly after Gale's death in 1805, Bartlett advertised that he had taken over Gale's shop. In 1806, Bartlett also opened a shop in Salisbury. In 1809, he sold his businesses in Concord and Salisbury to Porter Blanchard. He appears to have given up cabinetmaking by 1814 when he had become a dry goods merchant and resident of Boston.

Credit Line:

New Hampshire Historical Society Purchase, with funds provided by an anonymous donor

People:

Bartlett, Levi (1784-1864)