Secretary Desk and Bookcase

H82.5" W40" D24.5"

Mahogany and mahogany veneer. Upper section has two stationary shelves with partitions.

Exact reproduction licensed by the Newport Preservation Society, Newport, Rhode Island.

The original from which this piece has been reproduced is on display in the Hunter House in Newport, Rhode Island. This is one of the most important labeled pieces of Newport furniture. Since it was first illustrated in Antiques magazine in February, 1923, it has served as a basis of attribution for many desks with similar interiors. The carved shells of the interior, contained within the circumference, probably antedated the other form which is not so contained and is more frequently used. Even today, this is the only labeled Job Townsend piece known. Both the form of shell which appears on the interior of the desk and the wood bolt of the top drawer appear together from time to time in Newport desks. When we consider that Job, who lived to be 66, had a brother Christopher (born two years later) who lived to be 72, and that each had sons, it is probable that many of the desks with Job Townsend details were made by other Townsend's as well. The top drawer is secured by a wooden bolt that can be reached only by sliding back the secret panel in the surface of the writing cabinet and releasing the bolt from the inside.