Collection Highlights
"In relation to Foreign Nations." Draft of Federalist #64
Date:
ca. 1788
Object Number:
MSS.JohnJayPapers.1
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Museum Collections
Luce Center
Chest of drawers with secretary drawer
Object Number:
1956.169
Date:
1800-1820
Medium:
Mahogany, poplar, pine
Dimensions:
Overall: 52 3/4 x 45 1/2 x 21 1/2 in. ( 134 x 115.6 x 54.6 cm )
Description:
Mahogany and veneered chest of drawers with secretary drawer; rectangular case with a backsplash, French feet, a serpentine skirt, and three graduated doors beneath a secretary drawer; drawers and round wooden knobs decorated with light-colored stringing; interior of desk drawer has tripartite arrangement with center bank consisting of four pigeonholes over a stack of two drawers (bottom drawer missing) flanked by banks consisting of a long drawer over a stack of four smaller drawers flanked by pigeonholes; backsplash may be later addition, mahogany veneer of top of case probably replaced, patches of mahogany veneer, molding, and front legs have been replaced.
Gallery Label:
New Yorker Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863) is believed to have written the Christmas poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas" at this desk. He composed the poem at his Manhattan home on West 24th Street on December 22, 1822. Although scholars continue to debate whether he actually wrote the poem, the neoclassical desk was bequeathed to the Society in 1956 along with extensive documentation that connects it to Moore.
Bibliography:
Bach, Debra Schmidt. "Witness to history: Furniture and historic relics." The Magazine Antiques 167 (2005): 162-167.
Credit Line:
Gift of Blanche Austin Rockhill
Provenance:
Per donor: Moore; bequeathed to Harriet Butler; bequeathed to H. Judd Ward (cousin); to Annie Lansing Austin; to Blanche Austin Rockhill; to NYHS
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
