Secretary Bookcase

Gallery 108, American Art, first floor (Nyheim Gallery)

Main Building

Secretary Bookcase

1833

Isaac Jones (American (active Philadelphia), 1794–1868) Made for Elijah Vansyckel (American, 1788–1855) , and Sarah Belinda Smith Vansyckel (American, 1799–1871)

This secretary bookcase is part of a seven-piece bedroom suite made for a Elijah Van Syckle, a wealthy wine and liquor merchant, and his wife, Sarah Belinda Smith Van Syckle. In addition to this piece, which is the only one that bears the label of the cabinetmaker, Isaac Jones, the suite includes a monumental four-poster bed, bed steps, a pair of wardrobes, a washstand, and a chest of drawers with an attached mirror, all now owned by Winterthur Museum in Delaware. The lavish use of materials testify to the expense of the commission---each piece is made of solid mahogany boards with rosewood veneer on the outside surfaces. The gilded stencil decoration is typical of that used by Philadelphia cabinetmakers in the 1820s and 1830s.

Gallery 108, American Art, first floor (Nyheim Gallery)

Object Details

Titles:

Secretary Bookcase

Date:

1833

Artists:

Isaac Jones (American (active Philadelphia), 1794–1868) Made for Elijah Vansyckel (American, 1788–1855) , and Sarah Belinda Smith Vansyckel (American, 1799–1871)

Medium:

Rosewood veneer, mahogany, mahogany veneer, yellow poplar, brass, silvered glass, gilt decoration

Dimensions:

7 feet 4 inches × 22 inches × 50 1/2 inches (223.5 × 55.9 × 128.3 cm)

Classification:

Furniture/Furnishings

Credit Line:

Gift of Miss Pauline Townsend Pease, 1979

Accession Number:

1979-108-6

Geography:

Made in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America

Context:

Period: Victorian

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Gallery 108, American Art, first floor (Nyheim Gallery)

Main Building

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