Desk

Title:

Chippendale-style Blocked-front Desk

Object Name:

Desk

Creator:

Possibly Abner Toppan

Date:

1790-1800

Material:

Mahogany, Pine, Brass

Dimensions:

H-4.75 L-21 Dia-7 inches

Description:

Blocked-front desk of mahogany with four graduated drawers. Carved pendant shell in center of apron. Slanted fall-front writing surface with sliding supports on either side. Interior has stepped section of drawers and pigeonholes with decoration of carved sunbursts and blocking. Thin pilasters cover document drawers. Original (or contemporary) brass hardware, but four claw-and-ball feet are old replacements.

Provenance:

Possibly originally owned by Lieutenant Daniel Gookin (1756-1831) of North Hampton, New Hampshire, an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Hampshire.

This desk is part of a group of furniture known to have been made in Newburyport by Abner Toppan and other cabinetmakers. This particular desk relates strongly to a desk by Abner Toppan in the Newburyport Public Library which is documented by a bill of 1795. The strong trade links between Newburyport and Hampton/North Hampton, New Hampshire, make this desk's purchase by Daniel Gookin very probable.

Lucy Varania Gookin Carll's direct descent from Daniel Gookin is well documented by family papers deposited in the Society of the Cincinnati's archives in Exeter, New Hampshire.

Subjects:

Desks, Furnishings, Furniture, Household equipment, Household goods

People:

Gookin, Daniel

Place of Origin:

Newburyport, Massachusetts

Collection Name:

Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Hampshire

Item Number:

1990.134

Accession Number:

1990.134

Type of Material:

Objects

Copyright Statement:

For information regarding copyright, permissions, and reproductions contact the American Independence Museum

Credit Line:

gift of the estate of Lucy Varania Gookin Carll, Augusta, Maine, 1933

Participating Organization:

American Independence Museum