DUNLAP Red-Stained Pine 49" Tall Chest, New Hampshire, circa 1797

DUNLAP (NEW HAMPSHIRE) 49" CHEST, RED-STAINED PINE,
3-DRAWERS BELOW A DOUBLE DRAWER
ATTRIBUTED TO SAMUEL DUNLAP & /OR APPRENTICE
ILLEGIBLY SIGNED WITH WHITE CHALK ON BOTTOM OF CASE
Height 49" x 40" x 20"
"On the basis of the cornice and what I can see, I would associate the chest with the cabinetwork of Samuel Dunlap probably after he moved to Salisbury, New Hampshire from Henniker in 1797. I base the date and location on what appear to be early cut nails attaching the back to the carcass, and, for what it's worth, Franklin, N.H. (noted on the shipping label) is nearby..
"This type of cornice is known on two important chest-on-chests: one at the New Hampshire Historical Society...the other at the Winterthur Museum, which is inscribed "Salisbury". *
"It is interesting that the bottom board of the lower drawer is rabbeted into the groove across the rear of the facade, and the other drawer is beveled. Both methods were used by the Dunlaps, so this is the ultimate hybrid of their work. The rabbeted method, extended to the sides as well, was preferred by Lieutenant Samuel Dunlap of Henniker and Salisbury, New Hampshire...the chest appears more related to his work or that of an apprentice of his than to that of his brother, John." **

Finish (a very light red stain which appears to be original) & Hardware.
The top (double) drawer is the only lockable one; it retains its (probably) original batwing brass keyhole escutcheon, though the lock inside is absent. Beneath the escutcheon is a conforming "ghost", darker but overall matching to the exposed finish. The handle brasses are later metalwork, a near match in form to the escutcheon, but without beveled edge and without the original's pronounced center peak. Under each is a fainter ghost image conforming to the batwing, with the fainter still ghost of a center peak.

Plate 129 in Dean Fales' Book "American Painted Furniture" shows a maple double chest on frame attributed to Major John Dunlap, Bedford, NH, 1777-1792, with what he calls the original reddish brown stain overpainted around 1830 with yellow ochre grain-painting. A considerable portion of paint loss reveals a large patch very similar to the staining on the pine tall chest.***

* 20 Sept, 1995.
** 27 Oct, 1995
*** Fales, Dean A., Jr. & Robert Bishop. American Painted Furniture 1660 - 1880. Dutton, N.Y., 1979.


# 0225 ........................................ $ 11,000.