Name/Title
Chest Of DrawersEntry/Object ID
2012.011.002Tags
Needs location checkDescription
Joseph Rawson & Son (1808-1826), retailed by William Rhodes Rawson (1785-1835) in Charleston, SC
Bureau with dressing mirror
Providence, RI
1817-1819
Mahogany
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James P. Barrow
Center small drawer with partial printed paper label: RAWSON AN ELEGANT VARIETY OF FURNITURE, [C]ABINET WAREHOUSE, Bo, 86, MEETING-DTREET CHARLESTON, S.C.
Finely crafted in Providence and labeled by its retailer in Charleston, South Carolina, this bureau with dressing glass is an important document of the movement of furniture and the dissemination of design in early nineteenth-century America. Though fragmented, enough of the label survives to indicate it is that of William Rhoades Rawson (1785-1825), on fo the sons of Joseph Rawson, Sr. (1760-1835) of the Providence family of cabinetmakers. Furthermore, the address of 86 Meeting Street indicates that it was used between late 1817 and 1819, when William Rawson received numerous shipments from "his" or "the" "Manufactory of the North" from 1816 to 1820. The use of teh sinfular stongly suggests that his family's business, then Joseph Rawson & Son, was his sole supplier and that furniture bearing his label was most likely made by the firm . Furthermore, this bureau related to three slighly earlier bureaus attributed to the firm that appear to have been modeled after a fourth example arttributed to Thomas Seymour (1771-1848) of Boston. Like Seymour craftsmanship, the bureau offered here displays mahogany drawer sides, a refined and costly deatil that may represent another instance of the Rawson cabinetmakers emulating the Seymour shop. The son of Grandal Rawson (1719-1803), who began the family's cabinetmaking tradition in the 1740s, Joseph Rawson, Sr. trained with his father's firm before setting up his own shop. In 1808, he entered into a partnership with this son Samuel (1786-1852) and in 1826, the partnership was dissolved with Samuel continuing the business with his brother, Joseph Rawson, Jr. (1788-1870). While little is known of its history aside from its ownership by Francis D. Brinton at the time of its publication in 1931, the bureau was probably acquired by Joseph K. Ott soon before it appeared in his 1982 article in The Magazine Antiques, reflecting his particular focus on labeled furniture during the later phase of his collecting (Robert Rauchenberg and John Bivins, The Furniture of Charleston, 1680-1820: Volume III: The Cabinetmakers (Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 2003), pp. 1178-1181; The Rhode Island Furniture Archive at the Yale University Art Gallery, RIF1754, RIF1755, RIF4548 and RIF4655 and biographies of Joseph Rawson, Sr., Joseph Rawson & Son, Samuel Rawson and Joseph Rawson, Jr.; see also Eleanore Bradfors Monahan, "The Rawson Family of Cabinetmakers in Providence, Rhode Island," The Magazine Antiques (July 1980), pp. 134-147; Joseph K. Ott, "Lesser-known Rhode Island Cabinetmakers: The Carliles, Holmes Weaver, Judson Blake, the Rawsons, and Thomas Davenport," The Magazine Antiques (May 1982), pp. 1159-1162, figs. 7, 9, pl. IV).
Label text:
Center small drawer with partial printed paper label: Rawson an elegant variety of furniture, [C]abinet Warehouse, No. 86, Meeting-Street Charleston, S.C. The fragmented label in the central drawer indicates that William R. Rawson, son of cabinetmaker Joseph Rawson, Sr. (1760-1835), retailed this dressing bureau in Charleston, a few blocks north of the Nathaniel Russell House, where he operated his business between 1816 and 1820. Rawson Sr. sent his sons William Rhodes and Edward Dickens to Charleston to establish a retail location, most probably solely for the firm's production. This is one of two examples attributed to the Rawson firm that can be identified as retailed in Charleston. Although William was listed as cabinetmaker in the 1819 Charleston directory, it is more likely that he was simply importing furniture from Providence. On March 15, 1819, William Rawson advertised in Charleston's City Gazette and Commercial Advertiser, "Mahogany furniture. Selling off cheap...Has just recieved from his Manufactory at the North 22 Boxes Cabinet Furniture...Sideboards, Grecian Couces and Sofas..."Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation CollectionAcquisition
Accession
2012.011Source or Donor
Mr. James BarrowAcquisition Method
GiftLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
Chest of DrawersNomenclature Sub-Class
Storage & Display FurnitureNomenclature Class
FurnitureNomenclature Category
Category 02: FurnishingsDimensions
Height
72-3/4 inWidth
38-3/4 inDepth
23 inLocation
Category
PermanentDate
March 31, 2023Location
Room
302Building
Nathaniel Russell HouseCategory
PermanentDate
February 7, 2023Provenance
Notes
Francis D. Brinton, circa 1931; purchased by Mrs. and Mrs. Joseph K Ott, Rhode Island; exhibited in Providence, The John Brown House, The Rhode Island Historical Society, 1977-2011. Sold at Christie's, New York, The Colletion of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph K. Ott, Friday 20 January 2012, Lot 158, Sale 2635; purchase by Mr. and Mrs. James P. Barrow and gifted to the Historic Charleston Foundation, March 2012Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
July 2, 2012Updated By
sferguson@historiccharleston.orgUpdate Date
April 5, 2023