Name/Title
WashstandEntry/Object ID
2024.4.1Description
Washstand with white marble top. The marble top contains an attached backsplash and two shelves. A single drawer is above a double-door cabinet. The cabinet doors have inset panels; each panel has a wooden decal. The knobs on the cabinet doors are simple while the two handles on the drawer are leaf-shaped. There is one interior shelf. The piece rests on casters. Writing found on the cabinet body beneath the marble top states, “MH Berry, Columbia SC, [illegible] RR [illegible]” along with a red "'55." It also contains a stamp which indicates that the piece of wood was used as a shipping crate in Charleston, South Carolina.Context
Cabinetmaker Milo Hoyt Berry (1819–1907) came to the South from Newark, New Jersey in 1843. Upon settling in Columbia in 1845, Berry established a furniture business in the city. Despite numerous fires and the destruction of his cabinet shop and warerooms during the Civil War, Berry operated at 107 Main Street (later renumbered 1440 Main Street) from c.1850 to 1903. Like other 19th-century cabinetmakers, Berry also operated as an undertaker. This was not unusual as furniture and coffin making required similar skillsets and tools. In fact, Berry advertised that he used walnut in both his furniture and coffins.
Berry's first marriage was to Harriet Meiggs Berry (1820–1849). Married in 1843, the two had four children together after they moved to South Carolina. Upon Harriet's death, Milo married her sister, Julia Meiggs (1822–1906), five months later in 1849.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Milo H. BerryRole
MakerDate made
circa 1875Material
Wood, Marble, Metal
