Night table

Object/Artifact

Saco Museum

Name/Title

Night table

Entry/Object ID

1950.1.237

Description

Mahogany night table or cabinet chair. The top has a single false drawer hinged to the horizontal lid above. The two panels fold back to reveal a mahogany seat board (on a pine base) with a circular cut-out for a commode pot. The opening is covered with a turned wooden lid, which may not be original. Below are two false cabinet doors. The false drawer and cabinet doors all have light colored string inlay and mahogany cross banding around the edges. The table is supported on French feet with a gently curved skirt at the front. It retains its original brass hardware, which consists of two bail handles on the sides and a handle with a hexagonal stamped backplate on the front. The backplate bears an eagle holding a banner in its beak that reads "E Pluribus Unum" and grasping olive branches in one foot and a quiver of arrows in the other. The handle is stamped "H J" on the back, probably for Thomas Hands and William Jenkins of Birmingham, England.

Made/Created

Date made

1809 - 1816

Dimensions

Height

27 in

Width

22-3/4 in

Length

18 in

Material

mahogany, pine, mahgany veneer

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Object Label

Label

Night Table or Cabinet, 1809-1816 Saco, attributed to the shop of Joshua Cumston and David Buckminster mahogany, mahogany and other veneers, pine John S. Locke Collection, gift of the estate of Almira Locke McArthur

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

Although when closed it appears to be a cabinet, once this night table's hinged top is lifted and folded back its true purpose is revealed: inside is a seat with a cutout for a commode pot. For nighttime "necessities," using such a seat would have been considerably easier, and more comfortable, than using a chamber pot on the floor. George Hepplewhite illustrated two examples of night tables with lift-up lids in Plate 82 of The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide. The cabinet retains its original brass hardware, which is stamped "H J" for Thomas Hands and William Jenkins of Birmingham, England, a firm that exported a great deal of hardware to America. This handle was clearly intended for the US market with its image of an eagle holding a banner in its beak that reads "E Pluribus Unum." One of the eagle's feet grasps a quiver of arrows while the other holds a bunch of olive branches.