Desk box for sale
released from a time capsule...sort of.
I haven’t seen these pieces in quite a while. Seven years or so.
Astute fanatics might recognize a couple of these. The chest with drawers and the desk box are both featured in my book Joiner’s Work. https://lostartpress.com/collections/joinery/products/joiners-work
I made them, all three of these pieces actually, while I was writing that book & shooting the photos. They were all made with no customer lined up - and then in 2017 one swooped in (figuratively) & bought the three of them. And had me add locks by Peter Ross. I think the chest either already had a lock or I split the work between Peter and Mark Atchison - that looks like Mark’s lock on the chest.
And now they’re back here again, after 7 years. Turns out they never even got used, have been in (good) storage ever since they were delivered. And I had a chance to buy them back, so I did. I bought them because I was afraid they’d end up somewhere where someone didn’t understand what they were…
I’ll write about the chest in another post. I want to get proper photos of it and that’s a huge job - I have to pretty much empty the shop to do it. Which is why I don’t have them from before. The boxes I shot last week and both are now available for sale. First, the desk box -
If you’ve followed my work for a while, you’ve seen these carving patterns before. This is a copy of an existing desk box probably made by William Savell in Braintree, Massachusetts between 1670-1700. I saw the original back about 1991 or so. Took a few quick measurements, made a few notes (I was there to see a related chest) and filed them in my notebook. It wasn’t until about 10 years later that I made my first version of this box. And this is the third…
The drawers are conjecture - the original is missing its drawers. These I made based on some small period drawers I studied in depth. Just butted and nailed together with clinched-over brads. There’s two tills inside, left and right. They don’t run the full front-to-back depth - they stop at a partition that spans the box left-to-right. Here’s what I based that interior on, the original desk box:
Mine’s made as closely as I could get to the period box - glued & pegged rabbet joints at the corners. Bottom of pine, nailed up to the bottom of the box, overhanging to make the base. Dovetail hinges - I forget if they’re Peter Ross or Mark Atchison - and the lock I know is Peter’s. Two keys, in case one gets lost.
People often want to know if I use red oak or white oak. The answer is both. Most often red, it’s more common around here, so more to choose from. White oak is a bit tougher to dry. But this box has its slanted lid done in white oak as well as the back board. I had a few wide pieces of white oak when I made it so I used them. The color difference becomes pretty muted over time. The finish on this box is linseed oil (on all of my work really).
The sides of the box are a fun carving - it combines the rosettes the Savells used on chest drawers with the leafy motif on their chest panels
The back board is stained by a reaction between iron embedded in the log and tannic acid in the oak. It only shows on that back board but is visible here on the side view.
H: at the back: 11 1/2” at the front: 6” W: 24” D: 15 3/4”
price: $5,000.
email me PeterFollansbee7@gmail.com if you’re interested in purchasing it.
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They’re telling me this post is getting too long, so I’ll showcase the next box in a separate post.
Stunning!
It was, and a lot of water has passed under the Rivers Joinery bridge. I very much hope our paths cross again.......