Salem cabinets
A newly-discovered one for sale at Sotheby’s in January
[First off - I’m teaching just a few classes in 2026 - all at Pete Galbert’s shop in Berwick, Maine. The carved box (twice) and the Jennie Alexander chair (once). Details at Pete’s site - registration opens Sunday December 28th - but it might be open for the April box class already. Check w/Galbert. https://www.petergalbert.com/schedule ]
Now - onto tonight’s post. I’ve been waiting for a while to talk about this -
In January, Sotheby’s in New York will sell this small cabinet - made in Salem, Massachusetts, dated 1677. I won’t go into detail about this particular cabinet because Erik Gronning at Sotheby’s has put together a lot of the story about it - you can read the whole lowdown on it and view the photos over at their website - https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/important-americana-2/the-highly-important-symon-and-rebeckah-horne
I heard rumors about this cabinet a couple of years ago, then several months ago Erik sent me some photos of it, confirming the earlier rumors. Instantly recognizable - and seeing Erik’s photos brought back memories of a similar thing 25 years ago. I was involved in that one, so I’ll start there.
I was working in my shop in the museum back in 1999 and a fellow came in with a Polaroid photo, stuck it in my hand & said “They told me you can make me a copy of this...” and there I was looking at one of these cabinets. At that time, I knew of three nearly identical cabinets, all captured in museum collections. I asked where he got it - he & his sister had inherited it, were selling it & thus wanted copies made. So we talked a while, I asked some questions, told him how I worked and we arrived at the idea that yes, I’d make him some copies of it. BUT, I said, I have to see the original - I’m not making them based on this photo. No problem, we can do that. We made arrangements to meet at a bank where the piece was stashed prior to going to Christie’s for the January 2000 sale.
My friend Ted & I went - Ted doubled as woodworker and staff photographer at that point. Camera, tripods, notebooks, rulers, etc - all our gear and a small entourage - three or four of us altogether. Got inside and the bank people told us they had no space where we could setup and shoot/record the cabinet. So we stuck it in the back of my then-new Toyota RAV and did the whole thing out in the parking lot. Then next time I saw the cabinet - months later - it had sold for $2.4 million! I wouldn’t touch it on that visit.
Over the course of that project we struck up a friendship with that owner - he was very interested in the whole project and extremely helpful - even funded some paint analysis so we could color the repros in a period-appropriate manner. Blacksmith Mark Atchison and I made 6 or 7 of them over the course of about 2 years.
This group of cabinets - now 5 of them, are all are initialed & dated. So we know them by their names or initials. The one in my car ended up at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem - it is the “Pope” cabinet - IBP 79 - for Joseph & Bathsheba Pope 1679.
Next - the “Hart” cabinet - TH 79 - for Thomas Hart 1679 at the Winterthur Museum.
