Dining table

Published/Created:

Boston, Suffolk county, Massachusetts, United States
ca. 1710–1720

Physical Description:

Height: 28 in.; Width, open: 69 in.; Depth: 60 in.

Materials:

Walnut; cherry

Notes:

Sack catalogue description: William and Mary walnut and cherry Spanish foot gate-leg dining table, oval walnut top with deep cut thumbnail molded edge, cherry base with bold ball and ring turnings and equally bold Spanish feet; a drawer at each end, choice color and state of preservation; of the handful of Spanish foot gate-leg tables known, this is probably the largest and most important example, exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, 1943. Known as "the Franklin dining table"; the history of this table is intruiging and logical because few tables of this early vintage were large enough to accommodate thirteen children. Under one leaf of this table is the inscription, "Mrs. E. B. Arnold–This table was the property of Benjamin Franklin." The Franklin history preserved with this table suggests it belonged to Benjamin Franklin's father, Josiah, and was the family dining table referred to in the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. "I remember thirteen sitting at one time at his table. All grew up to be men and women and married." Benjamin Franklin was born on Milk Street, Boston, in 1706. That house was three stories high. The lower floor, the family eating room, was twenty feet square (Memorial History of Boston, vol. 2, p. 269). Benjamin was the fifteenth child and youngest son of Josiah Franklin, tallow maker; when Benjamin was still a child his father moved to a larger house at the corner of Hanover and Union Streets to accommodate his expansive family. That house was known as the Blue Ball, a symbol of Josiah's trade; Benjamin lived there until 1723, when he left for Philadelphia. The table was purchased from Eleanor B. Arnold of Bath, Maine, in 1922 by Percival Rolfe. She furnished him with the following letter: "Letter to me from the original owner: It has been in my possession for fifty eight years and there is no question about its history. Judge Hill, my husband's grandfather, bought it also a tall clock, when the Franklin things were sold, and used it as long as he lived, when it was given to his eldest daughter, my husband's mother. When she died it was given to her oldest son, my husband, where it has remained ever since. Judge Hill was trustee of Bowdoin College for forty eight years and you will see his portrait in the old building there now. The clock was presented to Bowdoin College by his wife, but at the time of the fire there was missing. We heard that it was stolen then. When Lafayette visited Portland they sent to Phipsburg, where Judge Hill lived, to borrow his coach to take Lafayette around Portland. This was recorded in history of Bath by Mr. Reed of Phipsburg. His brother, Tom Reed, tried to buy the Franklin table of me years ago for a Mrs. McCobb of Portland, but I refused to sell it. I certify this to be a correct history of the Franklin table which I sold to Percival B. Rolfe in 1922. Eleanor B. Arnold, Bath, ME." Judge Mark Langdon Hill, 1774–1844, of Phippsburg, Maine, was a member of the Masachusetts Legislature from 1810–1818 and probably purchased the table in Boston during that period for his home in Phippsburg.
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Bibliography: Book: American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, 10 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Highland House Publishers, 1957–1990), vol. 3, pp. 734–735. Journal/Periodical: The Magazine Antiques (July 1923): p. 12. Journal/Periodical: "Living with Antiques," The Magazine Antiques (May 1967): p. 640.

Variant Titles:

William and Mary walnut gate-leg dining table

Topics:

Decoration and ornament -- William and Mary style
Furniture -- United States

Period/Style:

William and Mary

Culture:

American

Accession Number:

0721

Genre:

dining tables (AAT)
gate-leg tables (AAT)

Format:

Image
Physical Object

Content Type:

Furnishings & Decorative Arts
Prints & Photographs

Rights:

The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.

Access Restrictions:

Public

Source Title:

Israel Sack, Inc., Archive

Source Created:

New York, New York, United States
1957–1990

Source Note:

Sack, September 1971
This information is taken from the Israel Sack Furniture Archive and may not reflect current scholarship.

Folder:

Folder cab1dr1 tiff_complete

Yale Collection:

Yale University Art Gallery

Digital Collection:

Israel Sack Furniture Archive

oid pointer:

10970663

OID:

11872565

PID:

digcoll:847284

Number of Pages: 4