Dressing Table

The Federal era, as exemplified by this ladies’ dressing table, is considered one of the most important periods of creativity and craftsmanship in American furniture-making history. This piece was made by Thomas Seymour, lauded innovator of early nineteenth century furniture. Thomas apprenticed with his father, English furniture maker John Seymour, and ultimately opened the Boston Furniture Warehouse in 1804. Thomas Seymour proved himself to be the more innovative designer and finer craftsman of the two men. Seymour’s dressing tables with mirrors incorporated into the integral design were an innovation not heretofore seen in published designs of the period. Instead, “swing” glasses with a small lower drawer were crafted to be placed on top of a table surface, according to contemporary design books. Seymour’s ambition was to produce furniture with sophisticated veneers, inlays and carving akin to that produced in London. He did provide options to customers, which would increase or decrease the cost based on size, materials, and ornamentation selected. This dressing table was in the mid-price range of what Seymour offered at his Boston Furniture Warehouse. Providing customers with furniture available at a range of prices was in part an effort to keep pace with a troubled economic climate in the years leading up to the War of 1812. A distinctive feature of Seymour’s work, even in lower-priced models, is the use of an exotic wood from Australia— “she oak” or “Botany Bay wood.” It is used here in cross-banding on the drawers. Another distinct aspect of the decoration is the lunette pattern of the stringing around the case. The varied size, concentric half circles seen were not exclusive to Seymour, though his shop most frequently used the design.