Figure 1
Desk-and-bookcase in an advertisement by C. W. Lyon, Inc., 1945. (Illustrated in Antiques 47, no. 5 [May 1945]: 249; photo, Winterthur Museum Library.) For a current view of the desk-and-bookcase, see fig. 32.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Desk-and-bookcase with a label of Webb and Scott, southeastern Massachusetts or northern Rhode Island, 1790–1805. (Illustrated in American Art Association, The Collection of the Late Philip Flayderman, New York, January 2–4, 1930, lot 431; photo, Winterthur Museum Library.)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Desk-and-bookcase attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (possibly Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800–1805. Cherry, cherry veneer, mahogany banding, and light- and darkwood inlays with white pine. H. 80 1/2", W. 44", D. 18 3/4". (Courtesy, Milwaukee Art Museum, Layton Art Collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 4
Figure 4
Detail of the initials “ET” scratched into the inlaid decoration on the door of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 3. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 5
Figure 5
Chest of drawers by Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (possibly Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800. Cherry, cherry veneer, mahogany banding, and light- and darkwood inlays with white pine. H. 37 1/2", W. 41 3/8", D. 21 3/4". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) The brasses are replaced, and the beaded strip on the back edge of the top is missing.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Detail of the foot of the chest of drawers illustrated in fig. 5. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 7
Figure 7
Detail of the foot of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in figs. 1 and 32.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Detail of the inscription, “Made by Nathan Lombard Apl 20 1800/ Repaired by Enoch Pond March 21th 1837,” on the bottom of the chest of drawers illustrated in fig. 5. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 9
Figure 9
Portrait of Nathan Lombard attributed to Zedekiah Belknap, possibly Sutton, Massachusetts, 1802–1815. (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) The current location of this portrait is unknown; this illustration was copied from a photograph of the portrait in the collection of the Sutton Historical Society.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Detail of A Map of the Most Inhabited Part of New England, published by Tobias Conrad Lotter, Augsburg, 1776. (Private collection; photo, Winterthur Museum.)
Figure 11
Figure 11
Detail of the interior of the chest of drawers illustrated in fig. 5. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 12
Figure 12
Drawing showing the three pine slats that form the sub-top of the chest of drawers illustrated in fig. 5. (Artwork, Wynne Patterson.)
Figure 13
Figure 13
Detail of the bottom of the chest of drawers illustrated in fig. 5. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 14
Figure 14
Detail of the rear foot of the chest of drawers illustrated in fig. 5. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 15
Figure 15
Chest of drawers attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (possibly Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800–1805. Cherry, cherry veneer, mahogany banding, and light-and darkwood inlays with white pine. H. 37", W. 41 7/8", D. 21 1/2". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 16
Figure 16
Chest of drawers attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (possibly Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800–1805. Cherry, cherry veneer, mahogany banding, and light- and darkwood inlays with white pine, butternut, and basswood. H. 37 1/8", W. 44 7/8", D. 21 1/2". (Private collection; photo, Winterthur Museum.) The feet are modern replacements.
Figure 17
Figure 17
Detail of the corner column on the chest of drawers illustrated in fig. 16.
Figure 18
Figure 18
Detail of the top of the chest of drawers illustrated in fig. 16.
Figure 19
Figure 19
Detail of the decorative inlay surrounding the keyhole on the chest of drawers illustrated in fig. 16.
Figure 20
Figure 20
Detail of the applied strip along the upper back edge of the chest of drawers illustrated in fig. 16.
Figure 21
Figure 21
Detail of the interior of the chest of drawers illustrated in fig. 16.
Figure 22
Figure 22
Chest of drawers attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (probably Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800–1810. Cherry, cherry veneer, mahogany banding, and light-and darkwood inlays with white pine. H. 33 7/8", W. 33 7/8", D. 20 3/4". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 23
Figure 23
Chest of drawers attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (probably Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800–1810. Cherry, cherry veneer, mahogany banding, and light-and darkwood inlays with white pine. H. 35", W. 40 1/4", D. 22 1/2". (Private collection; photo, Thomas Jenkins.)
Figure 24
Figure 24
Chest of drawers attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (probably Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800–1810. Cherry and light- and darkwood inlays with white pine. H. 36", W. 43 5/8", D. 21". (Courtesy, Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village.)
Figure 25
Figure 25
Detail of the top of the chest of drawers illustrated in fig. 24.
Figure 26
Figure 26
Desk-and-bookcase attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (probably Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800–1810. Cherry, mahogany and cedrella banding, and light- and darkwood inlays with white pine and yellow poplar. H. 102 1/16", W. 46 3/4", D. 32". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) The pediment is a modern replacement based on the one on the desk-and-bookcase shown in fig. 32.
Figure 27
Figure 27
Detail of the interior of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 26. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 28
Figure 28
Detail of the inlaid decoration on the corner column of the chest of drawers illustrated in fig. 24.
Figure 29
Figure 29
Detail of the inlaid decoration on the corner column of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 26. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 30
Figure 30
Detail of the foot of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 26. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 31
Figure 31
Detail of the bottom of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 26. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 32
Figure 32
Desk-and-bookcase attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (possibly Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800–1805. Cherry, cherry veneer, mahogany banding, and light- and darkwood inlays with white pine. H. 92 1/2", W. 41 1/4", D. 20 1/2". (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum.)
Figure 33
Figure 33
Detail of the cherry laminates that form the tympanum of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 32.
Figure 34
Figure 34
Detail of the eagle inlay on the door of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 32.
Figure 35
Figure 35
Detail of the corner column of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 32.
Figure 36
Figure 36
Detail of the pins that anchor the upper and lower cases of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 26. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 37
Figure 37
Sideboard attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (probably Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800–1810. Cherry, cherry veneer, mahogany banding, and light- and darkwood inlays with white pine. H. 40", W. 73 1/2", D. 28 1/4". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 38
Figure 38
Sideboard attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (probably Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800–1810. Cherry, cherry veneer, mahogany banding, and light- and darkwood inlays with white pine. H. 40", W. 73 1/2", D. 28 1/4". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 39
Figure 39
Detail of the urn and flower inlay on the door of the sideboard illustrated in fig. 38. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 40
Figure 40
Sideboard possibly by Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (probably Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800–1810. Cherry, cherry veneer, ash banding, and light- and darkwood inlays with white pine. H. 39 1/4", W. 69 3/8", D. 27 1/4". (Courtesy, Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village.) The mahogany top is a replacement.
Figure 41
Figure 41
Sideboard attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (probably Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800–1810. Cherry, cherry veneer, mahogany banding, and light- and darkwood inlays with white pine. H. 39 1/2", W. 76", D. 30 1/2". (Illustrated in Homer Eaton Keyes, “Little Known Masterpieces: IV. A Heppelwhite [sic] Sideboard,”Antiques 1, no. 4 [April 1922]: 157; photo, Winterthur Museum Library.)
Figure 42
Figure 42
Tall clock case attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (probably Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800–1810. Cherry, cherry veneer, mahogany banding, and light-and darkwood inlays with white pine. H. 91", W. 21 1/4", D. 10 3/8". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) The feet and finials are modern replacements, and the gallery is damaged.
Figure 43
Figure 43
Detail of the door of the tall clock case illustrated in fig. 42. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 44
Figure 44
Card table attributed to Nathan Lombard, Sutton, Massachusetts, 1803–1810. Cherry, mahogany veneer, and light- and darkwood inlays with white pine. H. 29 1/2", W. 36", D. (closed) 17 3/4". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) The table belonged to Abijah Woodward and has his name in chalk on the underside of the top.
Figure 45
Figure 45
Card table attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (probably Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800–1810. Cherry, cherry veneer, mahogany banding, and light- and darkwood inlays with white pine. H. 29 7/8", W. 29 5/16", D. (closed) 19 3/8". (Private collection; photo, Thomas Jenkins.)
Figure 46
Figure 46
Candle stand attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (possibly Sutton), Massachusetts, 1801. Cherry, mahogany banding, and light- and darkwood inlays with white pine. H. 27 7/8", W. 17 5/8", D. 17 3/8". (Courtesy, Yale University Art Gallery, Mabel Brady Garvan Collection.)
Figure 47
Figure 47
Candle stand attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (possibly Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800. Cherry, mahogany banding, and light- and darkwood inlays with white pine. H. 277/8", W. 17 3/8", D. 17 1/16". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 48
Figure 48
Detail of the top of the candle stand illustrated in fig. 47. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 49
Figure 49
Detail of the quarter-fan inlay on the top of the candle stand illustrated in fig. 47. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 50
Figure 50
Candle stand attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (possibly Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800–1805. Cherry and light- and darkwood inlays with white pine. Dimensions not recorded. (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 51
Figure 51
View of the candle stand illustrated in fig. 50 with the top up. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 52
Figure 52
Stand attributed to Nathan Lombard, Sutton, Massachusetts, 1803–1810. Mahogany with cherry. H. 27 3/4", W. 15", D. 24". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 53
Figure 53
Stand attributed to Nathan Lombard, Sutton, Massachusetts, 1803–1810. Cherry, mahogany veneer, and light- and darkwood inlays. H. 27 3/4", W. 14", D. 19 15/16". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 54
Figure 54
Firescreen attributed to Nathan Lombard, southern Worcester County (possibly Sutton), Massachusetts, 1800–1805. Cherry and light- and darkwood inlays with chestnut. H. 59 1/4". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Figure 55
Figure 55
Detail of the shield of the firescreen illustrated in fig. 54. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
Brock Jobe and Clark Pearce
Sophistication in Rural Massachusetts: The Inlaid Cherry Furniture of Nathan Lombard
In 1945, antique dealer Charles Woolsey Lyon described the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in figure 1 as “without exception, the finest cherry secretary desk recorded.” In this case such hyperbole was warranted. The intricate, pierced pediment, distinctive floral inlays, and flamboyant shield and eagle marquetry set the piece apart from contemporary New England work. The desk-and-bookcase attracted great interest, and within months the country’s leading collector, Henry Francis du Pont, had purchased it for his home at Winterthur. Charles Montgomery, the Winterthur Museum’s first director, selected it for the cover of his landmark catalogue, American Furniture, The Federal Period in the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, and described the desk-and-bookcase as being “among the first rank of furniture in the Federal period.” Despite its prominence, the desk-and-bookcase has remained an enigma. Montgomery could not pinpoint its origin, suggesting either Connecticut or Rhode Island as possible places of manufacture. Recent research, however, has tied the Winterthur desk-and-bookcase to a group of nearly forty closely related objects, one of which bears the inscription of its maker, Nathan Lombard (1777–1847), of Sutton, Massachusetts. This article explores the characteristics of this group and chronicles the career of this little-known cabinetmaker.[1]
The route that led the authors to Lombard has been a meandering one, with many detours along the way. In his 1945 advertisement, Lyon associated the Winterthur desk-and-bookcase with the noted East Windsor, Connecticut, cabinetmaker Eliphalet Chapin (1741–1807). Lyon had purchased the piece from a Boston client who believed that Chapin had made it as a wedding present for his daughter. It reportedly descended through her family to a Miss Wheelwright of Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, where it was photographed before 1940. Though interesting, the story is spurious, for Chapin’s documented work bears little resemblance to the desk-and-bookcase either in design or construction. Montgomery alluded to a more promising connection when he compared the piece to a desk-and-bookcase bearing the label of Adrian Webb (1790–1840) and Charles Scott (1795–1851) of Providence, Rhode Island (fig. 2). Both objects were made of cherry and had similar desk interiors, comparable chevron stringing on the drawers, and bold, inlaid paterae. Unfortunately, Montgomery was unable to examine the labeled example. Sold at auction in 1930, its location remains unknown. Other furniture by Webb and Scott survives and sheds light on the careers of the artisans and their firm. They moved to Providence from neighboring Massachusetts communities during the second decade of the nineteenth century and worked together from 1816 to 1819. In all probability, the Webb and Scott label on the desk-and-bookcase documents a repair or secondhand sale rather than its manufacture.[2]
In 1962, Lyon advertised the flat-top desk-and-bookcase illustrated in figure 3. Although clearly from the same shop as the Winterthur example, it provided little new information regarding the place of origin or the maker of either piece. Lyon purchased it from Dr. Harlan Angier, who had recently found it in a house in Brookfield, twenty miles north of the Connecticut border. The initials “ET” incised into the urns on the doors provided a tantalizing clue to the identity of the maker or original owner, but the inscription could not be linked to a specific name (fig. 4); nevertheless, to many collectors, the desk-and-bookcase looked “Connecticut.” The dramatic impact of the decoration captured the eye of antiquarian Frederick Barbour, who purchased the desk-and-bookcase and shortly afterward donated it to the Connecticut Historical Society. The society exhibited the piece for nearly thirty-five years, until it was deaccessioned and sold at auction in 1996.[3]
New research had prompted the sale. In the December 1991 issue of Antiques, William Short compared the desk-and-bookcases at Winterthur and the Connecticut Historical Society to a striking group of furniture with histories of ownership in central Massachusetts. The group, which included a firescreen (see fig. 54) and two serpentine chests of drawers (see fig. 15), shared many details. The chests and desks had similar serpentine profiles, drawers faced with thick, vertical-grained cherry veneer, and feet outlined with chevron stringing. Additionally, most of the feet had a distinctive spur at the lower inside corner. The urn and flower inlay on the firescreen was strikingly similar to that on the fallboard of the Winterthur desk-and-bookcase, and both objects featured fretwork. Short suggested that all of the pieces may have originated in one shop and “hoped that further research, or perhaps the appearance of other pieces from the group . . . [would] someday identify the maker of this extraordinary furniture.” Although he could not attribute the group to a specific artisan, Short presented a compelling argument that they originated in rural Massachusetts, not in Connecticut or Rhode Island as many had believed.[4]
Short’s article not only precipitated the sale of the flat-top desk-and-bookcase but also placed it and the Winterthur example within a larger context. These distinctive desk-and-bookcases joined other case furniture, tables, and stands as the products of a single shop. A picture of a talented but idiosyncratic artisan with a penchant for inventive inlays began to emerge. Unknown to Short, the artisan’s identity lay in a chest of drawers offered by the New England Gallery in 1987 (fig. 5). Its serpentine facade, chevron stringing, cherry veneer, and mahogany banding tie it to one of the chests illustrated by Short (see fig. 15), and its feet virtually match those on the Winterthur desk-and-bookcase (figs. 6, 7). The bottom of the chest shown in figure 5 is inscribed “Made by Nathan Lombard Apl 20 1800” (fig. 8).[5]
Born in Brimfield, Massachusetts, in 1777, Lombard (fig. 9) was the fourth of ten children. His parents, Joseph and Mary, had married a decade earlier. Local records describe Joseph as a yeoman with a modest farming operation who seems to have been well respected within the community. He apprenticed Nathan’s older brother Ariel to Abner Allen of neighboring Sturbridge to learn the trade of tanning and may have apprenticed Nathan to a local cabinetmaker. Presumably, Nathan began to work on his own by 1798, when he reached the age of twenty-one. Four years later, he married Delight Allen in Sturbridge, but within the year they had moved to Sutton, sixteen miles to the east. Lombard chose his new home wisely. A well-traveled route linking Worcester and Providence passed through the town, and Boston was accessible by road just forty miles away (fig. 10). A prosperous farming community, nascent manufacturing center, and convenient crossroads, Sutton was in the midst of significant growth. By 1800 its population had reached 2,642 and was ranked second among Worcester County communities. Farming remained the primary occupation of residents, and, like many regional artisans, Lombard supplemented his income with agricultural activities. Cabinetmaking became increasingly important as population growth spurred local demand for household furnishings. The presence of turnpikes to Worcester, Providence, Boston, and westward toward Sturbridge and Brimfield facilitated the shipment of goods to a wider area. A highly skilled tradesman with strong commercial or family connections could find a sizable quantity of work. Lombard apparently had both, judging from the quality and design of his furniture and his extensive network of relatives. His wife’s family, the Allens, were particularly numerous and undoubtedly secured many commissions for Lombard. The firescreen, chest of drawers, and set of chairs illustrated and discussed in Short’s article belonged to Ezra Allen, a second cousin of Lombard’s wife. His home in Holland, Massachusetts, abutted Brimfield, the town where Lombard grew up.[6]
Such a widespread network of customers assured Lombard of business and probably kept him engaged in cabinetmaking for most of the year. To heighten productivity, he occasionally hired journeymen. In 1805, the Worcester National Aegis reported:
A Journeyman Cabinet-Maker. Wanted immediately a good workman that understands all branches of the business well enough to do Mahogany work of the best kind. Such a one will find constant employ and as good wages as they can get in Boston, by applying to NATHAN LUMBARD . . . . April 30, 1805. N. B. No other but a good work-man need apply.
William Benedict and Hiram Tracy’s History of the Town of Sutton, Massachusetts (1878) also noted that “Mr. Lombard[’s] . . . shop stood where Mr. Mitchell’s new house stands. He employed journeymen and apprentices. One of the latter, Clark Dalrimple, married Prudence Putnam, daughter of Aaron, and went to Providence, Rhode Island, where he became a wealthy broker.” [7]
Lombard’s oldest son, Alanson A. Lombard, assisted his father and later acquired his shop. An 1832 report of manufactures records the value of Alanson’s cabinetwares at $1,250, the largest total for any furniture maker in Sutton. In 1834 alone he sold merchant Jonathan Dudley twenty-three bedsteads for one dollar each. His trade also included more ornate work. According to town lore, he and his father built the pulpit for the First Congregational Church in about 1830.[8]
Nathan Lombard died on September 4, 1847. By all accounts, his career had been solid and successful. He attained sufficient wealth to purchase several properties in Sutton, maintain a pew in the First Church (termed the Center Meetinghouse in his will), and pay for portraits of both himself and his wife. He clearly had the respect of his peers, serving as town selectman on numerous occasions during the 1810s and 1820s. His tombstone is modest and reflects the middle-class standing that Lombard had secured for his family. Although both his house and cabinet shop are mentioned in his will, no inventory was taken of Lombard’s shop goods, lumber, tools, or personal possessions.[9]
