Colonial American Furnishings

Ladies having "tea."

       The furnishings of the Exhibition Buildings are drawn from both England and America. Household goods in large quantity were shipped to Virginia from England in payment for tobacco, and the general character of American furnishings of the eighteenth century was determined by English fashion. In the styles of Queen Anne's reign, much in evidence in Williamsburg, the cyma, or S curve, was an important departure, adding to the comfort as well as the grace of furniture. In the chairs, the curve of the cabriole leg was balanced by a curving back much kinder to the human frame than the stiff carved backs of the Jacobean period. In Queen Anne furniture, walnut replaced oak as the most favored wood. 

       During the eighteenth century, styles were for the first time identified with great craftsmen rather than reigning monarchs, and the style prevailing in America after about the middle of the century was known as Chippendale. The genius of Thomas Chippendale found its expression in mahogany - a wood well adapted to the rich carving and fine detail which, rather than any one form, characterized his work. Some pieces made from his designs are to be seen in Williamsburg, with both the cabriole and straight leg. Chair backs range from an adaptation of the solid, curving, Queen Anne splat to the elaborately pierced and "interlaced" splat backs. 

       A few examples have been included in the Exhibition Buildings of the work of Hepplewhite and Sheraton, expressing the lighter elegance introduced by the designs of the Adam brothers; this influence was not, however, extensively felt in America until after the colonial period. 

        Imported pieces were expensive to acquire and slow to arrive, and many of Williamsburg's furnishings were the work of local craftsmen. Cabinetmakers who boasted "a finer kind of joiner's work" were advertising in the Virginia Gazette by the middle of the century, and new impetus was given to their work when the colonists boycotted British imports. Benjamin Bucktrout, who owned a fine house on Francis Street, was probably the city's best-known cabinetmaker. 

Taking-out the laundry.

       Authorities who furnished the Exhibition Buildings were greatly assisted by inventories. When Governor Fauquier died in Virginia, a record of his possessions was kept, and Governor Botetourt's executors prepared an itemized listing, room by room, including even minor accessories. Inventories of tavern furnishings have also been consulted, and appraisals of goods left by householders to their heirs or creditors. Accounts kept at local auctions have been found and many letters and orders specifying items to be sent from the Mother Country. Documentary and archaeological evidence together made possible fidelity not only in furniture but in fabrics, glass, china, and even in such intimate details as the silver-rimmed spectacles beside an open book or the playing cards laid out on a table ready for a game. Where definite evidence was lacking, precedents of the period have been relied upon, together with a knowledge of those who lived in the buildings. The Palace reflects the reigns of William and Mary, Queen Anne, and the Georges. The Capitol illustrates chiefly the style of the Queen Anne period, in which it was built, and earlier periods. The Wythe House and the Brush-Everard House, furnished by Virginians, con- tain many American-made pieces. The search for furnishings has been conducted throughout the world and still continues. The hand- some crystal chandelier in the Supper Room of the Palace, for example, was found in Canton, China. Reproductions are used rarely and are replaced as soon as originals can be located.

Norm Abram talks about the general characteristic 
features of Colonial Homes.

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