Desk
1751 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This desk has been on long-term loan to the Judges' Lodgings Museum, Lancaster since 1976. It is made of Jamaican mahogany, signed by the maker, David Wright, and dated 19th August 1751. For a long time it was thought to have been made in the workshops of Robert Gillow, whose firm became the most famous in Lancaster in the second half of the 18th century and the largest furniture-making firm working outside London. More recent research by Susan Stuart has shown that Wright did not become a freeman of Lancaster until 1752, so he was not entitled to sign his work. When he made this desk he was probably working for another firm in the town as a journeyman (a worker who had completed his apprenticeship but did not own his own workshop). In 1754 Wright is recorded as buying timber from Gillow & Co. but there is no record that he ever worked for that firm. Lancaster was a thriving port in the 18th century, with a large trade with Africa and the West Indies. Furniture makers profited from the easy access to mahogany, often used as a return cargo for ships involved in the slave trade.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Carved mahogany; drawer linings of oak; drawers have brass loop handles on scrolled back-plates. |
| Brief description | Mahogany writing table, signed David Wright, Lancaster, 1751, in the form of a triumphal arch, with two tiers of drawers flanking a recessed kneehole and surmounted by a single long drawer fitted for writing. |
| Physical description | Pedestal writing table; carved mahogany. The top has a moulded edge and below is a writing drawer fitted in the centre with three drawers having brass ring handles; on the left hand side is a compartment having shaped movable divisions for papers etc., and on the right two more small drawers. At the front corners of the table are colonettes, fluted and reeded. There are four drawers in the pedestal on either side of an arched opening flanked by fluted and reeded pilasters with ionic capitals resting on moulded bases. The spandrels are decorated with carved foliage, and the moulded arch has a keystone in the centre. Within the knee-hole is a cupboard door below a pediment ornamented with dentil moulding. The table rests on eight moulded bracket feet; the drawer linings are of oak and the drawers are fitted with brass loop handles on scrolled back-plates. The second drawer from the bottom on the right is inscribed in ink: "David Wright Fecit / Lancaster August 17th. 1751." |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | Lancaster August 19th 1751 David Wright Fecit (In pencil, second drawer from the bottom on the right and on one other drawer) |
| Object history | Formerly in the collection of B. Coppinger Prichard, and purchased with funds from the Murray Bequest. For further informtion see reference below, Susan Stuart, 2008. On long-term loan to Lancashire Museum and the Judge's Lodgings, Lancaster, since 1976 |
| Summary | This desk has been on long-term loan to the Judges' Lodgings Museum, Lancaster since 1976. It is made of Jamaican mahogany, signed by the maker, David Wright, and dated 19th August 1751. For a long time it was thought to have been made in the workshops of Robert Gillow, whose firm became the most famous in Lancaster in the second half of the 18th century and the largest furniture-making firm working outside London. More recent research by Susan Stuart has shown that Wright did not become a freeman of Lancaster until 1752, so he was not entitled to sign his work. When he made this desk he was probably working for another firm in the town as a journeyman (a worker who had completed his apprenticeship but did not own his own workshop). In 1754 Wright is recorded as buying timber from Gillow & Co. but there is no record that he ever worked for that firm. Lancaster was a thriving port in the 18th century, with a large trade with Africa and the West Indies. Furniture makers profited from the easy access to mahogany, often used as a return cargo for ships involved in the slave trade. |
| Bibliographic reference | Stuart, Susan E., Gillows of Lancaster and London 1730-1840. Cabinetmakers and International Merchants. A Furniture and Business History. 2 vols. Woodbridge, Antique Collectors Club, 2008, vol. I, p. 30 and plate 14 and vol. II, p. 302. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.8-1942 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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