Featured Help identifying pedestal table...

Hello all, I have a table which I would love some help identifying. It has a tag that mentions a Hazlet family that in 1842 travelled down the Ohio river then across the plains to relocate in Iowa. I think the wood may be walnut or mahogany. The top is 38" in diameter (one section is a full 25" wide). There are some square cut nails under the feet held also with screws and the turned upright that has a wooden screw. The condition and craftsmanship are very good. Attached are 2 photos. Any help with what style it may be or where is may have been built would be greatly appreciated! -Eric

 

Hello Eric. Do those tags say anything?

 

What a nice thing. If I saw it my side of the pond, I'd think late 18th into very early 19th.

 

Late Classical, 1840 sounds right to me, machine made, probably built in Cincinnati, guessing a breakfast table.
A very nice early example of the late classical style, nice clean lines, probably mahogany.

 

Agree with James, though I wonder why he says Cincinnati in particular.

 

Well, guessed Cincinnati because OP says there was a tag on table that mentioned Ohio river. Cin. is on the Ohio river plus, Cincinnati was a major furniture manufacturing center at this time.

 

Hi Eric! Can you tell us what it says inside the rectangle in the red square ?? "SK??L..??" Is there more to the left in there?? I DO LOVE its simplicity!!! VERY nice, clean lines!!!

 

the top isn't one board...that looks like a repair ..

 

Welcome Eric. It is a beautiful table, perfectly shaped simplicity.

The rectangle goes right across the two. If that is a manufacturer's stamp, surely it is the original construction?

 

Hi Eric99!

Welcome to Antiquers...........

 

well if it is....I wouldn't have struck it across the dividing line of two different boards..

 

Maybe the maker thought this way his mark would be seen even if one of the boards was replaced?

 

maybe a close up would help !

 

Close ups always help.

 

A word about Cincinnati, many people are not aware ( i know i wasn't) but by the 1830s Cincinnati was the preeminent city of the "west" both culturally and economically. It wasn't able to sustain it's star power however & by the close of the 19th century, Chicago had firmly claimed this preeminent title.
A couple excerpts from a well sourced paper by Robert C Vise
https://www.ohioswallow.com/extras/0821415115_excerpt.pdf

"Founded in 1788 on a sweeping bend of the Ohio River, Cincinnati had become, by 1830 the leading economic and cultural center in the transAppalachian West.
Most important of the crafted items, from a commercial perspective, was furniture. Nearby hardwood forests supplied an abundance of oak, maple, poplar, walnut, and cherry, which craftsmen turned into cabinets, beds, chairs, and sofas. Perhaps the best evidence of the frontier village’s future as a furniture center is found in the 1795 advertisement for “a Journeyman or two, who understand Cabinet Making".

. In 1841 Charles Cist, the city’s chief chronicler of the era, noted that
there were forty-eight cabinet-ware factories employing 384 workers, as well as eight bedstead manufacturers and eleven chair manufacturers where another 147 men worked.21 With machines taking over the rough cutting, manufacturers placed more emphasis on individually decorated pieces; the increased use of “[tree] forks and crotches, curls, warts, and other excrescences,” along with two veneering mills used for imported mahogany and local curled maple, reflect this developing attention to detail.22 Power machinery lightened the work in making the intricate scrolls and carvings so popular at the time, and large factories began to replace individual shops. Just before midcentury the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce proudly announced that “seven steam-powered establishments” annually produced over 4,000 bedsteads, 7,500 bureaus, 14,000 chairs, 1,500 sofas, and 3,500 card tables.23 It is difficult to compare production statistics from different cities or to assess the claims of urban boosters, but Cincinnati may have been the nation’s leading manufacturer of furniture in the period."

 

Wow! Thanks to everyone for your help. This forum is such a great place!

A few answers:

1) KikoBlueEyes… The one large label has faded pencil in cursive that reads, “Hazlet was Dr. Riches Mother’s name. Came down Ohio river in 1842 on a steamboat. Landed at mouth and crossed Illinois prairies to Iowa on oxcart. Probably came from Pinn with the Hazlets.” The other small label is from a modern day moving company.

2) Aquitaine… The rectangular notch appears right between the two wide top boards - the insert had fallen out, I think. The rectangular depression is perhaps 1/4” to 3/8” deep. I speculate it was perhaps a technique similar in style to a bowtie or butterfly where an insert is put in place to keep the boards from separating? There is a little old dark glue left in the depression. There are no writings or markings inside. The notch appears to be part of the original construction, not a repair - I say that because it does not look like anything has ever been taken apart or messed with.

3) James Conrad and verybrad… The top is perfectly flat and the base is precisely made. There is some hand work yes, but I would guess that, as noted, it was made in part by powered machines. A Cincinnati manufacturer makes good sense since the label mentions a steamboat trek down the Ohio.

Attaching a few more photos. Any more insight on wood type after seeing the top more closely?

Thanks again to all who have helped me learn about this table! It has been great fun to learn more about its history.

-Eric

 

Looks like mahogany from here.

Yes it is, steam powered planers, saws, joiners, routers, etc plus the bottom of feet are clearly bandsaw tool marks.
There was a revolution going on at this time in furniture making from handmade to steam power. Although rural & small town cabinet shops were able to hang on for awhile, the railroad industry which was also a very big deal at this time was putting handmade furniture building very much in doubt. The message was clear, convert your shop to steam power or find another trade!

 

Mahogany it is!

 

Agrees and, very nice figure as well. Another thing, it's solid mahogany, not veneered.
This is an early & fine to outstanding example of the Late Classical style which remained popular all during the 19th C.