19th Century Tennessee American Classical Jackson Press

Born in Tennessee, most likely the eastern region of the state, circa 1830-1850, hand-crafted of warm, rich solid Cherrywood, with Southern Pine and Poplar secondary woods, having a rectangular top, over conforming well made case fitted with four graduated drawers. Featuring a projecting or stepped top drawer, hand-cut dovetail joinery throughout, band inlaid drawer fronts adorned with original wooden knobs, flanked by turned colonette pilasters, recessed paneled sides, rising on turned feet.

DIMENSIONS: (approx)
46″ High, 43″ Wide, 23.5″ Deep

As warm and attractive as it is useful, having the ideal large size and proportions for a variety of different uses, including as a chest of drawers commode or dresser, sideboard server buffet, credenza, oversized hall console, and more.

HISTORY:
Although Tennessee furniture has been an overlooked and forgotten treasure, the simple and straightforward functional pieces produced by Tennessee craftsmen before 1850 reflect an era of outstanding craftsmanship. The furniture of this period exhibits dignity and worth of material objects from everyday life.

The distinguishing characteristics of the grain and color of cherry made it the favored wood for early Tennessee cabinetmakers and furniture makers. Tulip-poplar was used in pieces made throughout the state, but Southern yellow pine was used in the geographic regions of higher altitudes where these trees were plentiful.

Early furniture-making was not limited to cabinetmakers in major settlements like Greeneville, Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville, where the average shop operated with no more than three craftsmen. Many craftsmen lived in rural country areas and combined their craft with farming and carpentry. Other craftsmen, such as turners, joiners, chairmakers, carpenters, upholsterers–produced furniture for Tennessee homes. For cabinetmakers and related craftsmen, the growing towns offered more opportunities for successful businesses.

Nineteenth-century craftsmen had to be versatile in order to survive, prosper, and satisfy the needs of their community. Rural and urban cabinetmakers served as a variety of needs, often including coffinmakers, which established them in the undertaking business. These craftsmen frequently adapted their skills to the needs of their patrons.

Tennessee furniture reflects the heritage of the westward migration and the individualism of the early pioneers. While isolated from eastern mainstream influences, frontier craftsmen inherited Old World craft traditions and often showed some familiarity with academic styles. Their work was also shaped, however, by their new environment and the peculiar circumstances and needs of a frontier society. The result was an individualistic combination of stylistic elements and an unconventional use of construction techniques that gave backcountry furniture the distinctive character so attractive to the collector and so challenging to the historian of material culture.

Identifying furniture made in Tennessee can be difficult, as cabinetmakers signed few pieces of furniture. Instead, artisans let style and craftsmanship identify their work. Many years later, this practice, while a testament to the craftsman’s confidence in his distinctive style, is an impediment to those trying to identify the local region of the pieces.

Tennessee furniture has a simplicity in both form and decoration. Craftsmen of the region inlaid lighter woods into the native cherry and walnut for decorative appeal. The largest number of inlaid pieces originated in upper East Tennessee. The use of inlay declined in Middle Tennessee and is found least frequently in West Tennessee. Tulip-poplar was used in pieces made throughout the state, but yellow pine was used in the geographic regions of higher altitudes where these trees were plentiful.

The patrons of Tennessee furniture makers were primarily Anglo-Americans of English, Scots, and Scots-Irish descent. They arrived from Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the products of diverse economic and social backgrounds. As they poured over the mountains, the settlers furnished their homes as their means allowed, using design concepts brought from eastern areas.

The difficulty of the journey to Tennessee often precluded the inclusion of furniture. As a consequence, settlers purchased locally made furniture after their arrival in the new region. As wagon roads became better and river shipping became easier, Tennessee craftsmen found themselves in competition with the skilled and stylistically sophisticated manufacturers in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. Cincinnati, one of the largest furniture manufacturing cities in the country, began shipping large assortments of furniture downriver to Tennessee. Prominent citizens like Andrew Jackson selected wares from Philadelphia, which were shipped upriver from New Orleans.

The most distinguishable Tennessee forms include the sugar chest and the Jackson press. The sugar chest was developed to safeguard large quantities of sugar, a commodity of great value. Fairly simple in design, a sugar chest consisted of a large wooden storage bin set on legs. The majority of chests featured a small drawer below the bin. Since only the most affluent nineteenth-century households could afford sugar in bulk, a sugar chest was a status symbol displayed in public areas of the home like the dining room.

The Jackson press is also indigenous to the Tennessee region. Although the form and name were contemporary with Andrew Jackson, the exact origins of the press remain unknown. As early as 1825 the term appeared in an estate inventory in Davidson County, where Andrew Jackson lived. Most presses consisted of a shaped back splash over a rectangular top above projecting drawers over cupboard doors set on turned feet.

In the small area of Good Spring, the Levi Cochran cabinet shop produced three Jackson presses between 1833 and 1835, charging from $20 to $23 for each.

The furniture produced in Tennessee during the nineteenth century imparts a sense of pride and respect for our forbearers who struggled to create homes of comfort and beauty in a new territory.

Derita Coleman Williams and Nathan Harsh, The Art and Mystery of Tennessee Furniture and Its Makers Through 1850 (1988)

PROVENANCE / ACQUISITION:
John Phifer Marrs collection.
Important auction house J. Garrett Auctioneers, Dallas, Texas, May 2021 catalog, presented a special curated collection from John Phifer Marrs, premier Southern interior designer known for an elegant, fresh and inviting design method, often called The New Southern Style.

John’s work has been regularly featured in local and national publications including the venerable Architectural Digest, Traditional Home, and many others. He recently released his new book, Interiors for Collectors, and stays busy with both design work and author appearances.

CONDITION:
Great original antique condition. Beautifully aged patina lending to an elegant mellow warmth over the whole, worn smooth finish, with expected wear, including dark marks to the top and various antique character marks. Nothing that detracts from the aesthetics or functionality but only adds to the sophisticated elegance, rustic charm, and rich historical depth that can only be acquired over long periods of time.