A very rare Southern Federal mahogany secretary, circa 1815-1820 from South Carolina, most likely made in Georgetown, in exceptional condition, with the brass pulls being the only replacement or alteration. Undisturbed case pieces from the American South, such as this secretary, are relatively rare, particularly those that survive from areas outside of major urban centers.

Georgetown was a thriving and affluent coastal community throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, located at the tip of the Waccamaw neck between the Waccamaw River, Winyah Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean. It was originally surveyed as one of the ten baronies of the American colony that was divided among the eight Lord Proprietors of the Province of Carolina. It was formally established as a town in 1729. Crop experimentation was common amongst the early settlers of the area and included a number of commodities, most predominantly rice, but also fruits, teas, lumber, and indigo. Although the research of the cabinetmaking trade in the city of Georgetown has been relatively unexplored, there are two known case pieces, both sideboards, attributed to workshops there. One is said to have descended in the family of Joseph Alston (1779-1816) and another, without any oral history, do exist. Both are shown in The Furniture of Charleston 1680-1820 by Bradford L. Rauschenberg an John Bivins, Jr. suggesting that there was an active cabinetmaking trade there that was patronized by the affluent members of the local community.

Stylistically, the pattern of this secretary follows an architectural scheme that could have been made in a number of areas in South that were influenced by Northern workshops, but it displays idiosyncratic construction elements, materials, and a sophisticated and evolved fitted interior that suggest it was made in a cabinetshop in an urban region familiar to the relatively new designs popular in the late neo-classical and Classical areas, most notably New York, but still maintains a somewhat naive interpretation of that style. There is a remarkably similar secretary bookcase in the collection of Colonial Williamsburg that is signed by Charles C. Parkes, of Lynchburg, Virginia, and shown in Southern Furniture 1680-1830. The Colonial Williamsburg Collection by Ronald L. Hurst and Jonathan Prown, plate 145., however, considering the family history and provenance of this secretary, coupled with the abundant use of southern yellow pine as a secondary wood, it seems most logical that an attribution to Georgetown would be unassailable, as McClellanville is approximately 30 miles south of Georgetown, South Carolina.

HISTORY: This secretary was owned by Hugh Swinton McGillivray of McClellanville, SC, descended to his step-daughter in-law Mrs. W.B. Stratton of Walterboro, SC and sold at her estate auction on October 11, 1987 in Walterboro.

PROVENANCE: The Estate of the late Francis D. "Skeeter" McNairy, Savannah, Georgia.

CONDITION: Exceptional, with no repairs of note. The finish is a non-original French polish shellac determined by visual analysis using UV light exposure. One turned foot is missing a small portion on the side. All glue blocks appear to be present. No alteration to the cornice and there are no inscriptions. The writing surface is a twentieth century replacement. The glass appearing in the upper-case panels is old, and possibly original to the piece.

DIMENSIONS: Height 95 3/8" Width 47" Depth 21 7/8"

MATERIALS: Mahogany, mahogany veneers, southern yellow pine (backboards), eastern white pine (lower drawer sides, bottoms, and fronts), tulip poplar (interior secretary drawer sides) brass, and glass.

Antique Furniture
Antique Desks & Secretaries