It started with a phone call on a Sunday morning
My brother was excited. He had won at auction an interesting little desk. Now, portable writing desks, lap desks, portable desks or writing slopes are fairly common items and there is a great many of different patterns and build quality.
But this one seemed special and by later that day we had found what looked to be an exact duplicate on display; the desk on which Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776 Philadelphia.
Comparing the images from the auction site and the images of the original we were certainly confounded and excited. We began weaving various narratives to make sense of what we saw only became denser once my brother had it in his hands.
Things happened quickly for a bit and we had the expectations of an Antiques Roadshow Experience, we just needed find the right expert to bless it and we cash the check. Ultimately we were to learn this was a very unrealistic expectation.
It just looked older than the one at the Smithsonian. It had obvious wear, patina and the typical elements of age that are difficult to replicate. It was straightforward to trace the history of the Smithsonian desk. Jefferson owned and used it for fifty years, he gave it to his granddaughter and her husband they owned it for the next 50 years and after their deaths their children gave the desk to a grateful nation and it was held by the Sate Department until it was transferred to the Smithsonian where it now on display.
Despite that pretty tight provenance,by he next month we have convinced ourselves we (may) have the original desk as nothing has come to light proving otherwise. This sort non confirmation and ticking boxes was to continue for the next couple years. Everything we could observe could fit into 18th or 19th century.
So less than a month after my brother gets the object I fly out to California. He's was just beginning a contentious divorce and needed some time and support so we take the desk on a west coast road trip from Ventura to to San Francisco and back.
On the way we spoke on the phone with Lon Schleining who we knew had published plans of the desk in 2000 in Fine Woodworking Magazine and that he given access to the original in order to do so.
He was helpful and had some insights we later exchanged emails discussing details but at the time I recall him telling us to think of a pyramid with the original at the peak and closer you get to the original the more valuable it is. This was was the first of an ongoing discussion with Lon in the coming months
We then visited Marcell, a handwriting and document expert in San Francisco and he was very kind and helpful and implored us to keep searching and looking for answers he but could not offer anything definitive in the short time we spent with him.
We then meet with Tony, a furniture restorer and dealer who had worked with my brother in the past on some other interesting and valuable finds. Tony was certainly confounded. We did a detailed examination including removing and taking images of some of the hardware. Apparently Tony had done much of his university studies on hardware through time and written extensively on the subject. He could not give a definitive opinion as to whether the hardware was 18th or 19th century. So, again still a maybe that could bend either way.
Near the end of my trip we decided the best thing to do was to send the desk back with me to Michigan as I was better able to commit the time and resources to finding out what he had found.
Shortly after getting home I acquired a copy of Silvio Bedinis book and as result began correspondence with a couple museums that had 1880 replicas, but above all we met Nancy. Thank goodness for Nancy.
Nancy was an appraiser in Grand Rapids and we drove the desk over and met with her. at a GR college library. She was able to advise, coach, encourage and facilitate much of what we were able to accomplish in the next couple years. But above all she was able to bring us down to earth, keep us grounded and reminding me when appropriate that patience is a virtue. Especially in the art and antique industry. My background is in manufacturing where throughput and pace are important to the business. The Art world, not so much.
Thanks Nancy!
We discussed our options and decided that a comprehensive analysis of the object made most sense. Nancy suggested the The Conservation Center in Chicago and we drove over, had a pleasant visit with the folks there and dropped off the object for their examination and not so patiently waited to learn what they could tell us.
In the meantime by way of Bedinis book I had found two of the known 1880 replicas, at the Concord Library and the Hayes Presidential Library, contacted them and they were very helpful supplying information and images. We were all struck with how clean and relatively "new" they looked. They exhibit display wear and shelf rash and they did not show the wear or patina of obvious age. We had pretty much convinced ourselves that someone switched the desks in 1880, we have the original and one of the copies was in the Smithsonian. We were able to summon all sorts of intrigue leading the desk into our hands.
Then in September the Conservation Center issued their report and we drove back to Chicago picked up the box and considered the report. It is thorough and extensive and they considered every aspect they could using non destructive or invasive means.We'll look into the report more in a separate post regarding the desk, but, in short they say:
"In conclusion, the cabinet-making techniques used to construct the desk are consistent with those used in the 18th century." They go on to list "areas that bear further scrutiny" (hardware, finish,label, etc.) and continue "There is no overwhelming evidence to tell when this desk was made without more definitive scientific testing and research."
I guess at this point we were adding to our confirmation bias and the simmering belief we have the true desk and somehow the Smithsonian did not. We're seeing things and making patterns and connections and playing what if. but in that in relatively short time, before hundreds of miles and contacting multiple experts, an extensive professional assessment had only added to our confusion and not brought us measurably closer to the truth regarding the enigmatic little box.
So for the rest of the year we mulled our possibilities, contacted a number of museums and experts including Andrew Brunk and Leigh Keno getting general encouragement but of course nothing to give us firm answers
At the end of 2013 we had made progress and learned quite a bit but at the time we did not know it would take almost another two years, dozens of emails and phones calls and hundreds of miles to place our desk in historical context. We had no idea that in spite of being very familiar with every aspect of the intriguing object, it would be a tiny overlooked detail that would ultimately give us the answer we were seeking.
But we have a bit to cover before we get there.
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