The cabinetmaker's account : John Head's record of craft & commerce in Colonial Philadelphia, 1718-1753 / Jay Robert Stiefel.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextSeries: Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society ; v. 271.Publisher: Philadelphia : American Philosophical Society Press, [2019]Copyright date: ©2019Edition: [First edition]Description: xxi, 298 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), maps, portrait, facsimiles ; 32 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780871692719
  • 0871692716
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
The discovery of the John Head account book -- An elusive "joyner" -- The significance of the John Head account book -- John Head's business practices -- The account book as artifact -- Businesses conducted at the shop -- Head's real property -- Inside Head's home -- Simon Edgell, pewterer -- Food and drink -- Dress and personal adornment -- Livestock and transport -- Shop materials, components, and equipment -- Shop activities ancillary to making furniture -- Chairmakers and turners -- Attributing furniture to John Head's shop based on pieces documented to his account book -- "To a chest of drawers" and "To a chamber table" -- "To a table" -- "To a badstad" -- "To a clock case" -- "To a dask" and "To a scrudore and bookcas apon a chest of drawers" -- "To a corner coberd," "To a close pras," "To a cradle," "To a clos stol" -- "To a chest" -- "To maken" : miscellaneous articles in Head's shop -- "To a cofin" -- Head's last years -- John Head : an appreciation
In: Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society no:271Summary: "English joiner John Head (1688-1754) immigrated to Philadelphia in 1717 and became one of its most successful artisans and merchants. However, his prominence was lost to history until the author's discovery of his account book at the Library of the American Philosophical Society. A find of great historical importance, Head's account book is the earliest and most complete to have survived from any cabinetmaker working in British North America or in Great Britain. It chronicles the commerce, crafts, and lifestyles of early Philadelphia's entire community: its shopkeeping, cabinetmaking, chairmaking, clockmaking, glazing, metalworking, needleworking, property development, agriculture, botany, livestock, transport, foodstuffs, drink, hardware, fabrics, furnishings, household wares, clothing, building materials, and export trade. Jay Robert Stiefel, historian of Colonial Philadelphia society and its material culture, presents the definitive interpretation of the John Head account book and introduces many other discoveries. The culmination of nearly 20 years of research, this new volume serves as an essential reference work on 18th-century Philadelphia, its furniture and material culture, as well as an intimate and detailed social history of the interactions among that era's most talented artisans and successful merchants. Profusely illustrated and in large format, the book includes a foreword from furniture historian Adam Bowett and an introduction by historian Patrick Spero, Librarian and Director of the American Philosophical Society Library"--Provided by publisher
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Status Date due Barcode
Books Books Jost Bürgi Library Reading Room NK2439.H415 S75 2018 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 31560000028387

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The discovery of the John Head account book -- An elusive "joyner" -- The significance of the John Head account book -- John Head's business practices -- The account book as artifact -- Businesses conducted at the shop -- Head's real property -- Inside Head's home -- Simon Edgell, pewterer -- Food and drink -- Dress and personal adornment -- Livestock and transport -- Shop materials, components, and equipment -- Shop activities ancillary to making furniture -- Chairmakers and turners -- Attributing furniture to John Head's shop based on pieces documented to his account book -- "To a chest of drawers" and "To a chamber table" -- "To a table" -- "To a badstad" -- "To a clock case" -- "To a dask" and "To a scrudore and bookcas apon a chest of drawers" -- "To a corner coberd," "To a close pras," "To a cradle," "To a clos stol" -- "To a chest" -- "To maken" : miscellaneous articles in Head's shop -- "To a cofin" -- Head's last years -- John Head : an appreciation

"English joiner John Head (1688-1754) immigrated to Philadelphia in 1717 and became one of its most successful artisans and merchants. However, his prominence was lost to history until the author's discovery of his account book at the Library of the American Philosophical Society. A find of great historical importance, Head's account book is the earliest and most complete to have survived from any cabinetmaker working in British North America or in Great Britain. It chronicles the commerce, crafts, and lifestyles of early Philadelphia's entire community: its shopkeeping, cabinetmaking, chairmaking, clockmaking, glazing, metalworking, needleworking, property development, agriculture, botany, livestock, transport, foodstuffs, drink, hardware, fabrics, furnishings, household wares, clothing, building materials, and export trade. Jay Robert Stiefel, historian of Colonial Philadelphia society and its material culture, presents the definitive interpretation of the John Head account book and introduces many other discoveries. The culmination of nearly 20 years of research, this new volume serves as an essential reference work on 18th-century Philadelphia, its furniture and material culture, as well as an intimate and detailed social history of the interactions among that era's most talented artisans and successful merchants. Profusely illustrated and in large format, the book includes a foreword from furniture historian Adam Bowett and an introduction by historian Patrick Spero, Librarian and Director of the American Philosophical Society Library"--Provided by publisher

31560000028387 22579

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