15 American Style

American Revolution

also called the U.S. War of Independence—was the insurrection fought between 1775 and 1783 through which 13 of Great Britain’s North American colonies threw off British rule to establish the sovereign United States of America

Bill of Rights

these first 10 amendments, ratified in 1791 , adopted into the Constitution the basic English common-law rights that Americans had fought for

Wattle and Daub

s a composite building material used for making walls, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung and straw

Half-Timber Work

method of building in which external and internal walls are constructed of timber frames and the spaces between the structural members are filled with such materials as brick, plaster, or wattle and daub

Garrison Colonial

has a steep pitched roofs that were essential for allowing rain and snow to run off easily

New England Salt Box

developed from the hall and parlor or Garrison style with the addition of an ell or lean to on the back

Cape Cod House

a low, broad, single-story frame building with a moderately steep pitched gabled roof, a large central chimney, and very little ornamentation; originating in New England in the 17th century, the simple symmetric design was constructed of local materials to withstand the stormy

Banister Chair

had back uprights consisting of split spindles or flat bars

Ladderback Chair

had a back with horizontal slats, stretchers to support the construction and had either plain or rush seat

Queen Anne Chair

splat resembling a with Jacobean turnings, Spanish foot, rush woven finish

Brewster Chair

named after William Brewster, with 4 heavy turned posts, many turned spindled, wooden seat or rush woven finish

Connecticut “Sunflower” Chest

has distinct carved decoration of sunflower panel and tulip design outside the panels

Hadley Chest

all over pattern of flowers and sinuous vines carved in very low relief

Butterfly Table

small drop leaf table whose leaves are supported by a swinging bracket resembling wings of a butterfly

Wainscot Chair

severe solid backed chair; probably developed from the detachment of a piece of wall paneling with a seat board attachment

Lowboy

dressing table

Highboy

was a popular storage piece in both England and America; the upper unit can be lifted off the lower element for easy movement and shipping; matched veneers, cabriole legs, carved pendants, fine brass pulls all suggest elegance and affluence

Joined Tester Bedstead

a chair with a table-top back

Tester Bedstead

was a common form of sleeping furniture in the 17th century; it was hung with bed-curtains which, when drawn, formed with the frame and panel ceiling a small, box like room

American Georgian

in the eighteenth century, colonial simplicity began to give way to more elegant and luxurious styles both brought from England by craftsmen and inspired by books that illustrated the architecture and furniture of the Queen Anne and Georgian eras

William Penn

English Quaker leader and advocate of religious freedom, who oversaw the founding of the American Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a refuge for Quakers and other religious minorities of Europe

Thomas Affleck

cabinetmaker; known for his Chinese Chippendale designs and use of his Marlborough legs

John Folwell

cabinetmaker; the American Chippendale

Benjamin Randolph

cabinetmaker; skillful in the Chippendale Rococo style

Bandy Chair

from the “bandy leg” composed of cabriole leg with club foot, patterned after the Queen Anne Chair

Boston Rocker

wooden rocking chair with a high spindle back, a decorative top panel, and a seat and arms that curve down at the front

Windsor Chair

has back that was made of spindles placed in the rear of the seat; a shaped seat; both legs and the supports were usually decorated with turning; always with stretchers; legs slanting outwards

John Goddard

cabinetmaker; who is known for his block front type of desk and chest with 3 arched panels and large cockle shells foot with ogee bracket

Block-Front

chests, cabinets, and desks with fronts divided into three parts decorated with shell motifs, made of solid mahogany (cut from a single piece of wood)

Federalism

mode of political organization that unites separate states or other polities within an overarching political system in such a way as to allow each to maintain its own fundamental political integrity

U.S. Constitution

the world’s oldest written national constitution still in effect, was officially ratified on June 21, 1788 (when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the document), and formally entered into force on March 4, 1789, when George Washington was sworn in as the country’s first president

Thomas Jefferson

American statesman and the third president; he had great influence in the architecture of the period

Greek Revival

dominated American architecture during the period 1818-1850; it was the first truly national style in the United states, found in all regions of the country; the popularity of the style was due to strong associations with classical tradition and democracy

American Federal

style after the American Revolution, a classical style of furniture developed influenced by the Directoire, Empire, English Hepplewhite, Sheraton, English Regency

Duncan Phyfe

cabinetmaker; the most famous name in the decorative arts of the Federal period, he designed in the Sheraton, Directoire, and Empire styles, although he gave the designs his own interpretation

Mcintire Sofa

sofas (in Hepplewhite style) had curved backs, continuous carved top rails and curved arms and legs

John H. Belter

was an American cabinet maker and furniture manufacturer in the mid nineteenth century; has been called the Chippendale of Victorian furniture, and his work is important for many reasons, including innovative and unique design and very high quality construction

Hassock

footstool; a hassock is more likely to have feet and be square

Daniel Pabst

was a leading cabinetmaker in Philadelphia, where there were a large number of German cabinetmakers in the 19th century