Secretary Bookcase

Artist / Maker

Possibly John Needles (1786–1878)

City of Manufacture

Baltimore

Date

c. 1820–1835

Dimensions

96-1/2 x 53 x 22 in.

Medium

Primary woods: mahogany, mahogany veneer, tulip poplar, satinwood

Secondary woods: white pine, mahogany, Spanish cedar (Cedrela)

Surface treatments: glass, baize

Labels / Inscriptions

Inscribed in chalk inside the case in a number of places: “Dr. Chatard.”

Provenance

By descent through the Chatard family of Baltimore: Dr. Ferdinand Edme Chatard (1805–1888), married 1830 to Eliza Marean; To Dr. Ferdinand E. Chatard Jr. (1838–1900) and Josephine Miles; To their son William Miles Chatard (1875–1953) and Josephine Lee (1879–1958); To her niece Elizabeth Williams Lee (1920–1999) and Edmund Nolley; Sale, Richard Opfer Auctioneers, Timonium, MD, Sept. 28, 1990, lot 241; With J. Michael Flanigan, American Antiques, Baltimore, 1990; Purchased by Schrimshers, 1993.