Furniture: Secretary desk made for P. T. Barnum by Julius Dessoir
Desk, plantation
1846 – 1848 (Date manufactured/created)
Secretary desk that was part of a suite of furniture made for P.T. Barnum's first home in Bridgeport, Iranistan. The cabinetmaker who produced the custom-made set for Barnum's personal library was Julius Dessoir. The style of this piece is also known as a "plantation desk." Made of a striped maplewood called "tiger maple," the desk is composed of two pieces that can be disassembled, a cabinet and a base which has a slightly slanted writing surface. Some areas of the desk's base were replaced due to damage, and the red felt is not original to the desk; the original may have been leather or dark green wool. Carved details at each corner of the desk includes scrollwork that ends in bell shapes. Partway down the legs of the desk additional detailing has the look of weeping willow branches, though more a feathery in appearance. There is a single wide drawer in the desk base, underneath the writing surface, but the drawer front and sides have been replaced. The cabinet portion of the desk features two doors with four drawers beneath, arranged in pairs side by side. Each drawer has a lock. The cabinet doors feature hand-carved ornamental details that correspond to the doors on the breakfront bookcase in the set. The interior of the cabinet is divided into thirty-two compartments and six drawers. Twenty-four square compartments form the major "block" of correspondence cubbies, while others of varying dimensions surround them. Beneath the six drawers are two larger rectangular compartments. The desk was clearly designed for a person who needed to keep track of a variety of letters and business papers, as P. T. Barnum, a constant correspondent, would have been. A few of the compartments show traces of labels that named the individual or business with whom Barnum corresponded. Early museum records note that one had a label for "Tom Thumb" (or more likely, his proper name, Charles S. Stratton) but that label has since disappeared.
This style of furniture is known as Chinoiserie, or Chinese Chippendale. The name Chippendale comes from that of cabinet maker Thomas Chippendale, who in the 1700s became well known for his style of furniture design. His work featured the use of Chinese and Gothic style motifs and large carvings. The Chinese part comes from the inspiration of the motif, which on Barnum's furniture set, shows at the bottom edges of the furniture in particular. During the 19th century, "chinoiserie" was a popular style that drew upon elements of Chinese decorative arts and applied them to Western European styles of furniture. P. T. Barnum's furniture goes further with its decorative motifs, as the fantastical creatures are not traditional. The imaginative carvings, which are better represented by the seating furniture in this set, showcase his unique taste, as well as the skill of the maker.
Julius Dessoir was French cabinetmaker who came to America in the 1840s. The first listing of his work as a cabinetmaker can be found in an 1842-1843 New York City Directory. His furniture making business was based on Broadway, and he became well known for elaborate carving. His work was exhibited in the New York Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1853. His work for Barnum was done within a few years of his arrival in America. Barnum’s taste for the elaborate was likely cultivated on his three-year tour of Europe in the mid-1840s, and he would thus have appreciated Dessoir’s European training and skill as a craftsman, and sought him out to make furniture for his exotic new home. Iranistan was the P. T. Barnum family's home from 1848 to 1857, and was located on present day Fairfield Avenue, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It was designed in the Moorish revival style by Leopold Eidlitz, borrowing heavily from the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, which Barnum greatly admired. It cost $100,000 and sat on seventeen acres of land. The mansion burned to the ground on December 17,1857, thought to be the result of smoldering ashes from a workman's pipe. Barnum notes in his autobiography that furniture and artwork was saved. The Dessoir furniture was donated to the Barnum Institute of Science and History (predecessor of the Barnum Museum) in 1888 by Nancy Fish Barnum, second wife of P. T. Barnum.
Donated to the museum in 1888 by Nancy Fish-Barnum.
This style of furniture is known as Chinoiserie, or Chinese Chippendale. The name Chippendale comes from that of cabinet maker Thomas Chippendale, who in the 1700s became well known for his style of furniture design. His work featured the use of Chinese and Gothic style motifs and large carvings. The Chinese part comes from the inspiration of the motif, which on Barnum's furniture set, shows at the bottom edges of the furniture in particular. During the 19th century, "chinoiserie" was a popular style that drew upon elements of Chinese decorative arts and applied them to Western European styles of furniture. P. T. Barnum's furniture goes further with its decorative motifs, as the fantastical creatures are not traditional. The imaginative carvings, which are better represented by the seating furniture in this set, showcase his unique taste, as well as the skill of the maker.
Julius Dessoir was French cabinetmaker who came to America in the 1840s. The first listing of his work as a cabinetmaker can be found in an 1842-1843 New York City Directory. His furniture making business was based on Broadway, and he became well known for elaborate carving. His work was exhibited in the New York Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1853. His work for Barnum was done within a few years of his arrival in America. Barnum’s taste for the elaborate was likely cultivated on his three-year tour of Europe in the mid-1840s, and he would thus have appreciated Dessoir’s European training and skill as a craftsman, and sought him out to make furniture for his exotic new home. Iranistan was the P. T. Barnum family's home from 1848 to 1857, and was located on present day Fairfield Avenue, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It was designed in the Moorish revival style by Leopold Eidlitz, borrowing heavily from the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, which Barnum greatly admired. It cost $100,000 and sat on seventeen acres of land. The mansion burned to the ground on December 17,1857, thought to be the result of smoldering ashes from a workman's pipe. Barnum notes in his autobiography that furniture and artwork was saved. The Dessoir furniture was donated to the Barnum Institute of Science and History (predecessor of the Barnum Museum) in 1888 by Nancy Fish Barnum, second wife of P. T. Barnum.
Donated to the museum in 1888 by Nancy Fish-Barnum.
Gift of Nancy Fish Barnum
1888.001.009 AB