Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Howard Family Writing Desk, c. 1850 |
Object Name |
Desk, Writing |
Description |
Howard Family Writing Desk, c. 1850. Antique writing desk from the estate of Henry S.P. Howard (1864-1935) and M. Antoinette Schmiedell; orignially from the estate of his father, George Henry Howard (1826-79) and Agnes Pett (1833-1893). Writing surface pulls out. This writing desk is made of wood with two levels: one with four small drawers, and another with one long stretched drawer. Part of the desk has a wooden hole which connects the four drawers at the top to the rest of the writing desk. On the left and right side of the drawers at the top and the long stretched drawer at the bottom is a brass metal shaped like a flower with two metal nails on each side connecting it to the desk. In front of the two top drawers are small brass knobs that are circular in shape and are connected and held by black metal screws through the wood in the drawers. The same small brass knob on the outside with the black metal screw inside the drawer is on the long stretched drawer as well. The two drawers at the bottom of the top have metal key holes with the inside of the drawer having a brass metal bracket covering the keyhole inside with four metal nails surrounding each one. Inside the drawers at the top, they have a unpolished finish compared to the rest of the desk which looks to have an oak glossy finish. The top left drawer contains one metal washer. In front of the top drawers is a wooden surface surrounding a black plastic surface. Inside the long stretched drawer is a unpolished finish with a small wooden wall used for two separate storage space. On the right of the long stretched drawer, in one of the separate spaces, there is a silver boudoir styled key used for the drawers with the keyholes. Some more unpolished wood is located at the bottom of the long stretched drawer. At the bottom of the writing desk are four thin wooden legs that connect from the front and back of the writing desk. |
Date |
c. 1850 |
Catalog Number |
2016.029.001 |
Collection |
3D - Furniture |
Creator |
Unknown |
Role |
Furniture Maker |
Inscription Text |
none |
Provenance |
From the estate of Henry S.P. Howard (1864-1935) and M. Antoinette Schmiedell; orignially from the estate of his father, George Henry Howard (1826-79) and Agnes Pett (1833-1893). |
Notes |
"George Henry Howard Jr., born on 8 September 1884, in San Mateo, in all probability at his family's estate, El Cerrito. He was the son of George Henry Howard (1828-1878), a first cousin once removed of President William Howard Taft, and Agnes Poett (1833-1893). George Howard Jr. , was truly "to the manor born", as the Howards were one of the first great Anglo-American landholding families to emerge in San Mateo County... The late 1880s and early 1890s were busy years for George Howard, both personally and professionally. On 18 April 1888, more than 500 guests gathered at fashionable Trinity Episocal Church in San Francisco to witness George's marriage to Antoinette ("Nettie") Schmiedell, daughter of a prominent San Francisco family...The couple eventually had two children, Henry S.P Howard and George H. Howard Jr. (III)... Within this own family, Howard was remembered as a dreamer and an artist one who was preoccupied with beauty over function. Hence it is quite possible that he functioned more as a designer than an architect..." [La Peninsula, Vol. XXXX, No- Fall, 1994- 12/22/2016] |
Dimensions |
H-39 W-29 D-2 inches |
Search Terms |
Desks Furniture Household Goods Howard Family Howard, Agnes Poett Howard, George H. Jr. Howard, George Henry Jr. (III) Howard, George Henry, Jr. Howard, Henry S.P. |
Subjects |
Desks Furnishings Furniture Writing |
People |
Howard, Agnes Poett Howard, George Howard, George H. Jr. Howard, George H. Jr. (III) Howard, George Henry, Jr. Howard, Henry S.P. |
Credit line |
Virginia Howard Siegman Collection |