Dressing glass or dressing stand

1825-1835

Maker

Thomas Natt (active 1809-1843)

Measurements

22 in x 22-5/8 in x 8 in

Materials

Mahogany, light-wood stringing; white pine secondary wood

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

Accession Number

1971.553

Inscription

The printed paper label of the maker, pasted onto the top center of the backboard, reads, “THOMAS NATT, / AT HIS / WHOLESALE AND RETAIL / LOOKING-GLASS MANUFACTORY, / NO. 134, MARKET STREET, SOUTH SIDE. / THREE DOORS ABOVE FOURTH STREET, / Keeps constantly on hand / A LARGE AND GENERAL ASSORTMENT OF / GILT, MAHOGANY, AND FANCY FRAMED LOOKING-GLASSES, / DRESSING-BOXES, SWINGS, SCONCES, &c. &c. / Southern, Western, and other Merchants, supplied on the low- / est terms, for Cash or Acceptances. / N.B. Importer of Plate Glass, and Looking-glass Plates of all dimensions.”  “Joseph Moore / Deerfield N.J.” is written in pencil along the bottom of the label. “George” is written in red crayon on the outside of the right drawer.

Condition Notes

The dressing glass survives in excellent condition with no visible changes or damage, aside from a small chip in the veneer at the upper left corner of the right-hand drawer.

Provenance

Bequest of Dr. and Mrs. J. Newberry Reynolds to The David Wilson Mansion, Inc., in 1942.  Joseph Moore, whose name is penciled on the label, is a likely owner at some time before the Reynolds acquisition. Deerfield, New Jersey, is near Bridgeton, directly east of Odessa.

Comments

According to city directories, Thomas Natt worked at 134 High (or Market) Street in from 1825 to 1835, after which he moved to 192 Chestnut Street and his son, Thomas Jr., is at the High St. address. 

Like wall-hung looking glass, many dressing glasses or stands of this type retained style preferences of the previous century—visible in the stand in the baluster-turned supports for the mirrored glass and in the ogee bracket feet.  The brass pulls and key escutcheon, which are original, better reflect styles at the time this dressing glass was made.  Of note, the narrow light-wood stringing around the veneered drawer fronts is set into the case and is not on the drawers themselves. Other narrow stringing runs inside the wider stringing along the outer edges of the mirrored glass frame.  Many interior surfaces show water-powered saw marks.

This dressing glass is similar to an unlabeled, two-drawer example, 1971.552.