Sofa Table
Attributed to
James Miller
(American, active New York, 1823 - 1855)
Datec. 1846
MediumMahogany, Cucumbertree (Magnolia acuminata), eastern white pine, yellow-poplar, cherry, black walnut
DimensionsOverall: Open position: 27 5/8 x 52 1/8 x 26in. (70.2 x 132.4 x 66cm)
Overall: Closed position: 27 5/8 × 33 7/8 × 26in. (70.2 × 86 × 66cm)
Overall: Closed position: 27 5/8 × 33 7/8 × 26in. (70.2 × 86 × 66cm)
ClassificationsFURNISHINGS
Credit LineProctor Collection
Terms
Object numberPC. 422
DescriptionDrop leaves and two drawers with scroll end supports joined by stretchersOn View
On viewCollections
Copyright<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>.
Label TextWith the proliferation of printed English sources, the sofa-table form attained popularity in America in the early 1800s. Andrew Jackson Downing addressed the use of the sofa table in mid-nineteenth-century parlors in The Architecture of Country Houses (1850). He wrote, "in towns" the sofa table was replacing the center table because "scattered here and there in a room, [sofa tables] afford various gathering places for little conversation parties-while the center-table draws all talkers to a single focus."
Despite Downing's endorsement of the sofa table as the emblem of the evening party, the surviving number of center tables (often purchased as part of a parlor suite) is a clear indication that they were considered more fashionable than sofa tables.
When purchasing furniture for his home, Jams Watson Williams of Utica paid $45 for this table. A hand-written invoice survives and is in the MWPAI Archives.
