Prickett Desk 2011

Provenance: According to family tradition this desk descended in the Cabot-Paine-Metcalf family of Salem, Massachusetts. Known line of descent: Robert Treat Paine II and Ruth Cabot Paine, relative of Jonathan Mason, Jr., one of the first U.S. Senators from Massachusetts; to their daughter Elizabeth Paine Metcalf Card; to her son Thomas Newell Metcalf, Jr. (d. 1998) and his wife Patricia T. Metcalf (now in her 80’s); to C. L. Prickett Antiques, February 2006. Possible descent to Robert Treat Paine II and Ruth Cabot Paine: Entries in the recently discovered account book and waste books of Nathaniel Gould (1734–1782) state that Andrew Cabot (1750–1792) commissioned two desk-and-bookcases, one in 1773 and the present (?) desk-and-bookcase in 1780; the second presumably in anticipation of Cabot’s move into his new home at 191 Cabot Street in Beverly, Massachusetts; now city hall. At the settlement of Andrew’s estate on June 15, 1792 an entry in the diary of his lawyer describes receiving funds from an auctioneer for selling a stand table and a desk-and-bookcase. At this time it is presumed that the secretary sold was the one originally purchased in 1773. The reasoning here is two fold: the 1780 desk-and-bookcase would have been the more up-to-date and it also appears to have remained in the family. When Andrew’s wife Lydia dies in 1807, there is only one secretary in her inventory. The will does not itemize the disposition of household items among her children; however, they are left equal shares to divide among themselves. The desk likely goes to Lydia Cabot, who marries Patrick Tracy Jackson, and then descends in the line leading to Ruth Cabot, a direct descendant of Samuel Cabot (1758–1819), Andrew’s younger brother. Comments and Related Notes: In brilliance of overall design, balance of proportion, maturity and quality of carving and joinery, and rarity of form, this recently discovered bombé secretary is unparalleled and stands alone as the only known example of bombé furniture in the secretarial-bookcase form to come from Salem, Massachusetts. Three other closely related block-front examples are known and provide a fascinating look at the craftsman and offer clues to possibly identify him. The related example at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, acquired by the museum in 1909 and now familiar as a virtual icon, has been described by Morrison Heckscher as “one of the supreme manifestations of the characteristic Massachusetts block-front desk with 6