MESDA tag

[psanow]

While researching federal era card tables for my next project I found that my neighbor owned a card table that's been in the family for generations and he believes was made in SC.  While photographing, I crawled under and found a MESDA tag indicating it had been photographed and recorded in 1984.  Both of us are curious what MESDA might have on it - anyone know who I can talk to there to find out what they have?  I'll be making my first trip there at the mid-year but wondered if I could ask the right person before I went there.

Thanks
Paul Sanow
Fort Thomas KY

 

[Woodmolds]

Try here or contact Tom Sears(SAPFM member)

http://mesda.org/research_sprite/mesda_mesda-research-center.html

At mid year you'll be able to peruse the research center.

Tony

 

[Bob Compton]

Hi Paul

In the basement of MESDA is a large collection of file cabinets with info collected from their research. MESDA used to send out people to peoples' homes to document their furniture. Are there any reference numbers with the MESDA tag?
Good luck
Bob

 

[psanow]

Thanks Tony and Bob.  It turns out my neighbor (who I suspect had never looked at the tag shown in my attached photo) called MESDA the Monday after we found it.  They kindly forwarded everything in the file and he passed it along to me.  It also turned out that one of their detail images ended up in The Furniture of Charleston books so that was kind of interesting.  I never ended up contacting Tom since I had everything and more.

It was a great to find a useful example just next door and an accommodating neighbor to let me spend time looking it over.  I'm not planning to copy it but will make use of some construction details.  Now I'll probably have to let him borrow a tool (shiver.....)

Paul