John Townsend Bureau

The John Townsend Bureau is located and on display at the Yale University Art Gallery. This one is dated 1785-1790.

In 1983 Harden Furniture received permission to measure and reproduce this piece. Yale Furniture Study has retained the drawings and provided them for the reproduction.

The Bureau has 4 shells, the 2 convex are applied. The six lower drawers are blocked with the shells providing the blocking on the large center drawer.

The bottoms of the drawers and the runners are nailed on to the sides of the drawers which was unique to Newport furniture of that time.

I reproduced this piece as close to the original as I could including joinery. The primary wood is figured genuine mahogany from Irion Lumber (2 boards), the secondary is poplar because I could not find sufficient chestnut. The hardware which matches the original is from Optimum Brasses UK. The shells on this piece and the one in Huston Art Museum are the only two with crosshatching on the center.

The finish is Lockwood water based dye, shellac and wax.