Posted 10 years ago
BHock45
(807 items)
I am looking for some opinions and ideas on this piece. It is a dry sink that comes from a very beautiful old part of Princeton, NJ. The woman who sold it to me was out of room, and we had been looking for a dry sink. This one is rather large though. I am going to make two posts to show all the pictures.
I believe it was once painted, maybe in a red or a white . I can tell by leftover paint on the bottom and in cracks. Mostly made out of pine, the drawer fronts are oak, i think. The drawer bottoms look like maple. The nails, are old nails, but I am not sure if they are "rose head nails". The joinery is a little confusing, Mostly looks like lap joints nailed in to secure. The frame of doors are a little different, through cut mortised tenon. Hardware not all original, the knobs on the drawers are not. Let me post the rest of the images.
Here's the rest of it:
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/129735-dry-sink--part-two?in=user
I like the old wood!
Very nice old dry sink. Your observation of the lap joint caused me to inspect mine more closely. Indeed, the lap joint is secured with old cut nails. Mine is chestnut and have several layers of paint removed decades ago. I would not be surprised if the remaining paint on yours is milk paint. Great find!!
thanks agram! IMASapp, thanks for the observation. I am thinking early to mid 1800's, but not totally sure. Well see what others think. The patina is great on this one. Have you posted yours?
I am wondering what people think about the construction of the door frame.
the great thing about this piece, which made me fall in love immediately are the signs of usage. Like the top horizontal board, and the insides of the doors, which have worn down after decades and decades of use. The back side of the drawer, which is not pictured, is totally "chewed" down by hitting the back bumper tens of thousands of times. I love that stuff.
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/129735-dry-sink--part-two?in=user
I have never heard of a dry sink before so thanks for teaching me something new. I think it is stunning for what it is & the show of age.
I am not seeing any oak or maple. From what I see it is both soft and hard pine. Hard pine is actually a softwood but it is the hardest of the pine family. There is both long and short needled pine and one is just harder than the other. This looks typical to New England area. Your drawer joints are rabbeted joints. They are a weak joint but quick and easy to make and don't requite the skill involved to make a joint like a dovetail. The door catch on this is unique and not terribly common anymore. The gentleman I trained with hand whittled them along with matching hand whittled drop pin hinges for the doors. He spent his winter evenings whittling them. The door panels and drawer bottoms aren't clear but they appear to be in a rabbeted joint. By that I mean they slide into a groove on all sides as opposed to being nailed on or held in place by a trim molding. The panels don't show signs of having been hand planed ( very obvious trait ). I would agree with it being quite old but not sure I would call it an antique. But then I go by the government definition of an antique. 100 years or more old in original unaltered condition. Regardless it is a nice old piece.
zowie thanks for the comment! fhrjr thank you for the analysis! A thorough job as usual. I'd like to show you a close up of the corner of the door frame. I am going to change the last picture.
would it be terrible for me to pull a nail from the piece to check it out? the nails look like these:
http://www.harpgallery.com/library/nails/square.JPG
the first on the left, and the second from the right. I am sure these are hand wrought nails on this piece.
Good lord don't pull nails. I can almost be positive the nails were made in Bridgewater, Mass. My guess would be Tremont Nail Company. They are machine cut nails commonly just called cut nails. Tremont was the first and biggest producer and I believe they went into operation in the very early 1800's and lasted for close to 200 years before they became owned by another company. Their nails and other hardware can still be purchased and I think there is even a store that carries the line somewhere in Mass. The nails by the keg and wooden box can still be purchased at yard sales and flea markets around New England. I have about a half box somewhere, I think 6d or 8d.
The through tenon is a common joint but this one lacks the most important part to make it terribly old. There are no dowels through the tenon pinning it together. Therefore it has to be a glue up joint. When dowels were used and no glue the joints and the panel could expand and contract with changes in temperature and humidity and everyone played good together. When they started using glue it was much quicker labor wise but problems came along with it. The glue didn't allow for movement and things started to bind and split and eventually the joint would pop and need to be repaired. Old timber frame post and beam houses were put together with this method (way bigger pegs) and many well over 200 years old prove how well the construction technique works. Today prefab and/or throw away suits most people. The old way is very time consuming and also expensive.
very interesting. thanks for the knowledge fhrjr. Would be really cool to find one of those barrels of nails you speak of. I will keep an eye out, I am in NJ, but who knows.
They came in a little wooden keg originally. Today people want the kegs without the nails. If you are near Burlington County try the Columbus Farmers Market. I think they have a web site. It is on route 206 in Columbus.
Yes, I am familiar with the market. I actually live by the Englishtown market, I am sure you are familiar with that. It is a dump these days though. I've been meaning to go to Columbus for awhile.
Go on opening day (Thursday I think) there are always more vendors then. Better prices on Sunday but better picking on Thursday.
fhr, I think I found some of those nails we were talking about. I found a few pounds in an old cookie tin in a nearby store. I will post them later.