Table

Status

On view

Label Text

Family tradition holds that this boldly carved Sheraton-style dining table was purchased at a sale of Mount Vernon furniture by Lewis Bailey, creator of Bailey's Circus, in the 1860s. Likely the property of Washington descendants, this table was carefully maintained until it returned to the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association in 1929.

Read MoreRead Less

Date1800-1825

Geography Possibly made - United StatesPossibly made - United States

Medium/TechniqueMahogany (top, legs, veneer), pine (inner rear rail, corner rails, corner blocks), maple (front rail), oak (outer rear rail), unidentified softwood (side rails)

DimensionsOverall (A: H x W x D, closed leaf): 29 3/4 in. x 48 in. x 18 1/8 in. (75.57 cm x 121.92 cm x 46.04 cm) Other (A: H x W x D, open leaf): 29 3/4 in. x 48 in. x 36 3/8 in. (75.57 cm x 121.92 cm x 92.39 cm) Overall (B: H x W x D, closed leaf): 29 3/4 in. × 48 in. × 18 3/8 in. (75.57 cm × 121.92 cm × 46.67 cm) Other (B: H x W x D, open leaf): 29 3/4 in. x 48 in. x 36 5/8 in. (75.57 cm x 121.92 cm x 93.03 cm)

Credit LinePurchase, 1929

Object numberH-119/A-B

DescriptionTwo-part, rectangular dining table with veneered decoration on turned, tapered, and reeded legs; each table is detachable from the other.

A and B:
Rectangular end table composed of overhanging fixed top and folding leaf, on five legs (four fixed and one fly). The fixed top has round corners and rounded edges and is screwed to the frame. The leaf meets the fixed top in a rule joint, and is secured with three iron butt hinges. Table A has three leaf-edge mortises and two brass latches at edge. Table B has three leaf-edge tenons and two brass catches at edge. The front, corner, and side rails are veneered and feature an applied bead along their bottom edge. The rectangular frame has shaped single-board corner rails, a straight front rail and straight side rails, and a double rear rail whose outer or hinge rail is divided into two sections. The fixed hinge rail is glued to the inner rail and is attached off of center to the fly rail with a five-finger hinge. The flyleg is rabbeted to fit under the rear rail. Each leg features a squared block above three turned rings and a deeply reeded shaft terminating in a bulb-and-ball foot.
Published ReferencesBlance Syfret McKnight, "Bailey's Grand Review," American Motorist, District of Columbia Edition, May 1930, 66.

Mount Vernon's object research is ongoing and information about this object is subject to change. For information on image use and reproductions, click here.