Albums -- Design Drawings

Description

This series consists of seventeen albums of design drawings of a wide variety of furniture and interior furnishings manufactured by A. H. Davenport Co. between 1880 and 1914. Albums have titles and volume numbers assigned by their creators; most include a table of contents. The volumes include: cabinets and bookcases; sideboards and serving tables; large tables; small tables; dining tables; chairs and rockers; pianos, mirrors, billiard tables, benches and screens; stuffed sofas and easy chairs; wood boxes and chests; writing desks and tables; beds; bureaus and chests of drawers; toilet tables and cheval glasses; commodes, wash stands, clothes poles, umbrella stands, and wardrobes; easels, pedestals, clocks and miscellaneous; sofas, hall seats and settles; and mantels.

The albums contain a total of 3,560 pages, 494 of which contain design drawings. A total of 1,683 drawings are present. Drawings are predominantly rendered in pencil, colored pencil or ink on trace; however, a few watercolor renderings are also present. Drawings often contain handwritten information including dimensions, wood type, model numbers, date, customer name and detailer initials. Over 400 customers are identified and include individuals, churches; corporations, and schools and universities. Among the clients noted are: John Jacob Astor (New York, NY); A. C. Burrage (Boston, MA); George Eastman (Rochester, NY); Henry Clay Frick (New York, NY); Groton School (Groton, MA); New York Public Library (New York, NY); Cornelius Vanderbilt III; the White House (Washington, DC); Stanford White (New York, NY) and Yale University (New Haven, CT). The record for each album contains a full listing of clients identified therein. Additionally, a consolidated list of customers is available upon request. Digital images of all drawings are attached to their individual records.