KneeHole desk with gallery?

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Ty G

Well-known member
On the web I found a knee hole desk repro by an Alan Turner.  It is a knee hole desk/bureau that has a gallery where the top three drawers would be.  The front looks like blocked drawers, yet it folds down and slides out into a writing area and small gallery.  It states that is was copied from an original piece in RI.  

Were these common?  Have any of you done a kneehole such as this?
Neither my Sack's book nor Metropolitan M. book have an example such as this.
 
Ty,

I found the web site and read the detailed description of the piece you mention. Base upon the number of changes from an original in materials and construction, it seems to me that "copied" in this case may well mean more along the lines of styled after than an exact reproduction, even excepting the gallery issue.

Karl
 
There are something like 50 Newport kneeholes, and I recently read somewhere (can't remember where, but I'll find the reference) that a few, maybe four, have the gallery in the top drawer.
I have seen the original from which this repro was made, and have detailed photos.
The reproduction looks extremely close to me, even the brasses are dead nuts, especially the odd shaped keyhole.  The angles on the dovetails are much shallower than the original, which has the steepest tails you'd ever want to see.

Regards,

JD
 
Ty,  There is a black & white picture, Figure 1.14, pg. 32, Moses' Master Craftsmen of Newport, captioned: " Three-Shell Kneehole made by Edmund Townsend. Private Collection. --- When the shell carved drawer front drops down it is supported by chains and reveals a row of convex and concave blocked drawers. Three other examples with this feature are known proving their function as desks. ---- " This picture shows the desk section open.

Further on in the book there is a color shot of this same piece, Plate # 15. This picture has the desk section closed.

If you're interested I can scan both of these pictures and email them to you.

Let me know.  John McAlister
 
John, I would appreciate the two images.  It is something I would like to do; not necessarily an exact reproduction, but do the gallery set-up in another knee-hole style. 
Thanks, Ty  email tyguillory@yahoo.com
 
Ty- I measured and copied the one from the Brown hs in Providence for a family member. Let me know what you need-Al
 
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