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THE ALMY FAMILY CHIPPENDALE CHEST ON CHEST
Possibly by John Townsend
Newport, Rhode Island Circa 1760
Primary Wood: Mahogany Secondary Wood: Pine, Poplar
Height: 91 3/4 inches Width: 44 1/4 inches Depth: 21 1/2 inches
Provenance: The chest on chest descended in the Almy family, possibly from Job Almy, Jr. of 56 Farewell Street, Newport, Rhode Island. A family note states that this is the chest on chest formerly in Vernon House made by Mr. Goddard.
Reference: Please see the Rhode Island Furniture Archive Number 1082. For a very similar Newport chest on chest, see Michael Moses, Master Craftsmen of Newport, The Townsends and Goddards, page 75, figure 2.4. See also pages 166 and 168, figures 3.90 and 3.92 respectively.
The chalk lettering on the back of each drawer echoes the pencil lettering seen on a signed John Townsend high chest illustrated in Patricia Kane, Art & Industry in Early America: Rhode Island Furniture, 1650-1830, page 453. That high chest shares the large applied panels on the pronounced tympanum as compared to some later examples.
