VERY RARE FEDERAL INLAID AND FIGURED MAHOGANY DROP-LEAF SIDEBOARD, POSSIBLY BY JACOB FORSTER (1764-1838), CHARLESTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, CIRCA 1805 |

hardware is replaced.

Maryland collection;
Wayne Pratt, Inc., Woodbury, Connecticut.

Hardware is replaced.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This sophisticated sideboard displays distinctive inlaid decoration comprised of curving stems ending in oval petaled flowers that is commonly found in labeled work by Jacob Forster (1764-1838) of Charlestown, Massachusetts. Inlays of this type are featured on a Federal mahogany side chair and card table at Winterthur, both with Forster’s label, and considered a signature of his work.¹ After living in Berwick, Maine and serving his apprenticeship in Watertown, Massachusetts, Forster moved to Charlestown in 1786. In 1793, he purchased land at the west corner of Main and Union Streets, on which he erected a large wooden building to house his cabinet shop.² He worked there until circa 1810 and died in 1838, after which time his son Charles Forster (1798-1866) carried on in the business with Edward Lawrence, under the name Forster and Lawrence. Over the course of his career, Forster used at least two labels for his furniture, which he made in the Chippendale and Federal styles. One reads “J. Forster, Charlestown, Massa.” with the incomplete date “179__” printed below; the other reads “Jacob Forster, Cabinet Maker, Charlestown, Massachusetts, Where are Made, Tables of all kinds, In the newest and best mode, Desks, Book Cases, Mahogany Chairs, Sofas, Lolling & Easy Chairs, Clock Cases, &c.”  The latter is signed by the printer, either Nathaniel Coverly, Sr. (c. 1744-1816) or Nathaniel Coverly, Jr. (c. 1775-1824) of Charlestown.

A chest with Forster’s dated label is published in The Magazine Antiques, June 1925, p. 316 as the property of Mrs. Albert E. Davies of Brookline, Massachusetts. Other labelled pieces by Forster include: a side chair in a private collection illustrated in Jonathan Fairbanks and Elizabeth Bates, American Furniture, 1620 to the present, 1981, p. 209; a work table illustrated in American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, Vol. II, p. 498, no. 1207; a card table at Yale University illustrated in David Barquist, American Tables and Looking Glasses, 1992, p. 191-93, no. 93; a lap desk illustrated in The Magazine Antiques, October 1944, p. 205; and two card tables illustrated in The Magazine Antiques, December 1929, p. 481, and June 1966, p. 775.

¹ See Charles Montgomery, American Furniture, The Federal Period, 1966, pp. 87-8, no. 32, and p. 324. no. 287.
² Timothy Sawyer, Old Charlestown, Boston, 1902.