The Thomas Shaw Federal Carved Mahogany Side Chair, attributed to Richard Fosdick (working 1790-1815), New London, Connecticut, circa 1795

Purportedly Thomas Shaw (1739-1795), New London, Connecticut and descent through the family and purchased by the current owners.

Secondary wood is maple and pine; later braces added to corners of seat rails; the shoe appears to be replaced; splat has been significantly broken and repaired; the proper right wing of eagle on splat is replaced and some chips and patches to splat throughout; crest rail with wooden plugs at proper left and right top corners; proper right stile cracked and repaired at top.
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.

With its distinctive eagle splat, this Federal side chair belongs to a set of chairs made in 1795 by the New London cabinetmaker, Richard Fosdick (active 1790-1815) for Thomas Shaw (1739-1795), a New London merchant.  From 1790 to 1795, Fosdick made a quantity of furniture for the Shaw family, including a pine bookcase, a toilet table, trundle beds, two card tables, a Pembroke table and set of eagle back chairs.  An extant bill of sale in the Shaw Papers at Yale University records that Fosdick delivered nine of these chairs to Thomas Shaw in 1795. Each chair was originally stuffed and upholstered over the rail in satin with 200 brass nails used as decoration. A New London saddler, Major Simeon Smith, was responsible for the original work in bottoming the seats while Fosdick presumably finished the upholstery work.  The medial stretcher dovetailed into the side stretchers from the top rather than the bottom is an unusual construction detail. The design of the spat is undoubtedly Fosdick’s own creation and perhaps unique.

An armchair and side chair from the set are in the collection of the Lyman Allyn Museum (see “New London County Joined Chairs, 1720-1790,” The Connecticut Historical Society Bulletin (Fall 1985), p. 184, nos. 61-2 and Minor Myers, Jr. and Edgar Mayhew, New London County Furniture, 1640-1840, New London, CT: Lyman Allyn Museum, 1974, p. 83, nos. 99-100). Three other chairs from the set remain in the Shaw family homestead in New London.