The Very Rare GRANT-MARSH Chippendale Carved Cherrywood Side Chair, made by Eliphalet Chapin (1741-1807), East Windsor, Connecticut, circa 1775

Purchased in 1775 by Ebenezer Grant (1706-1797) of East Windsor, Connecticut, who purchased it for his daughter Ann (1748-1838) and her husband, John Marsh (1742-1821) of Wethersfield;
To their daughter Lydia Marsh (1786-1880), who lived in their Wethersfield house;
To her niece, Sarah (Watson) Dana, (1814-1907) who married Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (1815-1882) or to her niece, Elizabeth (Watson) Daggett (1812-1891);
Thence by descent in their families;
Bernard and S. Dean Levy;
John Walton

Hartford, Connecticut, Masterworks from Private Collections, Wadsworth Antheneum, October 31, 1993 - January 2, 1994.

Internal slip seat is replaced; chip to the inside of one knee return; crest with minor age cracks; Secondary wood is white pine.
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 an interlaced strapwork splat, shell carved crest, seat upholstered over the rails, and front cabriole legs with claw feet, this cherrywood side chair is part of a celebrated set of six made by Eliphalet Chapin (1741-1807) for Ebenezer Grant (1706-1797) of East Windsor, Connecticut in 1775. Grant commissioned the chairs for his daughter, Ann (1748-1838), on the occasion of her marriage to the Reverend John Marsh (1742-1828) of Wethersfield on December 6, 1775. The purchase of the chairs is recorded in Grant’s daybook, which lists all the furniture in the commission for the price of 41.1.3 pounds. This chair is one of the “1/2 doz Claw Foot Cherry Chairs” priced at 24 shillings each. 

After the death of John and Ann Marsh, their unmarried daughter Lydia (1786-1880) remained in the family house. At her death, this set of chairs was listed among the twelve side chairs and two armchairs in the parlor of her estate inventory and valued at 8 dollars. She specified in her will that her nieces Elizabeth (Watson) Daggett (1812-1891) and Sarah (Watson) Dana (1814-1907) could “take any articles of my furniture that they may choose for their own use.”  Sarah Dana took ownership of at least four from this set, which appears listed as “chairs (6)  - $3” of the “property selected by Mrs. Dana and Mrs. Daggett under provision of will” in schedule B of Lydia Marsh’s probate records. The chairs descended through the families of her two daughters, Henrietta Channing (Dana) (1857-1928) and Mary Rosamond (Dana) Wild (1848-1937); three of these were sold by one of their descendants at Sotheby’s, October 24-5, 1986, sale 5500, lots 229 and 230 and the pair sold as lot 229 was later sold at Sotheby’s part of the Hascoe Collection on January 23, 2011, sale 8724, lot 71.

Several chairs from the Grant-Marsh commission are discussed by Joseph Lionetti and Robert Trent in “New Information about Chapin Chairs” published in The Magazine Antiques (May 1986): 1082-95.  A side chair from the same set in the Barbour Collection at The Connecticut Historical Society is illustrated along with an armchair listed in the account book that was made to accompany the set of six side chairs (see Lionetti and Trent, figs 8 and 9).