Beschreibung:

The Important Fisher Family Very Fine and Rare Chippendale Carved and Figured Mahogany Side ChairAttributed to Thomas Affleck (1740-1795)Carving attributed to James Reynolds (1736-1794)Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaCirca 1772
Height 39 1/8 in. by Width 24 1/2 in. by Depth 22 1/2 in.; Seat Height 17 1/2Condition reportRefinished. The interior rear leg with accession # M100 and another accession number on the back under the shoe #13-1934-5 and 3-1963-4. A 1 cm wide patch to the bottom of the splat joining the shoe. A repaired crack on the proper right back leg. 
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.ProvenanceThomas (1741-1810) and Sarah (Logan) Fisher (1751-1796);Thence by descent in their family;Reginald L. Lewis;Parke-Bernet Inc., New York, Property of the Estate of the Late Reginald L. Lewis, March 24 and 25, 1961, sale 2026, lot 123;Joseph Kindig Antiques, York, Pennsylvania, 1962.LiteratureWilliam MacPherson Hornor, Jr., Blue Book of Philadelphia Furniture, pl. 113 and 115.ExhibitedOn loan to the Philadelphia Museum of Art Catalogue noteNumber III of a set of six chairs with its original slip seat frame also numbered III, this side chair is illustrated by William M. Hornor as plates 113 and 115 of Blue Book Philadelphia Furniture (1935) as a “Philadelphia-Chippendale Chair Made for the Fisher Family of Wakefield by Thomas Affleck the Outstanding Cabinet-and Chair-Maker. Mrs. Charles Stewart Wurts, a Descendant of Thomas Fisher Also Owns One of this Set.”
It stems from a set of chairs commissioned by William (1718-1776) and Hannah Logan (1722-1777) for their daughter Sarah (1751-1796), on the occasion of her marriage to Thomas Fisher (1741-1810) in 1772.1 On April 2, 1772, William Logan paid Thomas Affleck (1740-1795), the Philadelphia cabinetmaker, £72 15s for furniture made for his daughter, Sarah, of which £50 was owed to James Reynolds (1739-1794), the Philadelphia carver.2 After Sarah Fisher’s death, the set of chairs remained the property of her husband, Thomas Fisher at Wakefield, in Germantown, Pennsylvania. The set descended to their son, William Logan Fisher (1781-1862) and next to his daughter, Elizabeth Rodman Fisher (b. 1810) before being divided.3 Other extant chairs from the set include number I at the Philadelphia Museum of Art,4 number II at the Metropolitan Museum of Art owned by Mrs. Charles Stewart Wurts mentioned above,5 and number VI at Winterthur Museum. A chest-on-chest attributed to Thomas Affleck and James Reynolds in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art shares the same history in the family of Sarah and Thomas Fisher 6
Thomas Affleck was one of Philadelphia’s finest and most successful cabinetmakers. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland and trained in Ellon, Affleck worked for several years in London, where he met the fellow Quaker, Thomas Fisher 7 When Affleck immigrated to Philadelphia in 1763, Joshua Fisher, Thomas’s father, sponsored Affleck in the Philadelphia Quaker community and attested to his character and associations with London Quakers.8 In Philadelphia, Affleck consistently produced high quality work comparable to leading English cabinetmakers at his shop on Second Street. He was also one of the few cabinetmakers who owned a personal copy of Thomas Chippendale’s, The Gentleman & Cabinet-Maker’s Director, which underscored and emphasized his interest in emulating high-style English furniture in the latest London fashion. The design for this set of chairs closely follows a chair pattern illustrated at plate IX of the 1762 edition.9 James Reynolds has been identified as the carver on Affleck’s documented commissions. He and Affleck may have known each other in London, where the Reynolds worked in a shop on Clerkenwell Before immigrating to Philadelphia in 1766.
1 Morrison Heckscher, American Furniture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, 1985): pp. 99-100.
2 Cited in Ibid. See cashbook of William Logan, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.3 Ibid, see provenance.
4 Alexandra Kirtley, American Furniture, 1650-1840: Highlights from the Philadelphia Museum of Art (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2020): no. 76, p. 112.
5See Heckscher, no. 53, pp. 99-100. Accession no. 1983.395.
6 See Ibid, no. 147, pp. 226-28. Accession number 1975.91.
7 Kirtley, p. 112.
8 Ibid, see endnote 3.
9 Thomas Chippendale The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director (London, 1762): plate IX.