Side Chair
Attributed to Duncan Phyfe (1770-1854)
New York City, New York
c.1810
George Clarke (1768-1835) purchased twelve chairs for the drawing room of his townhouse in Albany, NY from “Mr. Prevost” on January 7, 1813. He paid a sum of $126 for the set. Clarke was related to the Prevost family as his brother Edward Clarke (1770-1826) married Anne Margaret Prevost.
Dining Room
Hyde Hall, Springfield, New York
2011 Photo by Michael Reynolds
Completed and furnished is 1833, the dining room at Hyde Hall has furniture purchased from cabinetmaker John Meads of Albany, New York, for George Clarke (1768-1835) in Albany in 1813. The chairs pictured were purchased in 1833.
Cast Iron Stove
Made by Isaiah and John Townsend
Albany, New York
c.1833-1834
George Clarke (1768-1835) purchased this stove on April 9, 1834, for $264.36. The previous summer he paid several craftsmen at the Townsend firm to carve the casting patterns, making this a truly unique stove. On a bill from Townsend, Clarke referred to this piece as “My stove in the hall.”
Drawing Room Window Valances
Hyde Hall, Springfield, New York
Supplied by Pierre L. Morange
Albany, New York
Pierre L. Morange of Albany, New York was hired to design and hang curtains in the drawing and dining rooms at Hyde Hall. He also supplied the gilded valances for both rooms. As Morange was an upholsterer, the valance may have been made by Lawton Annesley (1795-1865) a well-known dealer in picture frames and mirrors in Albany, New York. This set, a pair of tripartite windows in the drawing room, utilizes Greek anthemion, volutes, and acanthus leaf decoration which was in keeping with Grecian furniture acquired at the same time.
