New York, circa 1830s, rectangular top with inlaid and hinged chess board opening to a tooled and colored leather backgammon playing surface, trestle form base with turned stretcher and feet, original casters signed "Thorp", burlwood and rosewood inlaid checkerboard, 30-1/4 x 35-1/2 x 18 in.

A virtually identical table is illustrated in Hirschl & Adler, The World of Duncan Phyfe, catalog no. 36. It shares with this table an identical leather playing surface and signed casters. Thorp likely refers to Andrew Thorp, first listed in the New York Register and City Directory for 1822, dealing in hardware. Thorp is known to have supplied casters for tables made in the workshop of Duncan Phyfe.

Background on Important Private Collection from Boston:
I have been working with this collector for over 25 years, both in the initial acquisition of the objects and overseeing their conservation as needed. With a keen eye for quality and design, and a deep passion for all things classical, he has quietly amassed a top-notch collection of American furniture and decorative arts. The collection encompasses outstanding examples from the leading cabinetmakers of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, representing excellence in form and proportions, condition, wood quality, and carving. It also includes rare objects that are among the best of their kind. Now, with the downsizing of one of his properties, the offerings in this catalog are coming to market to find new owners who share a love for this remarkable period in American furniture history.
Clark Pearce,
Advisor and Consultant to Collectors and Institutions

Provenance: Property from an Important Boston Collection

excellent condition, retaining early dry varnished surface, minor scratches and finish distress to top, some distress and repair to leather backgammon surface, scattered minor veneer repairs and retouch including at base of trestle