greg Forster
03-26-2011, 11:58 PM
I know, no pictures, never happened .... but, earlier this week I went to a job interview and imagine my surprise to see a workbench prominently displayed in the corporate offices' lobby. And not just your average old workbench.
This bench had a brass placque attributing it to Chickering & Sons, the pre-eminent American piano manufacturer of the 19th century (1823-1908). The benchtop was 2 planks of Black Walnut, each about 72" long, 15" wide and about 5" thick; the vises, legs, and framework were all Walnut ; the drawer fronts were Walnut- maybe veneered.
The entire bench was built to the standards of the finest quality pianos. It did not appear to have been used much, no gouges or cuts to the bench top or vise faces. The vise screws were steel, with cast iron collars, I think these would help date the bench, my feelings are around the 1860s. Walnut was very popular for pianos at the time of the Civil War.
If I get to go back for the second round of interviews, I'll see if I can get permission for a few photos.
Below is my drawing, to the best of my re-collection; I only looked at the bench for a few minutes, so I'm not sure on some details, i.e. I not sure now if there were 3 rows or 4 rows of drawers, but the drawing still gives a pretty good idea.The bench is absolutely beautiful!!
188482
This bench had a brass placque attributing it to Chickering & Sons, the pre-eminent American piano manufacturer of the 19th century (1823-1908). The benchtop was 2 planks of Black Walnut, each about 72" long, 15" wide and about 5" thick; the vises, legs, and framework were all Walnut ; the drawer fronts were Walnut- maybe veneered.
The entire bench was built to the standards of the finest quality pianos. It did not appear to have been used much, no gouges or cuts to the bench top or vise faces. The vise screws were steel, with cast iron collars, I think these would help date the bench, my feelings are around the 1860s. Walnut was very popular for pianos at the time of the Civil War.
If I get to go back for the second round of interviews, I'll see if I can get permission for a few photos.
Below is my drawing, to the best of my re-collection; I only looked at the bench for a few minutes, so I'm not sure on some details, i.e. I not sure now if there were 3 rows or 4 rows of drawers, but the drawing still gives a pretty good idea.The bench is absolutely beautiful!!
188482