Pine, original red stained finish, exceptionally shaped bread boarded lift lid, original small 1/2" birch strip at brass hinges for reinforcement, yellow stained interior with pencil/pen section at left, a finely fitted ink drawer with small dovetails and the original tiny turned pull, well executed sliding apparatus, dovetailed case with squared wood side handles, brass diamond escutcheon plate, small key, full-length drawer in front with locking mechanism connected to lock above, very finely dovetailed with original small turned cherry wood pull, ingenious drawer sliding mechanism as a hardwood strip is applied to each drawer side and cut to fit and run on strips applied inside the case, c. 1840, 5 5/8" h, 18 1/2" l, 12 1/4" d.

Purchased from James Brown, Lee, Massachusetts, 1953, $40

Cherry, original varnish finish, embroidered green satin tomato top, 6 3/4" h, 4" dia, hummingbird pattern with flowers, finely turned shaft terminating in a circular base with steep pins and Shaker applewood turned spool, with bittersweet red spun wool, 1 3/4" dia, and a Sister's steel thimble.

Dr. McCue's Journal Entry #162, "prized by Sister Ethel Peacock who says it is an old one..."

Cherry, pine secondary wood, early varnish finish, two-board top with drop leaf in the rear with single leaf support with leather strap inserted pull, two graduated drawers in the case, finely detailed thumbnail molded lip on three sides and dovetailed front and back, two brass pulls on each drawer, all on four square chamfered tapering legs, Hancock, MA, c. 1840, 26 1/2" h, 36" w (top), 26 1/4" w (case), 17" d, 13 1/2" d (case), 8 1/2" drop leaf.

Used against a side wall in the McCue's dining room with Dr. Miriam McCue's metronome on top [Miriam (Pat) played violin with the Concord Orchestra, traveling with them and performing in Prague, Vienna and other European cities].

West Pittsfield Shakers, Gift of Miss Hall [Sister Frances, ((blue/white label inside top drawer]

Gilbert M. Brewer, Appletree Point, Burlington, VT

Richard Withington Auction, January 11, 1969

A poem of twelve lines declaring that the viewer of a bounteous banquet hall would not engage in "thoughtless...selfish wastefulness." Attributed to Sister Cecelia Devere, framed and glazed, Richmond, (1357), 7 1/2" x 11 1/2" (sight).

Pine, bentwood handle, original bright red painted finish, rectangular form, dovetailed construction, handle is applied to outside of carrier with two screws on either side, c. 1830-1840, inset bottom board, symmetrically nailed along the bottom edge, 8 1/2" h, 13 1/2" h (to top of handle), 14 3/4" l, 10 3/4" w.

Provenance:

Purchased at Canterbury, NH in 1951 for $3.50 (Dr. McCue's Journal Entry #155)

Pine, butternut, basswood, original bittersweet orange/red stained finish, pine lift lid, edged on three sides with 2 1/2" butternut boards, breadboard ends carved so that top fits tight to sides of case, original cast iron hinges, sliding brass-hinged till box in basswood (slides full length of chest and is removable), finely dovetailed and symmetrically nailed construction, 5 1/4" h, 17 5/16, l, 9 1/2" d, two graduated drawers with beveled lip on three sides, dovetailed, original turned fruitwood pulls, all above square canted feet, drawers and case have inset diamond escutcheon plates in walnut, case sides are double vertically panelled, each panel lined with extremely finely cut thumbnail molding, a design feature that lends an elegant lightness to a substantial chest, 39 1/2" h, 41 1/2" w (case), 19 1/2" d (at top).

In Dr. McCue's journal he describes seeing an exact duplicate of this chest in an outbuilding at Hancock. "...It seems pretty certain that these chests are from the Second Family at Hancock. Mr. Upton, of Albany, had bought the one I saw."

Stylistically it has many hallmarks of Mt. Lebanon, New York. A classic Shaker chest in exceptional color.

Broom corn, wire, and twine, two flat and one long round whisk broom, two have manila tags with handwriting in ink from Canterbury Eldress Bertha Lindsay "Shaker grown broom corn...price 40 cts.", 13" l, and the smallest whisk broom "...35 cts.", 9" l, the larger flat whisk broom, 12" l, was a gift to Dr. McCue from Sister Bertha at Canterbury.

Floor runner, woven from fabric scraps, as described in Shaker Textile Arts, Beverly Gordon, University Press of New England, p. 96,, "By the Civil War period, a particular style of Shaker Rag Rug had evolved. It was subtle but inventive, and a sense of unity, order and balance was inherent in it.", woven in twisted strips of reds, blacks, blue/green, and cream/whites, alternating every 2" to 6" in the pattern, Canterbury Shakers, c. 1850-1870, 7' 6" l, 27" w.

Maple, wire and twine flat broom corn whisk, turned maple handle, upper part notched for twine loop to hang on a peg, Canterbury, NH, 13" l, 6" w; together with a print of Shaker broom corn in a jar, titled "Shaker Broom Corn", The United Society, Sabbathday Lake, Maine, signed l.l. in ink "Sister R. Mildred Barker", and numbered "93/174" on right, 35" x 14 1/4".

"Shakers, Their Mode of Worship", hand-colored image of Shakers dancing, Sisters are dressed in white with white hand towels, Brothers are in brown vests and pants, a guest is seated on the left in pink bonnet and red shawl, "Kellogg & Comstock, 87 Fulton St., New York & 25 Elm St. Hartford, Co., Ensign Thayer & Co., 127 Main St., Buffalo.", "Shake, shake along shake along Daniel, Shake out of me all things carnal.", framed and glazed, 10 1/2" x 13" (sight).

Cherry, pine, wrought iron braces, original dark stained finish, Harvard, MA, c. 1820-1840, "Its small size would suggest that it was used as a dining table for the four members of Harvard Bishopric Ministry.", p. 60, Shaker Design, June Sprigg, 1986, Whitney Museum of American Art, 28 1/2" h, 62 1/4" l, 34" w.

This is the first Shaker piece of furniture Dr. McCue ever saw. He was eventually able to buy it from Edna Greenwood for $350 in 1949. She had used it at Time Stone Farm as her writing table for many years. She wrote in his journal that instead of it being given to the Smithsonian, that she would sell it to him "as a cornerstone of his super Shaker collection now in the making. His motto: Buy the Best - To hell with the rest."

Frank Lawton

Edna Hilburn Little Greenwood

Purchased from Edna Greenwood in 1949 for $350 (Dr. McCue's Journal Entry #81)

Shaker Design, June Sprigg, 1986, p. 60

The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, May 29 - August 31, 1986

The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., October 4, 1986 - January 4, 1987

Pine and maple, chrome yellow finish, six fingers, appears to have had paper labels on both sides at one time, probably New Lebanon, NY, c. 1820-1840, 6 3/4" h, 14 5/8" l, 10 5/8" w.

Note:

Pine, original light cinnamon red stain, two small (12" sq) inset panel doors at top with black cast iron door closures and small white porcelain pulls, doors double pinned on the diagonal, through mortised, top is glue blocked all the way around (26 small glue blocks), over six full drawers, finely dovetailed and with original white porcelain pulls (two per drawer), drawers are lipped on three sides and glue blocked underneath with 15 small glue blocks, on squared, canted foot, acquired from the Hancock Trustees Office, 61 1/2" h, 41 5/8" w (at top molding), 40" w (case), 18" d.