Settee 1825 - 1830

This settee was made by Lambert Hitchcock, though we don't know the exact date it was crafted. It is made of birch, maple, and cane, all very common materials. Hitchcock was one of the earliest American furniture manufacturers to use mass-production techniques. It's made of machine-cut parts that were then assembled and decorated by hand. So the piece sits at the cusp of craft production and industrial manufacture. The dark-painted finish is typical of what's called fancy furniture and then stenciled with bronzing powder to mimic expensive gilded decoration. But don't be fooled. Though it imitates wealth, this settee was intended for a middle-class market. In fact, Hitchcock's factory was located in what became known as Hitchcocksville, Connecticut. He wasn't just selling furniture, he was building a community, creating jobs, and contributing to the rise of an industrial economy in the early 19th century. So next time you're sitting, consider not only the object itself, but the complex social context that brought it into being.