Bookcase cabinet
J. J. McNutt Novelty Wood Works
(active 1860–1890)
John J. McNutt
(American (born in Nova Scotia), 1822–1894)
about 1880–90
Object PlaceBoston, Massachusetts, United States
Medium/TechniqueOak, yellow poplar, burl walnut veneer
Dimensions224.8 x 120.7 x 62.2 cm (88 1/2 x 47 1/2 x 24 1/2 in.)
Credit LineGift of The Seminarians
Accession number1987.563a-b
On View
On viewClassificationsFurniture
Collections
This imposing cabinet echoes the grandeur of American Renaissance interiors. A handsome cornice with egg-and-dart molding tops a case ornamented with boldly carved heads, twisted columns, lion masks, and dolphins—all drawn from Renaissance and Baroque sources. McNutt was a carpenter, house builder, and entrepreneur, who, according to Boston Today in 1892, “played an important part in the construction of superior dwellings, business houses, churches, theatres, etc., in Boston and vicinity … for nearly fifty years.”
ProvenanceBuilt for the office of Henry Wenz, a Viennese-trained chemist who came to Boston and established a chocolate business in the nineteenth century; purchased in 1987 from Paul Weiner, Weiner's Antiques, 22 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts.about 1870–1880
about 1700–20
1700–20
1715–25
about 1710