Thomas Day

Thomas Day (American, about 1801-1861)

A free person of color in the antebellum American South, Thomas Day owned and operated a successful woodworking shop from his North Carolina home. Familiar with trends in early nineteenth century furniture, from Federal to Rococo, Day and his artisans--including enslaved and free African Americans and whites--created pieces with distinctive curvilinear embellishments and proved popular with the state’s elite. Day’s furniture and cabinetry appeared in the homes of wealthy planters as well as in the Governor’s mansion.

Important Source Material:

Marshall, Patricia Phillips and Jo Ramsay Leimenstoll, Thomas Day: Master Craftsman and Free Man of Color, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2010.

Prown, Jonathan, “The Furniture of Thomas Day: A Reevaluation,” in Winterthur Portfolio, vol. 33, No. 4, Winter, 1998.

TAL