zo o m
B o o k s
M
a n o f Q u a l i t y
© Thomas Day: Master
Craftsman and Free Man
of Color
By Patricia Phillips Marshall
and Jo Ramsay Leimenstoll
University of North
Carolina Press
Chapel Hill,
NC
$40
uncpress.unc.edu
Thomas Day (1801 -1861) was
a fine-furniture maker whom
some have called the father of
North Carolina’s furniture
industry. Day was skilled in all
aspects of woodworking, pro-
ducing beautiful case furniture
such as secretaries, bureaus
and sideboards. His interior
architectural woodwork reflect-
ed his artistic creativity;
each interior was uniquely
designed for its owner.
In North Carolina, and par-
ticularly in Caswell County,
Day’s importance as a furniture
maker never diminished. His
clients kept their unique furni-
ture—such as this 1855-60 side
chair owned by Captain James
Poteat© —for generations, as
they considered it both beauti-
ful and valuable. Day’s signifi-
cance as a successful craftsman,
particularly a free person of
color working in antebellum
North Carolina, did not receive
much attention in the academic
world until John Hope Franklin
included Day in his 1943 work,
The Free Negro in North Caro-
lina, 1790-1860
, and he was
the subject of a 1928 article in
Antiquarian
magazine. In 1974
the North Carolina Museum
of History in Raleigh acquired
19 pieces of Day’s furniture
and placed his work on exhibit
until 1993.
Patricia Phillips Marshall,
curator of decorative arts at that
museum, and Jo Ramsay Lei-
menstoll, professor of interior
architecture at the University
of North Carolina, Greensboro,
have written an excellent book
about the craftsman’s remark-
able life. Building upon decades
of research, the authors have
produced the most comprehen-
sive publication on this figure to
date, providing sound biograph-
ical information within the so-
cial and political framework of
the antebellum period. The au-
thors detail how Day became a
well-respected artist/craftsman
and “good citizen” of North
Carolina’s upper class and built
the largest furniture and wood-
working business in the state.
Chapter one introduces
Day, his family background and
how he came to live and work
in Milton,
NC.
Chapter two, “A
Good and Valuable Citizen,”
explores the complex politics of
property and slaveholding, race
and identity, and Day’s busi-
ness interactions with members
of North Carolina’s elite, in-
cluding Governor David Settle
Reid, and his long-term rela-
tionships with them based upon
mutual respect. The authors
convey Day’s personal philoso-
phies, which he expressed
in letters to his children and
through his business transac-
tions. In the last two chapters,
the authors examine the furni-
ture and interior woodwork
with regard to the client, art-
istry and design, construction
and manufacturing technology.
The photographs of the fur-
niture and architectural wood-
work are abundant and of high
quality. The authors’ detailed
descriptions of Day’s works,
such as the distinctions be-
tween open pillar bureaus and
pedestal bureaus from the same
period, are best understood
alongside the images. Adver-
tisements and other paper doc-
uments successfully provide a
comparison of Day’s work with
that of the larger urban facto-
ries and the sources for Day’s
fashionable furniture. While
the authors compare Day’s
work to that of his contempo-
raries, it would have been ben-
eficial for the reader to see
photographs of furniture made
by these other men working
in the Dan River region.
This informative book, in
conjunction with a yearlong
exhibition at the North Carolina
Museum of History, should
bring the story of a significant
regional master craftsman to
a larger national and interna-
tional audience. —
JIL L B EU TE
K O V ER M A N
Jill Beute Koverman is the curator
of collections at the McKissick
Museum, University o f South
Carolina, Columbia.
©
C A /S an Jose
© San Jose Museum
of Quilts & Textiles
International TECHstyle
Art Biennial
to Oct. 31
sjquiltmuseum.org
An introduction to the work of
artists such as Janice Lessman-
Moss, creator of
#384, Summer
Matrix II,
who exploit how fiber
intersects with technology.
C T / New Haven
Creative Arts Workshop
Celebration of American Crafts
Oct. 30-Dec. 24
creativeartsworkshop.org
This annual juried show and
sale offers some of the finest
3-D work by American artists.
D C /Washington
Renwick Gallery
A Revolution in Wood:
The Bresler Collection
tojan.30
renwickgallery.com
Turned wood objects from
Fleur and Charles Bresler
integrate sculptural qualities
and decorative motifs.
K Y / Louisville
21
c Museum Hotel
Anne Peabody: Wheel of Fortune
to Oct. 31
21cmuseum.org
Peabody mingles thousands
of glass slivers with wooden
objects to form a massive,
swirling tornado installation.
012 am erican craft oct/nov 10
Side chair photo Eric N. Blevins and D. Kent Thompson, North Carolina Museum of History.
