Mid-Century Hitchcock Style Cherry Writing Desk With Stenciled Fruit Decoration

Details

Description

A charming New England writing desk crafted by the Hitchcock Furniture Company of Connecticut. Finished in Cherry, the desk features … Read more A charming New England writing desk crafted by the Hitchcock Furniture Company of Connecticut. Finished in Cherry, the desk features classic Hitchcock-style hand-stenciled fruit and foliate decoration across the gallery and drawer front. The raised organizer includes multiple compartments for correspondence, stationery, and desk accessories, while a single full-width drawer provides additional storage.
Elegant turned legs with painted accent rings and porcelain-style drawer pulls lend a refined Colonial Revival character. Inside the drawer is the traditional Hitchcock facsimile poem, along with the stamped maker's mark, “L. Hitchcock, Hitchcocks-ville, Conn. Warranted,” referencing the company's celebrated early American furniture heritage.
Writing surface 29.5"

The handwritten poem inside the drawer appears to read:

Choice of a Wife
I ask not beauty — 'tis a gleam
That tints the morning sky
I ask not learning — 'tis a stream
That glides unheeded by
I ask not wit — 'tis but a flash
That oft blinds reason's eye
I ask not gold — 'tis glittering trash
That causes man to sigh
I ask good sense — a taste refined
Candor with prudence blended
A feeling heart, a virtuous mind
With charity attended
At the bottom it is signed:
Lambert Hitchcock
and dated:
Hitchcocksville, March 27, 1831

This is not an original handwritten 1831 document. It is a printed facsimile that Hitchcock included in many revival pieces.
The poem was associated with Lambert Hitchcock and was often reproduced in drawers of Hitchcock furniture as a nod to the company's early 19th-century roots. See less