Card Table
Date1830
MediumMahogany veneer, satinwood, pine, leather, and brass
DimensionsClosed: 29 × 36 × 17 1/2 inches (73.7 × 91.4 × 44.5 cm);
Open: 28 3/4 × 35 3/16 × 36 inches (73 × 89.4 × 91.4 cm)
Credit LineBequest of Sylvia and Frank Ferst Collection.
Object number1988.2.6
CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextThe French Empire style of the Napoleanic era (roughly 1804-1815) saw the peak of French Neoclassical design, including the Egyptian revival reflecting Napoleon Bonaparte's Egyptian Campaign. The Empire style timeline was comparable to the Federal in the United Sates and the Regency in Britain, and they spread rapidly from court circles down through other strata of society (and then, through mass-production, to the new middle classes.)
Americans played Whist, Loo, Quadrille, and many other card games as early as the 17th century. As the moral disdain of card playing waned in the 18th century, the popularity of the leisurely pastime increased as did the manufacture of card tables. Many of these gaming tables, mostly constructed in the Northeast, were shipped throughout the country, including Savannah. Shipping manifests from 1789-1815 show Savannahians had a proclivity for the furniture form, which could be used for multiple purposes, including tea and pier tables. Sixteen card tables in the Telfair Museums’ collection corroborates this documentary evidence as many of the tables were originally owned by Savannah natives, including two owned by the Telfairs and a matching pair owned by the Owens family.
Text written for the exhibition Gaming Tables for Whist, Chess, and Other Amusements
April 18 - August 23, 2009.
