59 Rare Historical Items From Early America That Survived Through Time

It’s amazing so many of these pieces have survived. After all, many are several centuries old. Can you imagine how many people used them, how many generations passed them down through their families?

For someone years ago, it was just an ordinary table or chair where they ate dinner or sat to write letters. Now these same pieces are collectors’ items that people carefully preserve. Each one has so much history. The scratches and wear marks tell stories about the lives lived around them.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art explains that the earliest European settlers in America arrived with only basic things, bringing little furniture beyond a chest, small boxes, and simple storage containers. There was plenty of American timber, so it didn’t make sense to ship heavy furniture across the Atlantic at great expense.

Furniture making became an essential trade in the colonies from the beginning. Furniture from the William and Mary period (1680-1730) is scarce both because of how old it is and because not much was made back then due to the small population.

The work was split between two types of craftsmen. Joiners “joined” together straight wood that had been shaped with axes and saws and smoothed with planes. Turners shaped wood with chisels and gouges while it spun on a lathe.

Turned chairs were cheaper than joined ones because their parts could be made faster on a lathe using simple round joints. Most seventeenth-century joiners could do multiple things, not only building a house frame but also furnishing it.

American furniture got more refined over time. Queen Anne furniture (1730-1760) had smooth, flowing lines created through the cabriole leg, curving chair backs, and decorative shells and scrolls. 

As cities grew, different regions developed their own styles. The best furniture came from Newport, Rhode Island and Philadelphia, where craftsmen used dense mahogany. Chippendale furniture (1755-1780) had lots of carving, mostly on mahogany, mixing French Rococo, Chinese decoration, and Gothic details.

Different cities created their own distinctive looks. Christie’s notes that in Newport, three generations of the Goddard and Townsend families made furniture of exceptional quality. 

In Philadelphia, cabinetmakers like Thomas Affleck and Benjamin Randolph worked with skilled carvers to create large sets of furniture for wealthy merchants. These city workshops employed highly skilled workers, often trained in England.

The late 1700s brought big changes. Federal furniture (1780-1820) had simpler straight legs and decorative inlays rather than carved details.

Designs borrowed from ancient Greek and Roman architecture, using urns, bowls, garlands, and columns, which gave everything a light, elegant look. Notable craftsmen included Duncan Phyfe and Charles-Honoré Lannuier in New York, and Samuel McIntire of Salem, Massachusetts.