Thomas Day: Master Craftsman and Free Man of Color

Richard Hampton Jenrette Series in Architecture and the Decorative Arts

by Patricia Phillips Marshall, Jo Ramsay Leimenstoll

Thomas Day (1801-61), a free man of color from Milton, North Carolina, became the most successful cabinetmaker in North Carolina--white or black--during a time when most blacks were enslaved and free blacks were restricted in their movements and activities. His surviving furniture and architectural woodwork still represent the best of nineteenth-century craftsmanship and aesthetics.

In this lavishly illustrated book, Patricia Phillips Marshall and Jo Ramsay Leimenstoll show how Day plotted a carefully charted course for success in antebellum southern society. Beginning in the 1820s, he produced fine furniture for leading white citizens and in the 1840s and '50s diversified his offerings to produce newel posts, stair brackets, and distinctive mantels for many of the same clients. As demand for his services increased, the technological improvements Day incorporated into his shop contributed to the complexity of his designs.

Day's style, characterized by undulating shapes, fluid lines, and spiraling forms, melded his own unique motifs with popular design forms, resulting in a distinctive interpretation readily identified to his shop. The photographs in the book document furniture in public and private collections and architectural woodwork from private homes not previously associated with Day. The book provides information on more than 160 pieces of furniture and architectural woodwork that Day produced for 80 structures between 1835 and 1861.

Through in-depth analysis and generous illustrations, including over 240 photographs (20 in full color) and architectural photography by Tim Buchman, Marshall and Leimenstoll provide a comprehensive perspective on and a new understanding of the powerful sense of aesthetics and design that mark Day's legacy.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2010

Reviews

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars because Thomas Day was an extraordinary person in his time - a free Black, with a genius for designing and creating beautiful furniture and architectural features (mantles, stair newel posts).

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read about one of the finest cabinet makers of the pre Civil War era. Excellent images of his work and even more interesting, a portrait of his life as a free black man in North Carolina. It's a read well worth the time of any period woodworker.

[Tamara Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book! i own a thomas day house & live in the county where he worked & lived so am fascinated by his work, talent & life. this book is the 'bible' of his career. the research & information given was amazing.

[Jonathan Frederick Walz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting.