The sofa and chair in Illustration [230] are part of a set of furniture bought by the father and mother of the late Major Ben: Perley Poore, for their house at Indian Hill, about 1840. These pieces are interesting not only for the design of the mahogany frames, carved with swans’ necks and heads, but for the covering, which is of colored haircloth, woven in a large figure in red and blue upon a gray ground. The seat of the sofa is worn and has a rug spread upon it, but the back and pillows and the chair-seat are perfect.
Illus. 230.—Sofa and Chair, about 1840.
From 1844 to 1848 a cabinet-maker named John H. Belter had a shop in New York, where he manufactured furniture, chiefly from rosewood. The backs of the chairs and sofas were deeply curved, and in order to obtain the strength necessary, thin pieces of rosewood were pressed into the desired curve, and the several thicknesses glued together, and pressed again. The strong back made in this way was then elaborately carved, in an open-work pattern of vines and leaves.
Illus. 231.—Rosewood Sofa, 1844-1848.
The sofas of these sets were usually in the shape shown in Illustration [231], which belongs to Mrs. M. Newman of New York. Many of the wealthy families of New York had this Belter furniture, which was always covered with a rich silk brocade. It is eagerly sought for now and brings large prices.