Illus. 68.—Oak Press Cupboard, 1640.
The names “court cupboard” or “livery cupboard” were used to designate a piece of furniture without an enclosed cupboard, low or short, as the French word court implies, and intended for a serving-table, as the word “livery,” from the French livrer, to deliver, indicates. In Europe such pieces were called dressoirs.
Cupboards abound in colonial inventories, under various names—“small cupboard,” “great cupboard,” “press cupboard,” “wainscot cupboard,” “court cupboard,” “livery cupboard,” “hanging cupboard,” “sideboard cupboard.” The cupboard formed an important part of the furniture owned by men of wealth and position in the colonies.
These cupboards were generally of oak, but those made in this country have the backs and bottoms of the cupboards and drawers of pine. The interior is similar in all, the lower cupboard usually having shelves, which seldom appear in the upper cupboard. Sometimes the lower part of the piece is divided into drawers for holding linen.
Illus. 69.—Press Cupboard, about 1650.
Such a cupboard is shown in Illustration [68]. This fine example is known as the “Putnam cupboard.” It is now owned by the Essex Institute, of Salem, to which it was presented by Miss Harriet Putnam Fowler of Danvers, Massachusetts. It descended to her from John Putnam, who brought it from England about 1640. Upon the back may be seen marks of a fire which two hundred years ago destroyed the house in which the cupboard stood. The wood is English oak, and the mouldings used in the panelling are of cedar. The cupboard is in two parts, the upper section with the enclosed cupboard resting upon the lower section with its three drawers.
Another panelled cupboard is shown in Illustration [69], in which both the upper and lower parts are made with a recessed cupboard, enclosed, with a drawer below. The wood is oak, with the turned pieces painted black. This cupboard is in the house of Charles R. Waters, Esq., of Salem. Upon the top are displayed some good pieces of old glass.
Many press cupboards were carved in designs similar to those upon the early chests. Illustration [70] shows a carved press cupboard owned by Walter Hosmer, Esq., of Wethersfield.