Courting American Highboys

Today, as a fun way of learning more about the courtship of American highboys let's look in on noted antique dealer, Elmer P. Thinkwhile, who is joined by a friend taking an afternoon stroll through New York City's Bryant Park.  Kelly McGuire has a few years on Elmer, yet time as touched her gently.  Against a cool wind her cheeks are as plump and red as Macintosh apples.  Holding her middle-aged Romeo's hand, the twinkling emeralds above her cheeks are like baby eyes and grandmother eyes, commingling hope and caution.

"Don't you wish it was still summer, Elmer?"  Kelly says.

"We're in autumn and that's that. I like the season. I'm an antique dealer."

"Now that you finally admit that yer leave's are brownin like everyone else's, do you ever think about marriage?  Not with me … but with just in general."

Elmer steps on a small stone twisting his ankle.  "I looked at a married highboy yesterday," he says, grimacing.

"Highboy?  Sounds like a damned cocktail!"

Elmer laughs.  "It's not a cocktail.  A highboy is one of the most valuable and important furniture forms in the history of cabinetmaking.  It's an architectural version of a tall chest of drawers except it is made in two sections.  The bottom half is styled like an early type of dressing table called a lowboy.  Lowboys are fitted with tall beautiful legs, eliminating the need to bend over to open a drawer. This lower case has moldings on the front and side facings to accommodate the upper case that is several inches narrower and shallower than its compliment.  The graduation and the tall lean look, as well as other embellishments-choice lumber and brass, artistic drawer arrangement, beautiful proportioning-provides a dignity and elegance unparalleled in furniture design.  Sometimes you find shell carving on the facing of drawers, or a bonnet top, or beautiful cabriole shaped legs and a shaped skirt on the base. The highboy's artistic and constructional details reached their zenith here in America during the William & Mary (1700-1725), Queen Anne (1725-1750) and Chippendale (1750-1785) periods.

"What in blazes has that to do with marriage, Elmer P. Thinkwhile?"

"The Connecticut cherry highboy I looked at was married.  That means the top and bottom didn't start-out life together. The wood quality was slightly off top to bottom.  The dovetailing, drawer side timber and drawer-lip-carving were dissimilar on the upper and lower cases.  The backboards were made out of different woods and they didn't match patina wise.  The holes on the drawer facing didn't correspond.  That speaks of a differing brass history.  Worst of all the proportions and design weren't a perfect union.  Concerning a quality piece, a married highboy is worth only a fraction the value as a "right" one.

"Objects!  That's all you think about, isn't it?" Kelly says. "Don't ya ever think about people and feelings?"

"That's preposterous, Kelly!" Elmer says.  He bends over to rub his sore ankle.  "Of course I care about people. That's what makes antiques important.  It's more than the objects themselves.  It's the love that went into making them and their place history.  And most of all, the families who have lived with these heirlooms.  The stories to be told, both yesterday and tomorrow.  By us!  Don't you see Kelly?"

Elmer stood up and found he was alone in a crowded park.  A November wind cut across his face causing his eyes to tear.  The antique dealer buttoned up his sweater and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket.