American Pilgrim Period – 1620 to 1720
The Pilgrim Period (or century) of American furniture begins in 1620 with the landing of the Mayflower at Plymouth, Massachusetts and ends in 1690, 1700 or 1720 depending on whether you wish to include the William and Mary style in the Period. In order to keep styles and periods from overlapping each other, we have chosen to end the Pilgrim Period in 1720 when the Queen Anne style arrives in America (see under Queen Anne).
It was a hearty band of settlers that set sailed from Plymouth, England seeking a new life. Most of those in the first group were of the Puritan faith fleeing religious persecution in England. But there were also some who just wanted or needed to make a new life, and America looked like to place to do it. Because of the small size of the Mayflower, supplies were limited to the very basics, as were personal belongings. Little furniture was on this initial voyage. Even the selection of tools was rudimentary and more useful towards felling trees or growing crops than to fashioning fine furniture.
During the first few years between trying to grow food crops and keep the Indians from killing them, there was little time for the Pilgrims to engage in elaborate furniture making or building more than rudimentary dwellings. Initial furniture as revealed from inventories discovered over the years ranged from the basic chest, of which most every family had at least one, to hewn log tables, rough stools and possibly a chair or two.
Naturally when we think Pilgrim Period we have images of the Mayflower and Plymouth Rock, but we tend to forget that ten years prior to the arrival of the Pilgrims, settlers had tried, failed and then succeeded in establishing settlements in Virginia. And in those settlements furniture was being made. However, such splitting of hairs is rather moot as there are no known documented examples of American furniture earlier than 1640, even though by that time there were seven successful colonies in America from the 15,000 person Virginia colony to 14,000 souls in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, 3,000 in Plymouth, 2,000 in Maryland, 2,000 in Connecticut, 2,000 in New Haven and 300 in Rhode Island.
By 1640 dwellings and furniture had departed from the basic log hewn designs of survival and had settled into the Jacobean style that was then popular in England. As conditions improved and better furniture began to be made, the early pieces were no longer desired, nor collected, so most found their way into the hearth for winter warmth.
Originally made 100% of oak and fashioned with rudimentary tools, Jacobean style furniture was sturdy, square or rectangular in form. It is also identified by its carvings and applied turned spindles. Chests, small boxes for bibles and other important papers, chairs, basic tables and as the period progressed chests of drawers, and cupboards emerged from the shops of the joiners and turners of the regions.
Early Pilgrim Period furniture, with rare exception, was utilitarian. The chests could be used for storage of household items, to sit on, sleep on, sit around and write on. Stools followed closely behind the chest in popularity and then chairs and basic tables for both the home and the public buildings.
Around the late 1680′s, Jacobean styles began to give way to those of William and Mary. Several changes of the English monarchy had taken place and with it a change in attitude about style. William and Mary were both very involved in how their palaces were furnished and contributed significantly to the emerging style. (See under William and Mary Style)
During the later part of the Pilgrim Period, due to the growing stability and prosperity of the colonies, more people had both the time and money to build increasingly elaborate pieces of furniture. Here we see the emergence of more cupboards, gateleg tables, chests on legs, chests of drawers and eventually secretaries. The fussiness of the Jacobean style with its elaborate carvings, gives way to more elegant and simpler lines of William and Mary. Tools now available allowed more detailed turnings and the increased skills of the craftsman, fueled by additional new settlers, provided an added level not available earlier.
Whereas most of the early Jacobean furniture had been constructed exclusively of heavy oak in keeping with their English counterparts, then with pine additions for lids and table tops, the William and Mary style used walnut, birch and other locally available woods that gave the furniture a lighter appearance and a distinctly American appearance.
By the end of the 17th century, colonies had been established from the Georgia/Florida border to the top of Maine, prosperity was in the air and American furniture, though still under the influence of the styles emanating from England and the continent, was taking on a true American appearance with simpler more graceful lines. This modification would truly become apparent in the next period, that of Colonial American furniture.
reference note by p4A contributing editor Charles Wibel.