Colonial Sense: Antiques: Furniture Styles: English Jacobean - 0 views
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Geoffrey Reiss on 18 Jan 11The Jacobean period of furniture style began 1603 in England with the reign of James I and ended 1688 with the reign of James II. During this time, America began to receive a migration of new people, first in Jamestown in 1607, then Plymouth in 1620. Jacobean is often described as the earliest form of furniture making in America. Categorized in a more narrow sense, it has been referred to as Pilgrim furniture. Due to the skills of the early colonists, the furniture was much more primitive than their English counterparts. Maybe a better term to use is Early American furniture. Colonial Sense wants to first start with Jacobean furniture in England since it inspired much of the colonial furniture in America. Then we will discuss the Early American furniture specifically made in this country and the skilled craftsmen whose work is highly sought after today in the antique industry. With the help of John Fiske and Lisa Freeman, we used dates in our article pertaining to when certain styles changed in the Jacobean period. These dates are the center of roughly a five year period and should only be used in determining if a piece is early or later in the period.
