For decades, Kelly and Randall Schrimsher have acquired the best of the best in early nineteenth-century American furniture. Now, much of their collection has a period-appropriate showcase in Charleston, South Carolina.
There are collectors, and there are Collectors. Those who dabble, and those who have a mission. Kelly C. and Randall A. Schrimsher represent the latter. Their focus rests on museum-quality pieces by the highly skilled cabinetmakers working in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore in the early nineteenth century, along with complementary lighting, porcelain, sculpture, paintings, and prints. Entranced by the manner in which each of those port cities put its own stamp on classicism, in spite of common access to an ever-expanding selection of French and English design sources, the Schrimshers have sought out examples of key forms from the different locales—from center tables to klismos chairs to French secretaries. And what better way to reinforce their enterprise than to acquire a residence that is period appropriate for the material they have carefully and energetically collected?
Having devoted the better part of forty years to the pursuit of Americana (their early purchases leaned toward the eighteenth-century Queen Anne style) from their home base in Huntsville, Alabama, Kelly and Randy began to long for a historic property in Charleston, South Carolina, in which to display a portion of their classical furniture and decorative arts, believing that the Eastern Seaboard, where much of the collection originated, would have an audience sympathetic to their glorious enterprise.
In 2021 they acquired a storied property in the highly sought-after South of Broad neighborhood of the “Holy City” (so-called for its many churches and history of religious tolerance). The building, dating from about 1810, began as the shop and dwelling of a French-born merchant (it was later used as a doctor’s office, school, antiques shop, inn, and café). Clad in Flemish-bond brickwork, the structure retains one of the oldest intact commercial entrances in the city.
During a lengthy restoration, the period woodwork and mantels on the upper floors were conserved, and paint analysis revealed the interior colors from a redecoration done between about 1825 and 1835, which the Schrimshers opted to re-create (much to the chagrin of their designer and long-time friend Ralph Harvard). Although plenty of furniture remains in Huntsville, which will continue to serve as the Schrimshers’ primary residence, the couple opted to shift their best holdings from New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore to the Charleston house (the Boston furniture seemed too staid). Deemed of appropriate scale and ornament, these pieces are now installed with early nineteenth-century porcelain, sculpture, and prints that reflect the influence of classical design across a variety of mediums. The rich colorways provided an appropriate background.
The Schrimshers did not aim for historical accuracy in assembling the spaces in Charleston, but rather for illustrating the variety and richness of American classicism. In a second-floor parlor (Fig. 1), for example, they juxtaposed contrasting selections of about 1815 to 1830 from Baltimore: a satinwood and bird’s-eye-maple veneered lyre-base worktable and a pair of painted fancy chairs possibly by Hugh Finlay, with cornucopias, griffins, and scrolled foliage spanning the crest rail (Fig. 4).
Some important pieces were purchased in preparation for the relocation, including a magnificent Philadelphia center table in a third-floor bedroom (Figs. 2, 2a). Sold by Hindman Auctions in 2022, the table features the full gamut of classical ornament rendered by specialist artisans, including carved, stenciled, and gilt decoration, and a majestic tilt-top of rich mahogany and maple veneers. Echoing furniture by Anthony Gabriel Quervelle, it illustrates Philadelphia cabinetmaking at its height in the second quarter of the nineteenth century.
In the same room are two card tables with winged caryatid supports, one attributed to Phyfe and the other to his supremely talented French émigré competitor Charles-Honoré Lannuier. The Schrimshers are the only collectors in America who can boast of owning such a pair. Lannuier introduced this figural form to the New York market about 1815, and Phyfe likely picked up the mantle following the untimely death of his rival in 1819. Despite mimicking the synthesis of rosewood veneer complemented by applied ormolu mounts, die-stamped brass inlay, and gilt and vert antique elements intended to represent ancient bronze, Phyfe’s rendition falls a bit short, particularly in the lackluster execution of the carved wings.
In spite of decades spent tying particular elements of classical furniture to a specific place of manufacture, there are some commonalities that continue to confound the curatorial set. Holding court in the ground-floor dining room (Fig. 8), which would have originally been the merchant’s commercial space is a sideboard table (Fig. 6) associated with Edward Priestley of Baltimore, though representing a form and decorative scheme found on Philadelphia furniture as well. It incorporates figural carving at the top of each front leg, variously referred to as “Persian” or “mummy” heads, that also appears on cylinder desks from Baltimore and Philadelphia. Perhaps it is no surprise that there was significant movement of craftsmen between these two cities.
As with any great Collectors, the Schrimshers continue to refine their holdings. A noteworthy element soon to be installed in the dining room is a set of circa 1800 wallpaper panels depicting the arts (Fig. 9), acquired from the noted Franco-American dealer Carolle Thibaut-Pomerantz at New York’s Winter Show in 2024. Designed by Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine, court architects to Napoléon Bonaparte, the wallpaper will soon reside among kindred spirits in Charleston.
American Classical Furniture, 1810–40: Regional Identities in the Schrimsher Collection, with sections by scholars Wendy A. Cooper, Peter M. Kenny, Alexandra Alevizatos Kirtley, Clark Pearce, Kimberly E. Schrimsher, and Gregory R. Weidman, and conservator Christine Thomson has recently been published by D. Giles. It can be purchased from the Decorative Arts Trust’s website, with all proceeds going to the trust’s publishing grant program, decorativeartstrust.org/Schrimsher
