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<p>[QUOTE="Bakersgma, post: 71460, member: 59"]Welcome, Steve!</p><p><br /></p><p>A very nice looking dresser.</p><p><br /></p><p>You might actually be closer to 1870 than "late 1800's" implies to me. Here's why - Marcus A. Davis, who had been a cabinet maker in Philadelphia since before 1850, had 2 sons who joined in working at the "store" by 1870. The sons were only 21 and 19 at the time and were listed in the federal census as "clerks." I found city directory entries for Davis having a business at that South Second Street address as early as 1864, but in the 1877 directory there actually appears an entry for the business as "Marcus A. Davis and Sons" as well as the entry for his personal residence. Since the label inside your dresser gives the business name without "and Sons" it's possible that it was made sometime in the 1864 - 1877 time frame.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now, it's also possible that he had lots of those labels hanging around and continued their use until they ran out. Furniture people will no doubt be along to comment on its age from a stylistic and construction perspective.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Bakersgma, post: 71460, member: 59"]Welcome, Steve! A very nice looking dresser. You might actually be closer to 1870 than "late 1800's" implies to me. Here's why - Marcus A. Davis, who had been a cabinet maker in Philadelphia since before 1850, had 2 sons who joined in working at the "store" by 1870. The sons were only 21 and 19 at the time and were listed in the federal census as "clerks." I found city directory entries for Davis having a business at that South Second Street address as early as 1864, but in the 1877 directory there actually appears an entry for the business as "Marcus A. Davis and Sons" as well as the entry for his personal residence. Since the label inside your dresser gives the business name without "and Sons" it's possible that it was made sometime in the 1864 - 1877 time frame. Now, it's also possible that he had lots of those labels hanging around and continued their use until they ran out. Furniture people will no doubt be along to comment on its age from a stylistic and construction perspective.[/QUOTE]
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