• "Nancy Forsyth Worrell's Desk".

• Category: Original

I received these photos from Nick Hyslop on 4 Oct 2009
The desk is owned by Kristy McAbee.

"I believe the bottom portion of the desk is the piece purchased by Alpha Forsth. As you can see, is still in wonderful condition. A few of the cone shaped backplates on the drawer pulls (I'm told they're Victorian Eastlake era) were replaced at some point, the left inside drawer is missing, the lock mechanism on the bottom drawer is missing, but the key works with all of the other locks. An appraiser told me several years ago that he thought that the top portion was added at a later date (it's still well over 100 years old), and may have been exposed to intense heat at some point (perhaps a fire?), as the varnish has been somewhat compromised, though the wood hasn't been damaged at all. The glass panes are original and still very secure, although the left pane has a crack straight across about 6 inches from the top (perhaps heat exposure). Neither issue is very obvious, though, and most people never notice. It's still a beautiful piece of furniture. Smells lovely and old inside. The fourth photo is the scan of the note which was found attached to one of the drawers inside the desk. It's very fragile and I have it saved in a plastic sleeve to keep it from being exposed to the air. It stays safely tucked away in the middle inside drawer of the desk."

This walnut chest was given to Fern's mother Nancy Forsyth - Worrell by her father - Alpha Forsyth when she was married in 1871. Prob. bo't in Qunicy, Ill.