Secretary-Bookcase
Gesken & Desel
1784
On View: American Wing Second Floor, Scott 08
Gesken & Desel
b. 1784, d. 1794
Biography
American, active c. 1784-1794
Nationality:
American
Notes:
Charles Lewis Desel (German descent, 1749-1807; working c. 1777-1807)
Henry C. Gesken (German descent, born at Hanover in 1748, died 1813)
March 1784 Desel formed partnership with Gesken- in business until at least 1789, possibly as late as 1794
"All senior members of this German school [including Desel and Gesken] probably arrived in South Carolina during the 1760s..."
"About 14 cabinetmakers working in Charleston between 1775 and 1785 bridged the gap between the colonial period and the Federal era. Of the eight shop masters who headed establishments capable of significant production, three were Germans - Desel, Sass, and Gesken. Shortly thereafter, they were joined by two other cabinetmakers who emerged from the German community, Warner and Silberg."
Information from: John Bivins, "The Convergence and Divergence of Three Stylistic Traditions in Charleston Neoclassical Case Furniture, 1875-1800," Chipstone Foundation (http://www.chipstone.org/publications/1997AF/Bivins/BivinsArticle.html)
Henry C. Gesken (German descent, born at Hanover in 1748, died 1813)
March 1784 Desel formed partnership with Gesken- in business until at least 1789, possibly as late as 1794
"All senior members of this German school [including Desel and Gesken] probably arrived in South Carolina during the 1760s..."
"About 14 cabinetmakers working in Charleston between 1775 and 1785 bridged the gap between the colonial period and the Federal era. Of the eight shop masters who headed establishments capable of significant production, three were Germans - Desel, Sass, and Gesken. Shortly thereafter, they were joined by two other cabinetmakers who emerged from the German community, Warner and Silberg."
Information from: John Bivins, "The Convergence and Divergence of Three Stylistic Traditions in Charleston Neoclassical Case Furniture, 1875-1800," Chipstone Foundation (http://www.chipstone.org/publications/1997AF/Bivins/BivinsArticle.html)