Secretary-Bookcase
Warner & Silberg, active c. 1785
1784
On View: American Wing Second Floor, Scott 08
Warner & Silberg, active c. 1785
b. 2000
Biography
American
Nationality:
American
Notes:
George Henry Warner (German descent)
Nicholas Silberg (Swedish, born c. 1750, died 1801)
"Unfortunately, we do not know just when either of these men arrived in the city, but it seems likely that both may have been there during the Revolutionary period. Warner was in Charleston by April 1784, when he witnessed a will. Silberg, who was born in Sweden about 1750, does not appear in Charleston records before May 1786, when court records refer to the firm of Warner & Silberg. In February 1787, Silberg announced the termination of that partnership, and Warner disappeared from the city records after August of the same year."
"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)
Nicholas Silberg (Swedish, born c. 1750, died 1801)
"Unfortunately, we do not know just when either of these men arrived in the city, but it seems likely that both may have been there during the Revolutionary period. Warner was in Charleston by April 1784, when he witnessed a will. Silberg, who was born in Sweden about 1750, does not appear in Charleston records before May 1786, when court records refer to the firm of Warner & Silberg. In February 1787, Silberg announced the termination of that partnership, and Warner disappeared from the city records after August of the same year."
"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)