Deming and Bulkley were a high-end furniture manufacture in the 1800’s. While based in New York, they found a lucrative market in Charlestown, South Carolina; which was one of the wealthiest cities in America, and the largest seaport in the South. Their furniture had a reputation for quality, neatness, elegance, and strength, with tastes marketed as true to the “the latest New York fashion.”

On February 3, 1824, the Charleston Courier published a letter written under the pseudonym “Franklin”: “The writer of this, however, cannot pass unnoticed, the elegant patterns of Cabinet Work, executed by Messrs. deming & bulkley, of this city. There are two pieces of this work, which will not suffer in comparison with the best specimens ever imported from Europe, either in point of taste or workmanship.”

Two card tables, attributed to Deming and Bulkley, and beautifully ornamented with legs carved like a hybrid fish-whale species, came in with de-lamination, and cracks in the original boards. We will update as the restoration continues. Stay tuned…