Another card-table is shown in Figure 762. The top is shown raised. At the four corners are rounded sections to hold the candles and there are four oval wells to hold chips. The frame is cut with round ends and follows the outline of the top. A godrooned edge with a shell at the centre finishes the skirt. The legs are cabriole and terminate in bird's claw and ball feet, and on each of the front legs is carved a shell and pendent flower which extend up onto the frame. The table is the property of the Tiffany Studios, of New York.

Another form of card-table is shown in Figure 763 and was the property of the late Judge Arthur F. Eggleston, of Hartford. It is in the style known as Chinese, so popular in the time of Chippendale and not uncommon in this country, judging from the advertisements in the newspapers of the day, although very few have been actually found. The top is rectangular, and on the frame is carved a cut fret design in straight lines, while on the legs is carved a fret design in curved lines, and a delicately carved bracket finishes the angles of the table formed by the legs. A carved astragal moulding finishes the lower edges of the frame. Both of the rear legs pull out straight on a hinged frame instead of swinging out in the usual manner; this gives them the name of grasshopper legs.

The later forms of card-tables will be shown with the tables of that period.

Card-Table, 1725-50.

Figure 763. Card-Table, 1750-75.

Another form of table of which a few specimens are found in this country is shown in Figure 764 and are called pier-tables. Such as have been found are more ornate than other kinds of tables, probably because they were only used in the more pretentious houses where the finer furniture would naturally be found. This table is in pure Chippendale style and was found in Philadelphia, and is quite in keeping with the high chest of drawers shown in Figure 107 and the chair in Figure 556, both of which likewise came from that city. On the skirt are cut foliated scrolls which originally extended below the lower edge, but most of these have been broken off. At the centre is a carved figure. The legs are cabriole and terminate in French scroll feet with rococo shoes, a favourite design of the Chippendale school. The surfaces of the legs are carved with C scrolls, foliated scrolls, and acanthus leaves. The top is marble and follows the outline of the frame cut in cyma curves. This table is the property of Mr. George S. Palmer, of New London.

Figure 764. Pier-Table, marble top, 1750-75.

A number of pole screens have been found in this country, of which Figure 765, the property of Mr. Dwight Blaney, is a typical example. The base is of the usual tripod type with turned columns similar to that found on the tilt-top tables. Above the base is a pole which terminates in a turned finial. A rectangular screen slides on the pole to any desired height. These screens were usually covered with needle-work, brocade, or other fabric.

Another pole screen a little more elaborate is shown in Figure 766. It is constructed in the same way as that last shown, but the knees are carved with shells and pendent flowers and the legs terminate in rat's claw and ball feet. A piece of needle- work is framed in the rectangular screen which has a carved moulded edge.

Tables of walnut, cherry, and mahogany, with more or less carving, with cabriole legs with and without ball and claw feet, remained in fashion from about 1720 until 1780, when the Hepplewhite designs became very generally used. The tables just considered, covering the period between 1740 and 1780, correspond in date with the Chippendale period in England, and it may be correctly said that they are in general Chippendale; the wood is commonly mahogany, except in Pennsylvania and Virginia, where walnut continued to be extensively used for the finer pieces throughout this period, and the decoration, carving, and the outlines are those that he elaborated and perfected.

Figure 765. Pole Screen, third quarter eighteenth century.

Figure 766. Pole Screen, second quarter eighteenth century.

It is somewhat of a problem to determine what were the dining-tables of the Chippendale period. Neither Chippendale nor his contemporaries give any designs for them, and it is probable that the same form of table continued to be used that was popular in the Dutch period. At Boston, in 1760, appears the following entry in an inventory: "2 square mahogany tables 6s," and in 1770, "2 mahogany ends for tables." These were probably the tables made in twos and threes to be placed together.

Figure 767. Dining-Table, about 1775.

A late Chippendale dining-table is shown in Figure 767. It is the property of Dr. G. C. F. Williams, of Hartford. It consists of two tripod standards at the ends with bird's claw and ball feet and with carved acanthus leaves on the knees, and at the centre is a frame with six straight legs and two leaves. These leaves can be raised and joined to the tripod ends, making a long dining-table. The columns are fluted and reeded and the surfaces of the straight legs are finished with a double ogee and bead moulding.